Keys to the World
Studio album by
Richard Ashcroft
Released23 January 2006
RecordedState of the Ark, 2005
Genre
Length44:18
LabelParlophone
Producer
Richard Ashcroft chronology
Human Conditions
(2002)		 Keys to the World
(2006)		 United Nations of Sound
(2010)
Singles from Keys to the World
  1. "Break the Night with Colour"
    Released: 9 January 2006
  2. "Music Is Power"
    Released: 17 April 2006
  3. "Words Just Get in the Way"
    Released: 10 July 2006
  4. ""Why Not Nothing?" / "Sweet Brother Malcolm""
    Released: 4 December 2006
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic52/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
BBC(unfavorable)[3]
Drowned in Sound6/10[4]
Gigwise[5]
The Guardian[6]
Pitchfork2/10[7]
PopMatters5/10[8]
Q[9]
Rolling Stone[10]
Slant Magazine[11]

Keys to the World is the third studio album by English singer-songwriter Richard Ashcroft. It was released 23 January 2006, reaching number 2 in the UK Albums Chart (see 2006 in British music). Ashcroft worked on the album at State of the Ark Studios and Julian Kershaw wrote string arrangements for some of the songs later recorded by London Metropolitan Orchestra. Strings are featured on eight songs on the album which also features electric viola on some tracks – played by Bruce White. The engineer/producer of this album was Chris Potter, and being his final solo album for a decade, until These People (2016).

Release and reception

Keys to the World was met with "mixed or average" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 52 based on 19 reviews.[1]

In a review for AllMusic, Thom Jurek wrote: "Three and a half years later, the Verve's former frontman is back with a record not terribly different, though certainly more pastoral and perhaps more middle of the road. The rest of the disc simply follows a formula, though it's a pleasant one. Ashcroft introduces everything else here with skeletally placed guitars, pours on the strings, and keeps the tempo on slow, slower, and slowest until the final track."[2] At Drowned in Sound, critic Dom Gourlay wrote: "Keys To The World then is a deeply personal, occasionally lifeless but equally insightful passage into the latest chapter of Richard Ashcroft's life story. Doing what he does best but just be prepared for some very uneasy listening."[4] Scott Shetler of Slant Magazine wrote: "Keys to the World, is his best solo effort to date, adding punchy melodies to the insightful lyrics and strong vocals that are characteristic of his music. Keys to the World is a definite step forward and demonstrates that Ashcroft is finally hitting his stride as a solo artist."[11]

The album was certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry, selling more than 300.000 copies.[12]

Track listing

Keys to the World track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Why Not Nothing?"Richard Ashcroft4:09
2."Music Is Power"
3:58
3."Break the Night with Colour"Ashcroft3:56
4."Words Just Get in the Way"Ashcroft4:53
5."Keys to the World"Ashcroft4:42
6."Sweet Brother Malcolm"Ashcroft4:51
7."Cry Til the Morning"Ashcroft5:04
8."Why Do Lovers?"Ashcroft4:45
9."Simple Song"Ashcroft4:05
10."World Keeps Turning"Ashcroft3:55
iTunes bonus track[13]
No.TitleLength
11."Break the Night With Colour" (Live at Kings College)4:58
Japanese bonus track[14]
No.TitleLength
11."75 Degrees"4:48
DVD version
No.TitleLength
1."Keys to the World (The Interview)" 
2."Break the Night With Colour (live video)" 
3."Why Not Nothing? (live video)" 
4."Words Just Get in the Way (live video)" 
5."Break the Night With Colour (video)" 

Personnel

  • Richard Ashcroft - vocals, guitar, keyboards, design
  • Arnie Somogyi, John Giblin, Martyn Campbell - bass
  • Terry Britten - guitar, bass, mandolin
  • Martin Slattery - piano
  • Gerry Conway, Peter Salisbury, Steve Sidelnyk - drums
  • Jon Hunt - saxophone, flute
  • Richard Robson - programming
  • Bruce White - electric viola on "Why Not Nothing?"
  • Chris Parkes - French horn on "Words Just Get in the Way"
  • Chris West - acoustic guitar on "Keys to the World"
  • Yvonne John-Lewis - additional vocals on "Keys to the World"
  • Nick Cooper, Andrew Haveron, Andy Brown, Benjamin Nabarro, Cathy Giles, Chris Fish, Chris Vanderspar, David Juritz, Debbie Widdup, Edward Vanderspar, Fenella Barton, Helen Hathorn, Joel Hunter, Jonathan Tunnell, Laura Melhuish, Martin Burgess, Matthew Ward, Nicholas Holland, Rachel Roberts, Richard George, Thomas Kemp - strings
  • Julian Kershaw - string arrangements

Release details

Country Date Label Format Catalog
Japan 12 January 2006 Toshiba-EMI CD TOCP-66502 / 4988006838161
United Kingdom 23 January 2006 Parlophone CD 3483732 / 0946 3 48373 2 3
CD/DVD (CD) 3545202 / 0946 3 54520 2 0
CD/DVD (DVD) 3503812 / 0946 3 50381 9 4
Australia 6 February 2006 Capitol Records Copy Controlled CD 3531382 / 0946 3 53138 2 6
Canada 7 February 2006 Parlophone CD 0946 3 48373 2 3
Argentina 7 March 2006 Copy controlled CD 0946 3 53138 2 6
United States 21 March 2006 Virgin Records CD/DVD 0946 3 54523 2 7

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[12] Platinum 300,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. 1 2 "Keys to the World Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  2. 1 2 Jurek, Thom. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  3. ↑ Jones, Chris (20 November 2002). "Music – Review of Richard Ashcroft – Keys to the World". BBC. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  4. 1 2 Gourlay, Dom (9 February 2006). "Drowned in Sound Review". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  5. ↑ Gosling, Emily. "Gigwise Review". Gigwise. Archived from the original on 28 June 2006. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  6. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (20 January 2006). "The Guardian Review". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  7. ↑ Hogan, Mark (30 January 2006). "Pitchfork: Album Reviews: Richard Ashcroft: Keys to the World". Pitchfork. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  8. ↑ Lomas, Michael (31 January 2006). "PopMatters Review". PopMatters. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  9. ↑ "Q Review". Q. No. 235. February 2006. p. 99.
  10. ↑ Relic, Peter (21 March 2005). "Rolling Stone Review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 29 October 2007. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  11. 1 2 Shetler, Scott (29 March 2006). "Slant Magazine Review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  12. 1 2 "British album certifications – Richard Ashcroft – Keys to the World". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  13. ↑ "Keys to the World by Richard Ashcroft". Apple Music. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  14. ↑ "Keys to the World" (in Japanese). Cdjapan.co.jp. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  15. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Richard Ashcroft – Keys To The World" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  16. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Richard Ashcroft – Keys To The World" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  17. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Richard Ashcroft – Keys To The World" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  18. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Richard Ashcroft – Keys To The World" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  19. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Richard Ashcroft – Keys To The World". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  20. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Richard Ashcroft – Keys To The World" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  21. ↑ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Richard Ashcroft". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  22. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Richard Ashcroft – Keys To The World". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  23. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  24. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Richard Ashcroft – Keys To The World". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  25. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Richard Ashcroft – Keys To The World". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  26. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  27. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 2006". Ultratop. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  28. ↑ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2006". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
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