Golden Greats
by Ian Brown
Metascore
69

Generally favorable reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
  1. AllMusic
    80
    Like its predecessor, Golden Greats meanders a bit too much and it places a little too much emphasis on surface, but when the surface sparkles like this, it's hard to complain too loudly.
  2. Billboard
    60
    While "Golden Greats" features some intriguing tracks and a healthy dose of Brown's trademark bravado, it doesn't come close to ringing in as powerfully as that of the Roses' era-defining sound.
  3. Q Magazine
    60
    A belligerent record: fiercely independent, full of right angles, curious sound effects and a guitarist, Aziz Ibrahim, who believes, incorrectly, that the soul of Jimi Hendrix is preserved in his G-string.
  5. New Musical Express (NME)
    80
    This is a left-field masterpiece and Brown's best work for a decade.
  6. Dot Music
    80
    Despite Brown's unquestionably limited vocal range, the minute pitch shifts of his voice are well suited to the stoned-wonder of tracks like 'Set My Baby Free', 'Neptune' and 'Dolphins Were Monkeys'. It's on these blissed out, chilled moments that the album really shines.
  7. Ink Blot Magazine
    70
    A fundamentally unselfish record, as simply enjoyable as a day off or a light beer buzz.
  8. Checkout.com
    80
    Brown has mixed the best elements of '60s British flower power rock, a la the Moody Blues, with a new century's technology to create a potent, dream-inducing electronica brew.
    All this publication's reviews
  9. Mojo
    60
    Neither great nor golden, then, but not bad either.
  10. Rolling Stone
    40
    Overbaked synth funk...Golden Greats cries out for a hotshot guitarist to take charge of the music -- somebody like John Squire.
    All this publication's reviews
  11. Wall of Sound
    59
    The 10-song album... hits and misses in equal quantities, though even at its worst moments, there's at least a germ of a good idea that simply wasn't realized -- or, in the case of some of the album's longer tracks, was overdone.
  12. MTV.com
    100
    An absolutely amazing album....more riff-heavy and directly engaging than his former band's work...
  13. Nude As The News
    45
    While Golden Greats features some intriguing tracks and a healthy dose of Brown's trademark bravado, it doesn't come close to ringing in as powerfully as the Roses' era-defining sound.

Awards & Rankings

62
#62 Most Shared Album of 2000

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.3

Universal acclaim- based on 16 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 16
  3. Negative: 2 out of 16
  1. StonerExtraordinaire
    Jul 29, 2005
    10
    Fucking tip-top shit. Bang on.
  2. texasholden
    Jul 8, 2005
    8
    Not one of his best, with only two tracks that might make it on to a greatest hits CD (Dolphins & Golden Gaze). Still, worth a listen, and Not one of his best, with only two tracks that might make it on to a greatest hits CD (Dolphins & Golden Gaze). Still, worth a listen, and gets better with time.… Full Review »
See all user reviews »