If you approach Richard Ashcroft's solo works expecting to hear the space rock of The Verve's 1993 debut A Storm In Heaven or the Brit-pop requiems of 1997's Urban Hymns, you're setting yourself up for disappointment. Two years before his band's 2008 reformation, Ashcroft's third solo album gave birth to some great songs that sound nothing like The Verve's penchant for over-the-top proclamations and melodramatic lyrics. The soulful "Why Not Nothing?" introduces the album with floor-stomping rhythms and rootsy instrumentation that recalls Ocean Colour Scene's adoration of the late '60s/early '70s recordings from The Muscle Shoals Sound Studio. "Break The Night With Colour" still moves with the burning urgency of his emotions, but "Music Is Power" leans back on the kinds of classic arrangements heard on old soul records. Ashcroft's smoke-textured vocals provide a perfect contrast here as he sings joyfully about music being his true religion. Where The Verve's "Bitter Sweet Symphony" found him strutting arrogantly, "Music Is Power" has him walking humbly and singing with a smile on his face.