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Urban Hymns by The Verve

Urban Hymns

The Verve

1997
3.37
Rating
27690
Votes
1
3%
2
14%
3
38%
4
31%
5
13%
Distribution
Genres: Rock Styles: Indie Rock, Britpop, Alternative Rock, Pop Rock, Shoegaze

Reviews (page 13 of 14)

I've never heard another Verve song except for Bittersweet Symphony. I wasn't missing much. I won't be picking this one up again. BTW - the funny hidden track thing is a definite relic of the 90s when CDs were the main format. I bet that confuses the heck out of the kids today. lol

The first cut is very good and got radio play. There are a couple of other songs that are ok. This is the kind of album you can liatwn to and do something else at the same time.

to me this one feels like an early/undercooked radiohead album - not to say i didnt enjoy it, just that it wasn't really my jam. There are some standouts but also a lot of songs that just kind of float in one ear and out the other for me.

You all need to chill with these boring fucking albums. Give me something I’ll care about next, please.

medium sad man, I mean de eerste is groots bekend maar ik word er gewoon niet blij van

I don't understand the appeal of the Verve. This album consists of 1 overplayed 90's hit and a bunch of songs that sound like Oasis or Better than Ezra.

The final song (Come On) is a 5 in my book. The first song (Bitter Sweet Symphony) endures as a time and place thing and gets a 4 from me. Everything else sounds the same, which is to say BORING AS FUCK.

When this band first arrived on the seen — I was expecting much more. Instead it turned into a 1 hit wonder…

Probably 2.5 stars. Some good tracks, but a bunch of songs I don’t need in my life.

it was okkk idk i thought it was basic 2.5/5

Pas accroché.

If you ordered U2 from Wish, The Verve is what you would receive. Bittersweet Symphony is really good, and you would think that being the first track portends that great things are in the offing for the remainder of this 76 minute (eek!) album. The last track (Come On) is also quite good and is the undiscovered gem from this band that I didn’t know about, but everything in between is so genetic, so forgettable, and that are all but indistinguishable from one another. 1 star, plus one additional star for the two tracks worth listening to. And 2 stars for this is quite generous.

Got bored halfway through Bittersweet Symphony and never recovered

Objectively fine but I think I have enough moody British men in my Spotify that I don’t see this being something I repeat, but I wouldn’t skip if it came on an artist radio.

Background music. Fine

One hit and then fizzled out for the most part. Sounds like late 90's though

So. Repetitive.

not really my taste but it sounds very good

Lucky Man One Day Secret Track again! Feels very of its time and brit-poppy. I liked the second half better than the first. Okay, though.

One hit wonder.

Not as good as I remembered

Bittersweet Symphony ofc the obvious standout, and though the vocalist has his own unique style, not too many other tracks made a lasting impression on me. Nice sound to wind down to after a long day.

Not as bad as I thought

It was quite boring

i both enjoyed this and couldnt stand it. some bangers but also some tracks that just gave me a headache

has that one track.

The famous hits are good, but the album as a whole isn't particularly sharp or defined. Very much blends into its era. Those first two songs really are excellent, though. One thing, and this always bothered me: Why does he sing in such a broad American accent?? He's from the north of England!

One hit wonders?

bitter sweet sympathy- this is this song? goofy ahh. sonnet- the rolling people- the drugs dont work-

I didn't expect to enjoy this and indeed I didn't. But I figured it would be grating and it really wasn't, just quite dull. If I wanted to put on some background music that wouldn't offend or draw notice to itself, then this would be ideal.

Didn't listen to it all, it just drones on and on. The songs are way too long for what they are, in my opinion.

It’s not terrible.

Ok, ale bez szału, 2,5

There is a reason the first track is the only one that has stuck around. People probably assume the rest of the album is some sort of Oasis / Travis collaboration.

Kinda Beatles meets Tom Petty in the 90s but with a 70s detective show soundtrack in the background. Meh.

Duurt gewoon te lang. Bittersweet symphony is wel oké maar daarna is het zo saaaai

21/100 Based on this scale: 1 star - 0 to 19 2 stars - 20 to 39 3 stars - 40 to 59 4 stars - 60 to 79 5 stars - 80 to 100 Bittersweet Symphony starts out like it might turn out to be interesting, but quickly becomes boring. The rest of the album is worse. The thing is, this is more boring than outright bad, so I had to give it 2 stars.

Never heard of The Verve before so not much to say as I went into this album till I started the intro track and immediately recognised it, like any other person from the UK, as a song off an advert. I can’t remember which one now but it made me interested to see how critically acclaimed the rest of this album was. I’ll just say right off the bat I did not enjoy this album, this sort of spacey singing over a soft instrumental is not enough to cover a full albums worth of songs and that’s what made this album feel incredibly long to me. For the most part it sounded like the singer wishes he could sing like Radiohead’s front man Thom Yorke but struggles to reach those impressive high notes. I’d also like to point out the song writing on this album is so bland, it’s painfully obvious how much this album feels like a child has contributed to it as if they were writing their first book, “I stop to say hello”, “I should have done”, “I am growing”, “I watch you look at me”, “and I hear a boom” like SHUT UP! Is this first person perspective writing really the best they could come up with? Also, what’s with the singer constantly repeating lyrics almost like an echo, it’s like he’s run out of things to say and keeps singing the same lyrics with a droning sort of singing voice, “This Time” is a particular culprit of this and it takes everything out of the song, I’m not sure if they feel like this gives more emphasis or emotion but it really doesn’t, it just sounds like lazy song writing. Also not forgetting the atrocity of an album cover, I know this was the late 90’s but come on, it’s not even that it’s lazy it just looks awful too. For the good parts of this album, the songs do have nice instrumentals, for the most part, and of course the opener is very well known and a nicely put together song but that’s about it. This album isn’t horrendous but it’s so boring to listen to, I think if I listened to it again I’d actually want to punch the singer cause his tone is so annoying and without the instrumentals, and a select few songs, I’d give this album a 1 so for now I’ll leave it at that and hope I don’t have to sit through this again.

Two good songs, the rest was quite boring.

1. bitter zuueet - 2 2. zonnet - 1 3. rolling people - 0 4. the drugz dont uuork - 2 5. catching the butterfly - 0 6. neon uuildernezz - 0 7. zpace and time - 1 8. uueeping uuillouu - 1 9. lucky man - 0 10. one day - 1 11. thiz time - 1 12. velvet morning - 1 13. come on - 0

Bittersweet symphony is a good song, but suffers like the rest of the album from just going on and on and on and on. All of these songs should be 3/3.5 minutes tops. Dudes love to drone…

Was excited for this album, but kind of a letdown

Dreamy, spacey, sleepy. This album is all together unremarkable.

was not interesting to me

This album isnt bad but I will never go back to listen to it again. Bittersweet symphony is iconic but I didn't find any other songs interesting.

Not my jam

Just kinda long and boring.

Not really my thing

I remember the singles, the rest just kind of felt like Oasis songs I've never heard. Not a bad thing, it was just boring.

Starts off with their biggest hit, the rest is pretty forgettable

Um disco legal, mas só isso, legal. A crítica em geral tinha muita boa vontade com o indie na época, porque considerar isso um disco importante ou relevante não faz sentido.

Full disclosure, I became really burnt on this band in the 90's when Bittersweet Symphony was on the radio every 5 seconds. That said, i think they got a bum deal with the whole copyright issue. Speaking to the music, it's all very one-note rock and feels very samey throughout. There's one song that stands out in particular: "The Drugs Don't Work" which is a heart-breaking song and a very much overlooked song that saves this album for me. There's nothing inherently wrong with the rest of the album it's just there's very little variety for me which is kind of a bummer. Standout Tracks: Bittersweet Symphony, The Drugs Don't Work

Една песен ми харесваше преди да чуя албума. Една ми харесва и след

Okay, only one or two songs I really liked.

2 good songs and rest of them are not even close to hits. Sound like 2 different bands.

Quite boring. And I was sick of that 1st song within a week of its release

A few good songs, good production, but some real head scratchers. 6 minutes of silence on the last song??? Not creative, not cool. Simply a waste of my time which ruined an otherwise decent track.

There is Bittersweet Symphony followed by a whole bunch of songs that are pretty forgettable. The only thing of note after the first track is the hidden track at the end. Which is a strange mix of chimes and crying baby that just leaves me with more questions. Mainly why?

Bittersweet symphony kennen we natuurlijk allemaal. Rest van t album was niet geweldig. Laatste nummer met 10 minuten stilte en dan niet eens een echte banger. Jammer

klinkt wel lekker, muziek vraagt niet veel aandacht en is wat eentonig, merk dat ik vaak vergeet dat ik iets specifieks aan het luisteren ben. Wel een goeie toevoeging voor studie/werk lijst Bij Come on voelt het alsof ze zich wat meer laten gaan + erg goed verstopt baby huil nummer genaamd Hidden track!!!

A couple great songs but mostly just long and boring. There is no real point to listening to most of this record.

Meh. All the way through. So meh

Not a bad album. Bitter Sweet the real gem.

Bad radio style pop rock

Lame and forgettable. In fact, I don't remember any songs between the first (which I know from the radio) and the last (which was 6 minutes long and actually different from the rest).

Two good tracks and a bunch of forgettable

Some classics, but not as deep as I was hoping for.

basically the same guy wailing similar angsty things over and over, but I liked it I think - some of the songs I really liked the melody and wished he would be quiet

Nicht mein Ding

1 classic, 1 good, rest pretty boring. 4/10

Stuk saaier en vooral zeurderiger dan ik verwacht had.

Not really into Britpop

After the one hit wonder of Bittersweet Symphony its a big pile of mediocrity. It's pretty much all the same song and more often then not they go on for too long.

Medium, lucky man goed huilnummer, bitter sweet symphony te vaak gehoord

Meh. Sometimes I just really think the 90's aren't for me. This is pretty mediocre in places for an album on this list, in my opinion. Sure the singles are standouts and have their merits - The Drugs Don't Work is haunting, and Lucky Man grooves along covering ground that Coldplay will improve on in a couple years' time. But the rest of it just washes over me. The worst bits of Oasis and 90's misplaced swagger. The sample debacle surrounding Bittersweet Symphony taints the obvious high point for me.

Just not for me.

Not bad, nothing too memorable besides the big one (bittersweet symphony) and Sonnet was also quite good I’d give it a 2/5 Wouldn’t bother listening again

I would not have considered this album as "culturally significant", but I guess The Verve are a big deal in Britain. But you know what? So is the royal family and we dunked on those nerds. 2/5, do not recommend.

It says a lot about a band when the most popular song sounds nothing like the rest of their work. In other news, here's Creep.

Typical mid 90s Brit Rock. Oasis type, but more depressing. Made me feel like it was cold and rainy even when it was sunny and warm outside

Bitter sweet simphony est bien mais sinon l'album est oubliable souvent des rythmes patates en plus

It has its moments where I really like the vibes and experimentation in sound. Highlight is the Rolling People for sure, really like that track. What takes this album down notches is these guys have NO clue when to end a song. They ALL drag for so much longer than necessary. Really would enjoy it more if it was tightened up but alas, it’s not.

only one good song

Got about halfway through. It’s not bad but not worth the rest of my time. The songs are super long.

Kuunneltu 2016 remasteroitu versio. Bittersweet Symphony oli tuttu kappale, en tiennyt aiemmin kenen. Kolmannen biisin kohdalla aloin jo katsella että kuinka monta pitää vielä kuunnella. Toinen biisi ei jäänyt yhtään mieleen. Drugs don't work oli ihan ok. En jaksanut kuunnella loppuun, niin tylsä.

I heard Bittersweet Symphony all the time growing up, but never anything else off of this album. Overall I thought it was pretty boring, although a variation of the motif from Bittersweet appearing in the bassline of Catching the Butterfly was interesting & fun.

They put all their energy into the first song, and all the songs after that were bland and boring.

I had so little inclination to listen to this after living downstairs from a heroin addict who would play it on a loop on top volume in 2011. I hope he’s doing okay. I thought this album was fine.

The singles are great. The rest of it just kind of meanders.

Just boring. Every song sounds exactly the same and even the famous one isn't that good.

The best song was the one I already loved. Not great.

Kinda just sounds like all the 90s blurred together. And makes me want to go listen to more fun and interesting 90s music.

Very 90s, a la Oasis. Only liked the first hit song.

Sounds lovely but almost every song is too long. Requires to be in a certain mood, I think

I know nothing of the Verve. <Starts album> OK, I know one song. I like the strings on that song. It goes downhill after that. The songs are just...so...dull. And too long. And the album itself is 30 minutes too long. The singer sounds like he's putting in the least amount of effort possible. Oh, and the hidden song at the end after several minutes of dead air sucks too. Was that a dying cat I heard?

The white bread of albums. Just so unbelievably inoffensive. The amount of Britpop on this list is one of the worst parts of the experience so far. I’m deducting 1 point from this album because of the ridiculous length of it all. Every song is longer than it needs to be which leads to the entire album being longer than it needs to be.

Ihan ok. 2.5/5

I listened to it once full through when it came out and then again this week. That was enough for me!

Way too long of an album for one that is so uninteresting beyond the first track. It wasn't offensively bad or anything, but it was just too much for what it actually is.

thoroughly ordinary. like Oasis, but even more middling (even the fucking album cover looks like Oasis!). yet another album that serves more as an indictment of the listmakers' tastes (SERIOUSLY, BRITISH MUSICAL OUTPUT IS NOT NEARLY AS GOOD AS YOU THINK IT IS) than of the artist in question.

Bittersweet symphony was a nostalgic listen otherwise just ok.

I got sick of hearing Bittersweet Symphony when it came out but it's grown on me now.

It's kinda slow, kinda boring, repetitive

I didn't listen to all of this. It was like listening to the colour brown for an hour. I like "Sonnet" and "The Drugs Don't Work" but that's probably because I remember them from when I was an MTV addict in 1997. Probably also why I can't stand "Bitter Sweet Symphony". Look, it's ok. But it just hasn't aged well to me.

Hmmm. Hard to say. Was a bit too long for my taste and I kept zoning out. But I still have good memories with Bittersweet Symphony, that'll always be special. + Bittersweet Symphony + Catching The Butterfly + Neon Wilderness + Space and Time

Bitter Sweet Symphony is a good song. After that it's like a dream where you are stuck in molasses trying to get out but moving so slooow. Torture.

- Heard some of the songs before - Always thought Bitter Sweet Symphony was great so I'm surprised by how little I enjoyed the rest of the album - Sounds like knock-off Oasis combined with U2, which is an awful combination - Fav songs: Bitter Sweet Symphony, The Drugs Don't Work

1 hit band to my ears. sorry

Not for me

Truth be told, this isn’t such a bad album. If it’s anything, it’s okay. There are however two elements that bring down my opinion of the music. Firstly, this static 80 bpm (or slower) continously plodding along kind of rock is incredibly uninteresting. It can work, but for an entire album it makes for a very monotonous listen. This also relates to the second point, that being that this album has no business being 76 minutes long (or, more accurately, around 66 minutes without the silence preceding the hidden track). Again, this style of rock can be nice and I enjoy ”Bitter Sweet Symphony” as a song, but more than an hour of the same style just makes me pray for any sort of increase in tempo. I’m hoping the other Verve album on this list is more stimulating, because otherwise it would make for a real waste of 2 album spots.

Borde ha tagit slut efter bittersweet symphony

I actually remember borrowing this CD from the library in like 2003 and ripping it to our home computer. I don't remember any songs beyond Bittersweet Symphony, which was a banger then and is still a banger today. Kinda Oasis-ish vibes a couple songs in. Nothing to write home about so far, but highly inoffensive. Oh they wrote Lucky Man. Yeah I remember this one, didn't realize it was The Verve. I don't mind this song either.

Meh, it’s fine but I get why they’re a one hit wonder. Oasis is better

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"

Bitter Sweet Symphony is a classic, and Lucky Man is pretty great too. The rest of the album is a bit... meh. Not bad, just standard 90's pop rock sound to me. There's a little bit of synth here and there to mix things up, but nothing to adventurous.

not really for me

Perfectly fine. I recognized a few, and would get one or two. Nothing spectacular, but nothing terrible

För lång. Borde varit en singel.

How is it possible that the great British music scene, the same place that the Beatles and the Stones came from, produce something so bland as this?

Bitter Sweet Symphony was inescapable for a time. It's a fine song as are many on this record, but I don't find many of them particularly compelling. The songs here seem like they're great for slacking around in your loafers, comfy pants and bucket hat. Just like the guys on the record cover, you are looking elsewhere for something of interest.

Los ritmos muy suaves

Boring

If it weren’t so tedious, I wouldn’t be so bored. If it weren’t half an hour too long, I wouldn’t be so irritated. But it is. And it is. Standout Tracks: Bitter Sweet Symphony, The Drugs Don’t Work

The late 90s album U2 wished they had made. Two stars — forgettable save for the one song everyone knows.

This album is a bittersweet symphony. There's the obvious incredible song on here, then there's some fantastic snippets of songs, but there aren't really any GREAT songs that spoke to me, they somehow lose me in the middle. Maybe that's just the psychadelic alt-rock genre in general for me? I ALMOST made it to the end... this album has like 5-6 songs too many

Sometimes this list feels like it's about quality, sometimes about breadth, sometimes about influence. But why is this here?

Bittersweet Symphony is the masterpiece on the album and the rest is solid but just not on the same level. Lucky Man comes close, but have never been a fan of Drugs don't work or Sonnet. Space and Time, Weeping Willow are fine. A good album. Not one I return to.

One hit wonder

Plodding radio-friendly Britrock. This was inescapable in England when it was released. Really could do with fewer vocal ad lib outros. Not strong.

- Extremely generic britpop past the first track - Feels like a cheaper version of Radiohead with no experimentation - Title track is still a classic though

Miserable

The second album I've now heard from this band because of this list is a little better than the last one, but not by much. The opening track is okay, just because of the violin(?) that is ever present. They even bring it back on another track. They probably knew it was all they had to offer that wasn't total ass. The singing still sucks across the board. Almost a 1, but I'll be nice because I kinda like Bittersweet Symphony. This band has no place being on this list, let alone at least 2 albums. Please God, don't let there be a third.

A couple of good tracks but I really didn't get on with this as an album. At the bottom end of what I expected from the tracks I remembered.

por fin encontre el nombre de esa canción

A few great songs, especially The Drugs Don't Work, but the rest of the album feels weak by comparison and is very forgettable.

Puddle deep moaning elevated by an orchestra.

Too religious

Kinda reminds me of U2, but worse. Kinda reminds me of Oasis, but worse. Kinda reminds me

I can listen to Bittersweet Symphony anytime. Great song, never listened to this band beyond that though. And yet, there must be a reason I didn't bother to check this out at the time. I was definitely aware of this album but passed on it. We'll see how this goes. Well... that was worse than Oasis and way too long.

Bittersweet Symphony. Classic. One of few decent songs on the album unfortunately.

Meh. I find much of this whole Brit Pop thing to be so quarantined to a time...and not in a good way. Sound like early Coldplay. And I've got Blur and Radiohead...don't really need anything else. Though I'll bump this up a notch for "Bittersweet." That is a good song. Reminds me of my dad, who used to have this CD in his car and play that song a lot. Funny I don't recognize or remember my Dad playing a single other song off this album. The "Hidden Track" concept is a fun CD memory. But nostalgia aside, 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 The Flaming Lips or Brian Jonestown Massacre. 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 did not love this. There are moments of earnestness, longing, excited energy in the songs, which makes it feel like the records are about to turn a corner. But really, it's just bathed in a morass of pretty bland arrangements, songs that are too long, chord changes and structures that feel uninspired. "The Drugs Don't Work" is genuinely great, and there's something to be said for "Bitter Sweet Symphony" being an undeniable timestamp of the era, of that scene, of what being in middle school was like for every middle schooler in 1997. But even that song don't hold up well! I was looking for something more, and there are hints of it, but I didn't find it.

I don't like these guys

Could have done without. pretty meh. 2

This was alright, a bit long and somewhat boring Do not reccomend listen to "One Day" in the shower, it makes it sound likes there's people in your home Last song way too long

Eh some good songs, but I hate Bittersweet Symphony.

Christ does this go on a bit. Some great songs, but lots of toothless filler as well. Would have been a 3, but massively outstayed its welcome.

I detest bands that include a 'hidden track' on their albums. In this case there is a five minute period of silence before about three minutes of badly meandering random noise. Don't do it. Prior to that though there are 12 tracks of generally uninspiring soft rock. The stand out track is Bitter Sweet Symphony' for which they stole the music from the Stones' 'The Last Time' anyway. The rest is pretty forgetable.

Just Ok for me. Not compelled to listen to it again. Soothing though.

obviament bitter sweet symphony perque es un puto himne pero dire alguna altra per ferme la alternative: vale no esq es insoportable. no m'ha dit ABSOLUTAMENT RES poso 2 estrelletes per bitter sweet symphony q mha acompanyat tot el cap desetmana

If an album's only claim to fame is that it has a massive hit on it, then it isn't a good album. Forgettable stuff.

Pretty bored listening throughout. Bittersweet symphony is the best tune on the album. Pretty wild that they had to cede the all thesong writing credits and royalties because of The Rolling Stones sample. It makes the whole tune though- not much there without it. At its best, it makes me want to listen to other bands that did similar things better Ike Coldplay. Worst song is Lucky Man. Tough to rate 1.5? 2?

Boring

bland and repetitive

My heart sank when this one came up. Bittersweet Symphony on repeat would be the cruelest torture to subject me to. Repetitive, boring, and topped off with uninteresting lyrics. The song goes nowhere and was somehow a huge hit. I can’t name another song by these guys. There are actually some okay songs on the rest of this album. Getting some Oasis vibes, and the good kind (specifying because they’re half good, half unlistenable). Not much stands out enough to rate it above a 3. And the unfortunate inclusion of Bittersweet Symphony drops the album to a 2 for me.

You can't open an album with your biggest hit straight out the gate because then it's just all downhill from there. And this is one big-ass hill. 76 minutes of the most boring, radio-friendly pop imaginable. Uh.. they're better than Oasis at least. Man's got big boots. Look at those boots.

Opens strong with the one song we all know from the Verve, most of the rest of it had little impact on me, to the point where I was skipping a couple long slogs, oops I mean songs. Almost like a knockoff Radiohead, and as someone who's only sort of into Radiohead, the appeal isn't too strong for me. Favorite tracks: Bittersweet Symphony, Neon Wilderness. Album art: Four guys sitting in a park, with a little lens distortion. I'm sorry, but there's nothing urban in sight. 2.5/5

me lo aspettavo meglio, abbastanza noioso e melenso

non mi è piaciuto molto. bitter sinphony la conoscevo e mi piace, le anltre non me le ricordo neanche

Ahh two things I really hate: britpop and long albums. Did this need to be 75 minutes for a bland mix of similar sounding songs? Besides the opening track which I'd heard around before, the rest sounded identical and I'm hard pressed to remember the difference between the tracks. And seriously 75 fucking minutes of this shit? Cut out half of it and maybe I'll enjoy it little more.

+Great production quality +BIttersweet Symphony is still a great song +Some cool decorations of strings and stuff in the mix -Vocalist not especially emotive or expressive, despite trying to be -Sounds like Oasis -British -Padded song lengths and filler to reach max CD capacity. Emblematic of era. -Booooooooorrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnng 2/5

Alright, the songs I know are good but not sure about the rest

'Bittersweet Symphony' is an alright tune, overshadowed by all that Rolling Stones business. This didn't annoy me until the song about 'Looking back on my life' and, coming from a 26-year-old, that's a little bit rich. I don't agree that this was the best alt album of 1997, especially when OK Computer came out the same year. This slipped into the background and into oblivion. Not a lot for me here.

Way too self-serious. Singer sounds bored so I am too. Insufferable. Never got Bitter Sweet Symphony either. One of the most overrated songs I've heard. Space and Time was pretty good - singer is finally emoting.

Not really my thing but what a tune Bittersweet is

Very Oasis like at points. Sounds a bit like Robbie Williams too.

There were maybe 1 or 2 decent songs but most of this album was a bit of a dirge and almost put me to sleep.

the album was just boring and long. it started off okay but just got so “is it over yet????”

That big single ("Bitter Sweet Symphony") was and remains just as annoying as possible. Hated and continue to hate it. So I wasn't too excited to get this album. But! It admittedly all changes immediately with the second song "Sonnet" - nothing groundbreaking at all but it's a hell of a lot nicer than cut 1 and a huge contrast. It's decent brit-pop. But after getting through it, it never strikes me as anything beyond that. Is it levels above Suede/Pulp/Oasis/generic1995UKband? Maybe, maybe not. I think one major detraction is the utter and complete lack of vocal range - I don't need or even necessarily want someone with the most beautiful voice but on too many songs ("This Time" jfc ugh) there's literally no adventure or reaching out - no alternate melodies, often just one or two notes. Horribly distracting. It's the kind of album I could put on and nobody would complain and yet nobody would remember either. 5/10 2.49 stars. Perfectly generic and safe mid-90s UK album.

Hearing Bittersweet Symphony at nauseum in the 90's caused me to never want to hear it again. I've avoided it. It's a good song and this is a good band. Better than they get credit for. That being said, I'll still avoid it.

Bitter Sweet Symphony holds a special place in my mind palace, with fond memories of my childhood and it's memorable chamber repeating through the airwaves. I didn't know anything else about the verve beyond that, nor did I care to. The Verve comes from the wave of britpop in the 90's, but separates itself from the pack with a neo-psych edge. The result is pretty cool rock music that is overly long. I can't stand these 70-minute albums man they just lose my interest. Instead of me enjoying the songs it just kinda became a blur as it went on. It's pretty good but I would not listen to this in full again.

Front loaded with singles but populated with long drawn out tracks with nothing happening. Weeping Willow was a bit of a high point but the album tracks are mostly forgerrable

Just one long song

Так хорошо начался и так уныло продолжился. Плохо...

I guess I'm just not into mellow brit pop unless it's Pulp. This was a chore to listen to.

Overlong, incredibly self-indulgent, and full of pedestrian rhymes and plodding melodies. There’s nothing here that groups like Oasis and Blur weren’t already doing-and doing better.

Despite some of the more experimental instrumental tones on this album, it ultimately ends up a slog of standard 90s light radio fare. Whiny vocals and a general lack of melodic/thematic focus don't help either. If I never have to hear the pained violin intro to 'Bittersweet Symphony' again it'll be too soon.

The album is just fine, inoffensive but nothing stands out about it. The length of the songs makes the album feel like it drags on.

The rest of the album doesn’t stand up at all to the first track. (prior rate)

Il y a du bon et du moins bon. C’est très proche cousin d’Oasis. Bittersweet symphony a un son qui lui est propre qui fait qu’on veut y revenir, malgré le I-V-VI-IV apparent. Le reste est agréable, sans plus.

Bitter Sweet Symphony est un classique. L'utilisation du sampling de cordes est vraiment réussie (quoi qu'en écoutant l'originale, je crois que c'est plus une réinterprétation, mais ça fonctionne à mort). Les guitares à la fin de Rolling People sont très cool. Malgré ces points positifs, c'est long comme album. La qualité n'est pas là pour garder mon intérêt jusqu'au bout. De la grosse Britpop avec l'attitude pis toute, mais pas aussi accrocheur que Blur ou Oasis. Pièces préférées: Bitter Sweet Symphony, The Rolling People, The Drugs Don't Work

I was really bored by this album. I really didn’t like any songs and it all just kinda dragged

the first song i like a lot but the rest weren’t very interesting to me.

Nope. Gives me the willies. I adore urban hymns, but this is just derivative indie rock sh*te

Moments of brilliance interspersed with banality.

One paced sub-Oasis self importance

It was okay... not a huge fan of this one.

Mostly generic Britpop/rock. I could find better.

nananananana naaaah nana naaaah nana naaah

Such a bloody boring band. I started singing along to The Drugs Don’t Work before realising it was actually Sonnet. I suppose it’s good that I wanted to sing along? Bittersweet Symphony sure is catchy. It’s fun to bark along to the violin part - ‘ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff’.

One of my first loves is 90s alternative but I had trouble getting into this album. This album has a handful of songs that sound like Oasis was transitioning into Muse; others are so cliche 90s rock it seemed generic. I was indifferent to this album. There is some great guitar work here but nothing else is catchy or worth revisiting

The hit single off the album already turned me off cuz it’s just annoying to me at this point. Otherwise it was fine, nothing too notable

Maybe they matter in the UK, but they only had a one hit wonder with the rest of the world when Bittersweet Symphony hit the airwaves. It was a hugely successful song and nothing else on the album punches in its weight class. I find this such a meh choice. It's not horrible, but it's not special either.

Bittersweet symphony kann ich nicht bewerten, das hab ich zu oft gehört. Mehr späte 90er geht nicht. der Rest des Albums ist echt ziemlich irrelevant.

"Bitter Sweet Symphony" is so iconic; everyone my age knows this song. It's a beautiful song, and I love the backing orchestra. But the rest of the album just fell flat for me. It was very of its time--maybe if I listened to it in the nineties I would feel different.

I'm so tired of "Bitter Sweet Symphony". The most overrated song on the planet. The rest is fine. 2

4 songs in and I'm a bit bored. I love 90s music. This isn't grabbing me.

First listen. Bitter Sweet Memories has always been a favorite of mine. Never heard the rest of the album. I really like Sonnet as well. The rest of the album just kept getting better throughout the day. 2/5 for now.

not very good

Initial song 'Bittersweet Symphony' stands out more than anything that follows. Everything else seemed very similar and blurred together, okay for passively listening to but very dreary and entirely forgettable.

Soft, melodic, somewhat uninspired.

At least there was one good song.

Never really got the hype around this one. The one famous song is only good because of the sample. I do like “The Drugs Don’t Work” and I guess Lucky Man by extension, as basically it’s the same song. I feel like Ocean Colour Scene did this kind of thing MUCH BETTER a year previously.

I knew there was a reason why I didn't bother with this i the 90s after hearing the hit singles. It's okay, nothing more. Rolling People is the best track; Bittersweet Symphony Ashcroft performed live with the god awful Coldplay, so that tells you a'' you need to know about that song. As for the Drugs Don't Work? They do.

Some tracks I really like a whole lot---I might give them a 4. But others just aren't moving me at all. Since the quality is so bumpy, I don't think I can give the album *as a whole* a good score. That's not to say there isn't great stuff here. But as a whole it just plays like a poorly assembled mix tape. Verdict: kinda bad. 1. Bittersweet Symphony. What a flashback. This is actually a pretty good song, despite being inescapably overplayed '98-... today? 2. Sounded good 3. Transition here to a grungier feel, doing a pretty good job rocking out. Nice atmospheric breakdown. Reminding me of just-pre-Kid A Radiohead a bit. 4. Slow down: Acoustic ballad with lots of reverb. Sounds a fair bit too country for me. Normally I like diversity in an album, but this song is kind of making me feel like the diversity here is more an attempt to have broad commercial appeal, which, 🤢. 5. Cool intro noises! Back to warm enveloping grunge rock. Feels good. 6. Another great opening. Reversed noises here make you feel like you're in a dimension of fun-house mirrors, but the very pleasing bass line makes it feel safe and good. 7. Not a fan of these chord changes. I think this is worse than the country song. Disappointing. I feel like this album is all over the place. 8. Good but unoriginal bass riff. Overall seems a bit generic/forgettable... I think there are better versions of "this song" out there by other artists. 9. Called "Lucky Man", but not an ELP cover. The vocal sounds out of place to me. Otherwise fine. The strings in the background seem too dramatic and pop-y. 10. (Organ?) This is a ballad. It sounds like a schmaltzy prom song from the 90s, which I guess is exactly what it is. 11. Is this the same riff from 2 songs ago? I could be at the Bronze. 12. Slow, slide guitar, and vocals way back in the mix and distorted. Interesting change of pace. I can dig it. 13. Good follow up to the last song. Some fun jamming here, though the melody isn't particularly strong. I guess this is technically a "hidden track", so I'm not sure whether to count this as officially the last song of the album.

Ok. Nothing very memorable.

Solides Album. Gut um es im Hintergrund zu hören

must be getting old, sounds like noise improved over time

This album sounds very tasteful, digestible and radio ready. It's also bloated and boring. Maybe it's because I'm listening to it after Coldplay copied a lot of their playbook, or because "Bittersweet Symphony" gave me hope that the lyricist had a few tricks up their sleeve. But it was really disappointing, and I can't really forgive an entire album of tired cliches about carpe diem. Rating 2.5/5

2.8 for the verve. Not my cup of joe

First song is kinda cool, the rest is eh

Couple of good songs but nothing special. Probably a little harsh on the rating.

Bittersweet symphony is good, and they show some potential there. But I found the rest of the album to be a meh version of Oasis, who I don't even like.

I’ve never been a big fan of the Verve but only really knew their singles so I kinda looking forward to checking out this whole album. However I found it to be aggressively dull. Not bad, just boring. Oasis and Blur’s output during this time was so far superior this.

Overall pleasant enough but not really my jam. Bittersweet Symphony is obviously the big hit here and stands out from the rest, which all sounded similar to me. At some point I found myself thinking "I should just be listening to Third Eye Blind for music of this era."

Too melodramatic

Doesn't do it for me. The singles are still pretty good but Bittersweet Symphony has been so overplayed for me that I can't give it the justice it deserves. This me, this is just lesser Oasis and Blur.

Great song. So so album.

I've heard the very popular single off this album. Sonically the album was very uninteresting to me with exception of "This Time" Like a less interesting cold play

A little too long for it’s own good

Sehr emo.

This has aged poorly.

"Bittersweet Symphony" has always been... not my favorite song, but I tried to shed that bias and listen with fresh ears. Still not doing much for me. It's a really long record, doesn't really do anything for me. And I like shoegaze, which this album has in spades. Nah. Favorite track: "Catching the Butterfly"

Wow, first song is a banger that I recall from my childhood but they made a mistake of putting there bestbsong first. Also a really fucked up thing was said in the drugs don't work song about cats being drowned in a bag.

I hate the opening track a lot, such a shitty epic riff Will I listen to again: 0%

Is this the Verve or the Verve Pipe ... I'm confused. Does it really matter ... its just another one hit wonder 90s albums that somehow made this list.

Soooo bad. This era of music should be forgotten. There’s one song on the album and the rest are bad copies of it. Doesn’t belong on this list. 0 stars

Utterly uninteresting to me. Just couldn't get into it. The famous singles just irritated me - I tried to listen with fresh ears since they are so often played but I really couldn't hear much to care about. I thought maybe I liked 'drugs don't work' but in this context I found it pretty dull. Second half of the record sometimes went a little psychedelic, but nothing really grabbed me.

364/1001 The Verve - Urban Hymns Heard before? ❎ Revisit? ❎ I've never liked the Verve nor understood their reputation. Over the course of an hour and 15 minutes, it's the same awful whiny dirge. Terrible.

when you really need some background noise to cover people murmuring as they browse the mall

I hate it. Bittersweet Symphony is a song I’ve never understood. It never earns its triumphant sound. The closest it gets to interesting is the I can change part but it never soars above that. The rest of the album is bloated and boring and is the culmination of all of britpops worst excesses. Bombastic and long without being memorable.

A : 1, Hidden Track ( guh ) JL : 1, The Drugs Don't Work

Absolute mediocrity.

Haha no

There is one good song

nao curto

Every song sounds the same.

chato pra porra

So much effort for so little to say

I hate Bitter Sweet Symphony and it is the best track on this album. Bored to tears. I can see why the Drugs Don't Work.

Discount Stone Roses

Fires carve their way through the village with crippling velocity. The wicker homes acting as an accelerant for the insatiable inferno. Villagers stumble out of the smoke looking as if they're flailing at invisible foes in an effort to escape from the fires parasitically latched to their bodies. Your eyes dart from tragedy to tragedy, your body frozen despite the heat as you contemplate your own mortality. The caterwauling of the dead and dying brings to mind the flame's welding of clothes to skin, a sickening alloy which mummifies each body in a blackened sarcophagus. Fire crackles uncaring while fetid smoke obscures your final sights and carries each soul down the river Styx. The populace may have revelled having avoided Bittersweet Symphony all those months ago, only for it to be the soundtrack to their burning demise. The ground opens up and consumes the dripping bones of the immolated. Prayers unanswered. Cleansed by fire. uhhhh verve stinky. 0 HIGHLIGHTS: Worst song of the 90's followed by the 12 runners-up

This has to be one of the most boring Britpop Albums ever.

JUST CAN'T HATE ENOUGH

This was not my favorite.

I get The Verve and The Verve Pipe confused. I shut this album off about halfway through and listened to Mustard Plug’s cover of “The Freshman” by the Verve Pipe instead.

Not for me.

The first song is ok, the rest not so much

Opened up with the strongest song, and fell into droney mediocrity. Just not enjoyable. Sorry, maybe I just don't like shoegaze.

Richard Ashcroft is one of the most boring singers to somehow masquerade as a charismatic frontman. This is like a collection of the dullest Oasis songs with none of the swagger. Pointless.

What a bloody snoozefest. Like Oasis, but even slower and duller. Almost everything in this album is derivative, it's hard to find a single original idea or emotion. Almost every song is also needlessly long and dragged-out ; I was bored out of my mind after three songs, and I really struggled to keep on listening. I'll admit it's slightly better than the other one we got here (Northern Soul), but the fact that there are TWO Verve albums on the list is preposterous. They're not an essential band, not by a long shot. Please drop Northern Soul in the next edition and make room for one of the many legendary artists that are weirdly not represented here. I tried to find reasons to give it a 2*, but it's just too insipid to deserve anything else than a 1* from me. 2/10

I really dislike their previous record on the list. Here, I just hate them a little less. It’s a vaguely more subtle, but it often sounds as bad as Oasis (The Rolling People, Weeping willow…). The production is also way too clean and I still hate the violins there. Still, this is a side of britpop I can tolerate the most. Less Parklife, less Supergrass. More grey, less lad energy. The supposedly “generational” track, The Drugs Don’t Work, is completely unknown to me, which makes me think I really missed something back then. Or maybe not, because I find it terrible. I wanted to give it 2 stars, just so I can feel justified giving 1 to Pulp, Suede, …. But no… the second half is too depressingly generic.

For as long as I can remember I’ve fucking hated Bittersweet Symphony, it’s quite possibly my least favorite song of all time. Based on this I just assumed I’d hate the rest of the album and I was absolutely correct. In fact, I hate these guys so much that tomorrow’s album is gonna be an automatic 5/5 simply because it’s not The Verve.

Amazing album!

This was just not good. I listened to the whole album, but could not wait for it to be over.

Great start with Bittersweet Symphony, iconic string riff. However, Sonnet was not an encouraging follow up, quite boring. The Rolling People was more interesting, musically, will solid layers of sound driving an creative instrumental session featuring some creative non-lyric vocals. The Drugs Don't Work changes the pace, starting out with a slow, acoustic strum and soft vocal intro, and finishing mostly unimpressive. Catching the Butterfly speeds up modestly with a rolling rhythm and trippy, scratchy guitars and the next four songs just kind bleed together. I've practically forgot that Bittersweet Symphony started this album... The same continued through to the end 2/10

I can't stand the big hit from this album, just horrible, no redeeming qualities. Held my breath and started with the second track, mostly meh at best. Still nowhere near as awful as the opening song. Holy shit! 75 minutes long!? I'm never going to make it through this dreck. Fuck you, Dimery, you can kiss my ass.

This truly is a bittersweet symphony

Who among us doesn’t at least appreciate bittersweet symphony? It’s genuinely a pretty song and nothing more needs to be said. The same could be said about the rest of the album. It’s generally pretty and inoffensive. I won’t listen to it again because I found it boring. Much like everything I encounter, I am in entirely uncharted territory here. Do I know bittersweet symphony and the weird lawsuit drama with the Rolling Stones? I was born in 1996. Could I tell you that the verve was the band behind that song? Maybe, I do love trivia. Have I ever intentionally listened to this album or anything by the verve? Absolutely not. But getting past the one song I am too familiar with, there are a dozen other songs here for better or worse. As I’m listening to it, I am mildly aware that I am listening to it. It sounds like 2000s mall music and I just can’t force my brain to be interested in whatever this is. I cannot force myself to care about this album. Ultimately, it is just very boring. I’ve had to remind myself that I’m listening to it just because it hardly registers above white noise on the ears.

I assure you no one cares about The Verve outside of the UK. Stop putting this crap on an essential list.

One of the most generic shits I have heard ever. It starts with the hit, and it should end there as well. And I never liked that song either. This band is an Oasis clone, but a very bad one.

If a cream cracker was an album.

It didn't really hold my attention

...not sure I would categorize this as an album someone needs to hear before they die but that's just me.

God this album is so dull. Aside from a couple of tracks this is just a lot of mid-tempo brit-pop that often drags on too long.

This is not my usual style of music. The whole album sounds like pretentious, overmixed, coffee-house hipster music. Bittersweet Symphony - 8/10. I mean, I liked the accompaniment better when it was The Last Time by The Rolling Stones. That said, this is a great song. Only gets an 8 because they ripped off The Stones (although there are worse bands to rip off). Sonnet - 5/10. "Don't sound like no sonnet." Neither does this. Good musicianship, lyrics are OK, if a bit repetitive without a reason. The Rolling People - 3/10. Forgettable mid-90's grungeish rock. Not terrible, but not great either. Should have been about half the length. The Drugs Don't Work - 1/10. Save me from early 20's angst from the late 90's. Catching the Butterfly - 2/10. Forgettable and overly long. Solid musicianship, just not to my taste. Neon Wilderness - 3/10. At least it isn't too overly long. Not a fan of experimental 90's music. Space and Time - 5/10. On the stronger side of this album, good musicianship. Weeping Willow - 5/10. Decent. Not good, not bad, just decent. Lucky Man - 3/10. Meh. Much like the rest of the album. One Day - 3/10. Meh. Much like the rest of the album. This Time - 3/10. Meh. Much like the rest of the album. Velvet Morning - 2/10. Pretentious, overmixed garbage. Come On/Deep Freeze - 2/10. On par with the rest of the album. Four minutes and still no "bonus track." Overall rating - 1/5

Sounds like a typical late 90’s “alternative” album. Not sure how this made the list.

Apart from the first track, not good

90s was the black hole of the music.

Ten seconds in and all I could think was “please make it stop”. That thought remained for the first half of the album. The second half I didn’t listen.

2nd album I couldn’t finish. Too long for the material on it. Some good stuff for sure but everything was like 2mins too long. Same basic harmony for 6mins is agonising

Verve has always felt like Third Eye Blind, Semisonic, Goo Goo Dolls, Friends theme song, yadda yadda. Pseudo alternative music that came after Nirvana, Pumpkins, Oasis. It's for people too chickenshit to listen to music that pisses off their parents. I'm listening to it now picturing Liam Gallagher beating the lead singer with an amp.

Nothing could possibly fit the definition of 'Not for Me' more than this album. What a chore to sit through. Especially after an alright (overplayed) opening track.

Dull, boring and soul destroying. Would have prefered to sit in silence for 75 minutes.

not even the good song is good

Bad. Dumb

More britpop??

Didn’t enjoy it

The last quarter of the album is the highlight, but nothing I’d ever want to listen to again.

worst song

Very boring tbh. An album over an hour better be super engaging and interesting and this was not. It felt like work getting through it.

I never owned this but this is the platonic ideal of the kind of CD I'd get from Best Buy in highschool on the strength of a single, play through once, play the single track(s) 5 more times, and then never touch again until selling it off in college to make room for cooler stuff. Bittersweet Symphony is an incredible needle drop in Cruel Intentions but the rest of the album is pretty forgettable. So many of these tracks feel like a shameless but unsuccessful attempt to duplicate OK Computer. And ok, I know from firsthand experience that Radiohead did not originate the secret hidden track after a long silence at the end of a CD but repeating the exact gesture that ended OK Computer comes off like they're cargoculting Radiohead in hopes that their album somehow becomes good.

Impeccably unremarkable

More crap british music.

Not for me…

Holy shit bitter sweet symphony is 6 fucking minutes long??? Jesus this album felt so long that I forgot that they did bitter sweet. This album sucks almost all of the way through. The lyrics were so shallow and cringy that I almost had to stop playing it. I was comparing this album to the Linkin Park album, and I can safely say that this one is way worse and deserving of a 1.