Keys to the World

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 8 songs on the album which also features electric viola on some tracks – played by Bruce White. The engineer/producer was Chris Potter.

Keys to the World
Studio album by Richard Ashcroft
Released	23 January 2006
Recorded	State of the Ark, 2005
Genre	Post-Britpop, folk rock
Length	44:18
Label	Parlophone
Producer	Chris Potter, Richard Ashcroft
Richard Ashcroft chronology
Human Conditions (2002) Keys to the World (2006) United Nations of Sound (2010)
Singles from Keys to the World
"Break the Night with Colour" Released: 9 January 2006 "Music Is Power" Released: 17 April 2006 "Words Just Get in the Way" Released: 10 July 2006 ""Why Not Nothing?" / "Sweet Brother Malcolm"" Released: 4 December 2006

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	52/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
BBC	(unfavorable)[3]
Manchester Online	[4]
Mojo	[5]
Music Emissions	[6]
Pitchfork Media	(2.0/10)[7]
Q	[8]
Rolling Stone	[9]
UNCUT	[10]
Yahoo Music	[11]

Release and reception

The album received mixed reviews from music critics. According to critic review aggregator Metacritic, the album has received a score of 52/100, based on 19 reviews, indicating mixed or average reviews.[12] The album was certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry, selling more than 300.000 copies.

Track listing

All songs written by Richard Ashcroft, except where noted.

1. "Why Not Nothing?" – 4:09
2. "Music Is Power" (Ashcroft, Curtis Mayfield) – 3:58
3. "Break the Night with Colour" – 3:56
4. "Words Just Get in the Way" – 4:53
5. "Keys to the World" – 4:42
6. "Sweet Brother Malcolm" – 4:51
7. "Cry Til the Morning" – 5:04
8. "Why Do Lovers?" – 4:45
9. "Simple Song" – 4:05
10. "World Keeps Turning" – 3:55

Bonus track (Japan)

• "75 Degrees" – 4:48

Bonus DVD (UK, US)

1. "Keys to the World" (The Interview)
2. "Break the Night With Colour" (live video)
3. "Why Not Nothing?" (live video)
4. "Words Just Get in the Way" (live video)
5. "Break the Night With Colour" (video)

Release details

Country	Date	Label	Format	Catalog
Japan	12 January 2006	Toshiba-EMI	CD	TOCP-66502 / 4988006838161
United Kingdom	23 January 2006	Parlophone	CD	3483732 / 0946 3 48373 2 3
			CD/DVD (CD)	3545202 / 0946 3 54520 2 0
			CD/DVD (DVD)	3503812 / 0946 3 50381 9 4
Australia	6 February 2006	Capitol Records	Copy Controlled CD	3531382 / 0946 3 53138 2 6
Canada	7 February 2006	Parlophone	CD	0946 3 48373 2 3
Argentina	7 March 2006		Copy controlled CD	0946 3 53138 2 6
United States	21 March 2006	Virgin Records	CD/DVD	0946 3 54523 2 7

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2006) Peak position Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[13] 7 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[14] 10 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[15] 45 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[16] 49 French Albums (SNEP)[17] 78 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18] 6 Irish Albums (IRMA)[19] 6 Italian Albums (FIMI)[20] 11 Scottish Albums (OCC)[21] 2 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[22] 62 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] 7 UK Albums (OCC)[24] 2

Year-end charts Chart (2006) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[25] 87 UK Albums (OCC)[26] 71

External links

• Richard Ashcroft – official website

References

1. "Keys to the World Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
2. https://www.allmusic.com/album/r819702
3. "Music – Review of Richard Ashcroft – Keys to the World". BBC. 20 November 2002. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
4. Archived 19 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine
5. "Mojo Review". Mojo. No. 147. February 2006. p. 289.
6. "Richard Ashcroft – Keys to the World Review from". Music Emissions. 1 March 2006. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
7. "Pitchfork: Album Reviews: Richard Ashcroft: Keys to the World". Pitchforkmedia.com. 30 January 2006. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
8. "Q Review". Q. No. 235. February 2006. p. 99.
10. "UNCUT Review" (105). UNCUT. February 2006: 70. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
11. "Richard Ashcroft Keys to the World Album Review, New album reviews and latest album releases on Yahoo! Music". Uk.launch.yahoo.com. 28 January 2006. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
12. "Critic Reviews for Keys to the World". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
13. "Austriancharts.at – Richard Ashcroft – Keys To The World" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
14. "Ultratop.be – Richard Ashcroft – Keys To The World" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
15. "Ultratop.be – Richard Ashcroft – Keys To The World" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
16. "Dutchcharts.nl – Richard Ashcroft – Keys To The World" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
17. "Lescharts.com – Richard Ashcroft – Keys To The World". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
18. "Offiziellecharts.de – Richard Ashcroft – Keys To The World" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
19. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Richard Ashcroft". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
20. "Italiancharts.com – Richard Ashcroft – Keys To The World". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
21. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
22. "Spanishcharts.com – Richard Ashcroft – Keys To The World". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
23. "Swisscharts.com – Richard Ashcroft – Keys To The World". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
24. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
25. "Jaaroverzichten 2006". Ultratop. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
26. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2006". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 October 2020.