Released on 25/10/1999
Label: Polydor

Ian Brown gives up the first taste of his forthcoming 'Golden Greats' album and we''re impressed. 'Love Like A Fountain' works in the way that all of Brown's best material works - yes, it's the same tune he's singing again but we never seem to tire of the endless variations on offer.

In this case - and the same is true of the album - it is the originality and finesse of the production that lifts the release above many of those that came before it.

Combining gentle breakbeats with acidic synth and funky basslines in an altogether more sophisticated fashion that the description suggests, this harks back to the excellent 'Be There' on which Brown collaborated with UNKLE.

Good as this track is, it is by no means the best of the pick from 'Golden Greats', though it may well be a more obviously commercial choice, the scope and ambition of the forthcoming album will take many by surprise.

    by James Poletti