A Northern Soul

Shoegaze-ic Oasis. Love the psychedelic bits in some otherwise generic tracks, and I also enjoyed the surprisingly moving "History".

Better than urban hymns

Pretty okay. Not as good as their next album.

1995. So It Goes, This Is Music

Progressive britpop? Mr Godlike Genius and pals take 90s UK music to new-ish and quasi-interesting places.

Not too bad. Not too good. Just.

U2 Mixed with End Credits bait.

This is the band that sings Bittersweet Symphony! I'm expecting some 90s nostalgic vibes. Did not disappoint!

Mostly a ho-hum but fine album.

Decent rock album that is too long and lacking highlights to be

6/10

Solid album by that band where you know one song but that one song isnt on this album.

Fine UK alt-rock.

Not a terrible album though songs go on for awhile and gets a little boring

6/10

3 stars. It’s so close to being great but every single song on here is just too long. They should have cut at least 1 chorus from each song, then this album might make 4 stars

A good example from the Brit pop era. I do think there are better examples.

It's interesting, moody and has a good feel to it. Still, there isn't much that stands out as amazing, and Northern Soul and Brainstorm Interlude lean towards the less enjoyable portion. I listened to it several times hoping it would grow more on me... but it is just "fine".

Not sure if this is ground-breaking - would need to get under its skin to be sure.

It's OK. Doesn't have the standout songs of Urban Hymns, so feels a bit too much of an uninterrupted Verve drone.

I'm sure I've heard more than "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (not on this album) from the Verve. All of this music was new for me. "Brainstorm Interlude" got my highest rating, but overall none of the tracks stood out for good or for bad. The album was okay, but it won't take long for me to forget what I heard.

Different de ce que je connaissais d’eux. Pas trop mais un bon album pour le genre. 3.5

Ganska bra men lite tradigt va

Nice album by The Verve. I only knew Urban Hymns. Good brit pop songs, nothing really stands out though.

Good flowing guitar riffs.

Ugh. Do I really have to review this. Richard Linkletter / Richard Marx / Richard whatever his name is ruins songs with his oh- so-dramatic voice. Honestly, it's not that terrible. But it is very much on the tortured artist side. Somehow it works for Tom ... oops, sorry, I meant "Thom" You're trying too hard, def doesn't rise to the level of imaginative, creative and head-bopping. But I can't hate this too much, it's 90s. "You get an 'E' for Effort, T for nice Try"

It mostly sounds like noise. On some of the songs that’s a good thing and it’s used in an interesting way, and sometimes it’s not my fav. Overall good.

Dark and psychedelic. Title track is, IMO, the best song on the album. Great closer with Reprise

Not bad…kind of what I expected

Rating: 6/10 Best songs: On your own, Drive you home, Life’s an ocean

Decent, very atmospheric. Nothing really stood out.

This album is "louder" and more aggressive than I was anticipating, especially after only knowing "Bittersweet Symphony" and listening to the first part of that album before realizing I was listening to the wrong Verve album. I like this one better than that one, but I don't like "On Your Own." Also, sometimes there's a bit too much screechy reverb, like on "A Northern Soul." The Verve do some sonically interesting, but doesn't always work for me. The repeated "I'm gonna die alone in bed" was a bit much, but later he's "too busy staying alive," "too busy living a lie," and "too busy living my life," so he seems a bit confused here. Apparently their earlier stuff is more psychedelic? But by their next one, with "Bittersweet Symphony," they get pretty poppy and use lots of strings. So what was up with this one? Well, it seems it was written and recorded on ecstacy. Not the drug I would have guessed from the first half, though I read this while listening to "Brainstorm Interlude" and it started to make sense. Still overall, though, I feel like a lot of the album was more aggressive than I would expect from a bunch of dudes on X. The second half of the album really loses steam, and loses my interest. Three stars kinda feels too generous, but a 5 or 6 out of 10 sounds right I guess. Other interesting Verve bits - a reviewer wrote that "Richard Ashcroft has a face that even a mother would say 'you’ve got mostly your father in ya;'” after they split up in 1999, Ashcroft said "You're more likely to get all four Beatles on stage" (they got back together in 2007); and finally, this is not The Verve Pipe. I hope they're not on the list, "Freshmen" is even more annoying and overplayed than "Bittersweet Symphony."

I rather like this and think it could be something I'd listen to again. The songs are somewhat diverse in their overall sound, yet cohesive enough have a "Verve" sound and make for a strong album. The lyrics are heady w/o being pretentious. I particularly like A Northern Soul.

This is a solid album. I’d be perfectly happy to have it on from time to time. It’s not an album I would seek to play, but it is thoroughly enjoyable. Brainstorm Interlude has a pleasant chaos to it. Drive You Home and History are solid slow songs, but I did not like them back-to-back. It was too much slow in a row. I enjoyed (Reprise) as the closer.

What you'd expect from The Verve.

Good review: A new decade History Song after History The bad song are kind of boring

Has some OK Computer vibes happening occasionally which I didn't know these guys were capable of. Solid mid 90s pop rock

A bit too slow and mellow. Might grow on me though.

Although The Verve's sound is very pleasant in it's dreamlike qualities and soaring melody parts, for me most of the pieces have a tendency to drift together, resulting in not a lot of things sticking out and catching attention. Favorite Song: History

Solid techno/pop sound. I liked it overall.

Just establishing their sonic style, a warm up to their future masterpiece, Urban Hymns.

Not my kind of music

Not bad, but eclipsed by the band's next release. Since this phenomenon of picking a meh album instead of an artist's piece de resistance seems to be a trend here, I can only conclude this is a deliberate fart-like attempt to make the curator here appear cooler.

Interesting

I suppose so. Not as popular as Urban Hymns, so I suppose it's cooler, right? It's not better.

I wish this album went out with a bang after History, it would be a solid 4 or maybe even a 5 then. As it is the back end of the album is all just a bit of a slog.

Very Verve ! I enjoyed it although I’m probably not getting the best quality sound on my iPad. ***

good album but not really 100% up my street. if i listened to it again i reckon i might add a couple to my playlist but im not really sure

Vervey. Nice enough.

I liked the psychedelic bits. History the only song I knew

It was nice to have on while doing things around the house. This album didn’t make me stop and listen.

Pleasantly stormy. "Another drink and I won't miss her, another drink and I won't miss her..." 6/10

Definitivamente no es su mejor disco, creo que es buena banda y me late Richard Ashcroft también como solista.

Bueno sin duda pero nada espectacular.

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.

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

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

It was alright. Some songs were missing from spotify.

Interesting, nothing special.

I missed the bittersweet symphony

3 ⭐️ simply for history and on your own.

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

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

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

2.3 out of 5 stars for this one. I wasn't inspired. I wasn't moved. I didn't hear any song that stood out from the others, which seems to be my biggest complaint from a good majority of 90's Britpop bands.

Not really getting much from this one. It feels like a try hard Oasis

So they started out as shoegaze and ended up as Britpop, and I guess in between they decided they were that Spacemen 3 album that I didn't like?

Didn't love this, a lot of the songs blended together with no real standout. Good production and very full sounding but doubt I'd listen again.

Dette holdt ikke

On my fourth attempt, I made it through. I don't know why, but this wasn't it for me. Maybe I'll attempt another listen in the future. 2.5

This shouldn’t be on here. This reeeeeeeeally shouldn’t be on here. Not the first time I’ve thought that about an album I was given, won’t be the last, but just had to say it. “Urban Hymns” gets a pass because “Bitter Sweet Symphony” is not only awesome but one of the most popular songs ever. But no one cares about this. And also, it doesn’t deserve to be cared about! It’s certainly a crucial moment in the band’s trajectory, but Jesus, who cares about this band? This album would be respectable if it were half its length, but it’s just so long! Also, a bigger, more notable problem present here is the lyrical content. The musicality itself is fine. It’s really nothing special, which is a strike against it frankly, when it’s gonna be this long. But the lyrics are really just so unoriginal, and the only genuinely enjoyable work here is the most sincere stuff, which even then doesn’t reach any type of notable peak. Unremarkable for one whole hour. 4.3/10

Uninteresting British rock

mid ass album. maybe my gen z brain couldnt comprehend theyre type of music as enjoyable

Rock but not very good rock. Even the best song on the album is a meh.

I like Richard Ashcroft's voice and have a lot of fondness for Urban Hymns but I really struggled to find much joy in this album. Very unremarkable and borderline dirge.

Not much here that grabbed my attention, sorry to The Verve!

Yeah didn’t grab me

There doesn't need to be two Verve records on this list. And definitely not this one.

Listened Before? N This one was markedly worse than their sophomore album. It sounded like grungy Oasis. I'm good. Not the worst thing ever but also not really worthy of the list. Also- WAY too long. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: This Is Music

really disappointed, i was looking forward to a the verve album, didnt like it that much, some avergae songs, the rest were really bad.

ne slusam jos jedan album od ovih likova

Pretty lowkey, nondescript 90s music. Every song sounded the same.

I only know The Verve as 'The Bittersweet Symphony guys' but have now listened to a largeish portion of their output. This album almost felt like an attempt to get some of that American 'alternative' sound almost like Live or something like that. I don't feel like it did enough of it's own thing to earn a spot on this list. It could have been my mindset at the time of listening but it was grating on me.

Det börjar bra med This is music, men blir snabbt ganska långtråkigt. I sina bästa stunder låter de som ett Stone roses-light. I de sämre som vilket dussin-indieband som helst.

Uppskattar de groviga låtarna bäst som A northern star och brainstorm interlude. Även drive you home är bra. Men i övrigt lyfter det sig inte från mängden av brittpopband. Det saknas något liknande de starka låtar som finns på uppföljaren, som the drugs don't work eller bittersweet symphony.

So bland and average. The whole thing just sort of blobs together.

I didn’t get a chance to listen to Arcade Fire on Friday so Joe and I listened to it Saturday morning. And then we listened to this right after. 2+ hours of boring, depressing music was too much. This couldn’t end soon enough.

Although not as bad as Bjork, we find ourselves listening to another album where the lead vocalist and the melody don’t always follow each other. The lyrics just kind of happen and sometimes they pair up but there is a constant buzzing in the background which throws everything off. Not a fan. Individually, the parts are nice but there is no synergy on this album to speak of.

Derivative BritPop. “No change, I can’t change, I can’t change, I can’t change” over music stolen from the Stones. Not exactly revolutionary …

Radiohead without the interesting or good parts.

Boo to the Queen knock-off (I mean "allusion") album cover. You boys are not even close to Queen. The vocalist looks like he wants to murder me and the rest of them look like the cast of a Supernatural high school AU. Anyway, I've completely forgotten what I just listened to. It wasn't terrible but it also wasn't all that interesting.

Heh

MOR soulless bullshit.

not quite as bad as i was expecting it to be but it drags on and on with every song sounding essentially the same. it's not too hard to listen to but this album is just... forgettable. mid 2

Random thoughts: * I tried listening to this one several times and it was honestly a slog. * There is no reason to have 2 Verve records on 1001. * Basic 90s rock music with nothing exceptional to show up for. Only for the hardcore fans or people stuck in the 90s.

all sorts melds into each other like a strange fever dream

90s Britpop two days running! While this wasn’t awful, it was certainly weaker than yesterday’s I Should Coco. Repetitive, vocally underwhelming, and containing absolutely nothing original to help it stand out amid the onslaught of guitar-driven British pop-rock from the era. Overall, it was a rather dull listen, and one that dragged on far too long.

The Verve was always my least favourite of the major Britpop acts of the time. They're a solid band that rarely, if ever, amazed me. A Northern Soul is alright, but this is my second listen of the album and the first was almost a decade ago, which says a lot. For me, they lack just a bit of that griminess that Oasis, Blur, Pulp and Suede all had at least at a certain point in their respective careers. Not to mention how tedious these songs become with their completely unjustified runtimes. It's like Be Here Now before Be Here Now, but without the messiness that would at least make it somewhat interesting.

I don't click with this

Einheitsbrei nach ISO-0815

Gähn

I found that there’s Only one good song in each of their albums. So no.

Not really my style

just kinda boring

Very chill with Drive You Home nice easy vibe. Kinda easy to gloss over the whole album though very just average/not memorable.

Nothing crazy, felt kind of repetitive. Had a couple good songs.

B-side Oasis.....no Bittersweet Symphony....pretty forgettable.

I want to thank everyone for their suggestions, telling me to check out their earlier work! I ended up loving their EP *The Verve* and also *A Storm in Heaven* - I loved them, and I think I have to agree with that whole “why on earth aren’t those on the list instead of this one?” sentiment Anyway, I’m giving it a 2 for now, but eventually I’ll try listening to it again - maybe I’m being unfair.

Totally unremarkable in the boring-est of ways. Vocals are drowning in reverb and buried behind a cacophony of bland instrumentals. This album is just an inferior Urban Hymns.

Temu U2

That was a weird listen, i did not like it ..

Ça me chauffe pas trop On se fait un peu iech mais il y a des bonnes mélodies Brainstorm interlude est assez cool Globalement ça ressemble à ce à quoi je m’attendais. Et c’est pas un compliment. On dirait du mauvais Radiohead et c’est pas un défaut.

This is like Oasis but with even less redeeming qualities.

I remember almost nothing about this album 24 hours later.

To be honest I found this kind of boring. I'm sure they're a good band and they have a lot of fans but I just couldn't really get into it.

Didn't know the the verve had more one album. Not sure this one needed to be listened to. Just kind of Average music.

Some cool sounds on this, but ultimately pretty boring.

I don't hate them; I just find them really boring and full of 90s-era downtrodden moaning. I'm not sure how these dudes ended up with more than one album on the list! Their other album was better.

I have an intense dislike of The Verve, and its not their fault or particularly even their music, so this gets a general 'blah' from me

It's bad Johnny. 2/5

I love urban hymns. This ain’t it.

My least favorite britpop artist, despite living close to the place that this band formed. I have always found The Verve really melancholic and whiny. There is a qualtity about Richard Ashcroft's voice that I find quite disagreeable. And the long psychedelic noodling sections of this album made me keep checking how long was left for some of the tracks. Not my favorite. (2.000)

ok

meh. I was unmoved by this relatively droning and mid-heavy saccharine schmaltz rock.

I didn't like this much. I found it uninteresting and unengaging.

Useless

couple songs keep it from a 5

Another example of Ashcroft shamelessly ripping off U2. Why does he escape criticism so easily?? I had never heard this album before and I don’t feel that I was missing out. Once again with this band, it’s more style than substance. The songs are too long, too self indulgent and not engaging enough. “Urban Hymns” (3/5 stars) is better.

Brainstorm and reprise, ones without vocals, I liked

Boring

Didn't enjoy the first two tracks. 3 is a cute ballad. History is a good song aswell. Not much else to say. I didn't really care about it. I didn't suffer listening to it aswell So a flat 2 will do this time.

Obviously this is fucking long. I'm still traumatised by having to stand through a Richard Ashcroft set at Isle of Wight festival which genuinely left me with a longing feeling of despair. So aye, this is mid at best for me

This is not a band that requires multiple albums on the list. Nothing bad, but nothing great.

I didn’t hate it, but not feeling too inclined to revisit it. Drive You Home was very pretty, gave Fleetwood Mac Albatross vibes

Long, middling, and ultimately unimportant.

Huh. I got The Verve's "Urban Hymns" very early on on this project and rated it quite highly. Now as I come close to the end of my 1001 journey, I get "A Northern Soul" and am not nearly as enthused with it. So either this album truly pales in comparison to "Urban Hymns" or my taste has drastically changed after a few years of this project (also quite possible). Moments of this album leaned pretty heavily in the psychedelic direction, which I wasn't very enthused with or captured by. I noticed the album take a turn in this direction at about the halfway mark. Ultimately, this album was fine. Average. But it just really wasn't memorable. I'd probably put it at about a 2.5. This is another one that I wouldn't say inspired me to round up.

Лучшая песня: No knock on my door Худшая: Drive you home Слишком мало песен, где он орет/поет одну и ту же фразу 70 раз подряд, так бы было пять

Чёт задушило

4/10

Bland and inoffensive

Previously rated: #141 - Urban Hymns (2/5) ****************************** Album #1,062 Another band I remember listening to, but couldn't remember what I thought of them. Now I see, and I don't look forward to listening to this one. The first few songs were decent, and I thought hmmm, this is much better than that other album. But it just kept going and going and going, and the singer's whiny vocals kept grating and grating and grating. Another album brought down by its bloat.

A little more varied than Urban Hymns, but they still get into unstructured music and droney mediocrity. This did not belong on the list.

A bit shoegazey, a bit of britpop. I like the 90s sound of their guitars, but I think if I'd seen these guys performing in a pub I would have remarked "they're good!" but then forgotten about them as soon as they stopped playing. They're obviously good musicians, and Ashcroft's voice connects with some people, but it doesn't resonate with me and the music doesn’t make me want to move. The best thing about this album is that they split up after it. Unfortunately it didn’t stick and we had to endure Urban Hymns.

The album was alright, nothing special though. 2.5 stars

Every song on this record is forgettable to me.

This was a challenge to get through only because there was a lack of variation through the whole album. This felt like a weird mix of NIN, Massive attack and Pearl jam but not as satisfying

These guys do not merit 2 albums on this list.

I tried.

That last song feels like punishment for making it through the preceding hour.

It's ok! Crazy that they put an album by The Verve that doesn't have Bittersweet Symphony on here, but I guess UK pop music reviewers just love pretending footnote albums by one hit wonders are important. Sounds a lot like the Oasis, or a bunch of other britpop bands from this era. The 2 reflects the fact that you don't need to listen to this before you die and I also won't listen to this again, but that I am not mad about this fact and if anyone wanted to fight me about this album being good, ackshully, I would not engage.

Oasis like. Was ok

The less interesting sound of brit pop/rock. So many more interesting bands making better music at the time. People say early Verve were actually "good" but I guess it must be the album before this. Sounds kind of like U2 at their very worst. 90s CD bloat - 6 minute tracks for what! 2 Heard before? Some Owned: No 48/211 (22%) Will I get: No

Shocked that there are two Verve albums on this list. (On second thought, they ARE Britpop, so maybe it shouldn't be that surprising...) Anyway, it was fine. Very obviously overshadowed by the concurrent success of their fellow countrymen in Oasis, but this record in particular doesn't really do enough to stand out in my opinion. Just wasn't as soulful as they try to make it out to be. Urban Hymns is the better record anyway, but that's not saying much.

Exceedingly uninteresting and overlong Oasis soundalike record

I really enjoyed the first and last songs. It was like eating an Oreo with no stuff.

Meczace

Ég ætti að vera meira sympatískur fyrir þessu, en æi, þetta er bara ekki skemmtilegt. Hélt fyrst að ég myndi henda þristi á þetta og halda áfram, en ég hræddur um að ég endi í 2,4.

Had only listened to Urban Hymns (which I love) before this, glad to find I wasn't missing out

Interesting

It’s insane to me that we’re going to get two Verve albums over a host of other albums. A Northern Soul is just a mediocrer Oasis. At least Urban Hymns rules and we’ll get that at some point.

They're not wrong. It is music. There are sounds and instruments and rhythms. But it's what is playing when you walk out of a coffee shop and say, "oh yeah. There was music playing". Legitimately, I've listened through 3 times and I'm like 95% sure it had lyrics. I would give it a 3 in my normal life, but the list demands more.

Verve, don’t really care for them so not heard a full album. Sound to me like a mix of Radiohead and Oasis, but without the innovative instrumentation of Radiohead and somewhat creative lyrics of Oasis. By half way I was just fed up, repetitive sounds and words let me be.

I don't particularly care for the guitar tone on this record at all. They were aiming for "alternative" and ended up with "blech". I can see how this spawned several radio hits, particularly in the UK at that time. A quick glance at what was popular.. AiC, Soul Asylum, Smashing Pumpkins... ya. It was good timing. Or maybe it's good and I'm just not into it? I didn't like the record and will likely never revisit it again.

Didn't really vibe with this one, occasionally had some cool dreamy stuff going on but wasn't consistent enough for me. I liked parts of "On Your Own" and "Life's an Ocean"

I always thought of The Verve as a one-hit wonder, with "Bitter Sweet Symphony", so I was surprised to see an album of theirs on the list. I was even more surprised when it wasn't the one with their one hit on it. Maybe I was wrong... Have I underestimated this band? Is there greatness here that the masses haven't appreciated? No... No there isn't. Just a whole lotta nothing masquerading as "Oasis but edgy". My disappointment is measurable and my day is largely unaffected.

1/3. Maybe I just wasn't in a very active listening mood today, but this just rolled right past me. Nothing particularly stood out, though I did enjoy Brainstorm Interlude. Overall it just wasn't super interesting to me, I probably won't revisit.

It's okay? I don't think there's anything that stands out here as overly good or bad. It's a decent album to throw on in the background but it definitely feels pretty bland.

Good psychedelic music. They sound like a bunch of young men on drugs. Not for me.

Urban Hymns I get being on the list, had a huge hit and a couple decent tunes on it. Why is this on the list? It's boring. Is it because they made Urban Hymns after this? Cause that's not worth it. Stop with the boring brit bands. I know there is good music over there, let us listen to that and not this drivel.

Again I was bored by this

mid ass rock

Again very slow not my thing

I just had Radiohead, now The Verve. Picking up matching socks from the drawer. More boring than Radiohead, a few surprising psychedelic parts, but mostly boring. But most importantly, better than Oasis.

Boring. How the F doe the Verve have two albums on this list? 2/5

If you like the Verve, you'll love this album - it's exactly how you know they'll sound. It was fine, but a bit repetitive and long-winded for me. - Heard before? No. - Will I listen again? No. - Does it inspire me to listen to more of this artist? No.

Not a fan. The instrumentation was fine. But the singing was just so so bad, especially when they decide to sing falsetto. Terrible listening experience.

mid mid middy mid mid

So forgettable. I'm starting to hate seeing any late 90s/early 2000s British band showing up on this list. It really feels like the author has a bias there and it is way over represented.

Not required listening. It didn't do anything. Perfect music to ignore and make you talk louder when having beers with friends at a bar.

It doesn’t have Bittersweet Symphony. It’s fine but not good.

I can see why The Verve weren't popular before "Urban Hymns". "A Northern Soul" is a boring album. Despite the name, there's hardly any soul in it at all. There are a few moments in "A Northern Soul" that didn't make me regret listening to it. "On Your Own" is the best song on the album. 2 stars for "A Northern Soul".

Ok. A decent album. Striving to be epic rock, but nothing truly stood out for me. Much preferred the follow up Urban Hymns.

moody, angsty. all songs kind of blend into eachother. not bad, but not my vibe right now. favourite songs: drive you home, on your own.

NB Where is opening track “A New Decade” on the link here?!? Boring but you can hear the preparation for Urban Hymns (better next album) 1. A new decade 2. History 3. Stormy clouds reprise Boring - one long similarity

Meh

I have absolutely no idea why this is here, why did I listen to this. It’s bittersweer symptom with all the good bits removed, discordant shi, i presume they therefore have 2 albums on here, subjective list or not that's a load of bollox, like this here record, 2 stars, and that generous for the odd melody

2.5 stars. U2 vibes. Choruses to repetitive (title track: 'I'm gonna die alone in bed'....OK we get it). Not as clean/refined as their follow-up album. Feels a bit too generic to be memorable.

Weak songwriting (repetitive lyrics) and overall just ok.

Profoundly boring mid 90s rock blather

Not great

Boring

Bland

Atmospheric, moody. Overall ok.

The more it went on, the less I liked it, and it dropped from a 3 to a 2 because of it. Too much reverb overshadowing the vocals. Too much sameness. Just too much.

*1995 *This was before the verve hit it big with bittersweet symphony in the late 90s. *Pleasant but not particularly exciting or memorable. Can’t honestly remember a single song on here… RATING - 6.5/10

At least this album didn’t have Bittersweet Symphony on it.

Pretty boring and aimless, just washed over me without pricking my interest once!

God damn this is so dreary - I can’t imagine anyone getting even faintly excited about anything on here, and every song lasts 30 seconds to a minute longer than it needs to.

Urban Hymns is a surprisingly good album given it's got two really annoying hits in it. This, though, has zero business being on this list. It's not crap. But it's utterly forgettable.

There is just one single by the British group Verve that I know (Bittersweet Symphony), and it’s not on this album. For some reason Spotify included just ten tracks for this album, where there should be twelve. ‘Life’s an Ocean” and “A New Decade” were missing, so I did not hear those two. Just as well I suppose, as the rest of the tracks were all quite similar in my opinion, and some ran too long. Very forgettable.

The intro of "This is music" is an ear tickler, we don't hear that often Wasn't very focused, but it sure was at least alright

The guy on the bottom looks super angry.

Pretty generic feeling. Gained a little bit of traction in a later jam but a little boring.

Not the best!

I dunno, Its like the Author was helping the band out by having their lesser known album in here (Royalties and all) I Mean, its ok... Very different to the Brit-Pop craze or the post grunge rock so theres that. It just sounds like a more industrial Radiohead.

i love the song history but for the rest of the album i felt sort of disappointed, i really wanted to like this. i’ll give it another listen but for now i’ll have to give it a 2.5

Man, I wanted to like this. Didn’t even notice when it ended. 1.5 for effort.

Hell no.

Boring bullshit that goes nowhere

Whiny, wail-y, annoying

Too meandering for me. On your own is possibly one of the worst songs I have ever heard.

Noise

Always remeber this band as the one hit wonder that got sued (always thought thats why they stopped). Not the album with the hits. The album is okey, very date 90s brit pop. Same time as Oasis so i guess it was all the rage for the 90s and then faded after Oasis broke up.

This really shouldn't be on the list considering the album with Bittersweet Symphony is already here. These songs go literally nowhere. They are fine. They are background Oasis filler tracks. The sound is fine - not offensive, and I probably wouldn't even take it off if it was on because it sounds fine. But there's so much other music worth putting on in the first place.

I kept waiting for someone to happen. It didn't.

More interesting than I expected, but I could not get into it on this day. I did not expect all the long drawn out instrumental jamming sections. I thought of these guys as pure britpop (the bittersweet symphony guys) and not psychadelia. I do generally have a taste for things like that but it didn't hit me with this - maybe even the association with britpop unfairly put me off.

About as boring as the suede album I heard

I thought this was going to be better based solely on Urban Hymns, but this ended up being a real snoozer for me

Cool use of sound at times but still very bland

fart

2 out of 5. I can't imagine very many rock albums getting a low score from me but this is one of them unfortunately. The songs really did all blend together for me, but something should be said for the cohesiveness I suppose.

Sold their souls to the devil, and got nothing in return.

Buen disco aunque no soy capaz de destacar una canción.

I'm struck by: 1) how stylistically similar this is to Urban Hymns; and 2) how much better that album is in every respect. It's almost like these were demos and they spent the next 18 months editing and rewriting the songs, building their chops, working together as a unit, and then they went into a top notch studio and recorded a masterpiece. Urban Hymns would/will get 5 stars. This doesn't.

Generic cover art to match generic sound. Nothing to see here.

Well now. Mr Hatter told me to prepare myself to be awarding a 5 for this one. Sorry sir no can do. It was the musical equivalent of mashed potato. Mushy nothingness, without even any buttter or even a sprinkling of chives to give it some flavour or even visual appeal. The musicianship was ok, so not a 1, just. And only just scrapes a 2.

Best Song: On Your Own. There's something comforting about this kind of soft, 90s boy melancholy. Worst Song: Stormy Clouds. It was about this point in the album that I realized how done I was with the monotony. Overall: Real generic. Nothing to hate, but not much even to like.

Just ok. A bit angsty, like much of the 90s rock was.

Pretty bland and whiny tbh. Paired well with a rainy day, but overall not very enjoyable and no Bittersweet Symphony to bail it out. High 2

2 out of 5 Not my vibe

This was a little bit depressing to listen to, and proved I'm not a fan of The Verve, which I already thought was the case, but now I know for sure.

I have mixed feelings about the Verve. Their heaviness and bombastic feel, the downtempo extravagance and over-engineered wall of guitar sound is both exhilarating and frustrating. Exhilarating because of the sheer grandeur of the sound. That huge bass, the snare crack, guitar pyrotechnics without a respite. Unbelievably tight playing and production to match. Perfectly executed. But it's frustrating because I really don't care much about what they have to say. And if I did find even a slight bit of meaning, it's lost in a strange narcissistic haze. Style before substance, once again. It's all a bit much, though. The interminably long ballads made me feel like a trapped animal trying to get away. The heavier, bigger songs sound phoned in, as perfectly executed as they are. I would rather listen to pretty much any other post-grunge stalwarts - Pearl Jam, Collective Soul, Bush even. They sure do sound like Rock Stars™ though.

This is not a totally accurate description but I'm calling this album "The Sad Hot Chili Peppers" This band did not deserve 2 albums on the list

Coming in I only knew these guys from Bittersweet Symphony. Now I know them from that and a mediocre album. 4/10

Solid pop rock if unfocused and a bit excessive at times

I dod not like this. It seems like a bridge between a sub echo and the bunnymen and the britpop they were to become (which i loved). Hos voice doesnt seem to have settled and the whole album is weirdly monotonous.

I was enjoying the album, then at some point every song just sounded like the one that preceded it.

Not a bad record at all. If any of these songs came on the radio, I wouldn't change the station. But not special.

Kinda forgot about it Will I listen to again: 11%

Not too much here,but not bad. A one hit wonder band, but that's on another album.

The songs blended into each other, no standouts for me. I didn’t dislike but wouldn’t go back to it

Mwah

I wasn't into this at all. Soundscape-y guitars with no strong melody and a singer who hits notes like a mid-horseshoe player hits pins. Not something I'd necessarily turn off if it came on because it's not much different than nothing for background noise, but also nothing here I'd seek out again. 2/5

het titelnummer en laatste nummer zijn goed... rest is goed om te gebruiken in Guantanamo Bay

An interesting listen....much more then let's say Oasis ! They have something but their identity is not well defined (compared to...Oasis) as the album is not always consistent.

Definitely not my taste, it’s not horrible either

2/5

It was alright, nothing stood out to me but maybe I need to listen to it again.

Remarkably boring. A few decent ballad like songs near the middle of its run but otherwise forgettable - Oasis without the drama and mystic. I hated the unavoidably inescapable Bittersweet Symphony in the later 1990s solely due to airplay. There was little here to convince me to give the band another try. 2/5

Holy shit this album cover is hot trash. 2.5/5

this guy has a hardon for this group. this the 2nd one that has come up, and outside Britain, no one cares. this is like that "i was in my early 20's finding myself in the late 90's, bro. this is my soundtrack." unless you are shuffling thru a Sears or Walgreens in 2003, this shit doesn't play to non fans. i am being mean, but that album art, this sound, it falls flat and ages poorly. 2/5

Boring with some positive outliers. I used to think that singing in tune was overrated. but after listening to this I really do see the merits of it. Can someone teach Richard Ashcroft to sing?

Blah blah blah blah

I forgot about The Verve until this album came up and now I can go back to forgetting them.

Relentlessly bland.

Slow, dull Psychedelic Rock.

Apparently in the UK the Verve were not a one-hit wonder. This is better than Urban Hymns. They feel like a band very much of the Oasis era. There's something very whiny about this, like they took the angst from grunge but forgot to take the garage band sound that made it feel authentic. This album definitely feels like it is of a time. Maybe I don't like it better than Urban Hymns. This album is depressing enough to put on when you're feeling low, but not good enough to have it scratch that itch. A lot of longer songs too. You aren't the storytellers you think you are, The Verve. Drive You Home just drags on with repeated lyrics. This album isn't bad, but it goes on too long. A boring 6 minute pseudopsychedelic instrumental track to end the album.

A northern bore

Quite samey overall. On Your Own: Sounds so quintessentially of its time So It Goes: Cool time signature A Northern Soul: Good in a relentless way History: Very sweet (pity about his voice; the Oasis effect) Life's An Ocean: Pretty cool instrumentation (pity about the voice again)

This was so boring and generic sounding. I wanted to like this but it just dragged and dragged. I wish I could hear what fans of this hear but I don’t think this belongs on this list. So forgettable, avoiding 1 star because it isn’t painful or abrasive, just so bland

I really like this type of music, but I struggled with this album a bit. It felt both sleepy and indulgent. Almost all of the songs felt too long and a bit repetitive. It feels harsh to give this 2 stars, but there are so many other entries in this genre that feel more worthwhile to me.

Before I listened, I assumed The Verve was a one-hit wonder… turns out I was right. Since the “one-hit” isn’t here, it’s a 2⭐️

This is an incredibly non-descript mid-90s guitar rock album. I love 90's guitar rock and this sounds like the band that would open for whichever band I wanted to see. There were maybe two moments where I was kind of engaged, but overall it's just SO bland and unenergetic.

Ok 2/5

# 534 : A Northern Soul The Verve’s A Northern Soul is a masterclass in musical mediocrity. Not bad enough to hate, not good enough to love—it’s the sonic equivalent of wallpaper: always there, never interesting. Each track blends into the next like a foggy afternoon, leaving behind a vague sense of boredom and a desperate search for a standout moment. If you enjoy music that politely refuses to be memorable, this album’s for you. What to listen for: Nothing stood out Listened: 29/07/2025

meni su oni uvijek neugodno turpijanje, čak i kad im falsetto ne dištonava.

Background noise

Ugh.

Not horrible or anything but very forgettable

Will I remember any song off this album half an hour after I listen to it? No. Do I want to listen to this record again? No. Is it bad music? Also no, but it's just entirely forgettable.

Oof this was awful. For all the 90s albums that come through here this has to be one of them? This was a slog of anemic jams and sadness.

#639. Look, we already had the album that has their one song that anyone gives a shit about, we don't need another Verve album on here. It's not any good, it's literally just there. 2/5: meh

This drifted past my ears - competent indie guitar fare that didn't really jump out at me at any point. Call me Captain Obvious, but listening through, there's nothing with the grandeur or hookiness of 'Drugs' or 'Bittersweet' here. Average.

Plodding. Gawd this dragged. Almost sent me to sleep.

My second Verve album in 3 days! This one is worse. And I'm not sure I can keep defending this band. Apart from the first three, every single track on this inarguably bloated record is over five minutes long. And most of those tracks have no business being that way. Brainstorm Interlude, Stormy Clouds, (Reprise), and several others are very insistent upon a singular repeating theme (or in some cases literally just a texture with no hook) that is repeated with tolerable vocals placed over the top. I had a similar complaint for Urban Hymns, but at least that album had a selection of fantastic songs to counterbalance the mediocre ones. In contrast, this album has two or three "good" songs, while the rest are more filler than killer. There are so many questionable elements in the four-song run starting with So It Goes, culminating in the ridiculously out-of-tune singing in Drive You Home. Great violin hook in History, with the whole track probably acting as a precursor to the style and texturing found in Bitter Sweet Symphony. The soft strings backing the vocals in the (pre)choruses are honestly even better. Would've liked to see The Verve take an ELO-type approach (or maybe Radiohead AMSP) and really commit to an orchestral sound, because I've found that has a really high success rate among audiences. Regardless, definitely one of the most emotive, satisfying parts of the album. I'm also a big fan of the bassline and conjoined percussion/rhythm guitar parts in Life's An Ocean. A chill, groovy sound that I'm disappointed they didn't commit to for most of the record. 2/5 Key tracks: On Your Own, History

Pretty basic and what I'd expect from a random Verve album. The whole album sounded pretty much the same. Kinda meh

Here I was thinking The Verve and The Verve Pipe were the same band and I was waiting for The Freshmen. How disappointing. Just lackadaisical, boring, it seems like something better couldve been added here, No Bittersweet Symphony either, what a miss!

Sellaista menevää brittibändimeininkiä tyyliin Oasis, yhden hitin ihmebändiltä. Ei huonoja mutta ei mitään erikoistakaan.

4/10 - it’s like the other verve album but worse

4/10 A Northern Soul by The Verve is a brooding, emotional ride that captures the rawness of mid-90s British rock with a heavy, almost overwhelming atmosphere. The album feels like it’s constantly teetering between collapse and catharsis, drenched in reverb and intensity. “(Reprise)” stands out as the emotional core, closing things out with a haunting and beautiful weight that lingers long after it’s over. It encapsulates the longing and exhaustion that pulses through the entire record and shows what the band is capable of when everything clicks. That said, the album suffers from a noticeable amount of bloat. Several tracks feel stretched or unnecessary, making the whole thing more exhausting than immersive. The mood is consistent, but it sometimes comes at the cost of variety or momentum. While there are high points worth returning to, the record as a whole doesn’t quite earn its length or ambition. It’s a decent listen with flashes of brilliance, but ultimately a 4 out of 10 for me.

This is veeery boring. Even for radio this is boring. Why does it need to belong here? What is groundbreaking about this that it needs to be in the list?

I'm quite disappointed by this album. It lacks any hits and is full of tracks of the same kind that are the filler on Urban Hymns. O.K. but nothing that hooks me.

After their second album I believe on this list here is what I learned about this band. Bittersweet Symphony. Thats all you need and move on unless you like to mope around.

I dont love much 90s music aside from all the niche stuff that led to the creations of my favorite genres. That being said this didnt do anything to grab me, anything to hold me or anything to send me on my way pleased. Just a plodding, middling record to me. A shrug is sometimes worse than a dislike..

Emo-alt rock by The Verve, I think A Northern Soul was put on the 1001 List because of the album title. A few of the songs are so slow the lead singer may have fallen asleep. Not one song stands out, It’s mot that the album is bad, I’m just not sure why this one’s a must hear. Please explain. (1.7*s)

Alternative psychedelic britpop? On paper this should have been something I enjoyed. However, what I got was a bunch of mostly skippable nonsense. There's a couple decent instrumental tracks mixed in but every time a song came on that was somewhat engaging it was immediately followed by something dull and slow. I'm not sure why but I somehow found this album somewhat pretentious for some reason. When all was said and done I was surprised how mediocre this ended up being. 2.18 stars

Didn't really grab me

I love bittersweet symphony, but that’s was not on this album. Just meh.

On this album, his voice just grates me....

I remember thinking it was ok.. but I forgot everything already...

moyen bof

I remember not liking this album or the band in the 90s. While I don't dislike them as much as I used to, I'm still not a fan. It's just glossed up and weak alt rock/britpop which isn't overly interesting.

Fine. A little long and slower then i was looking for.

Started off thinking, this is fine but not sure why I had to listen to it. By the time I got to the end, I started to dislike it.

May have enjoyed it had it been released when I was 14 but I don't see how this got on the list

Another good sounding band with an unbearable singer.

Snooze.

Whining.

Groupe connu seulement par le tube 'Bitter Sweet Symphony' que j'apprécie assez. Ce n'est pas le cas de cet album qui m'a paru très long et inintéressant. Pas désagréable (+1) mais rien de remarquable. Je n'y reviendrais pas. =>2/5

the verve isch zweimol uf dere liste? scho uuuuhuere britisch de scheiss. regt mi chli uf. a new decade tönt chli noch zeppelin mit meh gschmäus huere viel gitarre überall und riesigi drums. this is music son komische titel. on your own en ballad? irgendwie ischs chli ruhelos pauselos bis etz. aber on your own het no herzigi akkörd. a northern soul nervigi gitarre? ich ha nöd sooo spass. es isch coole 90er alt rock aber meeeh nööööd. drive you home mega schöni gitarre moll. ich mag afoch nöd so wie er singt. halt afich nöd so guet. ich bi echt sochli hi und her grisse well es isch no cooli musig wo mir eigentli no wür entspreche aber es isch nie mega mega guet und ich find sini stimm echt nöd agnehm. vilicht mösti mi au afoch no dra gwöhne. plus jede sing isch huere lang und goht nöd so würkli irgendwo ane. stormy clouds no cools riff chli heavier da stohtne no.