14. Urban Hymns - The Verve 1997
What an incredible success story 'Urban Hymns' is. It will forever be associated with a magical time in British Rock Music, when ideas were fresh, excitement was high and everyone was waiting to discover their new favorite band. The Verve were kindred spirits with Oasis. Both swaggering, northern English groups of lads with the the same taste in music and drugs. The difference is that The Verve
sounded like they wrote their music whilst on the drugs they loaded up on. After their first two critically acclaimed, but relatively poor performing, in a commercial sense, albums, this is where it all fell just right. The songs were less meandering, more direct but still kept hold of that spacey, psychedelic element that was their signature sound. After some differences that, to this day, are still hazy,Singer/Songwriter, Richard Ashcroft, left the band somewhere between previous album, 'A Northern Soul', and 'Urban Hymns'. When he reassembled the band a matter of weeks later, Guitarist, Nick McCabe didn't reconvene with the other three members, Ashcroft drafted in long term friend, Simon Tong, to fill the void. Although an accomplished player, Ashcroft knew that McCabe's special touch had left a huge void. Persuaded to rejoin, Tong stayed on as second guitarist and sometime keyboardist. McCabe and Tong's guitar fencing is absolutely incredible, and the like had never been heard before. On many of the records songs, including the spaced out jam that is 'Catching the Butterfly', they don't play traditional chord sequences or riifs, but allow the rhythm section of Simon Jones (bass) and Pete Salisbury (drums) to propel the song along, whilst McCabe and Tong, feather the songs with effects laden, other worldly noises. Although having 4 successful singles drawn from it, 'Urban Hymns' real gems, lie in the lesser known, album tracks, a sign of a true classic album. 'Space and Time' is one of the most sublime love songs written, ever. 'Weeping Willow' is a song that cannot be be understated and saw many peers try to equal, but never coming close. Again, Tong and McCabe's guitar work is incredible. Ashcroft, himself should take much credit for writing the lions share of material, and his one-of-a-kind vocals seldom dip below perfection on each of the 13 tracks. Now and again, a song comes along that is so synonymous with a band and time, that it overshadows the record it belongs to. 'Bittersweet Symphony' is one of those tracks. Although brilliant, its success, in a way, derides the rest of whats on offer on The Verve's third record. Funnily enough, it isn't even in the top half of the best songs. One that is though, without doubt, is 'Lucky Man'. An acoustic based ballad of sorts, that is so layered with lush guitar flourishes and several vocal tracks. The vocal harmonies that feature in the songs back half, are divine. Losing the more shoegazey element of their earlier work, and pushing the vocals higher in the mix, makes such a huge difference on 'Urban Hymns', and is definitely one of the key secrets to its success. Lyrically, Ashcroft's poetic laments to love, life and personal struggles, make this a very human and relateable record, without being too crude
or overly profound. The singer strikes a perfect balance between strong and sensitive. Never being overly macho, but never straying into self pity. 'Urban Hymns',
genuinely, is a definitive musical statement that belongs in every musical collection, no matter who the listener is. It rocks, it soothes, it mystifies and it speaks to the listener, in a way that so many Rock records, simply do not! That it has sold 10 million records worldwide, is indeed very impressive, but still too few for such a fantastic release.