It's an impressive feat for Ian Brown to have even reached a sixth solo album. There was always a sense that Brown, for all his undoubted suss and swagger, was the clear weak musical link in The Stone Roses. For anyone who caught him on one of his off vocal nights, caterwauling while his band mates performed inspirationally, this is less of a sense and more of an indisputable fact. As The Roses lurched shambolically towards their demise, he seemed the least likely to emerge unscathed. At least, that is, until the world heard The Seahorses. But here we are, 11 years into a solo career, and still he retains a sizeable and rabidly loyal fanbase. It is somewhat ironic that Brown has stated that Michael Jackson's Thriller provided the sonic template for My Way, as he probably has the most loyal (and for 'loyal', read 'myopic') set of fans of any artist other than Jackson. Because, to all intents and purposes, since his first two promising albums, much of his output - save a handful of strong singles, and in 'F.E.A.R.', one exceptional one - has actually been mostly weak; too self absorbed and self important to ever be as good as Brown himself thinks it is.

Part of the problem has always been the production, and sadly My Way contains familiar issues. For someone who admires both the attitude and sound of hip hop as much as Brown evidently does, his attempts to channel the influence into his own work frequently sound somewhat Fisher Price. 'Crowning of the Poor' is a particular offender, its overblown synth riff obviously tries to emulate Timbaland - not a particularly lofty ambition in itself - and utterly fails, sounding cheap and tacky. Actually, sounding like a more cheap and tacky Timbaland is a fairly notable achievement, but not one I'd ever want to listen to.

Elsewhere, My Way actually contains some of Brown's most melodic solo work. 'Always Remember Me' features a distinctly Roses-esque verse, wrapped up in a warmer, fuzzier update of Psychocandy-era Mary Chain. 'For the Glory', with its oblique Roses referencing lyrics, is similarly pretty - it's clear that Brown has devoted more effort to the songwriting craft than on previous albums. Too often though, as on album closer 'So High', these moments find themselves dominated by overbearing production completely devoid of any subtlety. As the promising verse descends into a bass heavy groove, I found myself shaking my head at the horrible drum sound rather than nodding in appreciation.

My Way isn't a bad album. It contains a few of Ian Brown's best moments in years. And his flamenco cover of 'In The Year 2525' has finally convinced me that he has a playful sense of his own ludicrousness, rather than being entirely consumed by a martyr complex. And, let's face it, the insanely catchy piano riff of 'Stellify' is enough to keep his fanbase rabid, loyal, and blind to his deficiencies till album number seven anyway.