A Northern Soul

2

A bit dull all the songs kind of blended together into a boring miasma

1

Before listening I didn't really know The Verve for anything other than Bitter Sweet Symphony, and after listening I can see why. I'm definitely not a fan, and will not be listening to this album again. Nothing really stands out about this album, it just feels a bit empty.

1

Watching Paint Dry, the soundtrack. I’d almost respect it, if the Verve had intended to make me feel like my brain folds were being smoothed from boredom. I’m still not entirely convinced they didn’t just put a saltine cracker on a record player and let the needle drop.

1

Not a fan. Can't quite put my finger on it but the singing seems off trying to be melodic(inside a tunnel- some kind of distracting echo) over weird screeching guitars. Like the the band each recorded something on their own and then they mashed together whatever they came up with. No harmony in the music and just seems disconnected to the singing.

3

The verve are far too average to have more than one album on this list. Frankly, this can be set for most artists with more than one album listed.

No notes

5

Possibly their finest moment.

4

Awesome neo-psychedelic album, definitely inspired some Radiohead vibes.

4

Never realized how in-the-same toy box The Verve and Radiohead were at this time

5

I'm mostly only familiar with The Verve because of bittersweet symphony, a song that I really love. I'm sure I've listened to the album that song was on before but I haven't listened to their other music much. It's right up my ally.

5

The goat.

5

Ahh here we go ladies. Finally some music with more prowess than my hand. Superb all the way through

5

It was really good. TIL I like the Verve.

4

I don’t understand why the verve were not more popular in the 90s

4

Not as polished as Urban Hymns, but a solid album nonetheless. Not really in the best place while listening, but it seemed to compliment where I was well.

4

well, i am definitely a sucker for dreamy guitars, as i believe i've mentioned in other reviews. this album delivers those in heaps, which i super appreciate. closing track is easily my favorite, though i found i liked a surprising number of others on this album. i of course only knew of them through their massive late-90s hit, which i did actually love, but please don't tell anyone that. i ended up feeling like this album gave me permission to love that track, and probably a lot more by them. i think the real takeaway here is that i'm a fan of northern england in general. that seems to be a running theme.

4

Ok, this was pretty rocking - did not fit my preconception of what The Verve sounded like. It pairs pretty well with Spiritualized's "Ladies & Gentlemen..." which came up on here recently, for being a bit droney wall-of-sound-style rock. Fave track - "A New Decade". I'm definitely up for more listens to pick out other faves though...

old favorite

5

Surpreendente. Ouvir mais vezes

5

Love it, great music

5

Excellent stuff

5

Great album.

5

Biased again. Such a great, deep, atmosphericly but still pop-relatable sound. Ashcroft helped this ambitious Psych-Rockers to be digestible on a larger scale without selling out and - even more important - being forgotten like most of the 1 in a million Britpop outfits at that time. 4.7

5

Less a collection of songs than a landscape of sound This blew me away Only knew them from Urban Hymns really (which is both as brilliant as this and more accessible) but this was a fantastically immersive listen

5

Awesome album. It’s just a little long and could do without a few of the slower songs to help the pace. As a whole this is one of my favorites from this list so far. 5

5

I was really into this about 15 years ago; I loved its combination of Spacemen 3 psych, shoegazey rock, and baggy tunes. Not a fan of The Verve's later work ("History" feels like a dry run for "Bittersweet Symphony"), but this is great.

5

cool

5

Masterpiece

4

Kind of visceral in a way. Honestly wasn't expecting this kind of album. But I mean, look at that album art, that dude is MAD FIERCE.

4

Gotta say, this was a surprise for me. Everyone and their dad knows "Bittersweet Symphony," but this album seemed to be conscious and deeply rooted alt album that obviously hasn't gotten the attention it deserves. Really enjoyed it.

4

пойдёт

4

Spotify version is hella long. Good gloomy music, can feel the influence it had. Songs are differentiated well but still very similar across the album. Rainy day perfect.

4

Nice to listen to, maybe will return to

4

I liked the music pretty well, though I found some of the extra sounds on the tracks a little strange.

4

Solid 90s

4

Good, not greatest

4

Dachte erst mein Laptop is im Eimer, aber der Song geht erst nach 20sek los. Ab dan 1a geiler BritPop. Habe außer Bitter Sweet Symphony noch nix von den dudes gehört, daher umso glücklicher, dass das Album dabei war. Habs glaub 3 mal gehört jetzt das Album und es wird nicht langweilig. Brainstorm Interlude nervt a weng aber sonst solid. Weil kein Mega Banger drauf war 4*

4

Really enjoyed the various styles throughout the album.

4

Door de nummers die ik al kende (zoals The drugs don’t work), verwachtte ik iets futloos. Gelukkig had ik het mis.

4

Positief verrast door deze plaat! Een stuk steviger dan het album wat hierna kwam, met al de bekende hits erop.

4

This bunch of pricks assaulted my nan. Kicked seven shades out of her and left her for dead. Luckily she survived, sought revenge and tracked them all down one by one...and then gave them all hand jobs. Slag.

4

Great album, would have listened to it before

4

Good one

4

The Verve are always great. Really like their sound and mix of styles

4

I'm listening....

4

liked this album, loved a few songs, others weren't good

4

First half good, second half kinda depressing at times

4

A little disjointed, beat lyrics, neat melodies

4

looooove apparently shoegaze?

4

Oh more Bri-ish innit?

4

Lower end of a 4. Lacks the bangers of Urban Hymns and all a bit samey

4

This was pretty good. The Verve seem underrated, usually relegated to their one or two big hits. Solid piece of work.

4

A lot better than I anticipated. The space rock touches really did a lot to increase my enjoyment.

4

these people are so talented I’m not crazy about some of these songs but for the most part it’s really cool - 8/10

4

Solid

4

It's very good. There's no doubt that Nick McCabe's guitar sounds so good on this.

4

Only knew Urban Hymns of the Verve but this is perhaps deeper and goes harder on the theme of someone from the underprivileged north taking on the world. 3.9

4

Don't really know much of The Verve other than Bittersweet Symphony, but I liked this quite a bit. Very psychedelic/Brit-pop sounding. Reminded me a bit of U2, a bit of Oasis, a bit of the Stones, and a few other things mixed in. 4 stars.

4

I’m a huge fan of urban hymns not sure why Iv never listened to this before, it’s also brilliant history the stand out song, but the rest of the album just not quiet the same level of urban hymns.

4

4/5. A bit overblown, and stuck in the 90s, but definitely one of the most impressive and gratifying Brit-pop albums

4

Good album in its day.

4

I like this album. It definitely feels like it was inspired by and inspired other 90s groups and albums, like U2 and Toad the Wet Sprocket.

4

I was very pleasantly surprised. This is an album I will listen to again and come back to.

4

A good listen, I like how they commit to a sound, the ballady contemplative aggression, sprawly guitar soundscapes. At times their vocals get pitchy in a distracting way, particularly some of the falsetto moments. But the albums seems to foreshadow the indie guitar stuff that would become so popular in the early 2000's. In fact, I just listened to an album today, from 2022 (Waiting to Spill by The Backseat Lovers), that I wondered whether it would exist without bands like The Verve helping define and popularize that sound.

4

Sometimes there is more to a one hit wonder then you think. This was good and reminded me a lot of Oasis in that it took 1960s sounds and modernized them for the 1990s (though less pop and more Pavement than Oasis). I enjoyed it.

4

The Verve is so cool. So is the Verve Pipe - though maybe not quite as much. They are, in fact different bands for anyone still wondering. This is like mean, gritty Oasis and I love it.

4

This is indeed one of the indie albums of all time. 4 stars.

4

Some cool spacey vibes going on in between the brief interludes of 90s cringe

4

trying to figure out what sets this album apart from other bands with similiar sounds in the 90's. Brainstorm Interlude is elevated rock. Similarly, History and Life's an Ocean.

4

Nice one, but not even comparable to Different Class, Dog Man Star, The Great Escape and Morning Glory

4

Has a distinct mid-90's Alt-Rock feel. Atmospheric vocals layered on flowing guitar and beats.

4

Precies wat steviger dan ik van The Verve verwachtte. Maar echt memorabel is het niet

4

Grungier oasis.

4

Liked much more than I expected...much less obnoxious than Urban Hymmns, which I liked at the time, but find harder to enjoy as an adult

4

Drugged and brilliant.

4

Great album. You can tell the band had ambition and an idea of how they wanted to grow their sound and it worked. The ballads are solid (which The Verve is known for after Urban Hymns), but the rockers are the stars on this record.

4

classic Verve, half interesting half boring.

4

Big U2 influence. Reprise at the end got really spacey.

4

The textures of these guitars make you feel like you’re in a float tank of tone. Reminds me of the tone of “Let It Be” era Beatles (obviously not a coincidence). Good to throw on for its vibes, but not music I feel emotionally connected to.

4

A logical next step after the psychedelic haze of A Storm in Heaven, A Northern Soul finds The Verve placing their hearts on their sleeves both musically and lyrically, hanging their hats on their brand of intensity and overt epicness. One wouldn't think by listening to this that they were on the verge of falling apart around this time, but they were and sounded majestic whilst doing so. Bittersweet, really. Favorites: A New Decade, This is Music, On Your Own, So It Goes, A Northern Soul, Brainstorm Interlude, Drive You Home, History.

4

Nice album! Really enjoyed the overall sound of it.

4

Better than urban hymns

4

Northern Soul was, as expected, an edifice, anchored with even hands at sweet nostalgic Britpop, psychadelia, and a melodramatic synthesis of shoegaze. That pinnacle, and the plainer, sadder influence of rock, suits me plenty. We're just before or maybe at the moment of collapse, in the last memory of strings' ability to inflate songs like these. Admirable, containing their own mockery.

4

Pleasantly surprised

4

Slow ass Oasis

4

Having only really embraced Urban Hymns, I found this to be a very enjoyable listen! Will revisit it later, but on first listen there were no pieces that immediately jumped out as memorable, but as an album it definitely had an excellent flow and feel.

4

That was a pleasant surprise. So much better than Urban Hymns.

4

Another great Verve record, a guitar-driven alt rock record still relying a lot on shoegaze but also on Britpop contemporaries, with pop songs like "History" showing their direction in Urban Hymns. Sometimes sounds like trip hop ("Life's an Ocean") or Mazzy Star-style dream folk ("Drive You Home"). Has a lot of repetition, and a few weak songs, particularly "No Knock On My Door." They're really carried by the production, since I found the bonus tracks to be really boring generic 90s alt rock (albeit softer and lusher). But a good record overall with a strong opener and closer, and plenty of highlights. Favorites: This is Music, On Your Own, A Northern Soul, Stormy Clouds

4

It’s a really good album. I also see why none of these tracks hit big, none of them really stand out.

3

the first songs were great but I fatigued on the sound pretty quick.

3

Always thought of them as the bittersweet symphony band but clearly there’s more to them than that. Really enjoyed this

3

Before they found their sound on "Urban Hymns," The Verve was an Oasis clone (maybe after, too, but just not as much). Mostly boring. Best track: This Is Music

3

3 ⭐️ simply for history and on your own.

3

I missed the bittersweet symphony

3

Interesting, nothing special.

3

It was alright. Some songs were missing from spotify.

3

A bit slow for me. It is sad, and melancholic. Really need to be in that headspace to appreciate it I think.

3

No me gusta ser el tibio de las tres estrellas pero tres estrellas.

3

I’ve only ever listened to “Urban Hymns” so I was a bit surprised by how rockin’ the first couple of tunes were on this. Overall, I quite liked a lot of this album, but boy the vocals and lyrics are really hit or miss for me. At times I like the imperfect nature of what he’s doing and then other times I’m just like, okay he’s not on pitch at all here. Example: loved the guitar sounds on “Drive You Home;” vocals sound like a first draft screenplay sung by a screenwriter. Other than that, I dig this band the most when they avoid the drawn out jams and just stick to the songs. And yet… there’s a reason they weren’t as big as Oasis. Still, I’d listen again.

3

Bueno sin duda pero nada espectacular.