Reviews (page 11 of 14)
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.
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
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.
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. Oh, that's right, by rule all 90s britpop is on the list.
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.
With not being a psychedelic rock fan came the worst possible fate. That being that this albums sound is very consistent , usually a good thing. But, in this case it just wasn’t for me.
I can see why The Verve was a one-hit wonder. Despite my hopes that "Urban Hymns" would reveal The Verve to be one of those groups with many brilliant songs neglected by the mainstream, the majority of the tracks range from sounding like a knock-off Radiohead at best to a self-important bar band at worst. The fact that "Bitter Sweet Symphony" is the first song on the record does not do the album any favors, as every subsequent pales in comparison to that lead-off hit. I'm confused why the band didn't incorporate strings as prominently throughout the album; they made it work to perfection once, yet the orchestral arrangements immediately disappear besides some accents in a few other songs. Unsurprisingly, those songs with strings are the strongest: "The Drugs Don't Work" and "Lucky Man."
This was slightly better than the previous few albums and I liked a couple of songs on the album but the bar is so low at this point. I liked the sound a bit better but still wouldn’t listen to any of the songs on my own time.
4/10
65
2.4/5 I'd only heard the singles off this album but I enjoyed the album as a whole mostly.
Kinda mid? Idk man I didn't love it. It felt like noise after a while
Sounds monotonous to me. The strings are superfluous. Not for me.
Honestly, I was excited to give The Verve a proper listen. Naturally, I knew their most famous track so I was hoping for an underrated album of absolute bangers. Unfortunately, the only song I liked was the famous Bittersweet Symphony. Side A has a few tolerable songs alongside the great opening, but nothing else really stands out. Side B was a blur of droning Britpop nonsense. One-note. Although the lyrics are ok, I largely detest Ashcroft's vocal performance. It feels garage rock in quality, but with the polish of high-end production backing. Ultimately, I feel terrible rating this album so low, but I can't justify rating an album of this length any higher because I enjoyed a single song that I've previously heard.
Yet another way-too-long british indie pop album, how many of these are there gonna be? Its boring, monotonous, and just not fun to listen to.
I wish I could come on here and write “The album with the token Britpop song that everyone knows is actually a banger - they aren’t just a one hit wonder.” But unfortunately that’s not how I felt about this one.
4/10
The singles are great, especially Sonnet, but the rest is one big snoozefest. Why did they insist on every song being a minimum of 5 minutes long? Most of these songs start out ok but soon fall into the same dull, boring style. Meh. 2.5.
Убрать сэмпл оркестра и роллингов, кто ты без него?
It’s fine. It doesn’t stand out at all from the rest of the late nineties alternative pretenders.
Full disclosure that I have PTSD from having to endure Richard Ashcroft live and thought I wouldn't live through the extended disco version of Bitter Sweet Symphony he played, so this record was slightly triggering. It was also quite same-y and kinda felt like a lesser Oasis. Mid, with a point deducted for emotional damages.
Booooooooooooriiiiiiiiiiiing
Heard Before? Only "Bitter Sweet". Notes: - yet more midtempo britpop. hurrah. - the deeply layered, complex and often gorgeous production is lipstick on the pig of these underwritten songs. - the worst sin of the CD era was pointlessly long songs and albums that don't justify their runtime. - all the players are supremely competent, if lacking in imagination. - I just could not bring myself to care about anything Richard Ashcroft had to say. He started to sound like the adults in Peanuts. - WAS THEIR METRONOME STUCK? Verdict: Mostly these are immaculately polished turds. I got lost in the lovely details a few times, but none of the songs meant anything to me. Listen Again? Nope. Not awful but there's just no reason for me to pay attention.
BEST SONGS: - Velvet Morning - The Drugs Don't Work
There’s a reason you can only name one song by The Verve. Bittersweet Symphony is a great start and the rest is just long and forgettable
Not much of fan. One note music. Nothing too exciting
Well, I didn't hate it as much as some of y'all did. The opening track is fantastic, no doubt about it. I really wanted to latch on to something else but it felt uninspiring to me. A lot of mid-tempo plodding. Maybe you just need to be in a mellow mood for this one. 2.5 stars.
Sounds like knockoff oasis
gecko beats
Freshman year of high school, my biology teacher was going through something. He would lock himself in the supply closet and play Bittersweet Symphony on repeat every class period. That song gives me flashbacks. The rest of the album kinda sucks too. The singer had a whiny voice and the album goes on forever.
So one of my favorite songs is The Drugs Don't Work. They get a point for that song alone from me. I'm not sure if I truly like Bittersweet Symphony or if I just heard it so many times my brain gave up wanting to hate it. Seriously that song was played so much I think if you were alive around then you kinda just know it. The rest of the album is boring though. Very slow drivel honestly. Like if they wanted to just rock the hell out they could as they have the talent, but drugs or a producer told them no, embrace the super emo. It's an interesting album that is very much of it's time. I'm not sure if released at any other time it would gain traction. It's like all the millennials chose depression to listen to.
Good as it gets for late 90 s rock
Partly heard before Saved 3/13 Top track: Bitter Sweet Symphony
Meh. I find much of this whole Brit Pop thing to be so limited to a time...and not in a good way. Sounds like early Coldplay and a late Oasis. And I've got Blur and Radiohead...don't really need anything else. Though I'll admit that Bittersweet Symphony is an amazing song no matter how overplayed. The Hidden Track concept is a fun CD memory. But besides that, not much jumps out at me here. These songs are too long. The whole album is too long. And "The Verve" and "Urban Hymns" along with track titles like "Neon Wilderness," "Space and Time," and "Velvet Morning" feel like titles and names put together by ad people. There's a bit of classic rock psychedelia here that is a nice twist and squeeze on the old Brit Pop formula. But it's a far cry from the grit and kaleidoscopic brilliance of some of the other albums on this list. It all feels very safe here. Very classic rock. In a way that both millennial sons and boomer fathers can nod along too. And that sentiment is nice. It's just also a little boring. I honestly don’t want to put this on the same tier as Faust IV but I’m gonna have to go with a 2/5
meh, achtergrondmuziek op zn best
Overall: 6/10 Vocals: 5 Instruments/Melody/Sound: 7 Lyrics: 4 Likely to listen to it again: 3 Other: Good electric guitar solos. Good study music, just a lot of instrumental parts and same style.
It's ok, but a lot of it just isn't necessary and could be left out, like much of the britpop on this list.
This album suffers mightily from pacing. Like a lot of 90s albums, this album is both too long as a whole and each song individually. This last point is where this album really fails. Each songs stops developing after 2 minutes, but then we're subjected to 5 minutes of a repeating chorus to end the song. But even if the band had managed to write with better pacing, the vocal melodies are predictable and there's nothing special about the music either. 2.0/5.0: Disappointing
mehhh blijft niet echt hangen ofzo buiten 1 basic banger!
2,5 1 goeie banger, de rest is vergeetachtig. 13 in een dozijn album.
Overall, a pretty good listen. There were a few songs that sounded like they were going towards Oasis. Some that sounded a little newer.
I
Bittersweet ist ein tolles Lied der Rest ist typisch Rock belanglos bis nervig. Schade eig!
I never understood how this band, and Bitter Sweet Symphony in particular, got to be so popular. It's all just mush. Corporate sound, corporate lyrics, and sold to be filler in commercials and movie credits.
My second album by The Verve. I read my review for A Northern Soul after listening to all of Urban Hymns and I could write the same thing about this one. The sound is so rounded and muted that even the parts that 'rock' sound listless. There are a few songs that have a build-up that goes from quiet boring to loud boring. And they are LONG. One thought i had is that this is what depression sounds like, and maybe that's what they were going for? If so, mission accomplished, but this was not something that I personally enjoyed.
Play with my worm till it burps on you
Bittersweet Symphony one of my all time favourites the rest of the album is very forgettable though
Very depressing and kinda boring britpop. I liked a couple of songs but it’s nothing special as an album.
Not for me
I'd never listened to much past Bittersweet Symphony, but I can see why. There wasn't a lot for me here, nothing really stuck out.
didnt leave an impression on me tbh
Nice album
I actually liked a few of these cuts. I knew nothing of this band. Won't be a repeat listen.
A handful of good songs.
Britpop sucks butt and should stay dead. This album is a great representation of it: boring, lifeless, emotionless, bloated, and wildly overrated. There is literally nothing good-great on this album (not even “Bittersweet Symphony”). He just drones on and on and on and on with zero emotion or talent for 70+ minutes. And that pretty much sums up Britpop for yah.
Nothing special, the first song was really good then it just went downhill because they all just sounded the same. Reminded me of a worse version of Radiohead and Oasis.
I gunna agree with ap.
Eh, ai like the two hits that I already knew, everything else was pretty forgettable, nothing really held my attention for long. Favorite tracks- “Bittersweet Symphony” “The Drugs Don’t Work”
One song ... not sure if it's a must listen album
It was certainly a product of it's time. Bittersweet Symphony is the standout track, and the only one I can really remember.
It was ok, a bit generic
Landfill indie.
Это не плохая музыка. Но это и не хорошая музыка. Это никакая музыка. Ничего не цепляет. Это могло бы быть лучше и значительнее короче. Лучшая песня: Bitter Sweet Symphony
Kept on losing stars as the album progressed. Too long and not as good as the first track.
Britpop/10
I see why they were a one hit wonder. (2.5)
A few decent sections but pretty bland and boring overall. (2.5)
The first track starts and I’m like “hey, I know this tune, this album will be good”. And then it plods on for track after track, each song disappointingly very much like the last. The vocalist’s range has no higher register, nor lower register, every track smack dap in the annoying sweet spot of mid-range, each melody the same boring 3 or 4 chord tune played over and over while the mid- range vocals talk through the “songs”. And then, when you’ve plodded through all that you get treated to disc 2 which is the band playing the same songs “live” - although the bands energy, and for that matter the crowds energy, are both typically British, which is to say barely above a resting pulse. In all 2 hours and 27 minutes of repetitive tedium. The album summarized well what has become of British music since about 1980, the longer you listen the worse it gets.
Another boring Verve album. Slightly better than the one I was forced to listen to yesterday, though.
Feel like the album cover does a pretty good job summing-up the overall vibe of this one.
Obviously Bittersweet Symphony is great. I'm looking at that 1 hour 15 runtime and I'm wondering if the rest of the album will justify the length It doesn't. This is boring. Sorry. Songs added to playlist: - Bittersweet Symphony - Come On Although! I added a different version of Come On (Loco Studio Session) because I did not like Deep Freeze. Not strictly from this album, but I truly don't need 8 minutes of silence and then Deep Freeze in my playlist.
Bitter-sweet symphony is a banger but its the only one. Kind of knock off oasis
It's got that one song on it and the rest is just pretty forgettable 90's Oasis-adjacent songs that are apparently catnip for Robert Dimery