Richard Ashcroft Lovin' You
Richard Ashcroft's Lovin' You arrives as a warm, reflective collection that leans into familiar strengths even as it courts a few awkward modern detours. Across five professional reviews the record earned a 60/100 consensus score, with critics consistently pointing to moments of vocal maturity and grandiose love songs as its clearest assets. Lover, Out Of These Blues, Lovin' You, Fly To The Sun and Heavy News emerge repeatedly as the best songs on Lovin' You, praised for melody, sweep and the singer's weathered presence.
The critical consensus frames the album as part homage and part comfortable return to form. Reviewers consistently note derivative nostalgia and ballad comfort as recurring themes: when Ashcroft strips back the production - as on the country-tinged Out Of These Blues and the spacious sway of Fly To The Sun - his songwriting and voice register as genuinely affecting. Several critics applaud those standout tracks for reclaiming his signature melodic strengths, while applauding vocal warmth and romantic devotion throughout the record.
At the same time some professional reviews register frustration with attempts at modernization, calling certain pop experiments and sampling choices awkward or pastiche. While Clash and The Spill highlight bold left turns like I'm A Rebel and glam-tinged moments, The Quietus is more dismissive, describing a handful of tracks as formulaic. The result is a mixed but clear verdict: Lovin' You contains essential, well-crafted moments that justify attention, even if the whole occasionally falters in its reach for contemporary sounds. Read on for full reviews and track-by-track notes from critics who weighed in across five reviews.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Out Of These Blues
5 mentions
"‘Out of These Blues’ is more familiar, with the country-rock vibe and slide guitar"— Clash Music
Lover
5 mentions
"built around a looped riff sampled from Joan Armatrading’s ‘Love and Affection’"— Clash Music
Lovin' You
5 mentions
"gravelly and weathered on the title track, which echoes ‘Are You Ready?’ and ‘Keys to the World’: steady, soulful, and groove-driven"— Clash Music
‘Out of These Blues’ is more familiar, with the country-rock vibe and slide guitar
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Lover
Out Of These Blues
Heavy News
Oh L'amour
I'm A Rebel
Find Another Reason
Lovin' You
Live With Hope
Crimson Fire
Fly To The Sun
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 5 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
Galvanized by summer slots, Richard Ashcroft returns with Lovin' You, where the best songs - notably Lover and the surprising I'm A Rebel - show him bent toward warmth and bold left turns. The album alternates reflection and inspiration, with opener Lover built around a Joan Armatrading riff giving shameless uplift, while disco-tinged I'm A Rebel proves he still enjoys subverting expectations. At his most stretched - vocally and musically - Ashcroft finds the moments that elevate the record, and the title track and closer underline his steady, soulful voice.
Key Points
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‘Lover’ is the best song because its sampled riff, finger-snaps and soulful warmth make it shamelessly uplifting.
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The album’s core strengths are Ashcroft’s timeless baritone, occasional falsettos and a balance of romance, spiritual searching and rebellion.
Themes
Critic's Take
Patrick Gill finds that on Lovin' You Richard Ashcroft remains stamped by love, with lead single Lover and the sweeping Out of These Blues standing out as the album's most convincing moments. Gill writes in a measured, slightly rueful tone that celebrates Ashcroft's songwriting chops while noting a weathered voice and some contrivances - the best tracks, he suggests, lean into simple, romantic sweep rather than electronic affectation. He particularly praises Crimson Fire as a tinkling return to the singer-songwriter Ashcroft once epitomized, even as other experiments feel jarring. The narrative positions these as the best tracks on Lovin' You, arguing that they show why listeners still care about Ashcroft's craft.
Key Points
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The best song(s) combine Ashcroft's romantic sweep and simple songwriting, notably "Out of These Blues" and "Lover".
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The album's core strengths are Ashcroft's enduring songwriting and moments of romantic, singer-songwriter beauty despite aging vocals and occasional contrivances.
Themes
Critic's Take
In his mordant way J.R. Moores savages Richard Ashcroft's Lovin' You, singling out the limp single Lover and the awkwardly upbeat title track as emblematic of the album's problems. Moores writes with acidic relish about how the record alternates between predictable string-laden ballads and ill-fitting attempts at modern pop - he cites Out Of These Blues and Live With Hope only to note their formulaic comfort. His voice is gleefully contemptuous, framing the best tracks as merely competent comforts rather than revelations, so answers to "best tracks on Lovin' You" in this review are really the lesser sins like Out Of These Blues. Overall the critic positions those tunes as the album's only fleeting strengths amid a sea of misjudged experiments and pastiche.
Key Points
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The review singles out 'Out Of These Blues' as one of the album's few tolerable, comfortingly familiar tracks.
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The album's core strengths are Ashcroft's signature string-laden balladry, which comforts but rarely surprises.
Themes
Critic's Take
Richard Ashcroft sounds most himself on Lovin' You, and the best songs - notably Fly To The Sun and the title track Lovin' You - let that voice and melody breathe. The record is strongest when Ashcroft stops chasing trends and simply sings, as on Fly To The Sun, which feels like the album's high point. The country-tinged Out Of These Blues and the glam-tinged rocker Heavy News show his range, but it is the plainly brilliant moments where he "shines" that make these the best tracks on Lovin' You.
Key Points
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The best song is Fly To The Sun because it captures Ashcroft at his most himself, where his talent and brilliance burst through.
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The album's core strengths are melodic songwriting, stylistic diversity, and heartfelt themes of love and hope.
Themes
Critic's Take
Richard Ashcroft's Lovin' You finds its best moments in the anthemic tenderness of Lover, the intimate warmth of Oh L'Amour, and the spacious sway of Out Of These Blues. The reviewer's voice celebrates Ashcroft's unmistakable Wigan drawl and vocal maturity, insisting these best tracks show why the best songs on Lovin' You will ring out on his upcoming tour. There is measured praise for adventurous detours like I'm A Rebel, even as the album largely comforts by returning to a familiar, expertly crafted British ballad rock. This is presented as vindication - proof that his voice remains an unstoppable force, and that the best tracks on Lovin' You feel both essential and true to his legacy.
Key Points
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Lover is the best song because its standout cover arrangement and soaring vocal set the album's tone.
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The album’s core strengths are Ashcroft’s mature, unhurried vocals and a return to well-crafted British ballad rock with moments of adventurous production.