A Northern Soul

It's like they used seven too many guitar pedals and wanted to see what would happen. The answer is they accidentally turned themselves into LSD and the Search for God if they were 5x more British, about 50% more comprehensible, and 90% less aggravating.

it fell into the background of what i cant rmemeber i was doing

Never heard this before, but I used to own 'Urban Hymns'. My attitude to the Verve was summed up nicely in a review I read once of Spiritualized's 'Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space' that said 'This is what the Verve think they sound like.' This made me feel the same. A band trying to achieve something soaring and beautiful, but they're only able to make competent and fairly conventional indie rock. The second half, where they're beginning to make the kind of indie anthems they'll perfect on 'Urban Hymns', is better than the shoegazey first half.

This is okay. It's good "Let's hang out in 1995" music. The long song lengths and deliberate tempo don't really add up to excitement, but it grooves. They hung out with Oasis, I guess? I can hear it, but nothing here hits me in any way close to the way Morning Glory did. That's unfair: these guys are their own thing. They evoke William Blake in the first lines of History, to emo-effect, but I admire the attempt. I like the psychedelic stuff like Brainstorm Interlude best.

3.5/5

I think the opening track is strong. It's hard to pick out anything else that stands out because musically it all blends together rather uninterestingly. This 90's grunge/psychedelic rock sound is done better by a lot of other bands

I've only ever known The Verve from that one song. You know the one. So I was shocked when I heard something by them that wasn't saccharin and annoying. In fact, I quite literally enjoyed it. The last song was incredible. Not bad!!

This album definitely had a ‘90s alt feel that their third album Urban Hymns didn’t as much. The Verve is definitely one of those bands that you can see and hear the evolution of from their earliest works to their last. I don’t remember any ‘hits’ off this album but there could have been easily. My key tracks were Life’s An Ocean, and transient This Is Music. I think since the American markets for rock were leaning toward Post-Grunge, Nu-Metal and female singer-songwriter this album slipped through the cracks at the time. It shouldn’t have. The mix of wall-of-sound and downtempo effervescence would have been a nice change of pace…though I probably still wouldn’t have listened to it in my teenage angst. I’m glad I’ve grown in my appreciation with age.

Found it a bit boring all at once; might enjoy the songs more on their own. Liked On Your Own.

3/5 https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/the-verve/a-northern-soul-3/ I get The Verve being in here (I guess), but why this album? It’s not bad, but also just okay britpop? Some Radiohead some Oasis some Blur.

Eigentlich mag ich die Musikrichtung, aber viel abgewinnen konnte ich dem Album nicht. History fand ich gut.

I generally like it but it's far too long, and suffers from not having any songs as good as Bittersweet Symphony or The Drugs Don't Work. Probably liked the instrumental "(Reprise)" best.

Blind album, hate bitter sweet symphony honestly but this album was decent.

It was fine, I barely remember it

Really solid album of guitar rock with loads of style. The Verve have a great wall of sound style. This is rock music that envelops you. The jamming feels immersive. The second half starts a little mellower and gradually ramps up. The sequencing feels deliberate to pace out the second half. Overall, I didn’t notice the songwriting on this album as much as the energy and feel of the music. I’d happily put this on again. It would be a good one to play in the background while cooking. 3.5

"This Is Music" is a cool track, it has a little bit of an edge to it, while also sounding like a U2 song with it's big sprawling epic reverb heavy vocals. "On Your Own" is like a happier Alice in Chains song (those acoustic guitars and that acoustic bass sound JUST like AIC unplugged!), while the singer attempts a little bit of Kurt Cobain vocals. It's a nice album from a good band. The compositions aren't my favorite, this is more of a "put the album on and let it play through" and not really an album I would put on and constantly be like "oh I love this chorus". Doesn't exactly light my world on fire but I do appreciate how it does soft and edgy and inbetween.

another sad boy pity me 90s album that does not evoke many of the relevant emotions from me. several songs had their moments wrt instrumental composition but ultimately fell flat in terms of energy and narrative. enough to grab me but not enough to hold me (and certainly not to bring me back). fav: this is music

Man, did I hate Bittersweet Symphony when it was all over the radio. I never got any further into the Verve than that song. And I probably would’ve been fine keeping it that way. It’s actually kind of funny to me that the record that doesn’t have that song on it is featured here…which actually kind of scares me because, now that I’m thinking about it, there’s a very real possibility that that record is featured here too. Anyway, I really don’t hate the music so much. But the lyrics are meh and the singer kind of meanders in ways that don’t really add anything to the music, and probably mostly just takes away from what the rest of the band has working. I actually think the singer makes this more boring than it needs to be. Well, whatever. At least Bittersweet Symphony isn’t on this record. 6.2/10

I've only ever known The Verve from that one song. You know the one. So I was shocked when I heard something by them that wasn't saccharin and annoying. In fact, I quite literally enjoyed it. The last song was incredible. Not bad!!

Verve in my nutsack, baby.

Decent 90’s alt rock

Another good album from these guys. Third one and how could I have never heard of them before?

They do the and things as Oasis where it's impossible to tell the verse from the chorus because everything is at the same intensity level all the way through. And to that the feeling like the leaf guitarist is soloing every second and it's just kind of an assault for an hour. It's the aural requirement of wearing stripes, plaids and tie dye together. Each piece is fine on it's own but out together it's just a lot. I'm really beginning to feel like Brit pop is extremely overrated as a genre and Blur and Radiohead were the only 2 great bands to come out of the movement. (I know Radiohead isn't Britpop)

Britpop has become one of my favorite genres in the last year. 7/10

I had only ever heard that one song by this band (and it’s not on this album). This wasn’t bad.

*Very Oasis influence *Good prog rock, but not my favorite thing

Solid 3 even though History is one of my all time favourite songs . Didn't feel the rest of the album was quite the same level .

Flojito... The Verve tiene mejores discos.

Had to check if this was a live album. It’s not. It sounds a bit like a recording of a practise. The vocals grate. A couple of ok tracks but I’m being generous with the 3. I’d rate it 2.5 if I could.

6.5/10 Highlights: A New Decade History This is Music Brainstorm Interlude

liked this more than the last but only a little. Not a top choice for me but solid!

Quite talented wall of sound stuff. A bit up its own ass.

5/10

Nothing notable about this album at all. Makes me appreciate Urban Hymns more because it has actual memorable songs on it. Favorite track: On Your Own

if it ain’t bittersweet symphony it ain’t for me

An interesting snapshot into 90s British rock (albeit a genre overrepresented in this list). With my only background knowledge of the group being “Bittersweet Symphony,” I was surprised at the heaviness of the opening track, and slowly reoriented myself throughout the album. Much of the material elicits easy comparisons to their contemporary, Oasis, but on my favorite track, “Drive You Home” they sounded more like Yo La Tengo. I might give this record another spin sometime, but the list will probably be telling me to listen to some other Britpop before then.

These 90s artists really all sound the same to me. I suppose this project continues to show me that decades truly define the music that is created within it. I don’t think I’d be able to tell the difference between a blind listen of a Verve song and an Oasis song. Same as it ever was….same as it ever was… A specific note to this album is that every track felt like it was over 5 minutes, even the 3 minute songs. The verve does a nice job of creating dreamscapes, but I find myself sleeping in far too much. One can’t live in a dream forever, it is sure to turn into a nightmare. 2.5

It starts off very well. But it drags. Not enough dynamics or catchy songs. Way too long. But like their sound in general although Ashcroft sounds like a mix of bono and Chris Martin. 3 stars

It was good and I liked it but I can see why it wasn't radio play worthy

I had heard of the Verve before, but never this album. It was a pretty good album that definitely had that sort of "early 90's" half indie half mainstream type of feel. This was a long one as well - it took me a while to get through it. 4/14/26

Not too bad as far as the britpop on this list goes, but still a bit bland and too drawn out. Most these songs could be cut in half and be better for it.

The Verve as a band have grown on me. I really liked this album. This also caused me to revisit Urban Hymns as I gave that a low score and wanted to see if it was better than I remember. But, no! I just like this one much more than that. It’s much nosier and the variations in guitar tone are appreciated. Still a little long though. Favorites were A New Decade, So It Goes, A Northern Soul, and History.

No está mal, se aprecio lo que luego hicieron mejor. Los temas lentos, las guitarras. Le voy a dar 3 estrellas aunque no me guardo ninguna canción. Menos mal que está el Urban Hymns, que si debe ser escuchado alguna vez en la vida.

I wanted to hate on this but there were some standout songs toward the end 3/5 I will probably never listen to this again.

Another largely forgettable bit of 90s Britpop ephemera. I like the psychedelic vibe, but I can't imagine ever getting the urge to listen to this again.

This was alright. Very self-indulgent, which I guess is not surprising from The Verve. “On Your Own” was the best song, but there wasn’t anything bad on here. Definitely a tad longer than it needed to be. But overall a decent album.

I always feel protective over these guys because of that BS decades-long lawsuit over Bittersweet Symphony. This album was fine, but I probably have rose colored lenses over it because I feel like they didn't get a fair shake at prolonged hits

Early verves still, some great music and tunes, some thick guitars driving songs forward, but they still lack that "it" factor they'll get with urban hymns. Nice listen, but yeah, they can do better than this. 1. On Your Own 2. History 3. This Is Music

5/10

Statistically, most people listening to A Northern Soul will have done so after discovering them via Urban Hymns. (This sold over 100k in the UK, Urban Hymns 3.3M!) Most I expect would’ve thought “hmmm, not bad but they weren’t quite there yet”. For me (and let me be very clear I couldn’t care less about being on to them before they were famous) my feelings are “hmmm, not bad, they haven’t quite got shit yet”. I wasn’t massively into them when they started but I dug the dense, intense spacerock of their debut A Storm in Heaven far more than the largely dreary blandness of what they became. This album sits quite neatly between the two and was the last time I was interested in hearing them.

It's fine...just standard brit-pop with a little shoegazing vibe. Nothing that really stands out as special?

The Verve look like they're threatening me to reward 5 them stars.

Biggest turnaround I've had on an album yet, really didn't like it much the first time through but it grew on me as I went through again and again. The vocals are the weakest part of the songs generally but the lyrics come from the singer as far as I know and that is where a lot of the raw emotion comes through. The music itself is pretty understated but creates these long flowing sequences that their time to get going if you give it space to breath. Seems like they started to play around with strings on this as well which was a good call for their music. History, and So it Goes are notables as well as No Knock on My Door that leads into Stormy Clouds really well.

Enttdöuchend wenn man Butter Sweet symphony als Masten anlegt

in "A new decade" the fade in is super cool. it also just has a really cool guitar/bass relationship if that makes sense? in "This is music" "if love is a drug then i don't need it/it ain't for me" is nice lyrics. awesome guitar again. it has the classic verve sound flowing through it. I actually really like the clapping in "on your own" which is strange because i usually DESPISE whenever people start clapping in songs or when they hear songs, i dunno why. the clapping in this song just feels like a part of the drums though. so it goes is like lucinda williams' guitar. I know she's not the one playing the guitar on her songs it's those two guys i think, but anyways it's under her name, so it's lucinda william's guitar. Lyrics relate back to the previous song which is cool. I don't know if they meant to do that but if they did it's cool they're thinking of their album more as a whole piece rather than just separate things that happen to work and sound good together. "another drink and i won't miss her" i like this line. "a northern soul" sounds like red hot chili peppers or "simple man" by lynyrd skynyrd. the interlude song is not something i would seek out on it's own but it's okay to listen to. I like the lyrics of "history". "life's an ocean" has fun rhyming and the bass is awesome. this album is pretty good. i only have heard bitter sweet symphony from the verve plus maybe one other song from the same album. most of this sounds how i expected it to sound, not in a bad way at all. honestly i think i would really like this album if the songs were shorter. i feel like these songs are so long and it's just the same thing all the way through which can be a bit monotonous to listen to at points.

Way noisier than I expected from the a bitter Sweet Symphony band. Not sure how well it will stick with me but a good listen.

звучит хорошо, но не запоминается, 3.5

90’s British rock

3/5

I am very, very tempted to give this a 2 for being overlong and repetitive, and on another day I probably would. It didn't outright annoy me and made for fine background music while working, but I think I just largely tuned this out after a while. 2.5

That third song had some of the worst singing I’ve ever heard on an album. Why didn’t their producer hire backup singers for the part that was obviously out of his vocal range? Other than that, it’s a mundane stroll sonically. I somewhat like the band, but I can see why many don’t.

it was ok 3/5

How the fuck did this album make the list and A Storm in Heaven didn’t?

Me apetecía que me gustase mucho, pero me ha parecido bastante plano

Way better than I remember them being and I wouldn’t be sad to listen again, but still not my thing.

Album 25/1001. Listened 3/30/2026. It was okay, didn't really feel like it aged particularly well. TBH I never really liked the Verve, but I liked this more than I thought I would. But probably not going to make my regular rotation.

I had never heard of this album or band. Lost my long review but that’s ok I’ll keep it short and sweet. The guitar is so good on every single song. By far the best element of the album. Stormy clouds is my favorite song, but there’s a handful of other good songs as well. Very 90s rock, but that’s not neccasarily a bad thing. Pleasantly surprised overall. 3.2 stars.

This is not even their second best album. Three stars for them being iconic

5/10

I mean it doesn't even have that one song.

Good 90s vibe

Siendo sincero The Verve nunca ha llamado demasiado mí atención. Sorpresivamente, encuentro éste material absolutamente interesante y estoy seguro que es un álbum que ganará mi adhesion en las escuchas sucesivas. Aquí encontramos un mix de britpop, rock alternativo y rock psicodélico perfectamente logrado. Si bien el espíritu de los años 90s se siente presente, posee un sonido bastante atemporal.

Didn't know they had other stuff than that one album really. Starts fairly strong, but then everything is the same volume, same tempo same pseudo oasis whine.

Just rock

ну не оч понрав, хотя довольно уникальное звучание у verve и есть запоминающиеся песни, но не с этого альбома видимо

Had their Urban Hymns album but never heard this one before. It was very 90s indie and not bad.

nothing standout but not bad

Northern Soul - The Verve Gave it 4 listens this morning. Ive always liked how good at the Verve were at creating sounds capes, and I think out of all the mates releasing albums around then, they were the best at this. Still think Urban Hymnes is better, but thats not criticisms I think I'll go 3

Not remarkable, nor forgettable

all I know by the verve is bittersweet symphony, so this was interesting. unfortunately when you already know their best song, there's not as much excitement with the rest

Very long.. Some of it is great.

This is alright, a bit more shoegaze than the anthemic Britpop of Urban Hymns. It's not an easy listen, quite long and pretty much every track is over 5 minutes long. They start to drone on a bit, but I like the hits like This is Music, On Your Own, History. Probably won't go above 3* though on account of it going on a bit

Es zeigt die Band auf dem Sprung vom psychedelischen Jam‑Sound zu kraftvollem, emotional aufgeladenem Britrock. Der rohe, dichte Klang von Songs wie This Is Music oder History verleihen dem Album eine intensive, suchende Atmosphäre.

Pretty average album. 3 stars or C-.

They kind of sound like oasis. Really nice

Pretty meh. It all kinda bled together.

BORINGGG, ich werde mir keine 3 stunden davon geben

No Bittersweet Symphony? Still good!

The Good: Soul music! The Bad: We had to travel up north to listen to it… The Ugly: Finding out that Verve is northern slang for Verve… I’ve already listened to that other The Verve album on this list (sorry for the spoiler alert there), you know, the one with their only real hit. So when this album was presented to me my thoughts, in no particular order were: Are you fucking kidding me? Fuck you Mr Dimery! Northern Soul… there’ve been some excellent norther soul bands, so let’s give this a spin… Overall, really not that bad an album, except that it suffers from one annoying aspect… the need to over-extend most of the tracks. Trance music is great for people on drugs, yet when you are sober, it rubs the wrong way. At the end of the day, I can say that I prefer this album over the other one that’s on the list, yet, seeing as I gave that other album 3*, while knowing that 4* are placed on a have to listen to again list, I will make it a tie… 3*

I had never heard of this before. I liked it well enough, kind of has some U2 vibe going on, but enough of their own style to make it interesting. Honestly got a bit bored of it by the end of the album.

Not the worst album, but defenitely not the greatest. Some of the critics are a bit harsh though

Good atmosphere, excellent background music. I enjoyed it!

This was OK, but nothing special. An artefact of its time, I think.

there were some good songs, but the album is mostly boring, yet the song is good enough to give it higher than a 3, so the 3.5 you get

So, I love the Verve but not this record as much as their debut record, A Storm in Heavan, and of course Urban Hymns, which for me is a masterpiece. This record is all over the place in sonic sound and lyrics and sometimes it feels like a disaster (like what was going on with the band at the time). There are moments of beauty, but those moments fade. Does not linger in the soul like some of their other music. A decent showing but average at best for me.

another pick from the verve, this time some really slowwww and really spacey psychedelic rock music, with guitars and voices that stretch out to big lengths. the verve really has this issue with me where every song is too similar. every album you turn on, it's like you hear a song, you've basically heard them all. when you hear enough of the singing, it gives you a headache.

Noah Kahan but make pop rock FS: on your own

Infinitamente más entretenido que cualquier disco de Oasis, sin embargo, no logra engancharme de principio a fin. Comienza esperanzador pero poco a poco pierde el interés. Le salva que Richard Ashcroft es un verdadero frontman y su música tiene un sello menos Beatle que la de los hermanos Gallagher (aunque el “homenaje” a “Mind Games” de John Lennon en “History” es más que evidente. Buen disco, pero no es para tirar cohetes.

Pretty much just brit pop.

A New Decade: Its nice. It sounds nice but that's it This is Music: I'm really indifferent On Your Own: Kind of Sappy. It sounds different from their other songs. However, it still sounds pretty good. It sounds sad So it goes: This song sounds like the last one. A bit of a country. I like this song's sad feeling. It sounds like a crushing heart break. Its slow though A Northern Soul: I really like this song. I think it represents reality and the "dirty" parts or like teen spirit. It sounds good too Brainstorm Interlude: Sounds Bad-Ass. It just sounds really good. I guess it could symbolize emotional turmoil or anxiety. Drive you Home: Sad, heartbreak maybe. It's long and droopy sounding. It lingers in a way History: I don't know why, but this song isn't coming to me. It's just doesn't seem fun to me, which is kinda sad. Life's an Ocean: I really like this song. I Relate to it and it reminds me of burnt out Stormy Cloud: Its a good depressing song. I Relate to it's pain. Its a good cry song Review: Overall, this is ok album. I haven't listened to Verve before and I hadn't known them till now. When it comes to the sound, its ok. I'm not crazy over it and my brain isn't really pulled to it. The Verve seems to be classic rock with maybe from electro or country sounds in it, which isn't my favorite. The songs are kinda long though too, like their dragging along However, reading the lyrics, I can relate to the artist. There lyrics are sad and raw. They make being sad an depressed comforting and relatable. It's like they have experienced your pain too; and they're like a shoulder to cry on. There influence in Britain is cool, you could say. My favorite songs are brainstorm interlude or Stormy Cloud All in all, Verve and their album A Northern Soul is alright. It's written in a way that feels personal and comforting, yet personally I don't like their sound. I still think they are pretty talented though, and I can see why they are famous. It was good going exploring, listening to people you don't really listen too. I hope this helps

It’s a decent album but nothing special stands out to me. I preferred the more laid back, mellow tracks over the louder, more energetic ones. I like Richard Ashcroft in small doses, but midway through the album his voice started to get to me. Overall, I’d listen to it again and probably need to get through it a few times to fully appreciate it.

Very average

Not bad

More interesting than I thought it was going to be, since my only exposure to this band previously was Bittersweet Symphony. I could understand how some could call this boring, it is kind of slow. I think more than anything, it's just kind of a long album. Multiple nearly 7 minute long tracks on an alt rock record doesn't gel to me.

Liked some pieces here but some lost their smoothness

= the Beatles

Was interesting to hear just how alike they are to Radiohead. But, not as interesting. 3/5

Sappy

Listened to it twice and I still think Urban Hymns is a better album

Two or three great songs, rest of the album doesn't really stand out.

Not entirely my thing, but still groovy.

Not bad. Liked some of the more shoegazey material and should probably go back to that. Found some of the ballads a bit boring... 3/5?

3.4

Chill

Did this album come out before or after Oasis? I ask because it sounds a lot like Oasis. If it was first, then maybe I could call it influential. If it wasn't then it is a copy. It's fine. It has a youthful energy that I like.

Not bad at all, really enjoyed some tracks, interesting music.

Listened through the whole thing, it was a good time capsule of 90s Brit alterna pop

ok - does not stand out

A little dirtier Oasis with worse sound quality and a little worse songwriting. Low 3

I don't hate it but wow downer whiner. They have decent lyrics and it's a good overall album. But it's emo and would be good if you want to wallow

Right away, I like this more than Urban Hymns. These songs seem slightly more sure of themselves, and yet I’m discovering that my issue with The Verve is that they completely lack dynamics. Every song seems to ride a go nowhere wave in the middle of the ocean, dissipating before it reaches shore. Nothing stands out. If consumed as ambient or background music, and you never let yourself get thoroughly invested in the music, it’ll be great. Their albums are perfect for mindlessly shopping for cargo pants or khaki capris at The Gap or Old Navy. It’s not bad! I enjoy the vibe on certain days when I want to just sip tea and stare out the window into the foggy, monotonous mist. 3.5 stars.

Wow, we just had What's the Story Morning Glory yesterday, which was released in the same year and by the same producer as this, small world! Sounds like they were as dysfunctional as Oasis too, due in part to the success of their good friends and kindred spirits in dysfunction. I do hear a lot of similarities in the musical style of each album, especially in the more grungy songs with the messy guitars. This has a much more tortured vibe though, and there aren't many songs I found that I'd want to keep coming back to.

3.5

Ok i guess, but no great songs. Very similar to other better Brit pop

I was only familiar with Bittersweet Symphony. I did enjoy this album, slow and somber music.

Psychedelic wall of sound. Grows on you. Like fungi. My rating 3.3

Liked it just a tad long though.

#202/1001. Never heard this Verve album before. Quite a surreal soulful trip recorded on an ecstacy binge. But it was interesting while it lasted. Will I ever return to it? Most likely not. The guys made the greatest album ever and we don't care and still Oasis went bigger. But definitely more interesting than Oasis for sure.

I just don’t really like this genre of music

This doesn’t have ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ on it, which was disappointing. This album basically sounds like Oasis, but only the deep cuts. Lots of these songs blended together, so much so that I had to check a few times if the track had changed or not. I didn’t find anything special about this and question its inclusion in the 1001, even though I know exactly why it’s on here (they’re British). 3/5

Decent example of 90s Brit Pop

I liked it, not sure why I only hear 1 song by them

It was okay but seemed to lack focus.

Liked it but didn’t love it. Brainstorm Interlude was a surprising standout to me

Not as good as the other Verve album... bit of a snoozer.

It's fine. I like 90s indie. But I don't see how it's notable or fits on the list.

Not really my thing but if someone is a fan of Alt Rock they might really like this album.

later

Only know this band from "Bittersweet Symphony." Was interesting to read up on their tumultuous history and how Oasis was involved. The music is okay. I liked "A New Decade," "A Northern Soul" and the guitar freakouts in the Reprise the most. I'll circle back and give this one another listen.

All too much the same, every song had the same tone, style, pitch etc... which made it quite boring to listen to.

The Verve before Bittersweet Symphony was subpar, gee who would have guessed that...

That's not my taste in music - But ok

Very nice album. I didn't know anything from the band apart from The Bittersweet Symphony and there is so much more to them. 3,4/5

similar to the other verve album but without a hit song, the end songs also kind of slow everything down and don't match the rest

Good to alright, I’m thinking a solid 3

These guys are alright but I am sure I didn’t need to hear two albums by them

Ok but not a classic. The stand out track history is not quite as good as I remember though it got me through a break-up.

Only know them for later hit…this album was an inkling of what was to come.

To brzmi jak takie słabsze Radiohead z elementami Muse. Nic dziwnego, że to One Hit Wonder, niewiele więcej mają do zaoferowania. Bardzo wtórne, pozbawione tożsamości. 5.5/10

This was better than Urban Hymns, which is ironic because Urban Hymns was in rotation in my house during the cd era

im so sick of britpop make it end... unless its the verve they're alright

3+ stars oyt if 5

some brief moments of britpop brilliance, but mostly a bit of a bore. it's not bad, but compared to their contemporaries, this one feels a bit underwhelming. the lead singer's voice is a little bit off in places that make this one a little bit rough to listen to at points.

# Album Name: A Northern Soul # Artist: The Verve # Rating: 3/5 # Comments: Theres a lot of noise in this album. Im not sure if it knows what it is. Too many songs are in the 5-6 mins range unnecessarily. Some of its not bad, but it just feels long for the sake of being long. Wandering off aimlessly. History is the stand out song on the album. This is a glimpse into where the verve are heading as a band. Banging tune. Some people may not like it but its the best of what the verve becomes as a band. This didnt do it for me. Im surprised because i enjoy bands like this. Maybe i need to give it another listen? but for now, im going with a 3. # Top Tunes: New decade / this is music / History # Would I listen to it again? 50-50.

Meh

Kind of all runs together

Baustelle, Gerstetten, Deutschland. Ganz okay.

Surprisingly decent, though there's still some meh stuff there that I expect from a lot of The Verve

Pretty good, I was nicely surprised by this.

Been over 2 years since our last Verve album. This one was just ok really. Kind of all sounded the same with a lot of noise going on and a dull singer. Got kind of bored through some parts and it was not good enough to be over an hour long.

Good sound but it gets boring after the first 2 to 3 tracks.

I liked it, wasn't as impactful as urban hymns but cool alternative. Reminded me a bit of Radiohead around the same time. The last track though was a bit long to be honest, maybe a bit unnecessary.

1001 albums and several editions and there’s (at least) TWO Verve albums amongst the entirety of music albums. Condensed to 1000. And there’s TWO. That is BUCK WILD.

Kinda held my attention a bit

67/1089 a solid britpop/rocky album, maybe not as good as Urban Hymns but it was a decent listen faves: So It Goes, Drive You Home and (Reprise)

Kind of like a knock off worse early Radiohead mixed with oasis. Which is fine but not anything special.

A couple of good songs, but most others ones are forgettable. There’s a lot of parts on this album there barely anything happens and the music is basically a drone. It didn’t work to build atmosphere for me and was pretty underwhelming. I liked the noisier tracks here, but there’s only a couple of them.

It was good. Really liked the last song

I like how dreamy it is

Like Oasis but not as good.

It was good I liked it. I had a compilation of their greatest hits a long time ago. Its cool but lots of Brits so far. Loved "This is Music", "On your own", "History" and, "Reprise".

Dirge-y

This is Music starts the record off real strong. But it goes downhill pretty fast from there. …and then it picks up again midway through

Did this album come out before or after Oasis? I ask because it sounds a lot like Oasis. If it was first, then maybe I could call it influential. If it wasn't then it is a copy. It's fine. It has a youthful energy that I like.

I'm of an age / era where it was obligatory to own 'Urban Hymns', which is a great album. This album sounds very similar, but I didn't warm to it at all. It was ok, but there were no standout tracks.

Actually nowhere near as bad as I was expecting, and quite enjoyable for considerable periods, although equally it did become a bit too much in patches. I was unconvinced with the vocals at first - throughout the album I was flip flopping between "Jesus Christ, shut the fuck up mate" and "actually this guy can carry a melody fairly well", but he fits within the spacey, diffuse, drowned in reverb template that The Verve exercise here. The running time is a bit unnecessary for me - 45-50 minutes max would have done just fine, but I made it all the way through which has to count for something. There was enough on offer here to warrant a revisit down the line, though I'm perhaps not in any great hurry for it.

ahah so I've found the spacey noodlers of the Britpop era. A bit of a shame On Your Own was a single, its a bit trash with the failed counter-tenor. A Northern Soul is wonderful for its noisiness, but I have to admit I don't really understand the group's need to align with the UK soul movement so hard, its not soulful at all! Brainstorm Interlude is cool and actually could probably be shoe-horned into a soul if you took all the psych nonsense away. Way too long though. I stopped really paying attention after History.

U2's little brothers or something. I do like this more than U2 though, by a lot. The album is way too long though. 2.5/5

Not bad but not particularly special to me.

Hm. I'm honestly not sure why we get two The Verve albums in this collection, and while it sounds like this album was far more anticipated than their later "Urban Hymns", I was pretty underwhelmed by it (much as I felt about the later album, to be fair). There weren't too many tracks I found particularly interesting (and some were atrocious, like "Drive you home"), but "So it goes" was pretty entertaining, as was the laid back "Life's an ocean". The Wikipedia entry for this album is ridiculously long and remarkably poorly written, but it *did* have an interesting quote from a reviewer that this album could have been a modern Led Zeppelin album, and that resonated a bit with me. But I'm pretty sure I could've gone to my grave without listening to this album.

favorite part was the song History which started with lines from William Blake's poem about London. The rest was fine--didn't really grab me.

Could definitely tell it was from the 90’s. Did enjoy one very emo song

it was ight.

Verve is a British Matchbox 20 but sounds a little like Smashing Pumpkins.

Great, dark, psychedelic Britpop. Would never have gone out of my way to listen to this, but enjoyed it on a dog walk and listened to the whole thing. Some of the songs don’t seem to fit the sequence, but that’s only a minor issue. I give this album a B, or 3/5 stars

It’s fine, not good, not great….fine

3.5

Getting psychedelic 70's Rock vibes from this 90's band. The first few tracks had some strange mixing where the vocals were too quiet compared to the instruments behind it. The album definitely peaked in the middle with the end points being my least favorite. Overall: 2.5/5

Mid

Like the general vibe, but a mixed bag, feels like they were still finding their feet, or possibly just too addled to hold it all together.

Up and down, but a nice taste of Brit-pop.

The verve have a cool sound but nothing here grabbed me.

buon brit poppo

The 90s English vibes are strong with this one. It’s very clearly a transitory album between their earlier ambient sound and Urban Hymns. The lyrics and vocal performance significantly pale in the face of the instrumentals, especially the bombastic guitar work. Listened to: going home from work. Favorite tracks: This is Music, Brainstorm Interlude, History

Een 3 sterren-album met enkele 4 sterren-nummers

3- Pretty bang average. But not by any means bad.

I mean, it's no Urban Hymns, but it's a very good album. Different to what they're famous for.

снова видимо попутала кого не люблю (палп, кьюр? но не вёрв?). эти норм, но не сильно увлекли

Meh. 3/5

This was enjoyable enough, I think I prefer their other album on the list but I would listen to this one again.

Might need to give this one another listen.

enjoyed more than i thought i would

It was fine

Pretty repetitive, most of the songs blend in together but I still enjoyed most of it Best Song: History Rating: 6.0/10 Stars: 3/5

Por alguna razón no conecté casi nada con éste álbum. Creo que hay cierta laxitud en la voz y en la interpretación de la guitarra que aburre. Sin embargo, hay ciertos temas hacia el final del álbum que sí me gustaron como "History", con una buena aplicación de acompañamiento de orquesta, "Life's An Ocean" con un muy buen groove, sobre todo en la línea del bajo. O incluso en el tema final "(Reprise)" que es totalmente instrumental y me pareció un muy buen cierre para el álbum. En fin, lo más memorable para mi de esta banda es que su interpretación de "Bitter Sweet Symphony", que ni siquiera está en este álbum, así que no puedo decir que me haya resultado una experiencia memorable.

A bit boring, but overall good songs. Might be better to listen to just one song. History best song on the album!

Ubodu oni tu i tamo pjesmu ali brate baš su prosjek

Fine, not as good as urban hymns.

No so bad.

I really enjoyed the beginning of the album a lot. It had an interesting sound that really emphasized the instruments while still being able to enjoy what the song is about. (Something that really shocked me is that they made an instrumental that I actually liked, Brainstorm Interlude.) As it went on though, it didn't really keep me. The songs became more generic and ephemeral, especially the vocals, to the point that I couldn't understand them anymore, at all. Still, I liked the bands classic sound and found it really refreshing; I hope that I get another album from them in the list. Favorite songs: This is Music On Your Own Brainstorm Interlude

this was alright, i'm guessing Urban Hymns is also on the list somewhere but i haven't got to it yet. i found it funny when he sang IM GONNA DIE ALONE IN BED a hundred times. ok richard. it's very oasis/stone roses in places (obviously).

Correcto

Enjoyed it. I'd heard it before a single time. Reminded me of The Alarm a little, although I guess The Alarm are about 10 years ahead o these guys.

Another classic Britpop album. Another so-so listening experience.

Melancholy breakup album. Doesn’t really rock, nothing stands out but it’s well produced.

Nice

Ok, but not entitrly my genre. Will definately give it another «listen»

I wasn't very moved by it, it just was one long series of mouth noises.

Not a bad album but like so many suggestions on this list a keep wondering why this was the suggestion instead of Urban Hymns

Alt-rock/Britpop (though not that Britpop) with a grungier and more psychedelic spin to it…bridging a gap between (less dancey, but still druggy), Britpop, and a bit of shoegaze. Reminds me of a British Smashing Pumpkins, though not as heavy and with a less grating voice on lead vocals. Fairly big sound with a sense of atmosphere to it. Some solid effected guitar playing and a prominent low end. The straightforward and ballady songs aren’t as interesting as the spacier songs and psychedelic excursions. Many songs run over 5min (not inherently a problem), but one could question if they’re interesting enough to do so (potentially a problem)….it starts to get tiring towards the back end despite some decent closing songs. Some rock’n’roll excess, for better or worse.

90s rock is a void

5/10…britpop / indie (one like the other)

Some cool sounds, but sometimes messy. Not very grabbing melodies.

Atmospheric pop-rock, got pretty rambly at the end

Some quality stuff here. 3.5 stars

At first it was like pretty fine and by the end I was a bit bored but overall not bad

Pretty boring Britpop. In this case, boring does not mean generic; I feel like the verve do enough to achieve a pretty unique sound, so gotta give them credit for that. It’s just not that good

It’s less “Bittersweet Symphony” and more “The Rolling People”. Not for all people. We badly need a USA version of this list. I’m sick of mediocre British albums

First 3 songs I like, rocking A few weaker songs in middle. A bit too long, starts to drag in second half. Song ave 5 min 20 sec is too long. After the first 3 songs thinking 4stars , by the end 2.5 stars

For some reason, 90s Britpop has always given me bad vibes, and whenever I come across an album from that scene, I'm always hesitant to start it. But once I listen, most of the time they're better than I expect. Well, this is one of those albums. I can't say I really enjoyed it, but it was pretty solid. It was heavier than I was expecting, and I really like the psychedelic element.

Meh I really found this dragged, it made me think of oasis, if oasis whined all the time

Not the hottest album I've ever listened to, but not bad. Not what I expected, only knowing a handful of the Verve's songs, all of which are from Urban Hymns. This album is very much like Radiohead from the same era, just not as great. Still a good album but feels very whiny and British. Very 1995.

Another band that I was completely unaware of. (I take it back; turns out the sixteenth album on this list that I reviewed was the Verve’s Urban Hymns. I guess it didn’t leave much of an impression.) A few of these songs I really liked, a few I did not, and a few were so-so. This one is 3 stars for me.

A Northern Soul is a bit slow, a bit garbled at times. Hard to distinguish individual instruments. High points were when The Verve went Radiohead with title track, "Brainstorm Interlude" and "(Reprise)." "Life's and Ocean" is descent but the rest of the album is not doing it for me. Not a total drag but I'm not moved either...2.57 stars.

Asså helt okej? Inget som sticker ut imo o förstår inte riktigt hur berättigat det är att detta album är med på listan. Brit bias?

Var var Bittersweet Symphony?? Ändå bra.

Nothing special going on here.

Besides Bitter Sweet Symphony, there's nothing The Verve released that had that quality. Same with this album. It's Britpop, a bit better than the average, but without any highlights I could remember.

Alkoi hyvin mutta sit vähän lässähti. Kuullostaa ihan oasikselta jousien kanssa. Joo ei nyt huonoa, mutta ei kauheen mielenkiintoistakaan. Kappaleet kuullostaa aika samoilta. Reprise ihan kiva psyke instrumentaalibiisi Parhaat: This Is Music, (Reprise)

Not bad, but a little monotonous for my taste. These guy jam for minutes on a simple Progression, they do it well, but to me it lacks surprises, twists, changes, going places I was not expecting.

It was ok. Kinda interesting sound

An enjoyable listen, but not nearly as good as Urban Hymns

I enjoyed it, a pleasurable experience

Could be worse, more dreamy than i expected

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

Kinda gave me early U2 vibes. Honestly this album was way better than I expected. Before listening to this, I only knew Bittersweet Symphony by the Verve.

Better than I expected. I think of them as a one hit wonder, but this album was really enjoyable for my road trip.

Good

I was aight, very 90s though

the tier below the stone roses and radiohead for me on british alt rock

I dig this

There’s some stuff on here I really liked. Guitar work is solid, and I got lost in it. So close to giving a 4, but I think I’ll round down today. Gotta earn it.

I thought I'd like this album a lot more than I did. It started off in the 4 star range, but didn't keep me interested at all. 3/5.

Britpop is britpopping

Not really a huge step down from their debut, more so a metamorphosis. Still good, but long beyond that it needs to be. ⭐⭐⭐

2.5/5.0: Mixed

theres a few good songs on here but overall its a pretty boring album.

...

It is good not great, individually every song sounds good, but as a whole album it is a little bloated and not super interesting. Nothing here sounds bad, but nothing sounds great either. Many of the songs feel like a slog because they are just a little too slow and too long. There is probably a low 4 in here if they trimmed this album, but as it it is a 3. High 3.

Was gonna be a four and then it kept on going. I like this heavy kind of sound, but I wish the songs were just a bit tighter and more varied.

Favorite tracks: On Your Own, Drive You Home, Stormy Clouds I like the moodiness of this, but most of the songs blended together. I love The Verve and will add this to my collection, but more to include in shuffle rotation than to listen to in its entirety.

Oh my God. It finally happened. I listened to Britpop and didn’t love it.

I was only familiar with Urban Hymns which I think is a very solid record. This was...interesting, certainly more sludgy and psychedelic at times, but I felt like it started to drag as it continued. I stopped at the OG tracklist; I shudder to think what the 2h32m 3-disc Deluxe version is like in its entirety. Still, sub-3 seems harsh.

Not usually what I listen to, but there were some pretty good songs that I enjoyed. Specifically "So it Goes" and "History", the more chill songs, stood out to me. I found the background sounds in "A Northern Soul" to be too jarring to my ears. I was not that big a fan of the lead singer's singing. Sometimes his voice came off a little whiny. But I am a fan of the guitarwork in this album.

Listened to about half and it seemed good. You can certainly tell it’s them

More interesting and psychedelic than expected

Esch ganz okay aber e chli langwiilig wels nome e chli Gasang, Gitarre und Schalgzüüg hed. Söscht ke rechtigi Melodie

too psychedelic for me. had a few good songs but all turned into one big psychedelic jam session

I didn’t mind it, definitely not as good as Urban Hymns but it was still decent background music while working. 5/10

Didn’t expect this to be as good as it was, lots of oasis/ stone roses vibes.

Pleasant but a tad boring. Enjoyed it overall.

With the exception of the interlude, it sounded like someone trying to make the most generic 90s-alt album possible. Not bad, not remarkable.

A little bit unmemorable, I have to say. The Verve can write good songs sometimes and this album alone is pretty decent to me, but ir they are just songs. Not even outstanding songs. Probably a 2.5/5.

It started quite good with a lot of noisy guitars but over the complete course it got lame. I will never become a britpop fan.

Good rocking album

Not a bad album, but it's long and starts to drag on, IMO.

Manc rock. Bottled swagger. Forgettable

Not bad. Another too long album.

I thought it was a solid rock album but I wouldn't say it was very memorable and all kinda sounds the same, certainly not enough to put on this list considering other rock works that didn't make the cut. And honestly, why would anyone choose this over some peak grunge that was happening around the time of this album's release? 6/10.

Pretty good for Brittpop, but still not quite my jam. Beats the hell out of Oasis and Blur however.

Sure, I guess why not.

I don't understand much of the criticism that this album is getting from many of the reviewers here. While I don't find it groundbreaking in any way, I don't find it any more offensive than Coldplay or U2 but albums from those bands are consistently more highly-rated, for some reason. [Reprise] is an excellent send off to the album.

I like the Verve but not this album so much

Listening to it now, this is something of a mess. There's nothing NOT to like here, specifically, but somehow it doesn't really add up to anything.

This is fine, sounds like this groups other albums. Not something I enjoy but I don't think it's bad.

Oasis light

Really interesting how a soundscape I like managed to not produce a single song I like.

Very 90s post-grunge Brit-rock. You know how every decade has its huge, tentpole, genre-defining bands? And then there are dozens of bands that sort of dance around that band, sounding vaguely the same as the other coalescing bands trying to recreate the magic of the tentpole band? This is one of the secondary bands. Not awful, but sort of cookie-cutter, and very much of its time. Since I very much like the 90s sound, I didn't mind it. I enjoyed some songs and some were kind of annoying, and all were pretty forgettable.

Far removed from their classic album, this just sounds a bit unfocused for me

Favorite Track: History

Some decent bits, doesn't reach its full potential it feels

The problem with the CD era is that some bands feel that they need to fill as much of the available space as they can. The Verve have done this by dragging perfectly decent songs to well past their ‘bored-by’ date. There's a lot dreamy guitar on this album. Except it’s so dreamy that the best time/place to listen is on earbuds at bedtime if you suffer from insomnia. And that’s not a bad thing. I think I could really like this album if I managed to listen another 4 or 5 times. But I can’t be arsed.

Some decent parts of this album. Liked the music on a few songs, lyrically was mostly forgettable. Okay album. 3/5 Might listen again

This was fine, really just had 2 or 3 big highlights surrounded by passable music. Album's a bit too long though

Nothing on here that’s quite Bittersweet Symphony levels. But pleasant enough. Simpsons: No

Enjoyed lots of it but it didn’t grab me and dragged a bit. A high 3

I know one song of theirs, Bittersweet Symphony. I know nothing else. Interested to see what this sounds like. Not really my style of music, maybe 3 stars. Very rocking though. Very British rock too.

Forgettable

The downward trajectory of this band from A Storm in Heaven is real and I'll die on that hill.

This starts out so strong, but loses steam halfway through. By the last few songs I was very ready for it to be over, which I wasn’t expecting. The sameness got to me.