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The ex-Verve frontman's second single from his third solo album Keys to the World has a pleasantly mellow soulful sound that fails to get under the skin. Just as the classic Bitter Sweet Symphony contained a brief sample from a Stones song so that Jagger/Richards are (infamously) credited as the songwriters, here the late great Curtis Mayfield is given co-authorship with Ashcroft for the orchestral sample from a song he wrote over 40 years ago.
There though, the comparisons end. Whereas the insistent, lush string arrangements of Bitter Sweet Symphony soared irresistibly and carried on playing in your head long after the record had finished, the repetitive string and horn orchestration of Music Is Power becomes rather monotonous and makes little impact. However, even if the mid-tempo mediocrity lacks urgency, Ashcroft's grittily soulful voice still sounds great.
Unlike Ian Brown, who has moved on from his glory days with The Stone Roses to build a solid solo reputation, Ashcroft's career since The Verve has been patchy at best. In this single, a tribute to the life-enhancing qualities of music, he sings "If the melody's timeless, it won't let you down", but unfortunately he hasn't delivered a timeless melody here.
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