The Verve | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Long acclaimed as one of the most innovative and spellbinding bands on the contemporary British pop scene, the Verve finally broke through to a mass international audience in 1997 with the instant classic "Bittersweet Symphony." By no stretch a study in overnight success, the groups rise was instead the culmination of a long, arduous journey that began at the dawn of the decade and went on to encompass a major breakup, multiple lawsuits, and an extensive diet of narcotics. Perfecting an oceanic sound that fused the exploratory vision of 60s-era psychedelia with the shimmering atmospherics of the shoegazer aesthetic, the Verve languished in relative obscurity while waiting for the rest of the music world to play catch-up, creating one of the most complex and rewarding bodies of work in modern rock & roll long before most listeners even learned of the groups existence -- only to again fall apart at the peak of their success. Originally known simply as Verve, the group was formed in the small Northern English city of Wigan in 1989. Richard Ashcroft -- a swaggering, shamanic figure in the classic rock star mold -- led the band, whose original lineup also included guitarist Nick McCabe, bassist Simon Jones, and drummer Peter Salisbury. Sharing a collective fondness for the Beatles, Funkadelic, and Krautrock -- as well as a legendary appetite for psychedelics -- the quartet signed to the Hut label within months, debuting in March 1992 with the single "All in the Mind," the first in a series of indie chart-topping efforts featuring the eye-catching artwork of designer Brian Cannon. Subsequent efforts like "Shes a Superstar" and "Gravity Grave" captured an original musical identity growing by leaps and bounds, distinguished chiefly by Ashcrofts elemental vocals and McCabes echoing guitar leads. While Verves long, liquid jams found favor on the British indie charts, pop radio looked the other way. Their majestic debut LP, 1993s A Storm in Heaven, was a critical smash, but positive reviews from a variety of critics failed to translate into strong record sales. The following summer, Verve appeared on the second stage at Lollapalooza, a tour tempered by a string of disasters -- not only was Salisbury arrested for destroying a Kansas hotel room, but Ashcroft was also hospitalized after suffering from severe dehydration. Around that same time, the American jazz label also dubbed Verve slapped the band with a lawsuit, forcing the quartet to officially change its name to "the Verve." Sessions for the 1995 follow-up, A Northern Soul, proved to be the last straw -- admittedly recorded under the influence of a massive intake of Ecstasy, the albums harrowing intensity was met with disappointing sales and little media recognition, and just three months after its release, Ashcroft made his exit. Although Ashcroft quickly reassembled the Verve a few weeks later, McCabe initially refused to return, and was replaced by guitarist/keyboardist Simon Tong. Finally, in early 1997, McCabe came back to the fold, and as a quintet they recorded Urban Hymns, their breakthrough LP. Heralded by the smash "Bittersweet Symphony" -- a single built around a looped sample of a symphonic recording of the Rolling Stones "The Last Time" -- Urban Hymns launched the Verve among the U.K.s most popular bands. Even at their peak, however, the curse of the bands past lingered on, as legal hassles awarded 100 percent of the songs publishing rights to ABKCO Music, which controlled the Stones back catalog. The second single from the album, the haunting "The Drugs Dont Work," became the Verves first U.K. number one smash, while the hit singles "Lucky Man" and "Sonnet" soon followed. However, when McCabe pulled out of the groups 1998 U.S. tour, the group suffered yet another blow. After months of rumors, the Verve officially split the following spring. Ashcroft launched a solo career in the early 2000s and enjoyed success with a number of singles, including "Break the Night with Colour." Meanwhile, Nick McCabe remixed a track for the Music and collaborated with British songwriter John Martyn, while Tong and Jones formed a short-lived band named the Shining. Tong later joined the Good, the Bad & the Queen in July 2006, and although he continued to focus on his post-Verve projects, the remaining members of the Verve reunited in 2007 for an international tour. The band also set to work on another studio album, Forth, which was released in August 2008 following a successful year of sold-out concerts and festival dates. Despite Forth debuting at number one, the Verves comeback was short-lived. Reports of another split started to circulate by August 2009, and in July 2010 Ashcroft confirmed the bands breakup. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 8 Title: Verve Released: 1992-12-01 Tracks: 5 Duration: 31:31 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Gravity Grave (edit) (04:29) 2 A Man Called Sun (05:43) 3 Shes a Superstar (edit) (05:04) 4 Endless Life (05:32) 5 Feel (10:41) |
 | Album: 2 of 8 Title: A Storm in Heaven Released: 1993-06-15 Tracks: 38 Duration: 3:16:03 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Star Sail (03:59) 2 Slide Away (04:03) 3 Already There (05:38) 4 Beautiful Mind (05:27) 5 The Sun, The Sea (05:16) 6 Virtual World (06:20) 7 Make It ’Til Monday (03:05) 8 Blue (03:24) 9 Butterfly (06:39) 10 See You in the Next One (Have a Good Time) (03:07) 1 All in the Mind (04:17) 2 One Way to Go (07:16) 3 Man Called Sun (05:43) 4 Shes a Superstar (08:53) 5 Feel (10:41) 6 Gravity Grave (extended version) (08:22) 7 Endless Life (05:32) 8 A Man Called Sun (live) (05:29) 9 Gravity Grave (live encore) (02:32) 10 Twilight (03:01) 11 Where the Geese Go (03:13) 12 No Come Down (03:15) 13 Blue (USA mix) (03:16) 14 6 OClock (04:29) 1 Make It Till Monday (acoustic) (02:44) 2 Virtual World (acoustic version) (04:43) 3 Gravity Grave (Live Glastonbury 93) (09:23) 4 Butterfly (acoustic) (07:37) 5 Slide Away (Radio 1 session 1992) (05:52) 6 She’s a Superstar (Radio 1 session 1992) (05:01) 7 Already There (Radio 1 session 1992) (04:25) 8 Brake Lights (Radio 1 session 1992) (03:15) 9 Star Sail (Radio 1 Mark Radcliffe session 1993) (04:11) 10 A Man Called Sun (Radio 1 Mark Radcliffe session 1993) (04:39) 11 6 O’Clock (Radio 1 Mark Radcliffe session 1993) (04:43) 12 Gravity Grave (Radio 1 Mark Radcliffe session 1993) (08:27) 13 Shoeshine Girl (Sawmills session) (03:59) 14 South Pacific (Sawmills session) (03:49) |
| A Storm in Heaven : Allmusic album Review : Whereas future Verve masterpieces A Northern Soul and Urban Hymns would feature succinct song structures (for the most part) and instantly memorable verses and choruses, the groups 1993 full-length debut, A Storm in Heaven, was based on buoyant, extended psychedelic passages. Looking back today, it was an interesting and original musical direction, since at the time, angst-ridden Seattle bands (and their many copycats) were all the rage. While a few songs hint at the Verves future penchant for composing pop gems ("Make It Till Monday," "Blue," "Butterfly"), many of the longer tracks are just as strong, especially the albums best track, the hauntingly beautiful "Already There." Also featured was the album-opening space rocker "Star Sail," the shifting moods of "Slide Away," the misty "Beautiful Mind," and the stark closer, "See You in the Next One (Have a Good Time)." A fine debut, A Storm in Heaven proved to be the important connection between the Verves expansive early work (1992s self-titled EP) and their later worldwide pop hits. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 8 Title: No Come Down (B Sides & Outtakes) Released: 1994-05-17 Tracks: 9 Duration: 44:18 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 No Come Down (03:15) 2 Blue (USA mix) (03:16) 3 Make It Till Monday (acoustic) (02:44) 4 Butterfly (acoustic) (07:37) 5 Where the Geese Go (03:13) 6 6 OClock (04:29) 7 One Way to Go (07:16) 8 Gravity Grave (Live Glastonbury 93) (09:23) 9 Twilight (03:01) |
| No Come Down (B Sides & Outtakes) : Allmusic album Review : The Verve had amassed a substantial amount of non-album B-sides from British singles issued in light of their 1993 debut full-length, A Storm in Heaven, which remained largely unheard elsewhere in the world. To coincide with a spot on Lollapalooza 1994s second stage, a nine-track compilation of uncommon material was issued Stateside, entitled No Come Down (B Sides & Outtakes). Some of the tracks were already issued on their aforementioned debut and their self-titled five-song EP from 1992, but the versions included here are completely different, such as a nearly ten-minute long live version of "Gravity Grave" from Glastonbury 93, stirring acoustic versions of "Make It Till Monday" and "Butterfly," plus a "USA Mix" of "Blue." The remaining selections are more obscure: the title track that gently opens the album, as well as several other soothing compositions (Where the Geese Go, "6 O Clock," "One Way to Go," and "Twilight"). While the Verves early B-sides arent as exceptional as the ones that were included on the singles for 1995s A Northern Soul and 1997s Urban Hymns, No Come Down is still recommended to the serious fan. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 8 Title: A Northern Soul Released: 1995-07-03 Tracks: 12 Duration: 1:04:10 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 A New Decade (04:11) 2 This Is Music (03:35) 3 On Your Own (03:35) 4 So It Goes (06:11) 5 A Northern Soul (06:32) 6 Brainstorm Interlude (05:11) 7 Drive You Home (06:41) 8 History (05:28) 9 No Knock on My Door (05:11) 10 Life’s an Ocean (05:43) 11 Stormy Clouds (05:34) 12 (Reprise) (06:11) |
| A Northern Soul : Allmusic album Review : Though shorn of the more overtly shoegazer-styled elements of their debut A Storm in Heaven, the Verves sophomore effort A Northern Soul is no less epic in scope, forging a heavier, more traditionally psychedelic sound infused with a chaotic energy which mirrors the emotional upheaval at the heart of Richard Ashcrofts songs. Reportedly produced under the influence of excessive drug use, the album is harrowingly intense, its darkly hypnotic momentum steered by Nick McCabes spiraling guitar leads and Ashcrofts incantatory vocals; tracks like the remarkable "On Your Own," "So It Goes," and the majestically morose "History" are searing evocations of isolation and desperation, soaring yet heartbreaking anthems of disillusionment and loss. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 8 Title: Urban Hymns Released: 1997-09-29 Tracks: 60 Duration: 5:36:31 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Bitter Sweet Symphony (05:58) 2 Sonnet (04:22) 3 The Rolling People (07:01) 4 The Drugs Don’t Work (05:05) 5 Catching the Butterfly (06:26) 6 Neon Wilderness (02:37) 7 Space and Time (05:36) 8 Weeping Willow (04:49) 9 Lucky Man (04:54) 10 One Day (05:03) 11 This Time (03:50) 12 Velvet Morning (04:57) 13 Come On / Deep Freeze (15:15) 1 Lord I Guess I’ll Never Know (04:51) 2 Country Song (07:51) 3 Bitter Sweet Symphony (James Lavelle remix) (05:50) 4 So Sister (04:11) 5 Echo Bass (06:38) 6 Three Steps (05:04) 7 The Drugs Don’t Work (original demo) (04:45) 8 The Crab (05:37) 9 Stamped (05:32) 10 Never Wanna See You Cry (04:32) 11 MSG (07:02) 12 The Longest Day (07:21) 13 Lucky Man (Happiness More or Less) (04:58) 1 Bitter Sweet Symphony (extended version) (07:50) 2 This Could Be My Moment (03:59) 3 Monte Carlo (04:56) 4 Life’s an Ocean (06:04) 5 A Man Called Sun (05:36) 6 The Drugs Don’t Work (05:31) 7 On Your Own (03:17) 8 So Sister (03:22) 1 This Is Music (04:00) 2 Space and Time (06:00) 3 Catching the Butterfly (06:28) 4 Sonnet (04:41) 5 The Rolling People (06:15) 6 Neon Wilderness (02:43) 7 Weeping Willow (04:37) 8 The Drugs Dont Work (06:00) 9 Lucky Man (05:30) 10 Lifes an Ocean (06:49) 11 Velvet Morning (06:00) 12 Bitter Sweet Symphony (10:09) 1 One Day (05:34) 2 History (05:32) 3 Come On (10:43) 4 A New Decade (Washington DC 9.30 club 03.11.97) (03:42) 5 The Rolling People (Brixton Academy 16.01.98) (05:39) 6 On Your Own (Brixton Academy 16.01.98) (03:20) 7 History (Brixton Academy 16.01.98) (04:53) 8 Slide Away (Manchester Academy 11.08.97) (04:07) 9 A Man Called Sun (Washington DC 9.30 club 03.11.97) (05:22) 10 A Northern Soul (Washington DC 9.30 club 03.11.97) (06:50) 11 Space and Time (Brixton Academy 16.01.98) (05:33) 12 This Is Music (Manchester Academy 11.08.97) (03:38) 13 Weeping Willow (Washington DC 9.30 club 03.11.97) (03:54) 14 Stormy Clouds / Reprise (Manchester Academy 11.08.97) (07:21) |
| Urban Hymns : Allmusic album Review : Not long after the release of A Northern Soul, the Verve imploded due to friction between vocalist Richard Ashcroft and guitarist Nick McCabe. It looked like the band had ended before reaching its full potential, which is part of the reason why their third album, Urban Hymns -- recorded after the pair patched things up in late 1996 -- is so remarkable. Much of the record consists of songs Ashcroft had intended for a solo project or a new group, yet Urban Hymns unmistakably sounds like the work of a full band, with its sweeping, grandiose soundscapes and sense of purpose. The Verve have toned down their trancy, psychedelic excursions, yet havent abandoned them -- if anything, they sound more muscular than before, whether its the trippy "Catching the Butterfly" or the pounding "Come On." These powerful, guitar-drenched rockers provide the context for Ashcrofts affecting, string-laden ballads, which give Urban Hymns its hurt. The majestic "Bitter Sweet Symphony" and the heartbreaking, country-tinged "The Drugs Dont Work" are an astonishing pair, two anthemic ballads that make the personal universal, thereby sounding like instant classics. They just are the tip of the iceberg -- "Sonnet" is a lovely, surprisingly understated ballad, "The Rolling People" has a measured, electric power, and many others match their quality. Although it may run a bit too long for some tastes, Urban Hymns is a rich album that revitalizes rock traditions without ever seeming less than contemporary. It is the album the Verve have been striving to make since their formation, and it turns out to be worth all the wait. | ||
 | Album: 6 of 8 Title: This Is Music: The Singles 92–98 Released: 2004-11-01 Tracks: 14 Duration: 1:07:25 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 This Is Music (03:38) 2 Slide Away (04:06) 3 Lucky Man (04:49) 4 History (05:28) 5 She’s a Superstar (05:04) 6 On Your Own (03:35) 7 Blue (03:39) 8 Sonnet (04:22) 9 All in the Mind (04:17) 10 The Drugs Don’t Work (05:05) 11 Gravity Grave (08:21) 12 Bitter Sweet Symphony (05:58) 13 This Could Be My Moment (03:59) 14 Monte Carlo (04:58) |
| This Is Music: The Singles 92–98 : Allmusic album Review : The 90s were filled with pop supernovas -- bands that burned brightly for one or two albums then sputtered to an anticlimactic conclusion. Of these bands, the Verve were one of the largest, perhaps because they imploded not once but twice. The first time, they collapsed following the release of their second album, Northern Soul, in 1995. They regrouped in the following year to record Urban Hymns, their commercial breakthrough, but lingering tensions between vocalist/songwriter Richard Ashcroft and guitarist Nick McCabe tore the group apart for a second and final time. They never became the global superstars that their early partisans predicted -- it would have been hard to compete with Oasis during their heyday -- but as the 2004 collection This Is Music: The Singles 92-98 proves, the group was too arty, too low-key, too psychedelic, too English eccentric to be superstars. Some might have said the same thing about Radiohead, but that Oxford quintet had a heavy dose of U2-styled anthemic arena rock and Thom Yorkes melodies were bigger than Ashcrofts subtle, swirling tunes. Also, Radiohead started out relatively straightforward and grew strange, while the Verve took the opposite path, beginning as post-shoegazer neo-psychedelics and ending as tasteful traditionalists. This Is Music -- which is the natural and perfect title for this compilation -- doesnt chart this journey, since it winds through the groups 12 singles, including the first LP appearance of their debut single, "All in the Mind," with little regard for chronology before ending with two OK outtakes from Urban Hymns ("This Could Be My Moment," "Monte Carlo"). This sequencing doesnt emphasize similarities throughout the body of work -- Urban Hymns is a decidedly less adventurous album than its two predecessors, which doesnt make it a lesser album -- but it doesnt hurt the collection, either, since it flows like a good concert. This collection also confirms the suspicion that the Verve were an album-oriented band that best conveyed its mission and sense of purpose on its singles, which expertly captured the feeling, spirit, and mood of each full-length record. And thats why This Is Music winds up being definitive: distilled to their singles, the Verve still sound vibrant and slightly mysterious, wiping away memories of the bands dissolution and Ashcrofts pedestrian solo career, preserving the moment when the group sounded as if the world were at their feet. | ||
 | Album: 7 of 8 Title: Forth Released: 2008-08-25 Tracks: 10 Duration: 1:04:22 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Sit and Wonder (06:52) 2 Love Is Noise (05:29) 3 Rather Be (05:38) 4 Judas (06:19) 5 Numbness (06:35) 6 I See Houses (05:37) 7 Noise Epic (08:14) 8 Valium Skies (04:34) 9 Columbo (07:30) 10 Appalachian Springs (07:34) |
| Forth : Allmusic album Review : If ever a band seemed poised for a triumphant comeback its the Verve, the space rock band that imploded just after the success of its third album, 1997s Urban Hymns. The Verve always acted as if their greatness was self-evident and preordained, that it was only a matter of time for the rest of the world to come around and acknowledge their majesty, so when they finally began to conquer the globe with Bitter Sweet Symphony it felt like a logical conclusion to their rise, which only meant their sudden implosion felt anticlimactic, as if the movie ended before the final reel unspooled. Unlike some bands, it seemed necessary for the Verve to re-form so they could complete their story, to prove that their success was no fluke -- but it was equally true that for lead singer Richard Ashcroft a reunion was also necessary, as his solo career drifted aimlessly on murmured cryptic confessionals supported by listless acoustic guitars. He needed a jolt of energy from a real rock band, especially one powered by guitarist Nick McCabe, who wasnt really doing much of anything anyway, so it seemed natural for the bandmembers to set aside their differences -- differences that led to a split way back in the 90s, after the release of 1995s A Northern Soul -- to reunite for 2008s Forth, a record thats just slightly sprightlier than the albums punning title. Picking up precisely where Urban Hymns left off, Forth is stately and sweeping, an album where the rockers are as slow and deliberate as the ballads. Apart from the cacophonic wailing hook and glitzy club beat of the lead single, "Love Is Noise," there is no dissonance or shock here, only familiarity, and this in turn leads to a surprise -- as by delivering exactly what was expected, Forth reveals that the Verves story was pretty much complete already, with each of their records functioning as a fully realized act in their progression. Compared to the dramatic introduction of A Storm in Heaven, the escalation of A Northern Soul, and the wistful conclusion of Urban Hymns, Forth is an extraneous epilogue, finding our characters ten years older but not all that wiser. Certainly, the only notable difference is that the songwriting isnt as sharp as it was on Urban Hymns, something that isnt a great surprise after Ashcrofts leaden solo albums, but at least here theres not an emphasis on hushed introspection, but rather the band in all its slow, roiling glory. This reliance on sighing waves of guitars -- pulsating relentlessly like a sepia-toned lava lamp -- might recall the heyday of A Northern Soul in its intent, but in practice this is like the trippier moments of Hymns, as the guitars dont rage, they glide, the rhythms dont push, they relax. This music is spacious yet earthbound, pretty but not wondrous, grounded by an Ashcroft who has lost his madness and a band that is finding its groove again, not moving forward. Forth adds nothing to the narrative -- it doesnt expand on the past or suggest the future -- yet it doesnt detract from the established story either. Its pleasant, even comforting, which makes Forth as pure a sequel as possible: its an album that offers more of the same many years too late, which will be enough for the legions of faithful who have waited to hear all the old characters back together again, yet seems a little pointless for those who no longer remain quite so invested in the band. | ||
 | Album: 8 of 8 Title: Deep Cuts Released: 2009-04-07 Tracks: 4 Duration: 21:37 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Bitter Sweet Symphony (James Lavelle remix) (05:51) 2 So Sister (04:11) 3 Echo Bass (06:38) 4 Lucky Man (Happiness More or Less mix) (04:56) |