Urban Hymns

Started out good but sooo repetitive

Honestly thought this was super boring. It sounded fine, but yeah just nothing really there for me. I do think there's maybe something to this being a 90s sound that I grew up with so it feels more derivative and boring than a similar straight down the middle rock record from the 70s say.

Really pushing the middle of the pack here. Could you get more album than this album? 4/10

nothing really notable outside the single

This was lackluster alt rock for me. Nothing terrible, but you have to bring something special when you are on a list like this. Favorite track was weeping willow

bitter sweet symphony is definitively the best song on this album. the rolling people was good for a minute and a half.. and then they repeated the same thing for another five and a half minutes.

Not my favorite. Bittersweet Symphony couldn’t elevate this album enough. Just forgettable in all regards.

I hope I never hear bitter sweet symphony again. Otherwise very excruciating and Oasis-like.

fine.

I'd be mad if someone gave me this album and said something hyperbolic like: "no matter what, you need to hear this album before you die". That said, Bittersweet Symphony is absolutely a single you should hear before you die

Big feelings, bigger strings, and lyrics that sound profound until you actually listen to them. One immortal song doing community service for the rest.

So boring man. First song is of course iconic, but even that’s boring

This album opens with one good song, and then manages to die out pretty quickly. It's too long, and mediocre, forgettable rock music. Nothing to write home about, and certainly not something everyone must hear before they die.

Oh, The Verve have more than 1 song? Just joking, I know they have 2 songs... Well, I honestly think the 3 hit tracks are great and I was disappointed to find out the rest of the catalogue is extremely samey-samey, and the comparison with Oasis is accurate. Some brilliant songs but the rest is incredibly dull. I wouldn't describe this as an album experience, and especially not a "must listen before you die". A low 2.5

One hit wonder, el resto de canciones son de grupo un poco indie/emo estandar

This album sounds like many other britpop albums. It's nothing interesting (in any way) and it becomes very repetitive. It is so bland and, in some way, uninspired too. Yes, it may have songs that are good, or, at least, not that bad, but, overall, the album is very long for what it really has to offer. The songs are not good at all. Some are more enjoyable, but this does not mean that they are actually good. So, this is a very forgettable album with very basic and generic songs.

Bittersweet Symphony is so catchy but... is it good? I'd argue not really. It always strikes me as a medium hit from Coldplay. Spotify calls this band a revolutionary band and I really don't hear it. It's not a bad album but it's just so mid to me.

Favorite tracks: Bitter Sweet Symphony, Lucky Man, Sonnet, The Drugs Don't Work Whenever I get to an album where all of my favorite tracks are the ones I already know, I have to question if the only reason I actually like them is for nostalgia's sake. Overall the songs sound largely the same, and the lead singer often drones more than he sings.

Sometimes a band catches lightning in a bottle and you get a "Bitter Sweet Symphony." That, then, produces the false expectation of more advanced songwriting and production on Urban Hymns. But then you are treated to mostly simple ballads. If the album were more like "The Rolling People," I would be inclined to like it a lot better. However, the album wants to be more like "The Drugs Don't Work" which does not work for me. Also, minus one for including a hidden track, making me think something was wrong with the playback.

knew of the verve going into this but didn't know enough to realize the first track - bitter sweet symphony - was theirs!! it's a good enough song despite being crazy overplayed, though the rest of the album didn't have too much more to offer. for a band called THE verve, their panache was... milquetoast - bordering on the kind of acceptable if routine decency you get with U2, and i couldn't help but compare this to U2 whilst listening to this (or coldplay, for that matter!!). didn't love this didn't hate this but... didn't feel much about this one either way. highlights - bitter sweet symphony, catching the butterfly, weeping willow, this time

Best part was the bass grooves subtly in the background. Songs crafted well but not catchy choruses and didn’t seem too inventive. Wouldnt return to listen but i do like the main hit from the album.

enjoyed sonnet disliked rolling people don't mind weeping willow

The type of shite dull Britpop that makes me thankful Nirvana’s “I Hate Myself and I Want to Die” exists Also, The Verve really aren’t interesting enough to be having hidden tracks

Ten stars for Bitter Sweet Symphony, but negative nine for the rest of the album

Boring and the parts with the classical music are lame.

There's only one good song on this album, the rest are disappointing and boring.

A quote from my "Blur" review: "This is the kind of album you'd buy for one track and then spend months trying to convince yourself you liked the rest of it so you didn't feel ripped off." While it's not as janky as the other Britpop albums we've had thus far, it is pretty boring and (like several of its individual songs) runs too long. If I had no basis for comparison, I'd have given this a lower score; so, it definitely benefits from its place in the algorithm.

Cancun edition: Listened to this by the pool in Mexico. Needless to say it probably wasn’t the right vibe. The album was overshadowed by late 90s music where Middle Aged women were trying to dance to Britney Spears “baby, one more time” in between their espresso martinis….. and I know what you are thinking. Drinking espresso martinis poolside in Mexico seems so gross. Why would someone do it? The same is to be said about listening to this nonsense while watching this train wreck all day. The verve certainly missed the mark on overall ambiance, and I guess I can’t fault them that I’m in Mexico. I can fault them though for me being more invested in these messy women falling into the pool, than this emo bore.

Love the strings on Bitter Sweet Symphony. Otherwise, way too long and sounds an awful lot like U2 (not a good thing). +1 star for not actually being U2. Listened before? N Saved to library? N Favorite track(s): Bitter Sweet Symphony ⭐⭐: Didn't like it, didn't hate it. Saved no tracks.

It’s an okay album. I feel like there is some real bias by the author of the list on this one. Does having 1 hit song mean the whole album is worry of one’s time? Most of the album is rather flat and uninspired. 2.5/5 Probably won’t listen again

Ohja! Dat nummer! Zo begint dit album, en ik was best enthousiast, want Bitterrsweet Symphony is een goed nummer toch? Toch? Eerst zei ik ja, maar na de rest te hebben gehoord... Eh? Is het een goed nummer omdat het een goed nummer is of meer omdat ik het zo vaak heb gehoord dat ik het wel ok vind? Ik laat het nu bij mn FAVO,maar pfoe, dit album is wel ff door worstelen hoor. Dit is precies de muziek waar ik niet van hou, van die hele trage indie rock. Het voelt nietszeggend, maar toch ook zeikerig en ik kan hier nooit echt iets moois in ontdekken. Nu dus helaas ook niet als ik eerlijk ben. Is het allemaal slecht? Nee, maar mijn god, wat is het saai. Oh en ik heb de hidden track geskipt, die had prima verborgen kunnen blijven. Niemand heeft na een uur zaaddodende muziek nog een kwartier toegift nodig jongens. Had dan Bittersweet Symphony gewoon nog eens gespeeld, das het enige nummer waarbij ik tenminste iets voelde. FAVO: Bittersweet Symphony,

I've always found The Verve to be SUPER forgettable, with Bitter Sweet Symphony being the only track that is remotely memorable. 2⭐️

Bittersweet Symphony is a classic, banger to kick off the album. Regrettably thats the only highlight. Tough to put my finger on this one, nothing stood out I think because they have too many songs on the album and many sound similar to eachother. I'm conflicted on this one. Didnt hate it, but didnt like it. I'm not mad at the album, I'm dissappointed in it. Would I recommend it? No. So it gets a 2, but could have snuck into a 3 if I were in a different mood.

This album is the grandest tier of meh, I like the entire story around Bitter Sweet Symphony; the debacle about the songwriting credits. I just can't help but feel they chose to extend the album out to the CD's maximum length, which is lame - It's good value if you like the album - but its lame for me and others who aren't a fan. And of course because it's a 90s album it has to have a hidden track which is also lame. I feel a bit of a jerk giving it a 2 star, as the band members of The Verve seem like humble guys, from having seen some interviews here and there. But ultimately I'm not a fan of the album.

Bittersweet Symphony does all the heavy lifting on this album.

2 only because c likes that one song bc it was in the ending of Cruel Intentions

Not sure what to say about this one. It's not objectively bad but I'm surprised how little it moved me. It might have gone down a little smoother at half the length but the 75 minute playtime made this album really tiresome. After the opening track I didn't find the album did anything to grab me. It's some melodramatic indie brit-pop but doesn't have any of the energy that I typically enjoy in the genre. Even Bitter Sweet Symphony which is undoubtedly the biggest and best song from this album appears to have lost a lot of its appeal to me nearly 30 years down the line. I understand why this album may have had its moment in 1997 but man did it underwhelm me in 2025. A surprising 1.78 stars.

Booo

Bah

I bought this on CD back when it was new. I feel the same way now as I did then - I wish I could have heard the rest of the album beyond the first track first. Bittersweet symphony is, and was, huge. Then the rest is just average Britpop of the era. Not bad, not good. Without that first track, none of us would know who this band is.

kinda great value oasis

super boring to me it wasn’t really relaxing like ik they were going for that vibe but it just didn’t hit for me. idk why in the world bitter sweet symphony is on this album it’s a banger. also a 15 minute song is insane the last 9 mins is just silence idk what’s up with that

I like bittersweet symphony but the rest of this was not my thing

Eeeeeer y'know it was definitely an album, but probably not for me Micah

Better but not as many songs I liked. A bit too slow, nothing hype or groovy

Bittersweet Symphony is perfect. Space and Time I quite like too. The rest though... really wears me down. The second half of the record I enjoyed more, but it is very repetitive and murky, with songs that go on too long. Sounds very Oasisy, but in a bad way. 2.5

the orchestral shoegaze epicness of "Bittersweet Symphony" is unfortunately never replicated/expanded upon for a full album experience.

I am probably going to be a little more harsh on this one than I normally would, only because I was given another The Verve album less than a week ago. I really don't think The Verve should have two albums on this arbitrary list of 1001 albums that I should listen to before I die. Maybe they were more influential in the UK. As an American, they are a one-hit wonder. For good or ill that hit is here with "Bittersweet Symphony" a song that I have heard way too much and that I am not even a fan of. The rest of the album is a duller version of the standard Britpop of the era. t least the other Verve album had a youthful energy that I could respect. This one is just dull.

Boring

I recognize some of this, but not a fan of this sort of whiney rock. Really wish it were shorter, so a 2.

Pretty bland and largely forgettable. Kept having to drag myself To pay attention to it and let it just be background music.

I always thought of The Verve as brit-pop for your Dad, this didn't particularly change my mind. Some good moments but not for me really.

Fine

Starts out strong with their big hit then the rest of the songs are meh to okay.

I feel like I'm being slowly bashed over the head with an inflatable mallet with 'Britpop' written on it: It doesn't hurt but it gets annoying after an hour and 15 minutes. Even Bitter Sweet Symphony sounds dull to me and I don't think anyone would remember it if not for the violin. Apparently BBC Radio 1 listeners voted it the third best song ever... in 1998, one year after its release. 'Whatever' by Oasis is a better use of violin and that's a largely forgotten song. All in all, the album is fine. I think it could have been a low 4 if it was shorter, but there really aren't any songs that warrant that score.

Not a very memorable album, nothing much to add 2/5

Pretty dull, nothing particularly memorable other than that song (you know the one). Not sure I needed 75 mins of britpop..

I won’t apologize for still liking “Bittersweet Symphony” but the rest of this album is a bore. 2/5

I like lucky man and deep freeze, bittersweet Symphony, and the drugs don’t work. For neon wilderness and some of the music was a little too industrial feeling for me, but when there is more of a Melody in the music, I enjoyed it.

Sooooo boring.... Generous 2 stars.

I love their song. And maybe that other song. 2.5 rounded down

Never understood the appeal based on the single. Maybe you had to be in he uk in the late 90s. The rest of the album is a bit better but pretty bland.

Meh

quite monotonous and uninspiring except for bittersweet symphony and the drugs don’t work. Wouldn’t actively listen to this album again except for those songs.

It’s…fine? It seems inessential and the only songs I really enjoy were the ones that made me wish I was listening to R.E.M.

Fairly boring. Had heard bitersweet symphony and lucky man before, with lucky man being my favorite but the songs kind of blend and I wouldn't go back to it.

Bitter Sweet Symphony is a great one hit wonder track. The rest of this album? My 2 and 3 ratings are blending in to one. Do I even like music anymore?

A trip down memory lane. Bit samey though.

Did not care for this

The drugs don't work is an anthem, but for the rest I always found it a bit annoying. Hasn't really become more interesting with time. One of those records that everyone of our age had, and put on during dinner parties. A bit yawn for me...

It was ok

Some good ones but mostly boring 2/5

They really do sound like an Oasis clone. For a long time all I knew was Bittersweet Symphony, and then a friend played Lucky Man and I realized that they managed to have two good songs. The rest of this album? Eh.

One good song

Not bad this Oasis tribute act, but I don’t understand why they play so few of the hits. Needs more Champagne Supernova

many of the bands of the early to mid 60’s made a seemingly conscious decision to sound like the beatles because they were arguably the biggest band of the era. fast forward to the mid 90’s. there seemed to be several bands that emulated the sound of oasis, one of the biggest bands of the 90’s. enter the verve. i don’t like oasis, and i damn sure don’t like an off brand knockoff version.

Wow, this was boring.

Bitter Sweet Symphony - ja Den Rest braucht niemand.

2nd rate Oasis. Oasis is 3 star to me. I gave their other album on the list 2 stars. Must have been a low 2 stars. This is a medium 2 stars, because at least it has the only relevant song they ever made, Bitter Sweet Symphony, which is really only good because they picked a good sample.

I liek the first track, the rest I was waiting for the album to end. Its fine, just not my vibe, the Britpop or whatever you call this genre isn’t my bag, so 2 stars for me

biggest L in music for sure

Bloated, safe, and stuck in the shadow of its own biggest hit. 𝘜𝘳𝘣𝘢𝘯 𝘏𝘺𝘮𝘯𝘴 rides the emotional weight of 𝘉𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘚𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘚𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘺 so hard that nearly every track feels like a lesser rewrite. Richard Ashcroft delivers each vocal line with the same strained earnestness, as if chasing the same moment again and again. The instrumentation is lush and polished, no doubt — but it lacks invention or urgency. Where others in 1997 pushed boundaries, The Verve chose to inflate familiar ideas. And the hidden track? Best left hidden. A few good melodies can’t disguise the overall sense of missed opportunity.

Mediocre

This was pretty profoundly boring. (2)

No more brtipop please. I'm over it. lol

Did you know they had to turn all royalties for bittersweet to The Rolling Stones up until like last year? Super interesting story, they sampled the strings from a cover of a Rolling Stones song and got that cleared but their manager claimed the chorus is too similar to a different Rolling Stones song (it’s not similar at all) so Keith and Mick got full writing credits and all royalties for that song for years and years. There’s a very good YouTube video on it highly recommend watching it and how old school music managers are villains. Anyways that’s the only thing interesting about this album.

Boooooooring

point9.

mehh and ehhh

In 1997 "Bittersweet Symphony" was playing everywhere. Along with "The Drugs Don't Work" and "Lucky Man", Urban Hymns spoke to millions... just not me. The songs seem to bleed into each other, but not in a good way, by the time I got to the end, I was hard pressed to say what I liked or didn't like. It was all just "meh".

I would have enjoyed this quite a bit more if it were a tighter experience. Not only is the album too long, but pretty much every song is roughly two minutes overlong. That said, this is a heavy vibes record, so if you're not feeling it the album will seem interminable. That said Bittersweet Symphony holds up, even if I never really need to hear it again. If I could give half stars, I would, but alas.

I had this album in grad school and listened to it over and over through a painful breakup. Now I just think it’s whiny and twee.

MAWR BRI'ISH! this is a band for me where, like, it played in Sears and shit like that for years, and you think you know this band, but it just blends together which a buncha other bullshit that i can be super cynical about... but its okay. is it Oasis? U2? Snow Patrol? who knows. now i got that outta my system, i can go over the songs i don't know. Sonnet is very chill. very British pop rock of the 90's. some parts have some energy like The Rolling Papers. kinda whiny, even though this is the kinda stuff i grew up with.

Not more Brit pop! I never realized exactly how overrated the genre was until I started this project. I did re-appreciate “Lucky Man,” and “Bittersweet Symphony” is canonical, but that’s about it for me.

First song is the iconic bittersweet symphony and it was an easy listen throughout. 2

Heard it before. Sadly, they peaked with their Rolling Stones rip off and did nothing too interesting otherwise 2/5

Kind of bland. A little long and slower then i was looking for.

For me, Bittersweet Symphony is interesting, the rest is just so-so.

Everything about this album is okay

This album set a high bar for itself with “bittersweet symphony” being the opening track. It never got close to reaching that point again.

It's fine, but mostly just standard 90's alt-rock fare

I've always hated this album...especially Bittersweet Symphony. Annoying AF.

I'm plowing through this long, boring album and I finally get to the last song...and it's 15 minutes long! No thanks. One or two pretty tunes, though.

Kinda boring

90s albums are always too long. Unfortunately, every song on this album sounds the exact same, and none of them are as good as Bittersweet Symphony (which is a good but not a great song).

This just bored the absolute pants off me. No wonder I've only ever heard their 2 biggest songs

I remember getting this album in high school because of the song Bittersweet Symphony and being disappointed with the rest of it. When it came up yesterday I was excited to listen again hoping that I would find some more on here that I liked. Still no. Nothing is inherently bad, but it just feels like a mess. It doesn't really go together except its late 90's emo. We have tech to alt to rock but none are great. Bittersweet symphony feels effortless and real. For the rest they are trying to hard making them so forced sounding that it looses much of the feelings in the song.

So this is the band that sings Bitter Sweet Symphony (a pretty good song). Sometimes you can find some hidden gems besides "that one hit". And sometimes the rest of the album just sucks.

It didn't pain me to listen to this one, unlike most Britpop albums, and a couple of songs I actually thought were pretty decent, such as The Rolling People. But 75 minutes of Britpop gets to you eventually. Maybe a harsh 2, probably would be higher if it was shorter

This album felt pretty empty to me, despite its length. None of the tracks really grabbed me, aside from "Weeping Willow" and (of course) "Bitter Sweet Symphony." Other than that, this seemed like a pretty generic album.

Starts good, but not a fan of most of the songs.

Did not age that well.

(36 known/80 new)

an album called urban hymns with a white guy in a bucket hat on the front cover….WHEW. bittersweet symphony really props up the rest of this thing. it feels like every single song, except for the one (1) that is under three minutes, overstays its welcome.

++: Bitter Sweet Symphony, The Rolling People, Catching the Butterfly, Neon Wilderness, Come On, Deep Freeze +: This Time, Velvet Morning +-: Weeping Willow, Lucky Man -: Sonnet, The Drugs Don't Work, Space and Time, One Day 5,4/10

Like everyone else, I only knew Bittersweet Symphony going into this. After giving it a listen, I feel like Bittersweet Symphony was the apex. It's a pity they started with that, because it was all down hill after. This sounded like background music. It didn't make me feel anything. It was a bit boring and over-serious. Lighten up, everyone. Shorten your songs and make them more interesting. Forgettable and bland.

This is what it would sound like of Colin Robinson were to start a band influenced by Oasis and REM. Except for the chorus in Sonnet, there wasn’t much to enjoy. The songs dragged on for way too long

Haven't heard this one before but I doo t care. Bitter-sweet symphony is a perfect song. It rules and there is nothing you can say about it. OK the rest of the tracks are fine but I don't want to listen to them again. I wasn't angry or upset I just wandered away. I couldn't stop thinking about a book im reading and not listening to the music. It's just boring. It's fine but im bored to tears

I keep getting albums where there’s like one phenomenal song and that’s it, dunno how that’s a whole album that you must listen to before you die.

This thing bored my pants ON!! I am wearing pants to this day!

It's a bittersweet symphony this life......

not only did this suck... but it was also long as fuck

Way WAY better then their debut. Some good songs and a couple snoozers. It's ok 6/10

Starting off a little hot: secret tracks are stupid and I don't think they add much value to the CD other than lying about the length time. You shouldn't have a 15 minute song on your album where roughly 8 minutes is silence because maybe I forgot to start the CD over. And frankly, if I'm being honest, I don't even think I'd want to start this CD over. Bittersweet Symphony slaps for the first two minutes and then the rest of it drags on. I shouldn't be confronted with multiple songs that have over 6 minute run times. It doesn't mean they can't exist. But I suppose I want something a little more tucked. I want the wheat and not the chaff. I want something polished and dense and not necessarily 60 minutes of music that sounds roughly the same. I might change my mind as the day goes on but I wasn't really looking forward to this listen. Starting play through two now so fingers crossed I am able to uncover my true feelings about this album. Listened to it a second time and thought it was still mid. Everything kinda blended together, but nothing really captured my attention. It’s not that the music was bad. It’s just more that I didn’t find it original, or appealing, or very engaging. Maybe I’ve heard these songs a bunch in the milieu of living and the appeal has worn thin over the years. Or maybe it’s because it’s just not what I’m into. I don’t doubt the talent of the musicians, but the final product wasn’t for me.

Not a huge fan, but I can see the appeal

I will admit right off the bat that Bitter Sweet Symphony is one of my least favorite songs ever. (I also find the music video just as annoying.) So, when I saw that Urban Hymns by The Verve was my album for the day, I didn’t expect this to be a pleasant experience. Based on my disdain for Bitter Sweet Symphony, I never took the time to listen to this album before today. About halfway through Urban Hymns and this is not as bad as I expected. Some decent songs on here. I’m not crazy about Ashcroft’s voice but it’s not a deal breaker. I knew of a Ben Harper version of The Drugs Don’t Work. I didn’t know this was a Verve song originally. Whether this is a fair assessment or not, my initial reaction to Urban Hymns is that it reminds me of a mix between Oasis and The Stone Roses. Overall, there are songs on here I don’t mind but I’m not sure this a full album I want to listen to again. I’m going with a 2 rating. 2/5.

Een Britpop-album die in eerste instantie aanvoelt als de standaard blauwdruk van het genre rond die tijd, maar na een aandachtige luisterbeurt zie je wel in hoe The Verve met deze plaat echt een eigen niche bekleden. Het is veel orkestraler en psychedelischer dan hun tijds- en genregenoten. Dat gezegd hebbende is het ook een album dat lijdt onder een grote kloof tussen goede en slechte nummers. Ik merk dat ik er nooit echt lekker in kom door die inconsistentie. Daarnaast zeuren de meeste nummers ook net iets te lang door. Muzikaal gezien is het soms wonderschoon, maar als totaalstuk doet het me niet veel. 6/10 Highlights: Bitter Sweet Symphony Sonnet

Way too long and boring. Yes, Bittersweet sticks in your head. But the rest is forgettable.

Lori- 5 Mike- 5 Michael- 5 Miles- 6 Cole- 6

I listened to this album a lot during a very down period — it did not make my life better. Obviously, because I listened to it frequently, I won’t say it’s not a good album — in fact, it performs best because it is an album. But if i wanted to listen to the Lament of the Heroin Addict, I’d listen to Pink Floyd instead. This is a two.

Bittersweet symphony is good but everything else is mid to terrible

This ones a bit of a mixed bag. It felt like Psychedelic brit pop meets 90s dance music with some top 40 alternative rock thrown on top. The songs that leaned more towards dance music were definitely the better tracks. Overall the record wasn't weird/psychedelic enough to be interesting (except maybe the hidden track with the baby crying vocal)... or poppy enough to stick with me. I feel like the debut record from the Stone roses is such a better combination of these ideas. It's weirder and it's catchier. I hope it's on this list. Highlights: The drugs don't work - good pop song, good lyrics This time - good mix of dance music, good beat Velvet morning was solid And ofcourse.... Bitter Sweet Symphony is a classic... love a pop song with really bleak/existential lyrics In general the hits of strings in the background across the record were nice (i wanted to give it a 2.5 but you can only give whole numbers)

Honestly, I just don’t see the appeal. It’s just a copy of everybody else. There is nothing original or compelling with this band. Posers.

So bland. Sounds like a cheap imitation.

stinker

Boring

You can definitely date this thing. Not for me but there are a few good tunes.

I've always hated Bittersweet Symphony. The rest of the album isn't as irritating, I liked some of the psychadelic/shoegaze elements, Neon Wilderness is a good little song. It just drags on though.

fine. one good song. not interesting.

This isn’t my genre… album is bloated and kind of repetitive (both song to song and within songs), but there’s some decent stuff in here

2/5. Okay so I blanked out about halfway through listening to this and that does not bode well for the score. I mean, to be fair, there were some songs that stood out but overall, the wall of sound was just too much. I was getting lost and not at all figuring out why I wouldn't just listen to Oasis. I recognize some songs but I wouldn't say they were game changing. This was alright, maybe I'll take another listen at a different time. It was just so long. Best Song: Bitter Sweet Symphony, The Drugs Don't Work, The Rolling People

I've heard of this band! I had a bit of a britpop phase a while back and heard about The Verve a couple times. Bitter Sweet Symphony also got popular on tiktok for a while.

This one didn’t really work for me. It didn’t resonate with me at all. I had to listen to it twice just to be sure. On the second spin I rather enjoyed The Drugs Don’t Work and One Day, however the album feels disconnected and lacking cohesiveness overall. It seems to me they were trying too hard to make an eclectic album - one for the ages, but couldn’t pull it off due to lack of synthesis. Many of the songs sound like they have overly complex instrumentation and feel over engineered, resulting in kind of a muddiness. I enjoyed the two aforementioned songs because of their simplicity. My take is that The Verve was trying to be the next Oasis with more dynamism but created kind of a scrambled mess. I enjoyed the journey, but was dissatisfied with the destination.

Booooring

The Drugs Don't Work is a good tear jerker. The rest ranges from irrelevant to ill-advised (Bitter Sweet Symphony).

Bittersweet Symphony is of course a bop and the other singles stand out, especially The Drugs Don't Work but the longer songs overstay their welcome - The Rolling People is great for a 3 minutes but lasts 7, Catching the Butterfly feels indulgently long. Not bad shoegaze but the deeper cuts are not interesting enough to warrant their run time. Fun listen but not memorable enough as a whole to be a 4 out of 5.

mwah

Only one song of note.

So boring

3/10…Brit Pop

This was more boring than anything else, to be honest. Bittersweet symphony is a pretty good song though.

So far, Bittersweet Symphony seems like a real one-off on this album. I'm getting notes of Bush, Third Eye Blind, and U2 with the songs that follow. Space and Time and Weeping Willow both have intriguing starts, but then when the vocals kick in, I lose interest. Overall, a vibes album without much songwriting substance.

If it was under 45 minutes, it might have gotten a 3 but over an hour is too long for this. Not as bad of 90s British pop rock as Oasis, but some of the tracks were encroaching on it.

I like the density of melody but I'm not crazy about the lyricism and vocal style. The mix is very nice and pleasingly rich.

i got to the track "lucky man" and my instinct mental response was "not if im listening to this album" a couple to a few interesting songs and a lot of numbness

2.0

the verve, boring

Bittersweet symphony is really the only good song on this album.

Incredibly, you get through Bitter Sweet Sympathy — a marvel of a song, in conversation with Don't Look Back in Anger or Common People or I Wanna Be Adored — and realize there is somehow a full 70 minutes of album left. There is little of interest in the balance of the record.

I was unsure going into this one. Britpop is one of those genres that I'm confident I'll never be able to "get", though I'll always be the first to defend it as a genre of music. Washed out instrumentals, strained vocal performances and heavy guitar distortion are a pretty unorthodox creative choice for a genre of music that is meant to be patriotic. I also quite like the air of distance that britpop has. It adds a pensive quality to the music when looked at in retrospect. The England of today is completely different to what I imagine it was like 20 years ago. "Bittersweet Symphony" is the highlight. Those string sections are very good, though I admittedly think that they pad out the song to being much longer than it needed to be. "Lucky Man" manages to be quite good as well in spite of the animosity I have towards the second half of this album. String instruments are among the most "feels-inducing" you can have in a song, and I can't complain about feeling every once in a while. The remainder of the album was quite different to what my experience with Britpop has been (all of two Oasis albums). The cleaner-sounding acoustic approach managed to produce some songs that I didn't mind listening to. Same goes for some of the more subdued tracks, which I think work well on an album released near the end of the millenium. It really does feel like the end of an era and the dawn of a brave new frontier in some respects. Despite having some merit, this album has a huge length problem, which is one of the most damning faults you can have in my eyes. I had to do a double take when I saw the hour fifteen runtime on this baby - I thought I had stumbled on to the deluxe version by mistake. I had already gotten my fill of the album by the time I made it to "Weeping Willow". so toughing out the remaining tracks (especially the fifteen-minute fuuuuuuucking closer) really hurt the experience of listening to this album.

Unfortunately after the opening track of Bittersweet Symphony the rest of the album sort of fades away.

Meh, whatever

Could they be any more generic?

bitter sweet symphony hets scho immer immer geh? aso irgendwie mega 90er aber au meeega ziitlos. ah waaas sie sind vorband gsi vo oasis ghört mer jo nuuuull. sonnet easy langwilig the rolling people tönt halt würkli noch oasis. bi etz bi catching the butterfly und gnüsses nur so halbe? s isch cool, de song etz besser als die paar vorher aber het etz nüt wo mich meeega packt. space and time cooli chords coolimslide giti cooli drums gfallt mer. lucky man au seehr cool, so fest oasis haha. one day meeega schön oke ich bi warm worde. one day maybe i will love again. aua? sorry en hidden track haa isch tacky und pretentious bini degege

Why are they all looking different ways on the cover? I liked "Bitter Sweet Symphony" The string music in the beging it sounded nice. I don't usually like the slow music aspect but in this song I do. I also liked "The Drugs Don't Work" the backround guitar sounded nice and I liked how the song sounded in general. "One Day" was good too. I liked this album. I thought it sounded nice. I would rate it 4 starts. I would reccomend this album to anyone who likes a kind of slow sounding nice music.

I always assumed “The Drugs Don’t Work”was a Ben Harper original. Whatever. His version is better. This album sucks.

Dreary. I sometimes think the singles are alright, but they all sound the same. Best thing to come out of this was the Bittersweet video, even better was the Paul Kaye piss-take for Vindaloo.

Maybe I'm biased by my social group in high school, when this came out. Objectively it's wonderful music, but it somehow feels uncool. And I don't know why.

There are some loong ass songs on this album and they feel long.. Th Verve is like 90s british Coldplay but hotter and a little bit more interesting. Bitter sweet Symphony definitely carried the whole album- it's an amazing track.

Fuera de los 2 o 3 temas "conocidos" el resto parecía una garompa copiada de los singles. Podemos cortar con el rock depre? Nota: 2.3

I’m sure I’ve heard worse.

Probably the most deserving to be on the list but ass cheeks album 3/10

Maybe I’ve just got TikTok brainrot, but every song on this album could be 40-60% shorter, and it would make no difference. They’re all long and slow and repetitive and drenched in delay. Great rhythm section, but they must be bored af playing live in this band.

This was so-so, veering on somewhat forgettable. Bittersweet Symphony is a classic and an amazing song, but nothing else really stood out. Feels like a wannabe Oasis.

track 1: undeniable classic all other tracks: boring knockoff oasis dreck

This album hasn’t aged well at all. I remember buying it when released largely because of the well known big hit on the album. No one can doubt that BS is an amazing song. But as for the rest it felt tired then not helped by the album length. If it had been stripped down to 40 minutes it would have been a lot better. Hardly played it and actually sold the CD a few years ago but must admit I recently saw it cheap (very) in charity shop so bought it again just so I had BS in my collection. Didn’t bother listening to it in full and dutifully listening today for this project was a slog and fast forward button deployed once or twice. 2/5 15/2/25

Sounds a lot like Oasis, and not in a good way. Bunch of whiny white boys.

Wow, more bland britpop who would’be guessed? 2.38

Not bad, listenable but not something I'd return willingly

Only good song is Bittersweet Symphony and it’s not even close. The rest of the album is middling and boring.

Onko kuultu tasaisempaa (tasapaksumpaa) biittiä? Tämä LP tosin erottuu edellisestä pop-otteellaan: avausraita on pelkkä riffi, mutta se on porattu kaikkien elävien olentojen kalloon täällä päin maailmaa. Pari muutakin toisteltavaa osuutta kiinnittävät huomion. Mutta missähän tilanteessa keksisin laittaa koko levyn puksuttamaan taustalle..?

great first song but the rest felt like a nothing burger of an album

The fact that like every song on this album was like 10 minutes really pmo lol

One-hit wonder album.

and legend has it that he is still walking down that road...

Just here to recommend these guys first album 'A Storm in Heaven'. An absolute belter of a shoegaze record. Working with Oasis' people was a mistake. Shame the Stones' people fucked them also. This album is fine. Definitely listen to that debut also/instead.

Well this was shite. Super disappointing!! Bitter Sweet Symphony - classic tune +1 star. Sonnet - another good song, most recently known as that song from an overplayed advert And that's the only positives I have for this sadly. It was so boring and bland. Sounded like a less successful Oasis 2 ⭐️

This wasn't terrible, but it was incredibly boring.

• The Verve is U2 if U2 were somehow more boring and mind numbingly dull. • This sounds like it's an album the Columbia Record Club would send you if you didn't pick something else and your preferred genre was "Alternative." Nobody wants it, but for some reason everyone has it. • For the love of all things holy, why is this album 76 minutes long!? I'm really sort of torn as to whether to give this 1 star or two. It's bad enough to justify a lone star, but I'll give it 2 stars because "Bittersweet Symphony" is actually pretty good and this is on a lot of "all-time top" lists. Maybe I'm just missing something.

If only the whole album sounded like Lucky Man and Bittersweet Symphony this would be a stellar album. Unfortunately the rest is okay, not good, not bad but just okay. Fine for background listening.

First song aside, this album is pretty meh. Just feels kinda boring/generic.

Guys I'm starting to think that, on the whole, Britpop kinda sucked

It's alright. Bitter Sweet Symphony is of course a big hit, but none of the rest of the album made me want to give it another listen. Nothing bad, it just didn't grab my attention.

One of the rare albums we have encountered that I would say I enjoyed less the second time through 😆 These guys are in no way shape or form even close to Oasis and yet all signs point to them being neck and neck with them in critical acclaim This album isnt bad. Its got a giant hit and maybe one other cut (I liked Space and Time enough to listen both times), but its not revolutionary or even close to being a standard brit rock album for me. My gut says if Bitter Sweet doesnt make it on the album, that we totally forget this and the band entirely…. But god damn, whenever those violins start playing, I understand why people like them

Gear: Meze 109 PRO Artwork: 🌳🐶❓ Production (2016 Remaster): 👂🔪🩸 Music: 🌿💭🧼 Rating: 🐶(🐶)/5

Music to turn any occasion into a dull affair.

There’s Bittersweet Symphony and then there’s the rest. A few moments here and there but mostly boring slush that runs together for almost an hour and a half.

Boy, did I really not want to listen to this. And I was right. I didn’t enjoy it.

Dreary 90s electric guitar soundscapes with very little variation. One of those albums that feels like it will never end. It was fucked up what the Stones did to them though.

5.5/10 I remember this at the time, and the singles were everywhere. The Verve didn’t do much for me then, they don’t now The 4 singles are all excellent, really good. The rest of the album is genuinely quite poor: sludgy britoop wall of sound (a la Oasis) with a lot of psychedelic soundalikes Best: Lucky Man

Listenable but quite boring. Like if Oasis wrote songs without hooks.

Sooooooooooo boooooooooring

almost gave this a 1 but bittersweet symphony is that good. Super duper disappointed – had high hopes this would be enjoyable (similar to oasis). Instead was very boring. Lucky man is the only other song with at least an above average catchy hook.

More of that generic brit pop that the creator of this project loves so much. Very forgettable.

I remembered some of these tracks fondly, so I was a bit disappointed at how limp and middle-of-the-road this album was. Definitely a sound of the times but I'm not going to come back to it out of choice.

I think I liked this when it was first released- but now find it rather dull.

Having lived through the popularity of "Bittersweet Symphony" I think I've heard it more than enough for one lifetime. The rest was fine enough, it's just not for me.

Trippier than I expected but meh

Basically Bittersweet Symphony and nothing else.

Booooooorrriiiiiinnng...

Not my thing. More stuff in the britpop category. 2.49/5

I’ve gotten kinda lazy about listening to the whole album but also this is pretty slow and not very interesting

Starts with their biggest hit and it’s a slow tumble into mediocrity after.

Long had I thought I should check this band out. Now, I don't regret putting it off 30 years. This is background 90s music that grows tiring.

great tracks. very nostalgic. about 40 minutes too long and you can Feel it

Kinda mind-numbing. The only song I knew was the first and I don't really care for it either (but it is the best). Certainly not terrible.

Avausraita on suorastaan meemi tässä kohtaa. Muuten musta hieman huonosti vanhentunut alt-rock-levy. 2/5

Ehhh... BitterSweet Symphony to chyba jedna z ważniejszych piosenek w moim życiu - miała na mnie duży wpływ w nastolectwie, do dziś uważam, że jest bardzo dobra i super catchy - ma dobry tekst, jest ciekawie skomponowana, no i ofc doskonale używa klasycznego motywu jako przewodniego. (kurwa, brzmie jak krytyk z Filmweba, nie chciałem xD ). Urban Hymns to dla mnie spore rozczarowanie - mam wrażenie, że poszli w ilość i zupełnie nie dali rady z jakością. Nie potrafię za bardzo odróżnić od siebie większości piosenek po przesłuchaniu. Nie kupuję większości tekstów, do tego osobiście irytuje mnie fakt, że większość z nich (mam przynajmniej takie wrażenie po przesłuchaniu) opiera się na powtarzaniu w kołko dwóch wersów, jakby były one przejawem geniuszu (a imho zupełnie nie są). Trąci bufoniadą. Z kawałków, które mi zapadły jeszcze w pamięć, mogę wyróżnić "Drugs don't work" i chyba "Lucky man", przynajmniej złapałem się na tym, że sobie je śpiewam (szczególnie drugs siadło). Nie wiem. może po wielokrotnym przesłuchaniu płyta zyskuje, ale po jednym jestem underwhelmed.

Booring...

There are still their spacey, psychedelic jams of past albums, but this time it's coated with britpop slickness, surely to get their share of the craze that was going on at the time. There's nothing inherently bad here, but it's way too long for its own good and a lot of songs just aren't that interesting.

I guess you had to be there.

Outch... This album would have be really decent if the best of it was kept for a 30 to 40 minutes record, but the fillers are killing it. It's too long.

..

Aside from the first song, there really weren't any memorable songs. It was alright.

Not sure how this sold 10M+ copies. Nothing wrong with it, just meh.

Overlong, overblown and for the most part underwhelming

The Verve... now that's a name I haven't heard in years.... Is starting an album off with Bitter Sweet Symphony even fair? This might be one of the greatest 90s songs of all time, tbh. 5/5 for this song. (Also TIL it's Bitter Sweet two words, not Bittersweet) Do I have to listen to the rest of the album?? Yeah as expected the rest of the album was fine but totally forgettable. I'm torn here. This is a clear 2/5 for me but damn that opening single!!!!

The Verve is just not that interesting of a band to me. This era of music, late 90s, has some pretty dull mainstream music and the only thing saving this from a lower score is Bittersweet Symphony. Sonnet is a good song as well, but this album did not need to be an hour long.

Bitter Sweet Symphony That's it

Too mellow

A couple good tracks the rest did nothing for me.

Otvaranje albuma s klasikom. Klasični hit jel. Bacio sam oko na popis pjesama, ima dva tri super hita, ali me baš zanima kako će ostatak benda zvučati Njih do sad nisam volio niti mrzio, ali nisam ljubitelj tog 90s engleskog rocka Na pola sam albuma, nemam volje uopće komentirati ista. Dosadno, sladunjavo, englesko drimerski, jadni Englezi su tužni i beznadni. Booooooooring Već vidim da će ovo biti album s 2-3 dobre pjesme. I to nisam siguran jesu li dobre zbog nostalgije i toga što sam ih čuo 2003. kada nisam imao pojma koliko je proročanska pjesma drugs don't work ili su stvarno dobre. Ok wow, ako na YouTube staviš da je brzina duplo brza, zvuče kao solidan bluegrass band s dosta opakim finger picking lickovima Malo ljutih engleza za kraj i skrivena psihodelija Bezi bre 2

3.5/10 Osobno, jako zbunjujuc album. Ima dovoljno elemenata da bude ok te da se nadje neki hidden gem u njemu ali to se jednostavno nije dogodilo. Neke gitarske dionice imaju potencijala ali klimavi vokal bez ikakvog range-a i pretjerano koristenje ovih prokletih violina u svakoj drugoj pjesmi su mi bas turn off. Ucinilo mi se vise puta dok sam slusao da je ovaj album apsolutni maksimum sto bend moze napraviti, a bas dosta se šlepa na druge bendove, poput U2-a i Rolling Stonesa (kojima su maznuli Bittersweet Symphony, pa je zavrsilo vise bitter nego sweet za njih posto su izgubili prava na sav royalty od pjesme, jedinog hita kojeg imaju na albumu, uz, za mrvicu meni bolju Lucky Man). Ne vidim cemu ovo treba trajati sat i 15 minuta. Bilo bi bolje da su izdali neki EP od 4 pjesme, zaboravili da postoje gore spomenuti bendovi, platili vokalu satove pjevanja, ili jos bolje, zamjenili ga s nekim vecim talentom, izbacili violinu iz svih pjesama, usudili se hrabrije vecinu stvari snimiti i jos puno toga sto bi stavio na popis. Nije mi ovo bas dobro.

Average

I expected everything to sound like Bitter Sweet Symphony, they definitely have more range than that. Do I love it? not so much. It’s fine for what it is and I wouldn’t leave the room is someone put in on, but I probably wouldn’t choose it on my own.

I'd rather hear the first couple of Oasis albums and the Stone Roses. Pretty non-descript Brit Pop from my listening. Won't be going back to this one.

Well this is annoying. I got A Northern Soul the day before yesterday. Spread it out lads! Still, I guess I can contrast. Midway through Rolling People I'm already fearing I was right in my previous review. The strength of Northern Soul was it was a whole vibe, this is less so and the album tracks are more boring. Although I never did like the rolling people. Drugs don't work and catch a butterfly are still good to be fair, and there's a couple others that were half decent for nostalgic purposes. Definitely a more middling album than it's predecessor though, and actually quite tedious as a whole given its length.

If it wasn't for the opening track of the record, it would have been forgotten amongst the ground swell of britpop albums that all seemed to appear almost overnight in the 90s. The members are good enough at their instruments to make music better than this, and I wish they had.

This album immediately jumps back to the 90’s Brit pop era. Besides Bitter Sweet Symphony and the orchestral arrangements, it stalls into a sea of sameness.

Nothing objectionably bad, but pretty basic 90s British rock to these ears.

Not enough stands out for the lengths... still some decent stuff though.

Super duper forgettable, except that one song, where they infringed on some copyright..

Har alltid lurt på ka dei seie i refrenget til Bittersweet Symphony. Va visst ikkje "I'm here immamo", men "I'm here in my mould"

Ikkje så bra

Dit is echt U2 2.0 eerste nummer heel vet natuurlijk maar verder echt wel saai

this is completely interchangeable with oasis . i think bands in manchester need to take a break from the derivate 60s rock. and also catching the butterfly sounds exactly like a radiohead song. WEEPING WILLOW SOUNDS EXACTLY LIKE CHAMPAGNE SUPERNOVA?!?!?!

The songs are slight, with the three major singles standing out. All wrapped up in swirling production. Catchy 90s melancholy ballads that still have some power to evoke a clumsy come down swagger. But this swagger is stolen, like the sample, from bands who have greater talent and longevity. The Verve is ultimately a pale imitation, this album is not a classic in the sense of others.

One great song does not an album make.

It makes sense these guys are one hit wonders. They aren't terrible and I think they're trying to do their own style but it feels like it never really goes anywhere that adds a lot. Don't regret the listen but won't come back.

I'm not sure I can do this. Bitter Sweet Symphony almost turns my stomach because it has gone in my ear holes so many times. There is a lack of soul to these songs and the production has no body. So I guess that leaves them with nothing. It's like they are casting spells of boredom. It's a cohesive album that comes so close to sounding like things I like but just doesn't.

Bitter Sweet Symphony and Lucky Man were standout tracks for me, but i didn't really end up loving the album, felt like watered down shoegaze and psychedelic rock. Didn't think it was boring though, Deep Freeze left me pretty interested, very chaotic and clashy at the end which I think would've paired well with the rest of the album earlier on. But yeah, in the end I saw a lot of small (like very small) details I like about shoegaze, psychedelic rock, and grunge, but nothing really amazing jumped out for me. None of the songs made it on my playlists, Bitter Sweet was the closest but didn't really do it enough for me, cool orchestrals though

Boring. Sorry to all the verve fans reading this (literally no one will ever read this)

If you’re going to make an album with this many songs it better be worth it to the listener, which this wasn’t. I don’t like the tone of the singer’s voice. He’s whiny and annoying. A lot of the songs sound the same. Despite its popularity I don’t particularly like Bittersweet Symphony. Catching a Butterfly was my fave but the rest is forgettable.

I liked it more than i anticipated for a one hint wonder band. A bit moody. Feel bad for this band.

This album is far too long for what it offers. Bittersweet Symphony is a great song to start the album. The rest of the album features the lead singer alternating between doing his best Thom Yorke and best Bono impressions over forgettable instrumentals. I get why someone might enjoy this, but I don’t see myself revisiting this over other Britpop albums.

I remember back when these guys were on the radio and not liking those songs. Well I'm older now and was interested to see if they sounded better with the wisdom of age, and also what the rest of the album contained. The best word to describe this album is bland.

Uninteresting, long, and samey

One obvious banger but the rest was meh.

There's a decided lack of hooks in their music. For music that isn't that complex I find that good hooks can make all the difference.

Meh. I really don’t understand how this album is on this list. The “best” track and definitely the reason it’s on anyone’s radar (or this list, tbh) is because of a song that is popular because it bit the instrumental from the orchestra version of “the Last Time.” There are plenty of Britpop and neo-psych out there that’s much more enjoyable. From just a contemporaries standpoint: - blur, oasis, manic street preachers, stone roses, shit - even supergrass is a better option - same shit with neo-psych. There’s too many better options of that era to even mention here. I’m being kind of harsh, but it’s only because of the presumed accolades of being on this list. It’s not a horrible album, but it’s not essential. The Verve will go down in the books as a one hit wonder and a case study on plagiarism

Dumb and annoying

I’ve always thought “Bittersweet Symphony” was too long, boringly repetitive with no distinction between verse/chorus/bridge. It just plods along at one pace, and still ends up nowhere. The rest of the album is equally unremarkable.

pretty underwhelming

The 90s decade rating is really suffering at the hands of these middling brit pop acts. Why does it have to be so long?

Important in that there's a unique time period-based sound of drug fueled british bar bands, but nothing that set me afire.

One wong repeated during all the album, boring.

Idk!!!

Listen to the first song on the album and then turn this off and save yourself an hour of a lackluster Coldplay meets Oasis.

It was ok. Bittersweet symphony is a great song, and it wasn't bad music. Just sounded like Oasis without the hooks, energy, attitude, or Liam. Kinda meh outside of the first song - which also is kinda only good because the sample is amazing.

two stars cuz it has bittersweet symphony which is an ok song. the rest was a brutal test

Brings me back to an American Eagle dressing room in the 2000s

Oh, thank goodness this generic British album is here! I don’t know what I would do if it wasn’t!

........it's monotonous, to say the least. Also what is UP with that secret track??

I’m a million different people from one day to the next, and they all lack verve for this album.

Fav: The Drugs Don’t Work Least Fav: Neon Wilderness

Two great songs. Others are good enough to enjoy listening while working on something else.

Bittersweet to bitter with sprinkles of sweetness to bland. So long, you forget what it was like in the beginning.

Didn't really like.

Bitter sweet symphony är ju jättebra såklart, men resten mäh

Was fine. Wont listen again.

meh

Pop that ain’t catchy Rock that rolls over near dead Music feels empty

Well Bittersweet Symphony is weel known and often played. The rest ? I think I can survive without listening to this Album.

Not bad but not a fan

Too slow, too much production, too much not enough. Lacks any intensity. Pretty soulless. Damn, the whole thing is like the worst Lynyrd Skynyrd, but more robotic. The singer is good enough (I guess, can't really hear that well). Outside of Bittersweet Symphony, this just drags. It's so long. I tried, but the slide guitar/slow tempo/acoustic campfire strumming just feels contrived out here. Come On is okay. Rounding down one star for bad behavior and breaking up 3 times. I would love to hear something by these guys without all the echo and tambourine

Pretty good

Vahvan aloituksen jälkeen taantuu tasapaksuksi ja ylipitkäksi brittipop-äänimatoksi.

Bittersweet Symphony is great, but the rest is pretty samey. I got bored.

Despite the overall rating, Bitter Sweet Symphony is a great song.

Bittersweet Symphony was the only good song that I wouldn't mind hearing again. The rest were pretty forgettable and boring. I kept thinking they sounded like some other 90's/00's bands, but couldn't place it; just generic sounding. 2/5

Outside of lucky man pretty boring album. Doesn’t do much.

This is my team here: 'In a more mixed assessment, Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune felt that Urban Hymns lacked more songs as memorable as "Bitter Sweet Symphony" and "The Drugs Don't Work" to justify the album's long length. Robert Christgau of The Village Voice cited "The Drugs Don't Work" track as a "choice cut", calling it "a good song on an album that isn't worth your time or money". Emily Tartanella of Magnet felt that Urban Hymns was undeserving of its accolades, calling it "one of the most bloated, boring and overpraised albums of the '90s." ' "Bittersweet Symphony" is still a stellar opener. You could listen to that emotional, lively-yet-indeed-bittersweet swirl of strings sampled from Andrew Loog Odham's orchestral version of a Rolling Stones song for far more than the five minutes dedicated to it at the start of this record. But that's part of the problem here: the only *instantly* memorable melody in this album was not written by the Verve. Because, generally speaking, they're bad music writers. And sometimes even awful ones. Okay, Richard Ashcroft's smartly double-tracked vocal lines for that opener is still imaginative enough, I guess. And so is the one on *The Drugs Don't Work*. But for the vast majority of the other songs, oh Lord, his input amounts to meandering doodles over bland, beige, by-the-numbers britpop FM version of supposedly trippy, yet really 100% self-indulgent "rock" jams. My Lord, how can this album go on for so long without any sense of proper dynamics? Guess The Verve couldn't decide which tracks were the true highlights during their recording sessions, so they elected to put all of them into the album, probably deluding themselves to consider they were all great. Oh Lord, the hubris. And the maudlin lyrics, matching the melodically uninteresting vocal lines surely don't help, my Lord. I mean, Lord, it's easy to see how Ashcroft constantly uses certain words for emphasis (yes my Lord!), because he has nothing even remotely interesting to write about nostalgia, getting old, and the vicissitudes that go with that sort of thing (the supposed lyrical content of those songs). Lord, how boring. Lord, how self-indulgent. Lord, how repetitive and dull. My Lord, has Robert Dimery turned deaf? This one escapes a 1/5 grade because of its legendary opener. But even when you put this record into the context of its release, it becomes abundantly clear that it's been overrated for years. 1997 is the year Radiohead's *OK Computer* came out, for chrissake! And you can't seriously compare dull *Urban Hymns* with the brilliant stylistical forays and dozen of breathtaking left-turns contained in that other album. The Oxford gang was already years ahead into the future. In comparison, The Verve was only rehashing a ground that had been tread countless times before. Suburban hymns indeed. Number of albums left to review: 236 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 330 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 195 Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 246 (including this one - I'd give it a 1.5/5 grade if I had to follow the purposes of this list of essential albums, here rounded up to 2. More "objective" grade? 6.5/10? (5 + 1.5) Guess it's decently played and professionally recorded at least).

Aside from "Bittersweet Symphony", there's nothing that really stands out.

Good stuff! Beatle-esque, which I appreciate. If I had been a teen when they were popular I'd have been all over them. Lots of romantic feeling with all the reverb and clever harmonies. However, a few songs in I got bored. Oh well.

I enjoy Bittersweet Symphony and Lucky Man - the rest is pedestrian and fairly forgettable.

Starts off with the best song on the album and then just gets monotonous. This could have been better if it was about half as long. Space and Time is one of the better tracks, and it's kinda okay.

Bittersweet one hit wonder

Wie heeft toegestaan dat dit album 75 minuten duurt

I enjoyed this more than I expected to. I think I must have been prejudiced against Richard Ashcroft and a bit sniffy about the faux-orchestration of Bittersweet Symphony. The songs are all well written and performed. A bit earnest perhaps, but 100% better than Oasis. Favourite song Drugs Don't Work.

Didn’t love it