Keys to the World

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).

  1. ^ "Keys to the World Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  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. ^ 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. ^ Shetler, Scott (29 March 2006). "Slant Magazine Review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 11 April 2021.