Reviews (page 11 of 14)
3.5
Shocker, Brit Pop. My brother had this album when I was younger, there's more than the one hit wonder on here, but not enough to justify 75 minutes.
Listens: 2 Enjoyed: Mostly I think it has some highs and lows. It probably could have been a shorter listening time and increased its rating by removing a song or two. The highs aren't worth mentioning as they're the pretty obvious ones. I'd say a pretty high 3 stars
-Definitely have heard the first song. 7/10 -It's oddly nostalgic? 7/10 -I've noticed old songs are so much longer than modern songs. 3/10 -I feel like I could both sleep and cry to this. 9/10 -Reminds me of \"Dancing Queen\" by ABBA for some reason 8/10 - I forgot it was playing, so I guess it was decent. 7/10 -Title is very fitting. 7/10 -The songs all sound very similar. 6/10 -Got slightly more interesting, but I'm starting to get tired of the album. 8/10 -Got good again, reminds me of a song from \"The Wall\" I think. 9/10
2.5.
Brought me back to high school days! I only knew their more famous hits (e.g., Bitter Sweet Symphony) but have never listened to one of their albums before. It was good- they have a U2-type sound. Easy music to work to. There's a "hidden track" 13 min into the last song on the album- not worth waiting for. It's 2 min filled with psychedelic music with something that sounds like either a crying baby or cat in heat...Just stick to the original tracks on the album.
Fine, kinda sounded like u2
Átti fína spretti, en ég bara get ekki Richard Ashcroft
The singles are really good, they sound pretty dreary on their album tracks, might improve with more listens
I can appreciate that the album is very good, just not for me.
A few good songs with Bitter Sweet Symphony being top tier. Overall an alright album.
I love melancholia but think this album is a bit much! The hits are great, but played to death. Lucky man is probably the best song imo
A week after giving '90s Britpop shit, I get a Britpop album I actually enjoy. Maybe it's because this feels a little more rock 'n' roll than the others I've gotten thus far? Maybe it's the fact that the album's full of legitimate existential musings rather than treacly, angst-ridden love songs? I honestly don't know. One thing I do know is that "Bitter Sweet Symphony" is a fantastic song. It's Britpop done right, and one of the defining tracks of the '90s from any genre. At the time of its release, it was played, overplayed, then overplayed some more, and while my interest in adding it to my playlists may have waxed and waned over the years, I enjoy it thoroughly every time I hear it. As for the rest of the album, the biggest surprise for me was "The Drugs Don't Work." I first ran across the song on Ben Harper's "Live from Mars" album, and thought it was one of his own songs. Discovering it on this album was definitely another point in the Verve's favor. The rest of the album didn't exactly knock my socks off, but I think I need to give it another listen or two. It appears that Richard Ashcroft is a talented songwriter, and I suspect I'll find more to enjoy if I pay closer attention. Gonna give this three stars, but I wouldn't be surprised if I listen to it some more and end up thinking it should have been four.
Definitely a 90s album with sounds reminiscent of U2, Stone Roses & Oasis. It was a bit too long for me, but enjoyed it all in all. 3.5
I just can't seem to get into BritPop from this era.
Not for me. Everyone recognises Bitter Sweet Symphony and it’s a classic, but the songs all just sounded too similar and went on for way too long.
'Bitter Sweet Simphony' remains a classic. Some other good tracks, but also some generic stuff. Overall ok-ish album. 3/5
It’s a bittersweet symphony
Idk why but this guys voice annoys me for some reason
Good record
hasn't aged very well. some excellent song that hold up but a lot of filler.
Pop elegante británico y sin contemplaciones. Voz característica. Alguna canción muy recordada
Another album from which I'd only heard the hits (a lot) before this project. It was OK, though not sure I'd bother going back to it
Not much of a britpop guy but I enjoyed this album. Nice guitar tone and melodies and solid lyricism. I'd listen again.
Not fully my style but still a good listen
Some classic somgs
(3.8) Really enjoyed the full album. I had heard a few of the songs prior. Lucky Man was my favorite
I've always thought of The Verve as being one-hit wonders. That assessment was correct. But man, what a one-hit wonder! Very few songs bring the late 90's rushing back like Bitter Sweet Symphony! Coming out around the same time as that other deep one-hit wonder, The Freshmen (by The Verve Pipe, no less. Coincidence? I think not), it brings back memories of hanging out in Athens OH, finishing my MA, and thinking - 'man, this is deep'. And man, was it. The rest of the album isn't bad - but it's like a montage scene in Felicity (before she cut her hair). It's there, and it's VERY definitely late 90's, but I don't need to hear most of it again. But that first song....DEEP, man.
Space and Time, Weeping Willow und natürlich Bittersweet Symphonie sind toll Zweite Hälfte ist besser
I think the most popular track is just that for a reason, the music was good but I couldn’t really tell one track from the next
Yup. Kinda busy at work, nothing day. Progress on horizon, but average days are okay
Like Oasis, early 90s alt rock/pop sound. One notch psychedelic, apparently this is part of Shoegaze which is a genre I'm unfamiliar with. Both acustic guitar and electric. Single male vocalist. Maybe 5 or 6 out of 10, not unpleasant to continue listening to.
My first encounter with this band was "A Northern Soul". I described that album as "shoegaze-ic Oasis". I didn't think that they're an Oasis riff off. But after hearing this, I changed my mind. But that doesn't mean that it's worse than "A Northern Soul". In fact, this is more enjoyable, despite the cheap britpop vibe of it. It's much more popular. But in terms of sound, it's more basic and therefore less interesting. I really can't decide which of the two albums are better. But between Oasis and The Verve, it's clear which.
This album was very unusual, the first song everyone's heard but the rest were much better. 7/10
Solid
A bit more varied than I expected, some of their tracks that I used to hate I have more appreciation for now, but I still find that they drone on a bit.
I listened to this one quite a bit back in the day. It has four great songs, a couple of decent other ones, and then much noodling and sonic mis-adventures. I still like it though.
A few hits but a lil dull for my liking. Soz.
Bittersweet Symphony incredible. Album feels a bit like U2 or simpler Oasis, pleasant alt/radio rock. 'Space and Time', 'Catching the butterfly', other good tracks
Didn’t know anything other than bittersweet symphony. Sounds like older Radiohead. Didn’t know Wilco - drugs don’t work is a cover. Really sounds like The Bends era Radiohead. Lucky man is a good chorus
Pretty good. A little slow for my tastes but there's some stand out tracks (Bittersweet Symphony, Space and Time, This Time and Velvet Morning).
Bittersweet Symphony is a throwback hit. This is like a slower, proto-Muse. Its pretty inoffensive.
I remember when "Bitter Sweet Symphony" came out, and perhaps it was the saturation of that song on the radio that helped keep me from listening to more from The Verve. "Lucky Man" is the only other track on Urban Hymns that I was familiar with. I was surprised how much I liked the album. I had some favorite tracks ("The Rolling People", "Space and Time", "Lucky Man"), but no true stand out selections. The album was just good overall. The final track felt like the band was trying to show a harder edge, which was enough to keep me from rounding up to a full 4 stars.
Pretty good
3 alright
ok oasis (j'ai écouté d'une oreille)
The album starts with two great songs. But then it dilute in mediocre songs, with some exceptions. However, the album it is a good selection of brit pop of the end of the 90s.
I am not sad enough for this album apparently... Gonna give it a 3 because its not bad, but the songs seemed to drag on
I started listening to this and thought 'ohhh this song' and 'just a knock-off Oasis'. And to be clear, I still stand by those thoughts...but a few tracks like 'One Day' and 'The Drugs Don't Work' gave me more respect for the album. Feels better than a 3, but not enough for a 4.
+This Time Beyond Bittersweet Symphony, it's a fine album, though most of the tracks seem to be longer than they should be. I felt like I was listening to some reasonably decent brit-pop, which would be at home next to some Mansun and Manic Street Preachers. I think the standout for me was This Time.
There’s a lot to like here, with quite a few enjoyable (if broad and middle-of-road-y) songs. There’s very much of a Britpop’s final days feel to this, meaning that some of it can feel tired and generic. Maybe rocks unnecessarily hard (to my taste) here and there but “Rolling People” is overall fine. “Sonnet” and “The Drugs Don’t Work” and “Velvet Morning” are also strong. To me, the charge of Oasis-lite is pretty on target, but I may be missing some subtle differences. This feels a little more considered (maybe too much so) and a good bit less showy (though still posturing). There is some annoying repetition in the lyrics and vocals across several songs (singing the same words again and again) which is meant for emotional impact but falls flat after a few reprises. There’s a reaching for seriousness that doesn’t always come off and though I enjoyed this but I’m left short of feeling elevated or even that much engaged.
Worth a couple more listens at least.
CD
5/20/2022 - ALBUM #113 Today's Album: "Urban Hymns" by The Verve - This album is a very popular indie rock piece from the late 90s and it is a pretty nice listen. The production on all of the songs feels really good, the performances both instrumental and vocally are pretty impressive and help to create this really solid atmosphere. The songwriting overall is pretty good with some interesting lyricism and considering when it came out, it feels like it was ahead of the game on a few now-staples of the indie rock genre. Now that being said, I will say this album does get very tiring by the end of it. No track particularly stands out as particularly bad (except maybe the last track which feels like a pure waste of 15 minutes), but given that this album goes on for almost 2 hours, it needs to do more to justify it's huge runtime than just crank out the same kind of sound track after track. The beginning track is obviously a super big hit for this band and it feels like everyone knows it, but I really was unimpressed by it as the chord progression felt really basic, which becomes a larger problem throughout this project. Like I said nothing here really sounds bad, but having listened to albums of this vein like Radiohead's The Bends, which has an infinitely more interesting flow and progression, it gets really difficult for me to feel like this is anywhere as significant. The lack of overall flow on this album makes it feel like a collection of tracks meant specifically for radio and it just doesn't give itself well to a full listen. It may sound harsh for me to criticize it so much just for being generic, but 90s indie rock to me is all about standing out as an artist and doing something new and this just really sits in it's little corner. Overall, not a bad record in any way, but it's massive bloating issues and sometimes generic sound make it really hard to get through for me. Give this one a listen if you like 90s indie rock and maybe just spin the highlights and leave the rest so you don't waste your time. Highlights: Bitter Sweet Symphony, Sonnet, The Drugs Don't Work, Space and Time, Lucky Man, Score: 6.5/10 Decent 90s indie rock that's just a bit bloated
Powrot do wyspiarskiego grania okolo rokowego z urbanowymi hymnami od the verve, ktorych przed odsluchem kojarzylem jedynie z bitter sweet symphony, ktore uwielbial katowac w samochodzie znajomy, ale poza tym nic wiecej o bandzie nie wiedzialem, wiec album z 97, goracy okres jesli chodzi o brytyjska alternatywe rokowo popowa, bo czasy oasisa i coldplaya, wiec zestakowanie grube, wiec jakos sie nie dziwie, ze wczesniej nie przesluchalem nic od bandy, pieciu czlonkow, dosc standardowo, chociaz dwie pary klawiszy i gitar prowadzacych, wiec panowie Tong i Ashcroft sie zmieniali rolami na poszczegolnych songach, sam Ashcroft jest takze wokalista i lirykiem grupy, nie wiem czemu ale brzmi to tak podobnie do tego co slychac od co radioheadow czy coldplayow, ze pewnie istnieje oddzielny gatunek do okreslania takiej brytyjskiej alternatywy, ktora cechuja liryki przepelnione szukaniem wyjscia z rozpaczy, bo co najbardziej przebija sie zarowno z wokalu jak i samych slow jest gleboki smutek, a wcale tematycznie nie sa to az takie smuty, ale jednak nie ma tutaj szczesliwego zycia, a raczej jego szukanie, wiec pod tym wzgledem calkiem przypadla mi do gustu plyta jako calosc, ktora tworzy ten godzinny z kwadransem krazek, z czego ten kwadrans to ostatni pietnastominutowy utwor come on/deep freeze oznaczony jako ukryta piosenka, od strony instrumentalnej odsluch byl mniej depresyjny, bo nie jest grane zbyt moodowo, ale tez niczym raczej nie zaskakuje, no moze poza kilkoma samplai, jak ten z bitterowo sweetowej symfonii, na ktorej mozna uslyszec stonesow i ich the last time z the andrew oldham orchestra, o ktorego musiala sie toczyc prawdziwa wojna z tego co wyczytalem na wiki, ale jak sie zakonczyla pozostaje zagadka, ale fakt jest faktem, ze genialnie go wykorzystali na tym traku, zwlaszcza biorac pod uwage, ze jest to przeciez rock, a tak naturalnie brzmi ten sampel w kompozycji tego kawalka, ktory juz wczesniej byl na plejce, ale dodam do niego the drugs dont work, za akustyczne brzmienie i akcenty smyczkowe, ktore pewnie rowniez byly samplowane, bo notesy nie mowia o nikim kto by sie dotykal smyczkow, a ostatnim kawalkiem bedzie lucky man, ktory podobnie smyczkuje i serwuje egzystencjonalne rozwazania na temat szczescia i jego poszukiwaniu zmieniajac siebie lub swoje zwiazki z innymi, zaliczam odsluch do udanych i zmniejszajacych moja uraze do brytyjskiej sceny popowego rokowania i wszechpojetej alternatywy
Hits were all right, rest was listenable.
Pretty decent album. I've heard Bitter Sweet Symphony so many times that when I was given this album I was quite excited, Sadly I cannot say that many of the songs come close to Bitter Sweet Symphony and it's clear why it became such a hit there are a few other decent songs. Favourite Songs: Bitter Sweet Symphony, The Drugs Don't Work, Catching The Butterfly
Enjoyed it at the time, and continue to do so now. For as much play as Bittersweet Symphony got, Lucky Man still gets me to this day.
yeah they got a classic sound. some sound a bit generic but maybe its because its got mass appeal and ~30 years have passed
it's fine. maybe too slow for me somehow? bitter sweet symphony is of course pretty legendary. And some of their songs. like Lucky Man. sort of make me feel like they're sort of modern tom petty. and tom petty is great. but, it's just a certain kind of speed you know?
My dudes, bittersweet is one word.
Bloated, overlong, one-paced and self-indulgent for the most part. Couple of well-crafted singles the best of which owes much to the stolen string arrangement. Disappointing: I enjoyed this far more in its day. So the drugs probably did work.
The opening two songs are really great but then it must drones on...
I love how nostalgic this album makes me feel, just with the sound of it! Love a bit of Brit pop! There are some undeniable bangers on here. However, there is an awful lot of filler which I did enjoy and, again, loving the nostalgic sound, but it doesn't really go beyond that for me unless we are on a banger track. It doesn't excite me enough beyond a 3 unfortunately.
I thought it was an alright album. I wasn't exactly super moved or anything. Honestly I went in expecting not to be into it. Came away feeling pretty good about it.
Büschen langweilig, ganz schlechte drei.
6/10 It's a nice album to listen to but it is pretty forgettable. Exceptions are the intro track with those blaring violins which is perfection. And of course The Rolling People and The Drugs Don't Work. Would I mind listening to Urban Hymms? Not really, nice album to listen to but doesn't have much memorable moments.
"Bitter Sweet Symphony" is the best song of Verve, a band that it must be listened to in my computer. His songs are cool and shine on my room.
almost 3,5; bitter sweet poestry, the opening song is a classic, but album is getting kinda too generic and boring at some point, it was kinda too long imo, but also not bad overall
This album is good, but I found it a little bland. Favorites: Bittersweet Symphony, The Drugs Don't Work
Best: Bittersweet Symphony, Sonnet
Bittersweet Symphony and Drugs Don’t work are two of my favorite songs ever, but the rest of the record has always been underwhelming for me, it’s just not at the same heights of those two songs, a shame
pretty good overall not just "bittersweet symphony the album" 3.5
This isn't one of the great albums. The best song is only memorable because of a sample of an orchestral rendering of a Rolling Stones' song. The rest is a reasonably pedestrian attempted copy of Oasis, but lacking the bite.
enjoyed the groups' music. had not heard of them
takes me back to my youth. Will give it another listen
nem sabia que conhecia a banda, mas na primeira música e já sei que ouvi pelo menos uma música deles... e gosto! a segunda música é na verve (sacou? sacou?) da primeira mas mais baladinha. eles são britânicos? tem vibe bandinha de rock britânico. vai ficando cada vez mais britanico-melancolico-anos 90. gosto.
Nice. I was expecting more songs similar to the “Bitter Sweet Symphony”, that I already knew...but i enjoyed the rock and the striking guitar
Nice. Distinct songs... Not the 12 versions of the same thing other 90s bands played. Worthy of a second listen
nhe
Good start and end tho got lost a bit in the middle. Cool to hear some stuff I heard growing up but never knew the artist’s name. Also lol at discovering Jason Derulo sampled the first song for Ridin Solo
unpopular opinion: I do not like Bittersweet Symphony
Singles aside (especially "Sonnet" and "Lucky Man") hasn't aged as well as one might have thought back in the day...
Okeydoke
Bittersweet symphony is a classic that stands the test of time. The rest is fine too but not incredibly engaging or remarkable. 3.5/5
It was pretty good. it sounded like a mix of a lot of different british bands - heard some oasis, some blur, some coldplay, etc. some of the songs were boring but some were quite cool
This list definitely has an obsession with oft mediocre Brit Pop
I think I "appreciate" this album more than I "like" it. I mean, I do like - in the same way I like a lot of bands from the 90s. They created a different sound by adding strings and making it a little more orchestral than, say, Oasis or Robbie Williams or {insert 90s British musicians here} - which I totally respect.
Who's picking these albums? Not that this one is particually bad, but im pretty sure I could have gone my whole life without listening to this. Not bad but nothing to write home about. Kinda generic 90s.
Easy listening, token 90s era music riding the wave of Oasis and the like. The Verve's history notwithstanding, Urban Hymns is likely their magnum opus and a sad reminder that they were capable of being a strong band yet were terrible at being friends.
Only 3 stars because there are only 3 or 4 good songs on this album, the rest is just a filler.
This album felt a bit average if not below. Bittersweet symphony is great though!
Classic 90s baby
6/10
Didn't rate it then. Don't rate it now. Apart from Lucky Man, that gives me chills.
Bittersweet Symphony is undeniable really, isn't it. So the opening is sorted. Sonnet is also rather lovely, but not radically different from the track before - except without the stolen Andrew Loog Oldham strings! After a strong start, The Rolling People seems to serve as a warning of what The Verve or Richard Ashcroft can be at their worst. Stodgy, lumpen 'rawk' that wouldn't feel out of place on one of the terrible latter era Oasis albums. Bland chaff for the bovine. It's seven minutes long. The good bit is about 20 seconds. Then it's The Drugs Don't Work, and they win back the goodwill they just spent 7 minutes losing. Then they seem to pour it away again with Catching the Butterfly, which aims for psychedelia, forgetting that you need to be interesting to pull that off. This is definitely an album of highs and lows. Neon Wilderness is a very dull 2:30 plod through a similar faux psychedelia. Honestly, every time they jam or wig out this album is terrible. Every time they try to actually write a song, it's great. This is a band that seems intent on self sabotage. Space and Time returns to semi form after this as if to prove my last statement accurate. If you went to school in the 90s, you'll have heard Weeping Willow. It's that song a band at school wrote that sounded a bit like Wonderwall, but not as good. After this, the album settles back into what it does well, with Lucky Man and This Time the highlights. Velvet Morning is nice enough. Feels very 1997 - let's close with a comedown song. Aldi Value Prosecco Supernova, if you will. Then Come On sees the album off in another wave of sludgy bleh. There's a nice odd little hidden track at the end though. This isn't a bad album. It's highs are great, though very similar. If you had Bittersweet Symphony, Sonnet, Drugs Don't Work, This Time and Lucky man back to back, I suspect you'd struggle to work out where one track starts and the other begins. However, as an album, it is a lot of one star filler around 4/5 star singles.
Ok, never got quite into it. I wanted to like it more. 2.7
Pretty standard verve, hits are the standouts
Having received initial critical acclaim followed by critical derision by the fickle UK music press for their early psychedelic rock output, the Verve shifted their sound towards a more britpop/rock sound in the mid 90s. This was a commercially smart move as this album proved, with the Verve finding themselves moving along in the wake of Oasis with other similarly 60s/70s inspired bands like Ocean Colour Scene and Cast. If you like that kind of thing, you'll like this album
Ok but dreary
It’s okay.
sing/songwriter american, poprocket, p4
Some solid bangers, would give 3.5 stars
A true '97 classic, need say more?
A lot more generic and unoriginal than I remember it being at the time it came out. Like they took Oasis and Radiohead and released a B sides covers collection
Good album a little over-rated in my opinion. 3.75 🌟
A good album - it's very of its time. The Britpop scene in all of its nostalgic, honest, if overrated glory
This is a good britpop album, it just feels like every single song is a minute longer than it needs to be.
Always thought this album started amazingly well, but loses steam at “Neon Wilderness”, picks back up briefly with “Lucky Man” only to immediately peter out again. Some great songs, and singles, but not one of the great long players for me.
The rest of the album doesn’t stand up to the first track
Listenable. Very of it's time. Bittersweet Symphony stands out. Nothing else really grabs me.
I think we all know Bittersweet Symphony, it's a good rock song. The Drugs Don't Work is another song I knew and liked. If the entire album lived up to these songs I think it could go up to a 4, but there are a lot of tracks that are skippable or don't add anything interesting. It's Brit-pop-rock, usually I am not a huge fan.
3.4 - Middle of the road British alt rock of the mid/late 90s.
Didn't really go back and listen
A bit heavy at times, but some very good tunes.
Bittersweet symphony is a great alt song. Most of the other album is slightly above average and flows well but nothing else really stands out. It’s good. 6.8/10
Would probably like it. DIdn't get the chance to listen, really. But seems okay.
Classic songs but I still don’t like Richard Ashcroft’s voice to make me want to listen again
This album starts strong, but I found myself getting bored about halfway through.
Better than I thought I'd be. Bitter Sweet Symphony is my least favorite song on the album.
Urban Hymns toes the line between saccharine 90s Britpop and early 90s feedback imbued shoegaze. Which is not to serve as a slight to the record. Since this characterizes the LP as a touch more distinct than most of their contemporaries. The brightest moments within the LP are tracks like Space and Time, which showcase a earnestness emotional proclamation of devotion. Accompanied by a rhythmic guitar backing. The seminal track Bitter Sweet Symphony is rousing but lacks a self awareness needed to temper it’s over done strings.
There’s some nice stuff here but it’s not really outstanding
Wasn't my favorite that year. Still quite MOR but based on sounds I like (garage/psych, shoegaze). Strangely, I like Ashcroft's music best when it veers towards Cosmic Country.
Within the realms of mediocrity, but there are some gems on the album. 7.4/10 Best Track: "Bittersweet Symphony"
I thought it would be better
Sounds good but not a fan
false
Fav : Sonnet est vraiment bien, c'est ça la meilleure chanson de l'album en fait, pas Bitter sweet symphony + this time, ressemble à du radiohead 7/10
Meh.
This is an okay album but feel it rides a little to much on the big single, Bittersweet Symphony. Interesting to note that BSS is a direct heavy sampling from Andrew Oldham Orchestra version of The Last Time. The other single off this album is very good but after listening to the first 4 or 5 songs on the album they lost me. It seems like more of the same. Enjoyed a few of the songs but feel the album is ranked higher than it should be. I can see the future influences. 2 1/2 stars
I have some mixed feelings about this record. I felt it was a little milquetoast taken as a whole--the autumnal melancholy only takes things so far before it starts to feel like background music. The singles are brilliant, but some of the other songs feel a little like aimless throwaways. The production is really surehanded and clear, but I credit that to Youth moreseo than The Verve. I also sense an air of self-importance, not atypical among Britpop bands of this era, which never leaves a great taste in my mouth, especially for a band that's ultimately indulging in a bit of revisionist pop history. For better or worse, I hear this album's influence the most on the likes of Coldplay in the years that followed. 2.5/3 Favourite track: "Bittersweet Symphony" by a mile, but "Space and Time" and "Lucky Man" are also strong
Reminds me of cross of Oasis and Brian Jonestown massacre. Some good jams, but mostly forgettable.
The songs on this one are mostly very nice, my only complain with the album (if any) would be that it's a little bit too long. I mean, it's great music, but 76min?
Ik verwachtte een volledig album met ballads. En enkel 'The Rolling People' & 'Come On' brachten daar wat verandering in. OK album met heel wat emotie, maar niet heel speciaal
Some great songs, but the album lacks depth.
I guess it might be just a little more musically interesting to live in London rather than Toronto. Bands like this just come with the territory.
Didn’t hate it, guess I’m a serial killer?
Bitter Sweet Symphony is the #1 middle school slow dance song. Fun fact, the Verve forgot to clear a sample for this song, and as such had to give all the money made from the song to the Rolling Stones.
I mean... bitter sweet symphony is a VIBE of the 90’s
Only had time for one listen. It was pretty good, I think this is one of those 90s Britpop contenders like Blur and Oasis. I think it's a little less radio-friendly than Oasis, but I think I like it slightly more coz the singer is quite good, if not trying to sing in a kind of American pronunciation. Bittersweet Symphony is okay, although I reckon it should be a final album track not an opening album track coz it's has that sort of winding-down vibe. Will have to give it a second listen.
A classic ! ***
This was a solid album. Bittersweet Symphony is definitely the standout here, but I also found myself enjoying Sonnet quite a bit as well. After that the rest of the album became a fairly forgettable pop album. Not bad, but nothing particularly innovative either.
Wel prima muziek. Zitten een paar sterke bij
So, not bad for passive listening. Bitter Sweet Symphony is on this one.
pretty good album, not quite what i would normally listen to and i wasnt in quite the right mood for it but still quite enjoyable. cant go wrong with bitter sweet symphony either
the Bittersweet Symphony remix was on high rotation in my spinning classes back in the day & I became obsessed with ensuing lawsuit, which made no sense to me, until I found out that the evil Allen klein was involved. Anyway, nice enough songs, laid-back psychedelic indie folk. Grows on you...
Bittersweet symphony is most known track. It's not bad, just not my thing. 6/10.
too soft
Chillig, bisschen was von Oasis
They have arguably one of the greatest songs of all time as the album opener, that the rest of the songs simply can’t keep up with. Can’t hate on the songs too much, they are average britpop, but too long of an album after being underwhelmed after being grabbed by the first track.
Pop/rock. Pegadizo.
After "Bittersweet Symphony", I completely forgot I was listening to anything.
Liked some of the classics ones
Singoli iconici che fanno da manifesto di fine anni '90. Il resto dell'album non regge il passo, con musicalità stagnanti e tracce tirate troppo a lungo.
Definitely more poppy than A Storm in Heaven, but awesome guitars and vocals
Bittersweet Symphony is one of those 5/5 songs, but the rest of the album really fell flat. It isn't terrible, but I was very disappointed to hear the rest of the album that Bittersweet is on. Nothing of note musically, but not a train wreck either. True Feelings: 3/5
theres a really great song on here
90s alternative rock, bittersweet symphony, rudimentary Radiohead-esque sound
I enjoyed some of these tracks but others....
Any essentials list is going to be subjective but this inclusion is the first so far to really raise an eyebrow from me. Oh well: it probably dates me more than anything. Got absolutely spammed by Bittersweet Symphony in the late 90s, especially during one of my few and brief MTV watching eras. Didn't recognize a single other song off the album. Surprised by several Eagles-esque, lightly countrified sad-ballads amongst the offerings.
I will come back to this
Was a good album, but the best songs were on the first half and the rest didn't slap as hard.
The first song is overplayed. Gets better starting with the second and third songs. The Drugs Don't Work is an okay song, better if your drunk. Decent album don't like it as much as I remember when I was younger.
Pretty good but sounds the same throughout the album.
Unsure how much I liked it - need to relisten
Beautiful album, a little slow for my liking
Classic 90s
Couple great songs. 3.5
sounded kinda same-y at times but it was a vibe
Solid. I now know where Cold play stole their first songs.
Decent album that can't hold the high quality of its opening title nor of some other britrock staples
-Smooth flows, dodgy themes, no filler tracks.
One very Iconic Song, but too poppy for me.
Bitter Sweet Symphony & Lucky Man sind nice. Der Rest ist gesülze.
Starts with a bang with Bittersweet Symphony, then it's like "Oof, what happened?"
Good one, some great songs
Alternativ, 90’er, melankolsk, stryger, psykedelisk, indie
Knew the big song but pretty solid all around
"Bittersweet Symphony"
Alt rock/pop, 3,5/5
It's got a few good songs but the others are a bit weak in comparison
Its not bad, just a bit boring. Has a few classics on it though. Bitter Sweet Symphony is great, so is Sonnet and The Drugs Dont Work.
Some good songs and some classics but overall very uneventful!
My biggest memory of thus band is them getting sued by The Stones for ripping off part of one of their songs for Bittersweet Symphony. It’s a mid album, at best.
Favorite track(s): The Drugs Don't Work, Catching the Butterfly Call this album the drugs the way it don't work.
Bittersweet Symphony is wonderful but the rest of the album sounds very generic.
I’m thankful to be 900+ albums into this list. It’s given me the context to know that Britpop was very much a product of its time and place, a ‘you had to be there’ genre. And this list has provided more than enough britpop to help me understand that this ISN’T the genres best offering. Most of the songs on here are wallpaper quality. The vocals are flat, the mix is thin, and the instrumentals are painfully bland. “Catching the Butterfly” is only remarkable for sounding like amuse lifting the hook from “Dancing Queen”. “Weeping Willow” and “This Time” were ok to my ears, they found a way to build some steam and make progress towards that y2k rock sound that Radiohead paved way for and acts like Coldplay would follow up on. But overall this is a tough 2/5. Not worth
I've never rated this album the same way so many people do. It's mawkish to a fault. Brit Pop has so many better elements to it than this. Someone in the reviews nailed it when they said that every song feels like it's from the end credits of a '90s rom com. It's well made and all that, but give me Suede or Pulp over this any day.
Why does a band called The Verve have such lifeless music?
4/10 = very britpop 90s bucket hat lets do drugs and try look like liam gallagher type album, bittersweet symphony very memorable obviously but none of the other songs really spoke to me at all, if it was on in the background of the pub (which it probs will be) then i wouldn't mind
Making this a double album was inexcusable, it was bad enough that they got a whole album with only bittersweet symphony.
A bit of meh. You can see why in the US they were a one hit wonder
I never quite understood the hype that was generated ahead of this album. The singles are great, but beyond that is all fairly mediocre and Richard Ashcroft’s vocals are hardly great. I’s a shame Lucky man is buried down at track 9, as i’d long lost interest before then. It would be far better replacing the rolling people and then you could just switch it off. Four songs do not a great album make
Throwback med första låten, rätt okej skiva. Tycker däremot den här skivan är lite för lång, det mesta flyter ihop lite och det blir inte så mycket intressant efter man lyssnat 30-40 min. 5.5/10
Marks a particular moment in time - the end of Britpop. Otherwise, not that interesting
I can see why they were popular but I find it all quite boring.
I like Bittersweet, but the rest is kinda catatonic.
Saai album. Heel overrated 🥇sonnet . 2 1. Klassieker maar kei overrated 2. Leuk liedje. Auto muziek 3. Krachtig leuk rock lied. 4. Nogal saai lied 5. Repetitief saai 6.
2.5 I feel like it alternates between songs I kind of like and songs I hate.
2/5 so repetitive and boring after about 4 songs
Trippy alt rock. Might have a few tiktokable tracks, but not for me.
For the first time, I am stealing wholesale from another review... "Bittersweet Symphony overshadows the rest of the album, which comes off as sleepy and uninteresting. It doesn't even have the decency to be short." If it was 50% as long, it might be a 3.
blah britslop. fun memories i suppose - and the unexpected last 90 seconds of the hidden track are almost enough to earn this album another star - but im fine without it tbh
Абсолютно скучный, однообразный альбом, сдесь хороши несколько первых песен, концовка хороша
I remembered the three hits, Bittersweet Symphony, The Drugs Don't Work and Lucky Man, but none of the album really stands out. The Verve were never really a big deal for me. I remember buying this album for the singles and being disappointed that the rest didn't deliver. It's also too long.
Bitter Sweet Symphony is so good, and most of the rest of it is so not. Just way too long Favorite Songs: Bitter Sweet Symphony, The Drugs Don't Work, Come On/ Deep Freeze
It’s nice I guess, but it’s not memorable
Was kinda dreading listening to this after the last verve album and it was about what I expected
hat mich auf dem falschen Fuß erwischt
I could see how I never heard of their other songs. They were just not very remarkable. Bitter Sweet Symphony is obviously a timeless classic but everything else is kind of forgettable. 2/5.
other than the first song (amazing) this album was mad boring to me unfortunately. i gave it many listens too off of the strength of the intro song but nah
Fine listen, but outside of the hit song from this album there were no other stand outs.
Other than Bitter Sweet Symphony (which is funny since I thought at the time was an Oasis song), the rest of the album is nondescript.
Not really for me. Too much ballad rock and kind of forgettable songs except for Bitter Sweet Symphony of course.
Snooze-fest throughout honestly. Just kinda forgettable outside of the major hits and overstays it's welcome by half an hour. Fav. Songs: Bitter Sweet Symphony The Drugs Don't Work
I do enjoy that their only good song was determined to be a ripoff of the stones, and they couldn't earn money from it for along time. It is a pretty good song, of course. The rest of the album is just meh.
Not nearly interesting enough to be anywhere near as long as it is. Baffles me that this is over an hour long. Just doesn't do anything interesting enough to justify its length.
just 1 hit
bem decepcionante no geral. esperava algo com vida, emoção, que nem o oasis, mas sao apenas musicas genericas e sem vida nenhuma na voz do vocalista, alem de o violao ser igual em todas as musicas. a unica faixa q eu tirei de boa do album é lucky man, de resto, o album inteiro é bem forgettable. nota 4,0
Inoffensive, but bloated and baggy - a few solid songs, and the rest sort of just washed over...
This album is one generational song followed by truly meaningless crap.
well, of course I knew bitter sweet symphony, so cool to see the other songs on the album.
This list is testing my patience with this one, I think because of the overabundance of Britpop. I am certainly no Britpop hater, but Urban Hymns suffers by comparison.
Да, первую песню я знаю, но даже её не готов слушать на повторе, как и все остальные
Fishmans vibe. Bittersweet symphony ofc goated. Pretty nice but bit repetitive and boring.
Zzzzzz
pissed me off besides the 1st song
Rating: 4/10 big oof on this one, it's obviously a sound I love but there are a lot of bands I want to listen to instead of The Verve. This one I find boring and the album goes on and on and I got tired of most songs before they finished, especially after the first four. It gets a point or two purely for its strongest run at the beginning
One ok song, the rest sounds the same, but not as ok.
The first song is great and a classic. The rest of the album is forgettable.
One iconic song overshadows all the others. Kinda boring
1,5
this album is straight ass I like bittersweet symphony but the rest was my grandad stinky ass
Lol ... bittersweet symphony brings back weird memories of college. But also my first thought on seeing this was 'oh no, another britpop album'. Beyond Bittersweet Symphony it sounds pretty generic. Wow, the awared for completely unnecessary hidden track goes to them.
1h15 de britpop é top much. Apesar do Banger que tem a abrir, como álbum é cansativo
how many bad british rock albums does one have to listen to i like some lyrics though
Two iconic songs, but not ones I would purposefully listen too. Rest of the album is all a similar sound, difficult to differentiate the songs and I don't like the tone of the main singer. Not for me
I can see why bittersweet symphony is the only song I know from this album
not good
This hasn't aged well. An hour and 16 minutes of meh!
Wasn’t expecting this to be so boring.
The Bittersweet Symphony guys are on this list? Is this some kind of sick joke? And the album is 75 minutes? Not on my watch.
This felt quite flat to me, and I didn’t really connect with it. I think this was due to the melancholic feel, the lack of groove, and the simpler rhythmic choices than I’m used to. It’s not an album I will return to.
Bittersweet symphony is the saving grace on this. I don’t care about the rest tbh!
I dunno, guys, I think I just don't like era of Brit rock. There were a few points where this surprisingly rocked out, which was cool, but overall the vibes were just too aloof and the songs went on too long.
Starts so strong then just kinda meh
This album is pretty boring.
opens with a song ive heard in ads my entire life but never been arsed about enough to google, got even less interesting after that
The first song works to the detriment of the entire album as nothing quite lives up to it.
Music is fine, would be much better with a different singer in my opinion
Lucky man? More like lacklustre man.
Bittersweet symphony is a classic no doubt. The rest of the album is completely forgettable.
This album knows exactly what it wants to be: a swirling miasma of flavorless Britpop. Britslop, as it were. Every song is equally forgettable and equally crammed with distortion. The only half memorable song opens the album, then I washed away in a see of bland. This album doesn’t feel groundbreaking or special. It just feels like filling up on complementary bread instead of eating a meal.
“Bitter Sweet Symphony” is too good for this album. “The Drugs Don’t Work” is another decent cut. But this album is mid. Only Verve album worth listening too imo is “A Storm In Heaven”.
A British Indie Rock/Britpop/Alt Rock/Pop Rock/Shoegaze album!?! Wow! It's crazy that every. single. album. in this category made this list. This is a one-hit wonder. Every other song on this album is effectively the same; same tempo, same (lack of) energy, same whinny lyrics, same boring music. This clear 2* album should be replaced with Seven Mary Three's American Standard. A one-hit-wonder contemporary with important differences. 7M3 had two singles chart, the album has a unique sound that I would categorize as Southern grunge, and it has variety in song music, lyrical themes, and tempo. That would be a 4*.
la primera cancion es famosa, tutitutitutii, titutii, titutiiii, en violín, es la unica buena, el resto okay pero meh, 2/5
Bitter Sweet Symphony was the only song of theirs I’d heard of before and it’s an absolute banger so was looking forward to this one. Turns out there’s a reason I hadn’t heard more from the Verve - rest of the album was just standard sad Brit Pop stuff. Album went on too long and did get a little bored soz. Bearable listen and the songs are decent but beyond Bitter Sweet Symphony there’s nothing special here
no
As soon as I hit play: oh shit it’s that song!
There's merit in these sort of albums - they're pretty inoffensive, the songwriting is solid, and they portray a certain vibe which is fine for the background, but... I am beginning to think I've had it with this whole list! Another day another middle of the road rock album of approximate CD length from a bunch of white dudes. I know a few of these albums are good for balance, but yet again I'm struggling for what makes this essential beyond a couple of radio singles? One star for how it made me feel about this list, but actually it's about 2.5*
Boomercore
put me to sleep
It’s unclear to me how Bittersweet Symphony can be so good and the rest of this so mediocre.
This album is way too long for no significant reason. I'm not sitting through all this
I’d only ever heard the singles. Turns out I hadn’t missed much.
Blah blah blah
Like, it's fine, I guess. I do recognize the first song. How do these guys have 16M monthly listeners on Spotify??? Why???
Cannot fault bittersweet symphony- absolutely timeless. Fell pretty flat after that for me
Nice soundscapes throughout but bittersweet symphony and lucky man are the only songs I really enjoyed
90s kills me in a bad way. Just entourage vibes always.
Blah. This list has made me realize that I do NOT like Brit pop. Not sure why this is on the list at all.
Bittersweet Symphony is my jam. The rest... has nice moments, but is pretty underwhelming. I was really looking forward to hearing the rest of the album, but it's an immediate, noticeable drop in quality.
Aside from Bittersweet Symphony this album was pretty unremarkable and unmemorable. And even then, the most memorable part of that song was not written by this band.
So, I mean, this album is fine, it's listenable. But I'm not sure why it is on this list. It is one popular late 90s alternate album, in a sea of popular late 90s alternative albums.
In all the years that I've heard Bittersweet Symphony on the radio, I've never once thought "I want to hear more by this artist" the album is fine I guess but not really my thing.
very catchy (& ultimately annoying) song, absurd piece of popular music history for Richards/Jagger to get songwriting credit. a person could go through life never hearing any other Verve song and that's fine.
A good avatar for about a hundred British rock albums that have washed over me, more or less inoffensively
There are a couple of decent songs outside of Bitter Sweet Symphony, but I was disappointed overall.
meh
meh. I feel like we're playing a little fast & loose with the "must hear" designation. Nothing about this was a must
Also pretty boring. It sounds like typical mid-90s "rock". At times the singer sounds like Thom Yorke, in an almost mimicking fashion.
Bittersweet Symphony seems to have been a really happy accident ... if you listen to the rest of this album full of whiny low-energy music that is endlessly dragging on without going anwhere. The singer looks kinda cool on the album cover though.
favs: bitter sweet symphony the rolling people the drugs don’t work neon wilderness weeping willow rating 2/5
Drugs won't work is a banger of a tune, so is bittersweet symphony even if I've heard it a million times! Not convinced on this as an album as a whole though, there's not much that stands out..
Its alright, except the singer grinds my gears.
Not really much to say about this. The singles are obviously great for what they are. The album sold millions. Not really my thing though.
I like Bittersweet Symphony in the same way I love all 2000s ear worms. Otherwise this was lukewarm, moody, brit-pop with too long of songs and not much to say. Crazy that it wormed it's way onto this list.
Didn't like
Eh? Exactly what I thought of this album the first time I heard them.
bože, strašno, gdje početi... krenimo s ispoređenjem s prethodnim albumom (sjeverna duša - zašto se uopće tako zove? prije nevera kurčine): svaka pjesma opet traje predugo. i to duplo. neke pjesme od jedva pet minuta kao da traju petnaest. i glavna stvar, ali ne u jednakoj mjeri kao na prvom albumu: dosadno, jako dosadno. ipak postoje znatne razlike koje su u stvari nekakav napredak; bilo bi tužno da su ostali na istoj usranoj razini prethodnog albuma... prva stvar, radijskin iskasapljena, okej je, ali ništa posebno, mogla bi, kao i sve ostale pjesme, biti kraća; pjesma lucky man je isto tako prolazna, ali nećete past na guzicu. na zadnjoj pjesmi ton albuma napkon se mijenja (premda mi je pjesma zakurac), ali tada je već prekasno, samo usere dojam na kraju. u stvari dojam potpuno usere skrivena pjesma koja je potpuno pomodno instrumentalno izdrkavanje. sve u svemu ovo bi bio stoput slušljiviji album da je svaka pjesma duplo kraća, bez zajebancije. a i vokal bi mogao biti podnošljiv, ali jebiga, šta ćeš. ipak, dat ću dva jer su stvarno dogurali do nečeg trunku boljeg od prethodnog smeća. pretpostavljam da bolje od ovog dečkima ne ide, i to je okej
Bittersweet Symphony The Drugs Don’t Work Lucky Man
I hope listening to this turns out to have made me secretly better at karate or something.
Most of these songs are the same song.
The first half of the record was painfully mediocre, with maybe the exception of the first track, which was used in every 2000s YouTube video. The second half of the record is a little bit better. Overall, this was okay. I'm knocking off a point for running way longer than I think it should have. Favourite Track(s): Weeping Willow, One Day Least Favourite Track(s): The Drugs Don't Work, Catching the Butterfly
I have this album. I think it's okay, but the absolute only memorable thing is bittersweet Symphony.
This album was very boring. I can see why they only had one hit. At least they were nice enough to make their one hit the first track on the album.
ok men för mycket som oasis. för gnälligt, för långt
Varför har alla låtar samma rytm? Nä det här går jag inte på.
треки которые понравились: • bittersweet symphony • sonnet • the drugs don't work в остальном скучновато. как кто-то написал "группа одного хуесосного хита"
This album is alright, a few hits and catchy songs. Boy did their egos inflate behind their talent. I can't shake the idea that the Verve were the Razorlight of their time and Dick Ashcroft the Jonny Borrell.