NME.COM - Reviews - Richard Ashcroft: King's College, London: Wednesday December 7

Download Keys to the World mp3.

NME.COM - Reviews - Richard Ashcroft: King's College, London: Wednesday December 7: "Firstly, Richard Ashcroft can sing, blessed of a larynx of Elvis proportions you feel privileged to be in the same room as; secondly he's still utterly beautiful and thirdly he has songs so gargantuan in scale that stadiums would struggle to contain them, let alone this tiny students' union. Newie-wise, the country-tinged 'Words Just Get In The Way', the juggernaut groove of 'Keys To The World' and the whiteboy soul of 'Music Is Power' are all stunning, while the emotional poignancy of 'History' and 'The Drugs Don't Work' hardly needs reiterating. At times, Ashcroft himself seems overcome, arms aloft, eyes closed, grinning, lost in this sound he's put his faith in for so long - nothing has changed and his guns have been resiliently stuck to. Indeed, what makes this returning hero so wonderful tonight is the sheer conviction and self-belief that fills his every word. Never one to write lyrics about girls looking good on dancefloors when there's mysteries of the universe to be addressed, it takes a special kind of singer to make phrases like 'corridors of discontent' and 'the lonely search for truth' sound heartfelt and meaningful rather than snigger-inducingly ridiculous.

So as he brings his first show in London for three years to a close with a version of 'Bitter Sweet Symphony' that's as full of fire as it was on the day it was first aired, tonight, nearly 15 years on from the first time we clapped eyes on him, NME would like, once again, to declare Richard Ashcroft 'a superstar'.

Hamish MacBain"