Human Conditions | ||||
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Studio album by Richard Ashcroft | ||||
Released | 21 October 2002 | |||
Genre | Alternative rock | |||
Length | 54:51 | |||
Label | Hut Records | |||
Producer | Chris Potter, Richard Ashcroft | |||
Richard Ashcroft chronology | ||||
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Singles from Human Conditions | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Aggregate scores | |
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 61/100 |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | |
Blender | |
Drowned in Sound | (2/10) |
Entertainment.ie | |
Entertainment Weekly | (A) |
The Guardian | |
Rolling Stone | |
Stylus Magazine | (F) |
Yahoo Music |
Human Conditions is the second album by English singer-songwriter, Richard Ashcroft. It was released on Hut Records in 2002.
Human Conditions received mixed reviews. Review aggregating website Metacritic reports a normalised score of 61% based on 15 reviews. Entertainment Weekly awarded the album an "A". Some of the negative reviews, included Nick Southall of Stylus, who remarked that "Ashcroft obviously sees himself as some kind of incisive commentator with a greater depth of understanding of the human condition than those around him. This record reveals with alarming clarity that he is actually a poor songwriter, dire lyricist, and arrogant buffoon all at the same time." Andrew Lynch of entertainment.ie gave the album two stars out of five, calling it "in the final analysis, quite unbelievably boring." Rowan Shaeffer of Counterculture gave it three stars out of five and praised aspects of the album, though still feeling that "for the most part Richard Ashcroft seems be going through the motions; and while he's produced a good album, it's an ultimately unfulfilling listen."
In 2003, when asked about the naysayers to the album, Ashcroft responded: "If I had put on fifteen stone and Kate had left me and I’d almost [overdosed] on smack, then this record would have been received very well". In a 2006 interview with The Sun, Ashcroft said of the criticism: "I wouldn't say I was massively affected. I didn't feel the paranoia I felt when The Verve broke up."
The Japanese and American editions of the album featured one bonus track originally released as a B-side for the UK single "Check the Meaning".