Babyshambles - Down in Albion

Let's get this over with. Patrick Walden can't play a guitar solo to save his life; Kate Moss should never be allowed to sing under any circumstances; Mick Jones is an appalling producer.

So what of Doherty's solo-ish outing? It's a bloody shambolic racket, that's what it is. It's a depressing experience devoid of melody. It's an attempt to exorcise demons and prove his own worth, and it fails miserably on both counts. Yet it's also better than any of us expected.

Classic tunes? Well, it depends on how you define such nonsense. But Fuck Forever is a babbling piece of brilliance. Likewise, Albion demonstrates that Doherty has a sweet song beneath his smack-grey exterior. And I've been whistling Le Belle et la Bete ever since I heard it (indeed, without Moss's warblings, it would've reached out to a wider audience).

So, Pete, get a producer, a new guitarist capable of assisting in the tunesmithery, put down the crack pipe and you've got yourself a career.