A Northern Soul

It’s an album.

3.5

2.9 but not listened to properly

Sucesión de canciones de estilo pop-rock, con virtusismos variados de instrumentación. Voz un tanto reconocible. Le falta algo de punch. Aun así, se puede escuchar

I think most people stateside assume The Verve were just a one hit wonder, but this record is proof that they had chops before Bittersweet Symphony overshadowed their whole career. A mix of Madchester acid rock and a more alternative sounding Britpop, their psychedelic leanings make the album standout a bit more than some of their peers. At the same time they lack the “pop” that made many of their peers endearing. Overall an enjoyable and well executed listen, something I’d easily recommend to fans of The Stone Roses or early Primal Scream.

Not bad.

not too exciting, but i do like their bittersweet symphony but isn’t on this album

Alright.

I bought Urban Hymns at an opshop and thought it was rubbish other than bittersweet symphony. So this was a surprisingly decent listen tbh.

Not bad really. A little blue rock in parts. I like the psychedelic stuff. I was most surprised by the Brainstorm Interlude -> Drive You Home part. Overall too long and not quite remarkable. 3/5

Good.

Having only heard Urban Hymns, right off the bat, this is not what I was expecting. Initially I was very happily surprised. A New Decade and This Is Music are a raging start, noisy and raw. The weakness of the album is the slower tempo songs. History is a great song that foreshadows Urban Hymns 30 years later you can still hear A Northern Soul’s influence on bands like Fontaines DC. 7.6/10

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if this is what peak British music was in the 90s, I feel bad for those poor chaps. 5/10

This was like listening to a less-inspired version of an Oasis album. I enjoyed it, but nothing extraordinary.

3.75

I love britpop and I love psychedelic rock. So on paper The Verve, and especially A Northern Soul, should be a favourite of mine. And it's not quite there. Don't get me wrong, it's still quite good, but not more than that.

I thought this was surprisingly flat given the critical reviews it got. Very in the mould of Primal Scream/Oasis ish but without any stand out songs. I like the sound but there's nothing there to get into

Britpop, rock psicodélico. Ni fu ni fa.

Remarkably fine.

Pretty standard Britpop fare. Not bad, but nothing compelling.

Le problème avec The Verve, c'est qu'on a l'impression qu'ils sont toujours à deux doigts de lâcher Bitter Sweet Symphony et cela nous empêche d'être totalement détendus.

Aucun intérêt, va chier Robert

Most of the album is somewhat languishing music to which I'm not in the mood. History is an amazing song though!

I only knew The Verve from the hits off of Urban Hymns, I like this more alternative sound.

A solid 80s alternative album. The instrumentation is quite nice, though I found the lyricism and tone kind of lacking. Overall fine, and certainly not too boring.

Surprised by the reviews here as I thought this one was much better than whatever Bittersweet Symphony was off of. Yes, still overly gratuitous when it comes to the draggy ballads and overall track lengths, but there were some good guitar tones and bigger moments that actually worked pretty well.

Sombre et pesant, parfait pour mon état d’esprit. Les premières pistes ont capté mon attention, mais par la suite mon intérêt s’est dilué

On day 748, I finally get to this album. It's not bad.. I would listen to it again, though to me there's no track that largely stands out. Abit different from the usual britpop, it has a more dreamy element to it, definitely less pop. 3.5

ya know pretty cool sometimes, not bad. a bit long. did not need to be an hour. but i liked a lot of it kinda. stormy clouds was pretty cool. ocean coulda been cut. i can sort of tell just by listening to this that they must think they are a very important group. they’re British so of course they’re going to think that. they’re neat, but they’re not that important.

A great Brit pop record but these guys have better records, still enjoyed though

I've heard their name before and I'm pretty sure I've heard some of their music. I like this album, and some of the tracks really stand out for me, like 'So It Goes' (the intro, by the way, reminds me of Phish's 'Prince Caspian', another song I like very much, with a little Velvet Underground mixed in...by the way, I make these comparisons as sincere compliments -- all music we hear is influenced, based off, or connected to so much other music; art in general works like that, and it's wonderful). 'Reprise' is an interesting exploration. Very nicely done.

Very similar to other 90s Brit pop/alt

Some brilliance (History), some excellent indie rock (This is music), some cool funky indie (Life's an ocean), some charming acoustic/strings on a par with Drugs don't work (On my own), some vaguely interesting indie shoegaze noodling (A northern star). The rest is weak.

Very different to Urban Hymns - it was like if Robbie Williams fronted a shoegaze band. Some really great stuff but lost its way meandering towards the end

Middling psychedelic brit-pop-rock. If I was wondering if any of The Verve's backlog was close in quality to the stellar Bittersweet Symphony, that question has now been resolved. There were some parts I enjoyed quite much, especially some more shoegaze-oriented parts. On the whole, this was pretty forgettable though.

Nothing bad here, just very unremarkable. Don’t know what else to say. It’s really a 2.5, but I’m being nice cuz the album didn’t do anything offensive.

A new decade - 3 This is music - 4 On your own - 4.5 So it goes - 3.5 Northern soul-2 Brainstorm- 2 Drive you home-3 History- 5 No knock-2.5 Life’s an ocean-2.5 Stormy clouds-3 Reprise-3 Started off strong and ended with a lull. Was thinking a 4 in the beginning but it ended up with too many forgettable tracks. Has some great songs though. History and on your own are great. Not as forgettable as others may suggest but I agree I could used a bit more excitement. Mid to high 3 Best: history, on your own, this is music

A classic Alt rock hangout that vibes for days and worthy of another listen at least.

Pretty sure I confused the Verve and The Verve Pipe throughout the years. The singers voice reminds a little bit of Bono from U2. Solid album with nice mixture of sounds and songs. Thought the 1st half of the album was much better than the 2nd, but nothing really really outright offensive. A few songs went on a little too long and probably could have cut off a few songs to get under an hour, but this is definitely an improvement over the last several albums we have reviewed. A few songs that stood out for me include A New Decade, So It Goes, A Northern Soul and my personal favorite, On Your Own. My biggest complaint is it went form a solid rock vibe to pretty mellow, but overall I thought these guys were pretty good. I'm may spend a little time and check out some of their other material. I'll give these guys a 3.5. With no half stars, the scorecard will show a 3. Just couldn't get to that 4 mark

Really pretty songs. Huge production on the remastered version.

surprising and enjoyable how noisy and psychedelic this was for Britpop, but way too long and way too meandering as a full album of similar tracks

I was expecting more of the Bitter Sweet Symphany but after resetting my expectations, this wasn't horrible. This was like the Brits version of grunge. They probably cared too much, which is why it didn't work as well as American grunge.

It was good, I just never got into them. Clearly they are a good band. just not my jam.

Rock alternativo.

Britpop, rock psicodélico. Ni fu ni fa.

Album 34 of 1001 The Verve - A Northern Soul Favorite Track : Drive You Home Rating : 3 / 5 Not bad. Sound like a lot of other bands. Songs were fine but all seemed quite similar.

The album was good, I think I've discovered that The Verve is my cup of tea. The mellowness and chord progressions sits very well with me, been quite fond of shoegaze in general which I would consider this album to be to some degree. Unfortunately there was no song that really stood out to me, and the whole album sort of blended together a bit to me, probably something I would put on in the background to create a certain mood rather than actually "listen" to. I actually don't really see why it's on the list at all to be honest, the 'Urban Hymns' album was straight out better in all regards and this album doesn't feel like it brings anything special or something that you don't get from that other album.

Another The Verve album. I preferred Urban Hymns to this which i felt had more catchy tunes and hits (not just "Bitter Sweet Symthony"!). Nothing really stood out on this album but I generally enjoy the sound when I'm in the mood for ambient rock. I mean it is what says on the can, if you like The Verve and shoegaze, you will like this.

I really liked the style and instrumentation here, but almost every song went on for at least a minute too long. I wish they’d tightened it up.

I think Richard Ashcroft is a cool guy and this is a cool album. Low key britpop with a bit of swagger and musicality. The Verve, despite being the lesser exposed of the 90s lad bands somehow remains terminally uncool. Oasis and Blur have their accolytes, Pulp have their cult following (despite having at most three songs) and yet the verve. Who listens to *them*? Well, I did, twice, and possibly possibly never again.

I find when an album crosses an hour it’s usually too long. Clocking in at just over an hour this was no exception. I can’t point to what to cut but just not tight enough for me.

Highlights: Drive You Home, (Reprise)

Better then expected but nothing really great. But it had some good tunes!

Not a bad listen, underwhelming at times, but for the most part a decent effort. For me, so many Brit-pop bands remind me of Radiohead with Bono from U2 on vocals, which is okay, but a bit too generic sounding for my tastes.

Started strong and faded.

A bit slow and melancholy, not really a patch on Urban Hymns.

Good stuff

Generally a good album with great vocals. Nothing stood out too much, but not in a bad way I guess. The album cover reminds me of Queen. Fave track(s): Life's An Ocean, Stormy Clouds

Hasn't aged well for me, muddy 90s still.

All songs sounded pretty similar

It was alright, I guess

Nice music, poppy

I didn’t pay much attention. I will come back to it at sont point.

The Verve are at an interesting crossroads on this album. Do they lean into the more experimental alternative side, or stay on the more melodic Britpop side. They tried to go both ways. The result is a very uneven album and one that is just too noisy at times. When they slow down and let the songs develop and the music meander, then they sound much more coherent. There is a way to blend melodic sensibilities with more experimental music (see Radiohead’s the Bends released the same year), but they do not succeed at doing that. Additionally, the runtime is too long. Having said all that, I do find that this album has some very beautiful moments.

So apparently I'm a Verve fan now. Surprisingly good for the most part. Better than anything Oasis tried to feed us.

Not fully my style. Lots of noise and lots of mumbling without much redemption in catchy riffs or hooks.

Look, I like Oasis so I like this... wait, this isn't Oasis? Oh, I guess it's not. I really was digging this until about half-way through when it bogged down and the vocals became less "Northern Soul" and more... off-key wail. It just loses all of its energy and vigor and goes flat. "A Northern Soul" was almost great but, on balance, it's just alright. Oasis did it better and with more guts.

The Verve before they were particularly bothered about songs. To fully appreciate this sonic onslaught I feel like I need to play it loud through speakers, sit in a comfy armchair, and fall into a trance while the psychedelic sounds wash over me. But I don’t think I could sustain a trance for 64 minutes; I’d get all restless and fidgety.

90’er indierock, britisk, meget fint, måske liiidt for flydende

Seeing "The Verve" made me immediately realize how much I hated their later track Bitter Sweet Symphony which (in the US at least) was played incessantly and was/is boring mopey dreck. This is a bit different - I wouldn't call this anything remotely unique or remotely revolutionary, or.... even memorable? It's not *necessarily* a slight - it's essentially fairly decent British 90s rock but man does it get boring over the long haul. As for the occasional spin, it's not a bad thing. Perhaps damning with faint praise but eh you can do worse, although the more this goes on the more I want to downgrade to a 2... I suppose gimme any random 4 songs at a time from this and that's enough. 5/10 3 stars.

I do love a bit of The Verve and Richard Ashcroft. This isn’t my favourite Verve album, I prefer Urban Hymns but this was very welcome. Not sure if I could spin it twice on the trot because it tends to stay on a morose note and the songs all merge after a while. But not only does it have Northern Soul, it definitely has the soul of the North. it’s full of brooding and loss and loneliness. When you’re lying alone in bed, listening to Richard Ashcroft wailing ‘I’m gonna die alone in bed’ the prospect of ending up as food for your cats becomes almost palpable. Frankly, if this was a perfume, the base note would be self-flagellation and the top note would be incessant rain.

I bought "Urban Hymns" on the strength of "Bittersweet Symphony," but, try as I might, I could never get into the album. I repeatedly listened to it, thinking that something might click. I didn't dislike it, there just wasn't ever anything to grab hold of, even after repeated listens. For that reason, I was glad to get served a different album by the band — maybe this would be the album that spoke to me. I feel exactly the same about this album as I did the other. There are compelling moments and passages, there's an overall sound that has promise. But the material simply fails to stick. It's like the band is composing and playing for its own enjoyment without a care for the listener. That's fine. Have at it. There's lots of other stuff to listen to.

I like this band but I would almost never think of putting on one of their albums. I love that semi-psychedelic sound in A Northern Soul (the song). Upon this listen I feel like I heard influence on bands that came after Brainstorm Interlude - Radiohead? Drive you Home - Jeff Tweedy?

Where are the hits?

Honestly thought these guys were kind of a one hit wonder... Not bad though 3/5

This album was... Bittersweet. Maybe I am missing something but urban hymns is their big record right? 2.7

This was fine it kinda made me feel like I went too harsh on the Pet Shop Boys album cause I think that one was more fun for me. 2.8

Vaguely entertaining, but a bit bland.

I'm more of an Urban Hymns guy.

Dreamy, relaxing rock. There's nothing wrong with it, but nothing that pulls me in either. If I had to listen to this again, I don't think I'd complain, but I wouldn't be clamoring for the headphones either. It does go on a little long. The album would have benefited from a little more liberal cutting.

This Is Music - 3 stars On Your Own - 5 stars So It Goes - 4 stars A Northern Soul - 2.5 stars Brainstorm Interlude - 2.5 stars Drive You Home - 3 stars History - 5 stars No Knock On My Door - 3 stars Stormy Clouds - 2.5 stars (Reprise) - 2.5 stars

Probably not the iconic album but it displays their versatility

Got some vibes but like most 90s albums, too long.

Like, it sounded good but nothing stuck in my brain.

13th December 2022 Listened in the evening while playing Hades. Traitors in the evening. More sonic than other 90s Brit pop bands, heads in the clouds but with one leg in the garage still.

I always think of this as my favourite Verve album, and maybe it is, but it's a bit of a dirge, saved by a few great moments, especially On Your Own which I love

I get why people may like them but The Verve were never a band for me. This is Music has one of the most cringe worthy lines ever recorded. I don't hate the rest of the album and even would go as far as saying I love the song, On Your Own (which I swear I used to think was Mercury Rev)

J’aime le mood, c’est aérien comme rock.

2nd half was better, but maybe that should because there were fewer distractions (listened to in transit, a couple songs at a time) HL: “History” “On your Own” “So it Goes” “No Knock…”, “Life’s an Ocean” 3.5 Nov 29 2022

Pretty good but too long. I got bored after awhile.

I can definitely hear the similarities to Radiohead on this album but despite listening to it twice, I just could not get into this. It wasn't horrible but it just never really caught my interest. 2.5 rounded up bc I didn't actively dislike it, it just didn't do anything for me.

Pretty solid britpop album but not super consistent.

Heard a few Verve songs before but not from this album. Deeply introspective. Not exactly a pick-me-up listen with slower brooding songs. You’d have to be in a certain mood for this one, a mood I’m not often in. Well done record but not one I’d buy.

Nice music and overall good album

Mostly bland shoe gaze with good guitar work. History is a lovely ballad and you can see where they were heading.

Long but consistent

More Brit Pop!!! Not as good as Urban Hymns but still a good sound

Starting off I didn't like it, but it grew on me by the end.

Pretty chill

This is a bit of a come down after their debut, A Storm in Heaven, though there are plenty of highlights such as History, Drive You Home and the final track (reprise). As such it's probably unsatisfying to both fans of both their first and third albums - not psychedelic enough for the former, not Britpop enough for the latter.

I ended up warming up to this more than I thought. At first it sounded like a more annoying version of oasis but then it opened up into some pretty fun rock

Although overshadowed by the next release (and the omnipresent Bitter Sweet Symphony), this showcases the elements that made The Verve a very good band. Pop hooks and layered guitars with somewhat overblown lyrics (which can be said for a lot of brit pop). This is attempt at grand rock songs (in some cases sprawling) that sometimes reach its lofty goals.

In general I like the Verve but I think this album is just ok. Nothing here approaches Bittersweet Symphony.

Much more loose and jammy than your average Britpop. Because of that it's also much less hooky. Listening to this was like asking your friend to toss you a candy bar and instead they toss you a bag of homemade energy bites they concocted in their kitchen. Alright I guess.

Pretty of-the-times Britpop, which to me is almost saying something but not enough. It all sounds fine but nothing jumps out to me that is very interesting, it's all competent though.

I only knew these guys from Bittersweet Symphony, and turns out this one doesn’t sound much like that at all. Mellow, drifting sometimes into droning.

do not see myself listening again

I don't really find this band that engaging. Pretty standard mopey alternative.

VERY similar to oasis their greatest hits aren't here but the album as a whole isn't bad 3.5

Ei ollu ihan koko levyä kuunneltavissa. Kuitenkaan en usko, että puuttuvat pilais kohtalaisen hyvää kokonaisuutta

If Pablo Honey era Radiohead was more influenced by Hendrix

Britpop. Verzerrt. Hängender Gesang

Never really liked the verve, still don't. Obvious parallels with other moany overblown music of the same era.

Couple of good tracks otherwise I wasn’t terribly moved by the album. Very cool feel to the album tho.

A serviceable if forgettable mid-90s Britpop/shoegaze album. Nothing wrong with it really. It has a couple of interesting songs and seems to improve on repeated listening. Fave Songs: Drive You Home, History, No Knock on My Door, (Reprise), So It Goes

Felt like classic 90s.

Its 90s brit rock. if its for you its for you. It sort of bounces off me. I am not a huge fan of the lead singer's upper register.

ok, 3/5

not bad

legalzinho mas nao é muito o que curto ouvir

Gets kinda noisy in the middle.

Not sure why this is the album to make this list. It's fine, nothing standout.

The definition of 3 star rock

I liked this album. I like it more than Urban Hymns. Spacey and atmospheric, I think they pull it off really well. It starts out great, bogs down a bit in the middle but ends with a couple really strong tracks. Urban Hymns always sounded too polished and too "rock star" like. I never warmed to it which is why I never explored any other releases from their catalogue. 3.5 stars

Nice to hear another side of The Verve it probably deserves a few more listens but it didn't really do a lot for me today.

I liked this album. I like it more than Urban Hymns. Spacey and atmospheric, I think they pull it off really well. It starts out great, bogs down a bit in the middle but ends with a couple really strong tracks. Urban Hymns always sounded too polished and too "rock star" like. I never warmed to it which is why I never explored any other releases from their catalogue. 3.5 stars

Like a soundtrack for One Tree Hill?

Not bad, 90s brit-rock, Oasis meets early Radiohead.

A great album save for the fact that it drags in the second half.

I've never really enjoyed the Verve. His voice annoys me and this album is pretty boring. I'm giving it a 3 but it's just middle of the road. Not memorable at all

A typical Verve album with ups and downs, where you start skipping several songs on the album, but really listen to the few marvels on here (like History)

Sickly leopard Richard Ashcroft is still in his "mad" phase. Mix of plodding indie with shoegaze/MBV guitars. This is probably a seminal album if you come from Wigan and hadn't heard anything else. Best Tracks: This Is Music; On Your Own; History

Really enjoyed when they went into the heavier parts of the album, it almost felt like a mix of U2 and Oasis but more aggressive. If it were a bit more consistent it would be an easy 4.

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.

Very average, with some high points and some pretty low points. 2.5 but rounding down because it had so much potential that it didn’t hit.

If you like this, you may also like: literally any of guitar rock or slightly experimental guitar music. This couldn't be more one dimensional

Ugh.

On Your Own History

The album as a whole is pretty boring, but it’s not a bad album

At first I thought this was going to be a pretty decent album. By the end it sounded like just a bunch of noise that ran together

Reminds me of that crappy band Adriana tried to produce in The Sopranos. Self-indulgent and mostly boring. I realized halfway that I wasn’t even paying attention to the lyrics. Boy was I disappointed when I tuned in. Not the worst I’ve heard, but not great.

Irriterende å høre på

Bråkete og litt slitsomt. Noen kule deler, men totalen er rimelig svak.

Why is their second album on here? A little research and apparently History was a breakout success. I laid flat and emotionless as it played, nothing special here, at least not now some 30+ years after release. Today, this is an album of filler, I can see why the label was going to drop them, I think Bittersweet Symphony was enough reason to add the band to the list as something that gained genuine traction after a few flubs like this one. Sometimes a second listen later on in the evening makes things feel different, that wasn't the case for this project. I'm now slightly offended anybody would consider this psychedelic. 2.4/5

There were a few nice moments, but overall this was a singularly gloomy and dour listening experience.

I like Ashcroft and The Verve but this ones not it. History is good

Mmm super Meh 4,5/10

Hadn't heard anything from them besides Bittersweet Symphony before, which I didn't care all that much about. A New Decade and This is Music are so good, then the rest of the album does nothing to keep that energy up. A full album of songs like the first two would be an automatic 5 stars from me. Such a confusing listen.

Mediocre mid 2000s maudlin alt-rock. I've already forgotten it.

White straight male music... but depressed.

I had forgotten how sloppy/forgettable albums can get after our last two. This album is wholly unremarkable because it isn’t sure what it wants to be. Once we reached the title track I realized I had to fight to stay focused because of the lack of depth to the music. The song writing is also reflective of the flippant approach The Verve takes with this album. Disappointed is a word I’d use after listening. Rating: 3/10

Hatte mich drauf gefreut, bin aber enttäuscht. Sehr schleppend, vage, vor sich hin tunend. Sludge Britpop, irgendwie, oder bad trip Psychedelia. Lyrisch auch maximal handwedelnd, aber langsam und dabei ächzend, weil Gefühle und so.

Couple of good songs on here, but I'm not adding any to my favorites list.

For a split second at the beginning of "On your own" I thought I had accidently put on Alice in Chains instead, disappointment followed

Hey, remember that band that did Bitter Sweet Symphony? No? Well here's an album they did that doesn't even have that on it. Somehow two albums from this band are more important to listen to than Chuck Berry, Patsy Cline, or Whitney Houston? Also - today's the 100th anniversary of John Coltrane's birth. That the list has two albums by the verve and only one by Coltrane is a travesty.

This is just so so boring. More than an hour of the same guitar riffs and tones, with very flat vocal delivery, and the lyrics aren't anything interesting either. At times it sounds pretty alright, good even, but nothing justifies this album being over an hour long.

I thought about giving this a 3, but my brain got bored and completely tuned out the album about 4 tracks in. So it’s around a 2

Man I did not vibe with this; it just felt really aimless.

Garbage

this became background noise so quickly, never a good sign

It's just so......beige.

64 minutes of tracks that sound like the hidden track at the end of an album. Kind of flabbergasted how this even made the list.

God this is dull. Nothing stands out apart from Ashcroft moaning and droning.

Die ewig gleiche Stimme.

The guy running this can't turn down a mediocre British band. Bland as English food.

My main complaint was that the majority of the songs were 5+ minutes long, making each one get to the point where it clearly overstayed its welcome.

boring Britpop. more psychedelic than i expected which is borderline redeeming

meh not feeling this.

Oh ja, klar. One Hit wonder auch. Die anderen Lieder kenne ich nicht. Sind bestimmt nicht schlecht nehmen mich aber nicht mit...

No thoughts. Head mostly empty. There were plenty of skips, but it wasn’t all bad. There were some good instrumentals, some songs that stuck out, and some that had potential. However, I always felt like there was something missing.

wayyyyy too long songs, some of them would be better off cut in half. drawn out but would've been enjoyable otherwise

++: This Is Music, A Northern Soul, Drive You Home, Stormy Clouds +: A New Decade, So It Goes, Brainstorm Interlude, Life's an Ocean, (Reprise) +-: On Your Own -: History, No Knock on My Door 5,5/10

I barely remember any of these songs. I even listened again to the first three releases and remained unimpressed.

Kind of disappointed! I thought I would like it a lot more, but really didn't do much. Just like standard britpop, neo-psychedelic soul. I would guess that I would find it more enjoyable on future listens, but being an album in arguably my favorite genre and not doing much takes away a star. 2.5/5 rounded to 2- cause of disappointment currently

just mid

Unbearably boring. The album droned on and on and I've already forgotten every song. Why is every song 6 minutes long? Mind-numbing and I cannot believe this is anywhere near the 1000001 albums to listen to before I die, let alone 1001. 1.5/5.

Dull as anything. Not far off a 1.

A remarkably forgettable britpop album

Pristine example of Dimery's Idiotic British bias that clogs the list with unnecessary insipid gunk like this that nobody outside of one tiny island has ever heard nor thought about.

At least Urban Hymns has some interesting songs. This album is just boring.

Another album from The Verve? They are not that great imho...

The nasally whine is strong with this album. The song History is the worst. This album is a perfect example of bands riding on the Oasis duplication wave.

This could be a 10 minute album and it would still be too long. Dull, bleh.

Were any of these songs better than Bittersweet Symphony? No. 2.

I didn't hate this. So I'm not giving it a one. Getting through A Northern Soul' 64 minutes was however, an act of endurance. Simply dull, dull, dull music.

Nha

Music for people not going anywhere in particular

Three great songs, the rest are meh.

Like most people the only song by The Verve I know is Bittersweet Symphony, which I think sucks balls. I was totally unsurprised to find that this album is boring as hell. The sound is kinda cool but it’s too long and doesn’t go anywhere.

i liked this more than the other album on here but not that much

Fuck no

this is really bad and embarrassing.

🌕🌕🌑🌑🌑 Emily’s Dad has gone on record as saying there was no good music in the nineties, which I find funny because he has also gone on record as saying a Smashing Pumpkins album is one of his favorites of all time. I’ve always been a nineties defender, seeing as a non-negligible percentage of my music taste came about around then, but after having listened to all of this Stone Roses, R.E.M., Oasis, Verve, Elbow, and Coldplay on this list, I’m beginning to understand what he meant, especially when it comes to the consequences of mainstream nineties on the next decade of music. It’s a sound that I think, based on its constituents, should be a unilaterally good thing—certainly the harsh rasp of Grunge but also lots of jammy, psychedelic-revival soundscapes—yet the end result is really bland and background-blending (wild, considering how neither of these ancestors were ever regarded as particularly palatable). I’ve seen a lot of comparisons—both here and with the later Coldplay and Elbow—to Radiohead, and even though both of the latter were probably influenced by the former, they couldn’t be coming from more disparate places. Radiohead uses both its sharp edges and its psychedelic experimentation to constantly push the boundaries that their last project settled, constantly blossoming into both familiar and uncharted emotion. With British rock descendants Elbow and Coldplay, I get the sense that though they’re doing similar percussion or whatever, the resemblance to me is skin-deep—somehow they’re taking innovation and puttering in circles with it. Okay, sorry, none of this so far has been explicitly about A Northern Soul, but I’ve been describing my experience with it this whole time. I always feel like people are overly mean to one-hit wonders—like, go ahead, YOU write “Bittersweet Symphony,” or anything half as iconic—so I was really ready to find something else interesting from Verve. I was into the opener “A New Decade,” but found myself almost instantly bored after that, which I really hate to say—I’m prone to defending the lambasted albums on this list that everyone is really nasty about in the global reviews, but much as their sentiments could’ve been expressed more nicely, they were kind of dead on this go around. With the exception of a psychedelic spike near the middle that perked my ears up until I noticed it was, indeed, labeled “Brainstorm Interlude” (everyone just loves to get interesting when it’s on a short, skippable instrumental), the album really did just sound the same all the way through, meaning most everything that stood out to me was a nitpick. Like, I have a linguistic question for Emily: is there a word for words people only use because they’re easy rhymes they hear in songs? Like, I feel like the occurrence of “obscene” is far lower in real life than it is in halfassed lyrics. And can we give “Ocean” and “Commotion” a rest, maybe? I want to say that’s about all I noticed, but I’ll admit there were a few interesting sounds here or there—I really enjoyed a lot of the atmosphere in “Stormy Clouds” even if the melody did nothing for me, and there were a couple of moments on “Life’s an Ocean” that made me go “hmm” or “okay”—but this wasn’t really enough to bump my rating any higher. Whereas What’s The Story, Morning Glory? got a two from an average of really irritating bits and just-better-than-okay bits, this gets a two more solidly because it truly is “Okay, No Desire to Revisit” incarnate. Nothing irritating for more than a moment, but also nothing interesting for just as long. 1: Bad | 2: Okay, No Desire to Revisit | 3: Good, Conditionally (OR Inconsistent Mix of Qualities) | 4: Great (OR Technically amazing but missing the sauce emotionally) | 5: Amazing

This was highly unenjoyable and I regret spending an hour on it

C’est ok

There's not much to this one. It started off fairly promising but just never went anywhere. It's a fairly forgettable album, unfortunately. It feels kind of out of place on this list. Favorite track: I don't know, "History," I guess? Or maybe "This is Music." It's kind of all the same.

I enjoyed the violin, but found the singing to be whiny. Overall a solid meh.

Last track sounds like the first. First sounds like the seventh. Seventh sounds like the tenth. Tenth sounds like the third. Third sounds like the fifth. Fifth sounds like the eleventh. Eleventh sounds like the sixth. Sixth sounds like the fourth. Fourth sounds like the second. Second sounds like the eighth. Eighth sounds like the last. 2/5 24/7/26

Oof, this is pretty dull. The vocals on No Knock On My Door are so so bad. There is quite a leap in quality between this and Urban Hymns and I suspect the producers might be the key. Anyhow, not great 2.5

Nothing too exciting for me, but enjoyable enough!

Never listened to this all the way through before. Enjoyed it more than I expected, but there were a few dud tracks that sounded a bit "sixth formers find a wah wah pedal"

Dreary stuff

I can't believe there's a Verve album on this list that doesn't even have bittersweet symphony. It was ok - kinda like The Bends backing with Oasis vocals? But not as interesting as radiohead or as catchy as oasis. Got a little bit of the fun string arrangements in History so I'm glad they stuck with that.

A pretty derivative bunch. Only really famous for stealing a Stones riff and paying massively for it. At least it was a good song. The rest is pure mid

Boring

wayyyyyy tooooo looooooonnnnnnggggggg

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.

This was wholly unmemorable. And I recall it being sort of annoying.

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