Reviews (page 3 of 15)
9/10
i was obsessed with this album when it came out and thought it was so beautiful and confessional. I felt like Richard's pain and struggle with his addiction was so clear. It still holds up and it was a lovely trip back to that time in my life as well.
I loved this when it first came out, but it is remarkable how many of the tracks are absolute classics in their own right. An incredible album.
I was expecting to hate this as soon as I found out this is the album that features Bittersweet Symphony. My mind just says one-hit-wonder, but the album feels like it deserves a little better than that, in fact there's a handful of brit-pop albums I'd put away because this one is pretty solid at representing the genre while being listenable. Still a little grating trying to listen to it twice. 2.9/5
Zzzzzz
Good stuff. Berne has been added to my listen list.
oh my god .. this BANGER?! immediate 5 after the first measure of bitter sweet symphony.
Peak
pissed me off besides the 1st song
I mean let’s go to track one
Tuturu tu tu tu Tu tu tu Tu tu tu Buen álbum de brit pop. Nunca lo había escuchado completo. Tiene todo lo del género, no se guardó nada. Algo largo también. 1.15 hs le metieron. 6/10
5 estrelas só pq tem a maior música do mundo (bittersweet symphony)
algumas ganharam lugar na minha playlist
3/5 pretty good stuff sean song but can’t beat oasis
Mantiene ése estilo de sonido espacial y psicodelico muy marcado durante todo el álbum y está bastante bien producido, las letras son bastante claras en momentos como donde se habla sobre adicciones y el paso del tiempo, otras veces se vuelven bastante filosóficas, con todo esto que contiene no me volvió loco, me gustó bastante pero no lo que me esperaba. Lo que sí es increíble es el último track que es el punto más alto del álbum sin dudas, y cierra con el tema escondido bien raro y extraño.
Man, I love this album, even with the emotional uppercut
Most painfully 90s album
I don't actually need to listen to this one, I've heard it so many times. It's one of those albums that immediately takes me to a time and a place in my life. There's a steady beat through the whole thing, so it's a great album to walk to, perfect to have on as you traverse the city streets. This is definitely in my top 100 of all time already. I love the way the tracks flow into each other and bring you on an emotional journey with high highs and low lows, but always that steady rhythm to keep you grooving on down the road. It's one I come back to regularly.
3.5/5 https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/the-verve/urban-hymns/ Carried by its two main tracks (the obvious two) and held back by its length. Overall enjoyable, but not much more than that.
Classic britpop. They sound a lot like Oasis, imho. It is rock in a safe way, but it’s quite nice. Favourites: Bitter Sweet Symphony, Lucky Man, The Drugs Don’t Work.
Feel like I have a lot in common with this albums sentiment and that feels troubling.
Déjà écouté avant. En se tentant de se conformer aux codes de la britpop autour de laquelle ils gravitaient jusque là sans jamais totalement s'y fondre, par esprit d'expérimentation plus que de contradiction, Richard Ashcroft et les siens en signent paradoxalement le chant du cygne, le dernier album notable avant extinction. L'album est certes trop long pour ce qu'il est, et le groupe se fait souvent plaisir à faire durer un peu stérilement certains titres qui n'en méritaient pas tant. Mais le talent brut d'Ashcroft est incontestable, et cette mélancolie midtempo assumée tout le long, mariée à quelques touches orchestrales mélodramatiques, est plutôt séduisante. Top : Sonnet Flop : This Time
3,7/5
Bittersweet symphony zieht es raus
A fantastic album one of my absolute favourites from the 90s. Recently discover that Bittersweet Symphony is the best Saturday morning. It was also pointed out to me that some songs sound like Crowded House. Sad what happened to the band with that Rolling Stones licensing debacle.
It’s a high 3. Really easy and nice to listen to, but not much special besides a couple hits.
It was good to listen to this album again. Some catchy, singalong tunes. Lyrics are a bit depressing though.
Excellent album. Closer to 5 stars than 4,so that's wot it's getting.
Quite liked it and a few songs I knew already
There’s quite a few good songs on here, and I like the overall vibe of the album. It’s nothing special but just about gets a 4
Home decent chill jams other than bittersweet symphony. Didn't hate it.
sort of Bitter Sweet Symphony and its 12 bonus tracks. it's cool though, vibey. it seems most comfortable when its spacey and a little psychadelic, but it gets braver the further on the album gets. seriously grew on me by the end. This Time is fuckin sick it's definitely my favorite (also haven't heard it 10000 times). soft 4
Rating: 4/10 big oof on this one, it's obviously a sound I love but there are a lot of bands I want to listen to instead of The Verve. This one I find boring and the album goes on and on and I got tired of most songs before they finished, especially after the first four. It gets a point or two purely for its strongest run at the beginning
I really like in a cheesy Shaw's-core kind of way. Just good ambience in an album, with good flavor and a solid vision for what the album should sound like. No I can't explain why I like this more than U2. You kind of lean into the cheese and embrace the 90s sad boy within, and it turns into a great album 7.9/10
Absolute masterclass but the hidden track was a big negative in points for me.
I bought this CD when it first came out. Loved it then, particularly The Drugs Don’t Work, then drifted away from it. Another listen as part of this project reminded me how good it was.
I like (still don’t love) when this band plays as a space rock band. They do the semi-noisy wah wall of sound with far out vocals thing pretty well. I lose interest when they are a more straight Britpop band. It’s a long album, so there’s fair representation of each. I probably won’t think about this album too much again. But I was driving when listening and had to pee so bad that my kidneys started hurting, so it was hard to focus on the music. Between 2 and 3 but I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt given the circumstances.
I forgot how much I like Lucky Man. The rest of the album is meh
Very enjoyable, I think everyone on earth has heard Bitter Sweet Symphony but I won't let that take away from the album as a whole. Favorite Track: Bitter Sweet Symphony (sue me)
Great songwriting. Great vibe. I only wish they maintained more od the fuzz and drone from earlier releases.
I had a friend borrow this CD in high school, and he played “Bitter Sweet Symphony” so many times that the track wouldn't even play by the time I got it back. That should tell you how big that song was. This is a good album overall. A lot of it sounds like songs that didn't quite make the cut for an Oasis album, but I still enjoy most of it. The songwriting is solid and the atmosphere is consistent that it holds up well. That said, I don't see myself revisiting it often outside of “Bitter Sweet Symphony” and “Lucky Man.” Those are the tracks that really stick with me. Still, even beyond the hits, it's a good album and an easy listen from start to finish.
One ok song, the rest sounds the same, but not as ok.
Good listen. I was wavering on "ehh" territory as this felt like an Oasis/early Radiohead brit-rock B-sides album, but still some solid songs. And it reminded me that that song "Lucky Man" that awesome 'the night is winding down' song is from this album!
Good, old fashioned, nostalgic Brit pop
After a while i wished my ear canals would block
Classic 90s hits
Took me back to my childhood. Always a special record to me, with so many songs I love.
Realizing that "Bitter-Sweet Symphony" is the opening track, and that the ENTIRE rest of the record follows after it sorta blows my mind. That song is so generational and brilliant that following it up with anything feels like it's gonna fall flat. Hilariously, it reminds me of Spiritualized's Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space; one of my favorite albums but one that quite evidently peaks on the first song. Speaking of that, Richard Ashcroft and Kate Radley getting secretly married in 1995 while she was still publicly with Jason put me off the Verve for a long time. Spiritualized is one of my favorite bands and that schism is so insane that I couldn't bring myself to be unbiased with the Verve in the wake of learning that. But here we are now and I can admire what they're doing. I can tell this is gonna grow on me but first impressions are incredibly strong.
9/10 Yeah Bittersweet Symphony is the big one but the guitar work and the strings throughout the album really clicked for me.
The first 5 songs are like half remembered flashbacks to childhood! I'm a bit surprised how both dirge-like some of the songs are, almost like the vocal style pulls the whole feel back. Also at times kind of psychedelic too, but that's just the 90's. On the subject, there's something about the late 90's/early 2000's mid tempo rock bands that all feel a bit singer songwriter jam with a slightly more adventurous rhythm section. Like it's the second rehearsal on songs that were just a melody and chord chart. Just to start a fight, but you could possibly swap singers in Matchbox 20 and Oasis and that would be the only major difference.
Solid. No complaints. Quality britpop.
It's peak Verve, but it's still britpop. Really not into that stuff except for some Blur songs.
The first song is great and a classic. The rest of the album is forgettable.
One iconic song overshadows all the others. Kinda boring
There is some extremely strong nostalgia with the singles from this one which inevitably leads me to be positively inclined towards Urban Hymns. Trying to be objective, certain songs ('Bittersweet Symphony', 'The Drugs Don't Work', 'Sonnet', 'Lucky Man', 'Space And Time') are absolute classics. The rest are leaning dangerously towards filler territory; Richard Ashcroft's vocals on the more average tracks stray towards a britpop whine - not to my taste usually. Nonetheless, the good songs carry this comfortably and I could listen to the above tracks on repeat. I'm particular, 'Space And Time', which was a relatively new one to me
There is one good song
Didn’t get a chance to listen but I love this album
Nostalgic and easy to listen to
"Bitter Sweet Symphony" overshadows the rest of the album, but "The Drugs Don't Work" and "Velvet Morning" are good. "And I was born a little damaged man / And look what they made."
- like Coldplay before Coldplay? I hear the influence of Oasis as well, and pre-OK Computer Radiohead (although maybe every mid-90s rock band from the U.K. sounds a little like The Bends and most of the Oasis hits to me). in this case, I hear Radiohead a lot in tracks like "Space and Time" - despite sounding similar to other groups that made it big, the album comes across as more radio-friendly (at least than Oasis and Radiohead in the U.S.) while still being largely forgettable in terms of sound. there isn't a lot that stands out to me. Thom Yorke and Liam Gallagher have distinct singing voices that are slightly less pleasant than Richard Ashcroft's, but they're more memorable overall
Banger.
1,5
Great album
Huge emotions and huge memories, great album
Lots of Mancunian memories to this.
Pretty good album (Nate didn't approve). Who hasn't heard bittersweet symphony.
This is a great sounding album. “Bittersweet Symphony” is not representative of the rest of the album; it more 90’s psych rock than stringed trance rock. Solid 3.5 but will bump to a 4 b/c I was pleasantly surprised.
resulta que la cancion mas famosa es la peor de todas, pues ha estado guay aunque se ha hecho un poco largo, sonnet la mejor
this album is straight ass I like bittersweet symphony but the rest was my grandad stinky ass
I remember having it in cassette,was in the navy back then ,3.5 /5 for me .
posluso sam prvu pjesmu genijalno, no change i can change i can change
Lol ... bittersweet symphony brings back weird memories of college. But also my first thought on seeing this was 'oh no, another britpop album'. Beyond Bittersweet Symphony it sounds pretty generic. Wow, the awared for completely unnecessary hidden track goes to them.
Bittersweet Symphony is amazing. Lucky Man is pretty good. The rest is alright. Minus a star for the hidden track.
Nota é 100% Nostalgia
1h15 de britpop é top much. Apesar do Banger que tem a abrir, como álbum é cansativo
solid
Really liked this. Beautiful sounds and voice.
It's been almost two years since I listened to A Northern Soul as part of my album journey, and I struggle to remember it. I do recall highlighting The Verve's follow-up, Urban Hymns, for more noteworthy hits. Obviously, "Bitter Sweet Symphony" still gets radio airplay today, but I also consider "The Drugs Don't Work" a wonderfully melancholic ballad with its reverbed pedal steel. With those two singles in mind, I went into Urban Hymns a bit more optimistic and was rewarded for listening to an extent. I think the core identity of this record is in the shift in sound and songwriting, as a brief absence of guitarist Nick McCabe from the band forced frontman Richard Ashcroft to learn to write music. Thus, I got a sense of Richard's earnestness from these pleasant hook-driven ballads that boast such dynamics and rich arrangements, akin to "History" off of A Northern Soul, a song I recall enjoying. Songs like "Sonnet", "Catching the Butterfly", and "Weeping Willow" work wonders in capturing Richard's strife amidst drug-riddled despair, as eclectic guitar riffs, a tight rhythm section, and sweeping strings play alongside his impassioned vocal delivery and the lush, reverbed production. I especially dug the extended jam of "The Rolling People", complete with electrifying funkified guitar licks traded back and forth over a nice shuffle beat. That said, I do feel this album runs a tad long at 75 minutes, as some moments could have been cut. Personally, I would have gotten rid of the formless ambiance of "Neon Wilderness" and the hidden track "Deep Freeze", as I feel they don't add much to the overall package. Still, I had a good time with Urban Hymns, way more than I did with A Northern Soul. It goes to show the leaps and bounds that Richard Ashcroft made as a songwriter in that time.
With the exception of the exceptionally naff "one day", a solid album start to finish. Lots of similarities in some ways with Radiohead. I wished they varied the vibe a bit more. Same tempo in every song. Similar drums, guitar and vocals, etc.
Essa primeira é muito famosa. Não sei se pegaram um sample ou algo do tipo. O resto foi bem ok, não achei nada de mais.
So we made a whole album even though there was only one good song on it, which was the style at the time. 2.5⭐️
Based off of their one-hit wonder status, this is way better than I thought it would be. 3.5 stars, rounding down because it seemed a bit long.
how many bad british rock albums does one have to listen to i like some lyrics though
Fire
Bitter sweet symphony is natuurlijk geweldig vond de rest een beetje saai.
Denk 4
Bitter Sweet Symphony is one of the best songs of that damn decade so that song alone puts this album at 3 stars for me. The rest of the album is what elevates it to a 5. Every song was impactful, written beautifully and sonically arranged in a way that was pleasant to the ear. Finally a five star project, the first in a while for me!
Two iconic songs, but not ones I would purposefully listen too. Rest of the album is all a similar sound, difficult to differentiate the songs and I don't like the tone of the main singer. Not for me
Album extrêmement agréable et très bien lancé, puis qui garde une ambiance tout du long qui apaise et dans laquelle le violon ajoute une dimension autre à l’album
Conclusive proof that The Verve have released at least 12 songs other than Bittersweet Symphony, which is, admittedly a pretty great song. And I knew this was late '90s Brit-Pop, but even so, I could not have guessed just how similar a lot of these songs sound to The Bends by Radiohead. And I will say that this is neither a good or a bad thing, it's kind of just a thing. But The Verve do create a sense of identity here, songs like Weeping Willow, The Drugs Don't Work, and Neon Wilderness are great of their own volition, with a sound that pulls from psych, orchestral influences, and pop immediacy. I honestly think the weakest thing about Urban Hymns is the length. It's generally a solid collection of songs, but at an hour and 15, it runs a little long. And I know some of it is due to silence on the hidden track, but even if I don't count that, there's still like 70 minutes of music here, and it isn't quite good enough to keep the momentum up. But it is definitely a solid Brit-Pop album, with some really good songs.
Rock, Pop, 1997 -> 3
It surprised me how different The Verve and The Verve Pipe sound just a few years apart. I enjoyed this album. Wasn’t super familiar with it outside of the singles.
Kæmpe klassiker, blev deres største album gik 11 platitnum i england. Det er britpop og jeg synes også det lød som sådan et mere finesse version af Oasis med mere orchestral og storartet ren lyd. Bittersweet symphony er jo en kæmpe sang, det er 100 en som går ned i historien som noget stort. Resten af albummet er også godt massere af god enkeltstående numre og den kosmiske stemning er ensartet igennem hele albummet. Jeg kunne rigtig godt lide rolling people fordi den var så rock n roll. Jeg synes jeg læster mig til at Keither richards og mick jagger har haft en finger med i spillet, så det har måske noget at skulle have sagt. Ellers ved jeg ikke hvad jeg skal tilføje udover at det er britpop, alternativ rock fra 90'erne som jo er pisse fedt.
One of the 20 best 90’s albums 😱. I’m not exaggerating 😐👍. My favorite songs were Catching a Butterfly, Lucky Man, and Velvet Morning. Overall, I would give it a 4.5/5! 🫡🍃🕊️
good background music
3 out of 5. Overall smoother album than I thought it would be, only knowing Bitter Sweet Symphony.
nao curto
This is a really lovely album throughout, with some tracks pulling you in quite heavily. Same as with most albums, I feel that once it passes a certain length of time, it can just start to become slightly draining. I can't begin to count the number of times I have lost enjoyment from an album because of its length. This would have been a really lovely album if it had been split in half, and two albums had been made from it. Unless you're listening from start to finish, it isn't a big deal at all, but I feel like albums are made for you to listen from top to bottom. Some people even get creative and tell a full story throughout, and you'll only fully understand the meaning by listening to every track in the order that they have chosen. But this just seemed to go on for slightly too long. The songs, however, I thoroughly enjoyed individually. Favourite lyric: 'Like a cat in a bag, waiting to drown. This time I'm coming down.' ('The Drugs Don't Work'). Favourites: Bittersweet Symphony The Drugs Don't Work Lucky Man Space And Time
Quite a fun album to listen to with some great production, underestimated how good the verve were. Although personally i would probably find some songs to become boring very quickly. Overall good album borderline 4
Tis alright
This is pretty good but the high water marks are definitely the singles. Tough to beat Bittersweet Symphony. It's an absolutely iconic song in the UK as is the video. Worth another listen.
It’s okay. I like the song about the drugs not working. I hear that!
I can see why bittersweet symphony is the only song I know from this album
Every song sounds the same.
A product of its time (‘90s)—sometimes dramatic, sometimes soft-spoken, sometimes psychedelic. Enjoyable, but strange.
A low 4? Some great songs but as a whole it feels like it’s lacking in effort
Enough classics to just about outweigh the very mediocre album filler and make it a 3.5 rounded up rather than down.
Not impressed. Expected this to be better. I'll go with a low 3.
Sound
Most of it is pretty average
not all that exciting as an album (and feels pretty long), but has a very nice sound. would listen again.
3/5. The opener (and the bands biggest hit) Bittersweet Symphony is one of the best hits of the 90’s, absolutely love that string part, love the vocal melodies, really just love everything about it. It absolutely clears the Rolling Stones live song that The Verve would proceed to get sued over copying. The rest of the album is nowhere near as good as Bittersweet Symphony, but it’s still some solid enough Brit-Pop, better than what a lot of other bands in the scene were offering at least. I enjoyed “This Time” and the closer “Come On” quite a bit.
I really enjoyed this album. Great vibes! Close to a 5 for me. Favorite track(s) Bitter Sweet Symphony Sonnet The Drugs Don't Work Lucky Man Weeping Willow
not good
This hasn't aged well. An hour and 16 minutes of meh!
The church of the Verve is a go!. Take out your hymnals and join in singing...
chato pra porra
After listening to this, it’s no surprise at all that Oasis beat The Verve for best UK album of the last 30 years.
Wasn’t expecting this to be so boring.
The Bittersweet Symphony guys are on this list? Is this some kind of sick joke? And the album is 75 minutes? Not on my watch.
This felt quite flat to me, and I didn’t really connect with it. I think this was due to the melancholic feel, the lack of groove, and the simpler rhythmic choices than I’m used to. It’s not an album I will return to.
"Bittersweet Symphony" alone should pull a high ranking, but the rest of the album has a feel-good, mellow, 'everything is gonna be ok' sort of vibe which makes it solid album.
Some good moments, but overall just fine/forgettable
just easy listening really. Nothing crazy 3.5
Pretty enjoyable throughout, and one of the few standout albums from the late 1990s.
Verve (noun): great energy and enthusiasm, particularly in artistic expressions Not sure they live up to their name, especially on the live tracks
masterful in every sense of the word
Arguably the best opening song on an album from the 90s. ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ had it all and there was just no way the album could stay at that level of epic. ‘Sonnet’ keeps standards very high but unfortunately the album just can’t keep churning out hits. ‘The drugs don’t work’ fires another one out at track 4 however there is then a massive amount of filler before ‘Lucky man’ piques the interest again. The great songs are great- which makes the filler seem average however I enjoyed it and it was better than average. So it has to score 8.5/10 for me. Favourite song- ‘bittersweet symphony’ Worst song- ‘the rolling people’ it just sat in the wrong place between 2 awesome tracks.
The Verve - Urban Hymns Another album born from confusion. Dealing with the elephant in the room, the opener Bittersweet Symphony is without doubt an end of the 20th century classic. A masterpiece of arrangement, production and performance it sets the bar impossibly high for what is to follow. And whilst there are some high points in the form of Sonnet and The Drugs Don't Work, the rest of the album rests in the shadow of that opening. Very much a collection of two mindsets. The songs - the aforementioned and the likes of Lucky Man and One Day, and the jams - like Catching the Butterfly, Neon Wilderness and so on. And when the treated guitars of McCabe add much needed colour to the former, they ponderously plod on the latter. And This Time is the worst Stone Roses 'lite' I've heard. Fortunately there is one last redeeming moment before the end in Velvet Morning. This paean to Lee Hazlewood echoes not only Lee but also the best of Neil Diamond during his travelling troubadour phase. The album should have finished there. So....hard to score. Some bits great, some bits pointless. At 76 minutes this could have been a much better 40 minute album. 7/10
3,77 1. "The Drugs Don't Work" 2. "Sonnet" 3. "Bitter Sweet Symphony"
This album isn’t offensive. What I find offensive are the people who think this is the greatest album or the worst album ever made. It’s got a handful of reasonably good songs though “the hit“ depends on a riff created by two of rocks greatest songwriters and isn’t even their own. The album could’ve been 30 minutes shorter. In the end, if you find this album boring you won’t like it. If you love the songs, then you’ll probably like it very much.
The marriage point between shoegaze and britpop, which makes for a shockingly wonderful swirl of sounds. Beyond the obviously brilliant opener, so many of these tracks feel like britpop pushing in such a uniquely psychedelic way, such as “The Rolling People”, “Space and Time”, and “Lucky Man”. This record really shows how The Verve are firmly among the britpop greats.
Lost in the sea of the Brit Pop heyday (at least in America), the melodies and lyrics still hold true today.
Bittersweet symphony is the saving grace on this. I don’t care about the rest tbh!
Perfectly ok, but not essential pre-death listening.
An album I didn't get anywhere near during the 90s because I *HATED* bittersweet symphony. But this album was actually good! This is drug music, don't get it twisted, but its a solid album.
Bittersweet symphony… next song that stood out was “catching the butterfly.” Tracks leading up to that unnoticeable. Maybe it’s the more downtempo-ness and grooviness of it. “Space in time” is great. Great 90’s chord sequence. “Weeping Willow” another good down, sad track. Nice 90’s chunky and mellow fender strat guitars with wah pedals. “Lucky man” girl next door. “Come on” is a nice ending…or is it??
Kova levy ja tätä tullut pyöriteltyä paljon cd soittimessa. Totuus toki on se että kyllähän tältäkin levyltä löytyy melkoisesti täytebiisejä. Bittersweet symphony kyllä kantaa vuodesta toiseen
Eipä tässä oikein Bitter Sweet Symphonyn lisäksi ole muita hyviä biisejä, mutta pannaan nyt sen kunniaksi kuitenkin nelkkukelkku.
Kyl tätä on tullut kuunneltuu ja on kyl paraita prittipoppi-keitoksia. Sillai tää tais tulla vähän semmoseen aikaan kun moppitukat ol isoimmassa nosteessa ja lunasti silti paikkansa aallonharjalla. Sekin ehkä kertoo jotain että vanhan liiton miehet halus päästä osingoille ja haki rojaltit isoimmasta hitistä 20 vuodeks kunnes totesivat, että "hehe ota sittenkin nää tulevaisuudessa". Tällä levyllä on useempi hittibiisi, jotka kestää aikaa ja lisärinä vielä albumiraidatkin toimittelee. Se isoin hittikin on semmonen, ettei siihen oo kyllästynyt. Näillä asteikoilla voi antaa täyttä latinkia tähtiä.
Noniin. Taas niitä omaa elämää muuttaneita levyjä. Tää oli teininä ihan saatanan kovassa tehosoitossa, kirjastosta lainasin ja kopsasin C-kassulle. Bängereitä bängereiden perään ja "täytebiisitkin" on ihan weltklassea. Jotenkin huikea tunnelma koko levyn ajan. Richard Ashcroft on vähän molskahtanut syvään päätyyn mielipiteineen, mutta voi veljet miten upea oli silti nähdä mies livenä viime kesänä Manchesterissa Oasiksen lämppärinä. Jos nyt oikein muistan, niin setissä taisi olla yhtä lukuunottamatta kaikki biisit Urban Hymnsiltä, ja yhteislaulu raikasi jokaisessa. Ihan mieletön kokemus!
bitter sweet symphony
some really good songs and reminds me of my dad.
Es indie-rock y eso ya me gusta. Bien británicos. Tienen un aire re fuerte a Oasis
Pretty ballsy move opening with a Rolling Stones cover. All kidding aside "Bittersweet Symphony" is catchable. The rest of the record sounds like they were trading ideas with Oasis for material. An album over 45 minutes long has to justify itself with the strength and diversity of its material. And this does not cut it. The hidden track thankfully died with the decline in CD production. It's pervasiveness in the 90s is completely odious.
Have I listened to this album before? No How familiar am I with this album? I know one song How do I feel about this artist? I really like Bitter Sweet Symphony Pre-Listen Thoughts: I am excited to listen to The Verve more outside of the big hit Favorite track(s): Bitter Sweet Symphony, Rolling People, Catching the Butterfly Post-Listen Thoughts: I liked all the songs, it was on the longer side but it didn’t drag. Bitter Sweet Symphony is a great album opener. Usually the rest of the album is kind of a letdown when it starts with the hit this one just has such a great intro.
I dunno, guys, I think I just don't like era of Brit rock. There were a few points where this surprisingly rocked out, which was cool, but overall the vibes were just too aloof and the songs went on too long.
banger album. bitter sweet symphony is so lit. i took about four favorite tracks from this album. i love it.
New Wave Britpop Dreampop Ethereum eh
quite liked it, its alternative, got nice riffs and sad grungyish jams.
It's BritPop, but also slightly more - combining Coldplay-style ballads with psychedelic jams with more classic Britpop entries. It's a tad long, but a really strong record.
This album feels like the precurser to Coldplay's 'Parachutes' in a way, full of soft rock swoonings and nihilistic stank. The orchestral touches throughout are very pleasant, and the violins particularly complement the naturally nasal timbre of Ashcroft's voice. Unfortunately for this album, and for Britpop in general, there is an issue of authenticity, because there are moments when the symphonic swathes of angst start to become grating or boring, and the music starts to feel like it is trying too hard to sound too cool and aloof. Despite this, the sound here is tight and definitive, and one can definitely feel some pleasure in listening to this record.
I like this album. It has a couple good songs. It also has a lot of forgettable songs, and is too long. It’s a fine listen, but not remarkable. 3/5
Met verve geslaagd
Pretty good, but somewhat one dimensional. They seem talented enough to have more diverse songs
One of my favorite records of all time. Probably 1, 2, or 3. Just a lovely record and full of great songs. Richard's voice soars on this recording. The songs touching and full of story. No way I go to a deserted island without this one.
I was already familiar with Bitter Sweet Symphony, which is a great song. It is unsurprisingly probably the strongest track on the album, but the entire album is good actually. I would listen again for sure.
Love the first part of this album.
first half of this album is terrible, basically one long song with little effort. After the 5th track or so the album really shows its merit. If they had only decided to have 9 tracks instead of 13 tracks this would be a classic album.
Starts so strong then just kinda meh
I’ve liked Bittersweet Symphony ever since it came out, but always assumed the band was a one-hit wonder. I was surprised that several of the songs had 9-figure plays on Spotify, but I will say that those were some of the standouts. Lucky Man in particular shares just enough DNA with Bittersweet Symphony to sound like a worthy companion piece. The rock ballads work the best here, but I didn’t mind the jammier, harder moments either. It was a surprisingly brisk listen for an album that’s over an hour long. The only song that really didn’t work for me was the oh-so-90s hidden track tacked on the end after several minutes of silence (which was the style at the time). Deep Freeze is built around *checks notes* a crying baby sample. My kryptonite. Anyway, nothing really jumped out as something I needed to hear again anytime soon, but Bittersweet Symphony still stands up as a great song. I’m glad they’re finally getting paid for it.
This album is pretty boring.
Pretty much a One Hit Wonder.
Big element of nostalgia in this rating. Obviously the opening track is a classic, but it keeps that standard throughout.
Familiar with opening track which was radio played so much back in day that I never wanted to hear it ever again. I had minimal hopes for this album and even put it off until the end of the day. I was pleasantly surprised. Several songs especially Catching Butterfly remind of early-1990s U2…not that I wanted to hear that but comfortable and familiar. Rating a 4 to encourage return visit and listen. 4/5
Very good
Ett av de bästa albumen jag vet, från 90-talet i alla fall. Vissa av låtarna är så definierande för mig och har följt med mig sedan dess: Bittersweet symphony (videon!), Sonnet, Lucky Man och The drugs don't work förstås. Så bra! Älskar hela albumet med dess hidden track också.
opens with a song ive heard in ads my entire life but never been arsed about enough to google, got even less interesting after that
The first 4 tracks are solid rock songs. From Catching the Butterfly on it really picks up for me. Spacey, psychedelic, dreamy and atmospheric, right in my wheelhouse. I dig Neon Wilderness, I dig Space and Time, there are no skips on the entire album though. Is there a more 90's CD thing than a bonus track after 10 minutes of dead air? Other than the mega hit, I didn't know anything else, both Verve albums have been two of the better discoveries in this project.
I was pleasantly surprised by this, what an excellent listen.
The first song works to the detriment of the entire album as nothing quite lives up to it.
Lo escuché mientras caminaba
couple of good songs but not much that special
"Bittersweet Symphony", is good of course. It was ubiquitous for a while and it's a good song, but does The Verve do *anything* else?? Because, it feels like you get "Bittersweet.." then it's an additional 1 hour and 5 minutes of basically that songs' variations. Not much tonal variation, the singer just sounds hollow and at points almost bored, and while it has that 90s grunge-y guitar work it tires QUICKLY. The added symphony work, like on "Bittersweet.." don't seem to work anywhere else. (2/5) What a boring slog. A one-hit wonder band if I've ever heard one. Thoroughly forgettable.
I have a history with this one. My college girlfriend, Dana, worked at T.I.S. College Bookstore in Bloomington, IN, and her coworker liked to call into the local radio station to win their "be the XX caller" stuff. He won this CD but didn't want it, so he ask her for my name and number and gave it them. I didn't want it either, and didn't pick it up, but I got a call a couple weeks later that I'd also been entered for and won an all expense paid trip to Chicago to see them. They flew us in from Indy, put us up at The Midland Hotel and the concert was at The Vic Theatre. We rode the El everywhere, and breakfast at Lou Mitchell's the morning after was one of the best diner experiences I've ever had. Oh, and the concert was pretty good, except some guy kept trying to bump up against Dana and I had to play human shield and thought for a while I was gonna get in a fight. I never got that CD. It's a bittersweet symphony, this life.
Variety: 2 Adequacy: 5 Listenability: 4 Uniqueness: 3 Emotionality: 3 = 3.4 rounded down to a 3 "Well, everybody hurts sometimes/ Everybody cries/ Everybody hurts, sometimes" We have a copy of this CD still. I can't remember if it was mine or my wife's though before all our stuff got mixed together. I know I've heard the whole thing a bunch, but only a handful of tracks seem familiar glancing at the titles. There's the one big one that still gets a TON of radio play, but not sure any of the others still get any love. Without getting too deeply into it, I've read that the lawsuit stuff has finally been settled and the band can now get royalties, whatever that's worth nowadays with streaming. I remember liking it in general, but let's see if it still holds up. THE TRACKS "Bitter Sweet Symphony" - Controversies aside, I think it's pretty obvious that the band made whatever elements they sampled completely their own. I'm willing to bet 99% of the people who have heard this song and grooved along to it would never in a million years connect it in anyway to The Rolling Stones. What else can be said about it except it's a stone cold classic. In a decade packed with memorable tunes, this one rises to the top and still manages to feel like a serious, contemplative number and has aged impeccably. This one goes on the next gold record we send into space maybe. "Sonnet" - This one got a lot of play way back when and I think even a music video. The band's whole vibe is pretty downbeat and depressive, and this song does nothing to change that perception. A bummer. But a pretty, well constructed, hooky bummer. "The Rolling People" - Ashcroft and company find a middle ground between U2 and Oasis on this one. The sort of big dense arena sound, along with the psychedelic touches give this a very spacey nebulous feel. "The Drugs Don't Work" - This one was another I think there was a video for, so must have also been pushed for radio play. These guys definitely have a handle on things. I read this was their third album and they are as tight and self assured as any giant act of the period. This track clearly demonstrates that confidence in that they can switch into an even more depressive mode and make it feel less like a lull and more of a flex. Largely acoustic ballad stuff here, but the sound is filled up with some strings and what sounds like a steel guitar hiding under those layers. Also very pretty, and some very catchy vocal hooks. "Catching the Butterfly" - A fine number that leans a little heavier into the psychedelic, with wavy guitar sounds that seem to float past, in and out of range and with a bevy of interesting effects. This is solid lazy Saturday morning wake and bake lounge music. "Neon Wilderness" - More effects-laden guitars open this one up, and things are looking ok until the spoken word half sung vocals drop in and take us down a path to nowhere. This wasn't awful but was barely worthy of it's own track and would hav ebeen better suited as the outro to the previous track maybe. The first real misstep, but not too perilous. "Space and Time" - Things get back on track, but perhaps not completely fully. This was decent if a little vanilla. This sounds as basic and generic as anything on here thus far. "Weeping Willow" - Much more in the Oasis mode with this one, but played at 3/4 speed. We get another heavy dose of spaced out guitars and let 60s pop rock sounds. "Lucky Man" - This is the other big one I remember liking from way back. This is the sort of catchy as hell upscale, adult alt-pop that Cold Play would make their bread and butter just a few years later. It's the sort of thing I actually would expect to still hear on the radio, alongside such fare as "Closing Time". Great stuff. "One Day" - Another great sad, pretty song on an album full of sad pretty songs. Yet I'm still not tired of it yet. Ashcroft does an especially good job here getting across a feeling of yearning and doubt in his vocals. There's hope in there but it's buried under a mountain of heartache and disappointment. This reminds my quite a bit of some similar stuff from Mark Mulcahey of Polaris/ Mircale Legion. Ashcroft and Mulcahey are both guys that hold a lot of sadness in their delivery, even when singing about ostensibly happy subject matter. "This Time" - Maybe first truly wrong note for me. The very late 80s early 90s R&B-ish rhythms do not mesh well with anything else on this album. It's like Ashcroft decided to improvise over top of a rejected song from Sade's Diamond Life or something. I might get the same feeling if I heard country song pop up in the middle of a Prince album. Very odd. No sir, I don't like it. "Velvet Morning" - Back to normal at least with this. If "Catching the Butterfly" was the wake and bake track, this is one for when you stay up for 48 hours straight and find yourself stumbling around unable to focus on anything as your head spins. It reaches for some memorable moments but craps out at the last second, and is never quite able to pull it all together. Ok, but nothing grabs me. "Come On"/ "Deep Freeze" - This was a very solid jam track. Again right in that pocket in between U2 and Oasis. A kitchen sink track that seems to have a little bit of everything that came before it, and drives a little harder into the layered psychedelic sound. Hidden tracks always seem like a gimmicky way for a band to say " oh by the way, here's this other little thing we did. It's kind of a trifle, and we really don't care if you like it or not. No really, we don't. But here it is...". Like if you're unsure of a song's worthiness just exclude it. If you think it belongs, give it its own track. Anyway... this was hardly worth the almost 9 minutes of dead air ( I mean I skipped all that, but still) followed by sounds of a cat giving birth in a room full if windchimes or whatever the hell that was at the end. Unfair of me to do so, but including this as its own track and it's going right to the bottom. Just maybe don't put weird kooky nonsense on your otherwise good album if you don't want people to listen to it? HIGHLIGHTS - "Bitter Sweet Symphony" - "Sonnet" - "The Rolling People" - "Catching the Butterfly" - "Lucky Man" - "One Day" - "Come On" MIDLIGHTS - "Neon Wilderness" - "Space and Time" - "Weeping Willow" - "Velvet Morning" LOWLIGHTS - "This Time" FINAL THOUGHTS One could easily see this as mopey music for mopey people. And that's not necessarily a bad take, but I think there's a lot more going on here than a trip through The Verve's sad boy feelings. The album is chock full of beautiful melodies, and memorable bits. Even the lesser stuff on here was still pretty damn good. I would compare this favorably to early Radiohead. They don't quite fit in with the other Brit Pop bands I think, but there is some nice dovetailing with Radiohead, and some of the other British outliers like Doves. It also hits that sweet spot of production where everything is clear and crisp, but doesn't sound cold and inorganic. Ashcroft's voice is perfectly suited to the sort of laid back and meandering musical compositions. The emotional notes all come through without being hammered down to hard. Overall glad I relistened to this, and will likely be hanging on to the cd. This one was on the cusp of a solid 4. A few relistens could bump it up. PLAYLIST ALTERATIONS - Send "This Time" back to 1993 where it belongs FURTHER LISTENING - Music from The Adventures of Pete & Pete by Polaris - All That You Can't Leave Behind by U2 - Some Cities by Doves - The Bends by Radiohead - The Man Who by Travis
It’s just not happening. These songs are not landing in my head. Like little thought bubbles slowing forming over my head that are being popped before a complete image appears. I gave this album multiple listens over the day and forgot if I had heard a song yet. “Catching the Butterfly” and “One Day” are the worst offenders. The hit song up front was good for a bit of nostalgia. I wasn’t high on that song at the time. Now, it conjures up 1997 so clearly I can taste the Jolt Cola. Funny how time compresses all your experiences into these associated sensations. The rest of the album drafts in the wake of post-Britpop, which I have no nostalgia for. It wasn’t my music at the time, and The Verve are just not going to be the band that sparks a keen interest in revisiting it for me. Track highlights Bitter Sweet Symphony The Rolling People The Drugs Don’t Work Weeping Willow
Tremendo álbum
Pretty sure I’ve heard of this band but never heard of an album. Bitter sweet symphony I have definitely heard. What a song. Incredible production and vocals. I love this song. Sommer is pretty good. Good songwriting. Not as good production but good song either way. Good guitar tho. The rolling people is another good one. Catchy chorus. Better production on this one. Really good guitar solo. This is very much so a sing along song. The drugs don’t work is fine. Generic Brit pop song. Good writing but nothing spectacular. Cool bass line on butterfly. Cool sounds all around. Big time U2 vibes on this one. This is a really cool song. Really good guitar solo on this one too. Neon wilderness is a little too slow for me. Not my fave. Same with space and time. This one is better but still not the best. Pretty generic. Weeping willow is so much better. That guitar is so good. Really stands out. Don’t really like lucky man. It’s fine just not my style. Too lovey. End is very similar to bittersweet symphony tho which I like. One day is a cool song. Keys are soso good. Simple but effective guitar. This time is really cool too. A lot of the songs are pretty similar but this one is unique. Not a fan of the auto tune on velvet morning. This song is just ok. Great guitar in come on. Good vocals too. This is a great closing song. It just keeps on jamming. Overall really enjoyable album. An all time classic followed by a lot of good songs. Really no complaints. Solid 3.5/5.
beautifullll
Some really good anthems, then some pub rock filler
Like the vibes, not much variety. My picks: bitter sweet symphony, the rolling people,lucky man,this time,come on/deep freeze.
Freaking love it, such a banger album
Took a couple of listens to enjoy, but still quite slow and droney. Even within the constraint of 90s Britpop, I certainly can't see myself reaching for this over Supergrass or the La's
Bittersweet Symphony followed a bunch of slightly worse Bittersweet Symphonies
Bitter sweet symphony er en banger. Lucky guy er også bra. Litt monoton som album på første listen.
I knew the first track, bust wasnt famikliar with anything else. It's a slow, dreamy psych album that was really fun to listen to. I will definitely listen to it again and buying on vinyl if I can!
It's either big hits or noodly groovey jams. Pretty solid. For those into shoegaze, I thoroughly recommend their debut album A Storm In Heaven. It's a classic
It wasn’t bad but it was long and I stopped concentrating after the first couple of songs. It made pleasant background noise though.
I liked the songs on here that I hadn't really listen to before (Drugs don't work) and it turned what I thought was a one hit wonder into more ofa complete album for me
I'm going to file this away in "just OK" territory for now. I think a lot of that comes from the album never even coming close to reaching the musical high that is the opener, and my expectations were probably too high. You'd probably call this post-Britpop but it just doesn't have enough standout moments outside of the Drugs Don't Work to make it very memorable at all.
Music is fine, would be much better with a different singer in my opinion
I love this album, the opening track is just perfection. I love the versatility, this is an all day listen - song for every aspect of the day, every mood. So many negative reviews on this but I think I love britpop and weepy guitar ballads so maybe I'm based.
When I was 12, a close friend of mine, Conor, died from leukemia. His older brother Evan was one of the nicest guys in the world. While dealing with the grief, and looking after his family, he also became a sort of mentor to Conor's friend group, encouraging us to continue to call around to their house and hang out, as we would have done in the past. He was a few years older than us, probably like 14 or even 15, and I doubt he wanted to be hanging around with a bunch of 12 year old kids. But he did become a sort of mentor to us in a tough time. We weren't emotionally equipped to deal with the situation at all, so the fact that we kinda carried on hanging out like we used to, probably helped us a lot. Before Conor passed away, we were already very, very into music. Oasis had made their impact on our generation, and we were all in on Britpop and any similar type of music. So, a while after Conor's passing, Evan told us that he was starting to learn guitar, and encouraged us to do the same. I bought the cheapest acoustic guitar I could get my hands on. The bridge was set way too far out from the body, which meant that you had to press really, really hard to play any chords. As awful as it was, it really helped me become a better guitarist, forcing me to be more dexterous and strong in my playing because of the limitations of that terrible piece of kit. I wanted to see if I could figure out the basics myself before getting lessons. Evan gave me his notebook of chords, lessons, practice exercises, etc., to see how I got on. He was left-handed though, so I had to flip it upside down and try to translate it for my right-handed approach. I didn't make it easy on myself. “Urban Hymns” had just come out, and was a big talking point in our group. Looking through Evan’s notebook, I saw that “Lucky Man” was mostly just three chords, with a fourth in the bridge, and I knew how to play each of them. I loved that song. So, the first song I fully learned on guitar was “Lucky Man” by The Verve. “Urban Hymns” felt a bit different to the Britpop that I was already aware of. It felt more “adjacent” to Britpop. What you’d forget is that these Britpop bands liked to rock out a lot in psychedelic jam sessions. Oasis did it a lot too. Layers and layers of psychedelic guitars build up atmosphere. Songs like “The Rolling People” evoke The Stone Roses and Madchester, but an iteration of that sound, bringing it closer to the world of Britpop. Ashcroft’s vocals work so well in these types of songs. I remember when “The Drugs Don't Work” became a huge hit. It made a lot of parents very happy to hear their kids listening to a song that sounded like a public service announcement for sobriety. As I sit in my hospital chair listening to the song, with the Augmentin antibiotic coursing through my veins, I hope Ashcroft's not right. “Sonnet” is another great song, on an album full of them. The Verve had a great way of making a song feel like it was just Richard and an acoustic guitar, when there's actually a full band working wonders around him. The music worked to complement and elevate the simple melody and lyrics, rather than take over. The exact same can be said for “Lucky Man”. Sure, I could stroll around a brightly-lit room with my acoustic guitar hanging from my shoulders, strumming the chords along with the song, trying to emulate Ashcroft in the music video. But there's a whole cacophony of musical textures swirling all around the central melody. It creates a sort of hypnotic vibe, without ever taking away from the simplicity of the song itself. It's what works so well in these songs. Then there's “Bittersweet Symphony”. That gorgeous orchestral piece (that caused so many legal issues) and swirling textures build up and up. And there really is nothing better than when those drums kick in. It's one of those songs that gives you goosebumps immediately. The lyrics are phenomenal too. There's something so positive about it, like someone going through self-actualisation (“I'm a million different people from one day to the next”) and coming out with a plan of action on how to live their life, while reaffirming themselves (“I can change, I can change”). The chorus is so fantastic. The whole song seems to just continuously rise, which is why that continuous walk in the music video worked so well with it. Man, that video was everywhere. It's so iconic (and so parodied). Bittersweet is a song that deserves 100 stars by itself. Everything builds up in layers at the end, with multiple vocals and dizzying textured noises. It's glorious. I got to see Richard Ashcroft support Oasis in Croke Park this year. Seeing “Lucky Man” and so many of these songs live after all these years was great. He got a standing ovation when the strings of “Bittersweet Symphony” came on. That Oasis gig was one of the best concerts that I've ever been to, but Ashcroft’s performance of Bittersweet is up there as a serious highlight of the night. It was interesting that Oasis played “Cast No Shadow” at that gig too, seeing as it was written about him. Evan once told me that “Urban Hymns” would be the album he'd pick if he could only select one Desert Island Disc. At the time, I would have picked “The Three E.P.s” by The Beta Band for the variety it brings, or “Ok Computer” for just how much I loved it. But Evan’s answer always stayed with me. While it wasn't the answer I expected, “Urban Hymns” is a complex, layered, brilliant album that could definitely make your time as a castaway easier to deal with. I know it's made my time today as a castaway in hospital much more pleasant. Sadly, Evan passed away a few years back, at far too young an age. We had naturally drifted into our own friend groups as we got older and made our respective ways through school, college and work, and hadn't really hung out since I was about 14 or 15. So we weren't exactly close. Besides a chance meeting through a friend of a friend, I don't think I'd even seen him in many, many years. But he made a huge impact on me at a time when I was a bit… lost. As you may guess from all of these long, wordy reviews, music has been, and continues to be, a huge part of my life. Evan pushed me towards playing guitar, something that's become a core part of my identity ever since. And something that definitely gave me some direction when I needed it. Music can be a way to connect with your past, soundtracking the important moments in your life. And any time I listen to this album, it reminds me of Evan and all his influence. As for right now, I put on my headphones and press play on “Bittersweet Symphony” and time it so that the beat hits just as I'm exiting the hospital doors. Discharged after a week of pain, tests, fasting, IVs, injections, sleepless nights, and terrible food, I step out into the fresh air and sunshine.
One incredible song and the rest just okay
So much effort for so little to say
Lucky man? More like lacklustre man.
Of course, Bitter Sweet Symphony! Did not know it was a song of them, and the rest are also quite nice and enjoyable. Overal decent album, but easily forgettable.
Bittersweet symphony is a classic no doubt. The rest of the album is completely forgettable.
Хороший альбом, мне понравился.
Esta bien, pero me aburrí un toque
Pedazo de genio, telonero de la puta madre
Bittersweet Symphony is an unmitigated banger of epic proportions (all the cliches, in a good way). The rest of the album is great too, and I’ll keep it in my listening playlist for a bit, although I think it trails off by the end, hence only 3 stars. Rip britpop!
The generator previously gave me this band's previous album, "A Northern Soul", only a few months ago, so my perspective on them is pretty fresh. The music style is meloncholic rock, a style that I particularly like. Of course, as I said in my other review, I already was familiar with and enjoyed "Bitter Sweet Symphony". That song is still the best song on this album and employs a good use of strings (instrumentation that is used in a few other songs too). I did like the music, but the songs are quite long and they kind of blended together after a while (something that I found also happened in the previous album). Another song I liked, and that was more different, was "The Drugs Don't Work".
Not too bad.
It's a bit of a commitment to get through given the run time, but there are some undeniable bangers on here. Enjoyed this nostalgic revisiting. 3.5
very good, I particularly love how some of the instrumentals contain some orchestra instruments. fav track is Weeping Willow.
Pretentious title for a collection of mostly boring songs with a couple of OK ones...
This album knows exactly what it wants to be: a swirling miasma of flavorless Britpop. Britslop, as it were. Every song is equally forgettable and equally crammed with distortion. The only half memorable song opens the album, then I washed away in a see of bland. This album doesn’t feel groundbreaking or special. It just feels like filling up on complementary bread instead of eating a meal.
it's pretty typical of the style but done pretty well
Gražus balsas, gražios dainos.
bop
¡Himnos urbanos, si los hay! "Dejo que la melodía brille, dejo que me limpie la mente, me siento libre ahora". y digo que su puesto entre los 1001 esta perfecto. Un álbum atmosférico, reflexivo, emocional en capas. tiene una apertura tipo manifiesto y después de algo tan arriba, el resto del disco juega más en lo íntimo.
Ooooookay. OOOOOkay then. It’s a bittersweet fucking symphony and that’s just fucking life I fucking guess. That's no way to start a review but whatever. Let's get into it. So like 10, 11 years ago, I heard “Bitter Sweet Symphony” for the first time, and I thought it was tight. I still do. Great little song. I distinctly remember my dad telling me about the story behind it too, how the verve won an award for it and everything, and then legally got told it wasn’t their song, and then had to turn down an award or speech or something… and it was like a cautionary tale. Crushing stuff. Again, the song’s tight though, and that’s what matters. “Sonnet” is better than I remember it being too. Just a good old fashioned dope rock jam. Though “The Rolling People” is kinda a dud, it’s redeemed by the greatness of “The Drugs Don’t Work,” which is kinda of the best kind of sad sentimental britpop ballad. Kinda like preceding Coldplay’s best material by just a little bit, and that’s really how I interpret this whole album. It’s like if Oasis and Coldplay had a middleman. Or actually, it’s more that this is the middleman between Oasis and Coldplay. Much much more psychedelic than anything Coldplay ever made, which definitely lines up more with Oasis, but its best moments are its sensitive moments, which are much more reminiscent of Coldplay, and much more common than anything on an Oasis record. That being said, we all know the more outright psychedelic stuff here isn’t great, right? Like that’s not just me? This album is at its best when the psychedelia is a more marginal, background part of the song, because the sensitive sides of these songs really find some good stuff, as I previously mentioned. And can I just say, the length isn't as much of a problem as I thought it was going to be. As I began to go through the last leg of the album, I really began to realize that, uhh, none of these songs really needed to be taken out. It's a really interesting moment to realize that, hey, this is actually really great music all the way through! And that's really how this album feels. Even at over an hour it's great, and has a lot of really good songs to hear all throughout. Great album. 8.9/10
It has Bittersweet Symphony which is a guels-bells childhood iPod nano mainstay. But nothing too memorable otherwise. Definitely overstays its welcome. I enjoyed the production tho.
Walmart Oasis.
“Bitter Sweet Symphony” is too good for this album. “The Drugs Don’t Work” is another decent cut. But this album is mid. Only Verve album worth listening too imo is “A Storm In Heaven”.
felt kinda mid about this one. strong start but i didn’t even make it though the whole album. but bitter sweet symphony is beautiful so for that alone it gets marks.
Demasiado largo pero me aparece interesante la propuesta más allá de su gran éxito la música se siente con intención
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.
Couple good songs and the vibe is okay.
Album disfrutable, con canciones fenomenales como Bitter Sweet Symphony y The Drugs dont work. Lamentablemente hay una gran parte del album que es simplemente olvidable. No es genial ni tampoco mala, simplemente pasa desapercibida. No vas a detenerte a cambiar de canción, pero tampoco vas a detenerte a escucharla o disfrutarla. 75/100
too long, but mostly good songs
For such a massive selling album I was surprised to see so many harsh reviews. On listening I can see why some would say the album is too long and be critical on the lack of change in tempo (except for the final track) That said, I would still put this on with a drink in hand and just let it flow over me and not feel nauseous. No denying Bitter Sweet Symphony is an earworm but Come On was the only track that got me sitting up in my chair. F
Es un álbum increíble. Hermoso. Es un brit mucho más tranqui, tirando al indie.
Bitter Sweet Symphony- 4/5 Sonnet - 3.5/5 The Rolling People - 4.5/5 The Drugs Don’t Work - 4.5/5 Catching The Butterfly - 3.5/5 Neon Wilderness - 3/5 Space And Time - 4/5 Weeping Willow - 4/5 Lucky Man - 3/5 One Day - 3/5 This Time - 3.5/5 Velvet Morning - 3/5 Come On/ Deep Freeze - 2.5/5
I had a surprisingly good time with this, Bittersweet Symphony while you’re walking is just epic. The album is pretty well balanced after that. My biggest issue is the album structure, it’s long, could be leaner but still give itself time to be psychedelic and stretch. Also putting Bittersweet on track one is a bit needy, I’d build up to it with 2-3 tracks 3.5
A British Indie Rock/Britpop/Alt Rock/Pop Rock/Shoegaze album!?! Wow! It's crazy that every. single. album. in this category made this list. This is a one-hit wonder. Every other song on this album is effectively the same; same tempo, same (lack of) energy, same whinny lyrics, same boring music. This clear 2* album should be replaced with Seven Mary Three's American Standard. A one-hit-wonder contemporary with important differences. 7M3 had two singles chart, the album has a unique sound that I would categorize as Southern grunge, and it has variety in song music, lyrical themes, and tempo. That would be a 4*.
I really, really like this album a lot! It can probably lose a few of the weaker songs, but there’s a lot of great depth tracks. Weeping willow, sonnet are really good songs. I’m flirting with giving this a 5.
Uno de los mejores discos de la historia, cada una de las canciones son sublimes! Mis favoritas: Bittersweet Sweet Symphony Sonnet Catching de Butterfly One day Lucky Man Come On Space and Time
Shite
Me gusto!
la primera cancion es famosa, tutitutitutii, titutii, titutiiii, en violín, es la unica buena, el resto okay pero meh, 2/5
Bitter Sweet Symphony was the only song of theirs I’d heard of before and it’s an absolute banger so was looking forward to this one. Turns out there’s a reason I hadn’t heard more from the Verve - rest of the album was just standard sad Brit Pop stuff. Album went on too long and did get a little bored soz. Bearable listen and the songs are decent but beyond Bitter Sweet Symphony there’s nothing special here
no
3.5/5 - a quite iconic bit of britpop
As soon as I hit play: oh shit it’s that song!
Indie deaftones aesc
There's merit in these sort of albums - they're pretty inoffensive, the songwriting is solid, and they portray a certain vibe which is fine for the background, but... I am beginning to think I've had it with this whole list! Another day another middle of the road rock album of approximate CD length from a bunch of white dudes. I know a few of these albums are good for balance, but yet again I'm struggling for what makes this essential beyond a couple of radio singles? One star for how it made me feel about this list, but actually it's about 2.5*
Starts off strong with the iconic Bittersweet Symphony. The rest of the courses are similarly mellow yet engaging. Great album.
I expected this to be worse, considering the only song I know is the opening track. I found a few songs stuck out with some great production and sounds, but overall it was just kind of meh. The back half didn’t stay with me at all.
1997, c'est l’année où la Britpop a fini par s’auto-dévorer dans un nuage de coke et d’arrogance mal placée. Mais c’est surtout le moment où The Verve décide de revenir d’entre les morts. Et quand je dis les morts, je n’exagère pas : le groupe s’était séparé, Ashcroft faisait ses crises de divinité, et McCabe — le seul mec capable de faire sonner une guitare comme un trou noir — était parti voir ailleurs si j’y étais. Mais voilà, le fric, l’ambition, ou peut-être juste l’impossibilité de faire autre chose, les a réunis. Urban Hymns c’est un putain de bloc de 75 minutes qui veut trop en faire et qui veut être tout à la fois : l’album de rock psyché ultime, la collection de tubes radio universels et le testament spirituel d’un mec qui se prend pour le Messie des quartiers pavillonnaires. Je commence par quoi ? Par l’éléphant dans la pièce ? Allez "Bittersweet Symphony". Ce morceau, c’est le génie et la lose absolue résumés en six minutes. C’est le titre que j'ai entendu jusqu’à la nausée, mais que je ne peux pas m’empêcher de trouver brillant à chaque fois que ces cordes démarrent. Mais quel pied de nez monumental de s’être fait piquer tous les droits par ce vieux requin d'Allen Klein et les Stones. Ashcroft écrit le texte de sa vie, McCabe brode par-dessus, et au final, ils ne touchent pas un kopeck pendant vingt ans. Si c’est pas l’essence même du rock’n’roll de se faire entuber en beauté en créant un chef-d’œuvre, je ne sais pas ce que c’est. Mais le truc, c’est qu'Ashcroft, avec sa gueule de mannequin mal nourri et ses pommettes saillantes, il y croit. Il croit dur comme fer qu’il est en train de sauver le monde avec ses chansons. Et parfois, j'ai presque envie de le croire aussi. Quand j'écoute "The Drugs Don't Work", je me sens comme une merde, mais une merde qui plane. C’est beau, c’est triste, c’est d’un pathos assourdissant, et pourtant ça fonctionne. Parce qu'au milieu de toute cette boursouflure, il y a une vraie vulnérabilité. C’est le son d’un mec qui réalise que la fête est finie et que la descente va être longue. Mais alors, pourquoi ce n'est pas le disque parfait ? Pourquoi je ne lui mets pas la note maximale en hurlant au génie pur ? Parce que The Verve ne sait pas quand s'arrêter. C’est le mal du siècle pour les groupes de cette époque : ils pensaient que remplir un CD jusqu'à la garde était un gage de qualité. Et vers le milieu du disque, ça commence à ramer sévère. Il y a des morceaux qui durent des plombes, des jams qui n'en finissent plus, des pignolades sonores où McCabe s'écoute un peu trop triturer ses pédales d'effets Attention, j'adore le psychédélisme, j'adore quand ça plane, mais là, ça sent parfois le remplissage pour faire "album conceptuel sérieux". Des titres comme "The Rolling People" ou "Come On", c’est sympa cinq minutes, mais ça casse la dynamique émotionnelle des hymnes qui font le sel de cet album. Et c’est frustrant putain car si tu vires les trois ou quatre morceaux qui servent de rembourrage, tu as le meilleur album de la décennie, point barre. Tu as un truc qui enterre les Gallagher et leur rock de stade bas du front, et qui offre une alternative plus humaine aux délires robotiques de Radiohead. Ici, c'est organique, c'est sale sous les ongles, même quand il y a des violons partout. Je déteste le côté "Messie" d'Ashcroft, cette façon qu'il a de marcher dans la rue en bousculant les gens comme si le trottoir lui appartenait. C’est insupportable d’arrogance. Mais force est de constater que le mec a un charisme de dingue et une voix qui transperce les murs. Et puis, il y a McCabe. Et je le répète : sans McCabe, ce groupe serait juste une version un peu plus chiante d'Oasis car c'est lui qui apporte la brume, l'ombre, les éclairs. C'est lui qui transforme une simple ballade acoustique en un voyage astral. C’est cette tension entre le chanteur qui veut être une star de la pop et le guitariste qui veut disparaître dans un feedback infini qui fait que Urban Hymns tient encore debout aujourd’hui. Mais merde, ces longueurs... On dirait qu'ils ont eu peur de couper quoi que ce soit. Et s’ils avaient eu les couilles de sortir un disque de 45 minutes, on crierait au miracle divin. Là, on est juste devant un excellent album qui nous fatigue un peu les oreilles sur la fin. C'est pour ça que je reste sur mon 4/5 parce que je ne peux pas ignorer la puissance de "Sonnet" ou la majesté de "Lucky Man". Ce sont des chansons qui te collent à la peau, qui te rappellent tes propres errances, tes propres gueules de bois spirituelles. Mais je ne peux pas non plus ignorer le fait qu'à chaque fois que je lance le disque, je finis par zapper les dernières pistes parce que j'ai l'impression d'avoir déjà entendu la même boucle trois fois. En résumé, Urban Hymns c’est le chant du cygne d’une époque. C’est grandiloquent, c’est boursouflé, c’est souvent génial, et c’est parfois franchement chiant.
Meh. Expected much more. Sounds like any other britpop band.
A good album. +2 starts for Bitter Sweet Symphony. I regretted I didn’t do this for Franz Ferdinand, but one excellent track makes an album a five. That’s a rule I decided before I started this list.
when this album came up, i was worried that it would be an album with a huge hit "Bitter Sweet Symphony" and then that would be it. overall, i actually enjoyed the album. it was deeply melodic, and i found myself just kinda being whisked away through it. the secret track at the end was a bit silly... but overall not a bad album.
Not my first time listening to this album but the first time in a while. It’s so unfortunate that The Verve are one-hit wonders (especially with the Stones lawsuit basically taking away any royalties they’d earn over two decades) because this album is really good in my opinion. Another listen this weekend might sway me into the five star territory, but I feel alright giving this a four.
I really had high hopes for this after starting out with "Bitter Sweet Symphony". It unfortunately peaks and then slowly falls off for an hour. It's not bad and is probably a 4 star album, but the expectations not being met and album length might bring this down to a 3. We'll see in the morning.
I liked it
A beautiful album from beginning to end.
I liked it
2.5
A big album for the Verve but I’m not a massive fan. I felt they had tried and failed and this album was their last throw of the dice. The sample for Bittersweet Symphony propelled them into the mainstream.
I’ve been meaning to listen to this for a while. Im a fan of all the singles. Bittersweet symphony: 9/10 Timeless classic. Sonnet: 8.5/10 Brilliant song The rolling people: 6.5/10 The drugs don’t work: 8/10 Beautiful lyrics, great melody. Catching the butterfly: 6/10 Neon wilderness: 4.5/10 Space and time: 6.5/10 I like that riff. Weeping willow: 6/10 Lucky man: 7.5/10 One day: 6/10 This time: 5/10 Velvet morning: 6/10 Come on/ deep freeze: 5.5/10 Trying to be like revolution 9 at the end are we???
I kinda like their mellow sound, but a lot of the songs started to sound very similar
5 stars all day long
This was a 5 star before I even hit play. I love this album, have done since it first came out. The singles from it are brilliant even if Bittersweet Symphony has suffered a bit from years of being overplayed. Sonnet for me is an outstanding song though. I will say though as an overall album I think I would put A Storm In Heaven slightly ahead of it. Top Track - Sonnet
Such a good album!
I only liked Bittersweet Symphony. That’s also the only song I know by this group.
Me re gustó, es mas mi estilo, el primero un TEMON
Not as good overall as I remember, but it was floating around constantly in student accommodation
I was unexpectedly enjoying this for the first half of the album but then it outstayed it's welcome by around another 30 minutes. I could definitely create a 4 star favourites playlist from the good tracks and make a decent regular album. Alas, this was released in the days when every last byte of a CD had to be filled. Still, a solid debut but can't ignore the filler bring it down to a 3.
Discount Stone Roses
I listened to this while I was drawing. And I really liked it!
love this album
bitter sweet symphony will always remind me of my mom. it feels like I'm borrowing her songs, her music, her style. sonnet i like a lot. it's still calm-ish, compared to the next one. I don't have much more to say i guess the rolling people: something in the guitar, at some poit, reminds me of ok computer. Don't know what really but there's something there. Maybe its the guitar paired with the echoey vocals, or SOMETHING im no music ceitic i cant explain everything dude okay I'll stop rating song by song now cause. too hard lol. but!!! i feel like they keep switching from romantic to depressed between songs. which honestly mood, yknow? but it puts me off a little. also im listening to catching the butterglu right now and it REALLY gives me ok compiter vibes..maybe it's a production thing od the época, who knows. I REALLY LIKE THE BASS AND DRUMS IN NEON WILDERNESS its so grrr i think its my favourite song so far. And it's comforting but also kinda eerie you know. (i searched it up and ok compiter is from the SAME YEAR almost the same day just a few month older. 21 of may and 29th of september) maybe its because the album is mlre than an hour long, but at the end it kind of just... didn't do anything to me. I'll have to listen to it again. But at the same time I'm going off the first listen for these so..... idk really. like it, but not wngouh for a 4 the last song was a nice surprise though al final, depsues de escucharlo una swgunda vez, me gustó mucho más. tal vez llegue a 4. the drugs don't work es otra favorita
Se siente como el soundtrack de la vida, en las películas entraría cuando los personajes entran en ese momento reflexivo pero de manera positiva cuando todo se va a arreglar y hay esa luz al final del camino. Seria algo para escuchar a diario mi respuesta es no pero siempre hace falta algunas veces reflexionar
Oh shit that one song
Boomercore
Most memorable part of this ethereal rock album was the few minutes of silence before the wasted “hidden track.” Like a dream, the good thing about ethereal music is it rarely is unlikable.
Not exactly my style but I do get the appeal. The sound is generally not the most enjoyable with the somewhat annoying British style that feels too produced and commercial to have inspiration. The repetition also gets annoying at times. Still aspects can be fun and nice to hear. Almost a little Radiohead esque at times but doesn’t succeed at it.
Brilliant music
close to perfection
no doubt late 90's + British bands are a match made in heaven.
Not everyone can be Oasis, no matter how hard they try. Bittersweet Symphony I can get behind but the rest of the album never approaches that level.
A really good album great start with some banging songs whole album doesn’t live up to the start but still a really good album
My second album by The Verve in this project. I really liked the last one (A Northern Soul) a lot, commenting on how much I've enjoyed all of the Britpop that I've gotten to hear. As this album has a couple of songs that I've heard before and enjoy very much, I was excited to listen to the rest. And I was not at all disappointed. The lyrics were thoughtful and philosophical and the music was interesting no matter a slower song, a more rock tinged song, more trippy. Standouts were Bitter Sweet Symphony, Sonnet (LOVED this), Space and Time, and Lucky Man, and there were no tracks I didn't like. After a two star album yesterday (LCD Soundsystem) I was hoping for a return to a very good to great run of records. I got it today.
put me to sleep
I've heard Bitter Sweet Symphony, never realized it was part of an album
What starts as a promising change from the wall of noise that usually accompanies Britpop/shoegaze - the desperate “Sonnet” is particularly poignant, as is “The Drugs Don’t Work” - Urban Hymns dies halfway through due to uninspired music and too much formula. Add to that the annoying ubiquity of “Bittersweet Symphony” and you have a pretty forgettable album.
It started out strong but I was tired of it by the end. The last song, in particular, is far too long and I ended up skipping the last 11 minutes of it.
It’s unclear to me how Bittersweet Symphony can be so good and the rest of this so mediocre.
oh hey! I know that song from Tik Tok! 3 stars
This album is way too long for no significant reason. I'm not sitting through all this
Pop rock sympa ! Bittersweet symphony culte
J’avais jamais écouté un album de ce groupe, c’était sympa ! C’est bien ancré dans son époque je trouve
Très cool, avec de vrais classiques
I’d only ever heard the singles. Turns out I hadn’t missed much.
Pretty great, shame about the copyright
Another album from my school years! I listened to it quite a lot back then, but I still haven't memorized all the songs apart from the obvious hits and a couple of non-hit favourites (like dreamy and atmospheric Catching the Butterfly) - it just blends into one slightly melancholic, slightly breezy, slightly bittersweet (ha!) gust of wind in my mind. Lovely album, lovely memories.
Four really good songs (symphony, sonnet, drugs, lucky man) aren't quite enough on an album over an hour long for 4*. Enjoyed it overall though
Blah blah blah
Like, it's fine, I guess. I do recognize the first song. How do these guys have 16M monthly listeners on Spotify??? Why???
Cannot fault bittersweet symphony- absolutely timeless. Fell pretty flat after that for me
This was a 2 on the work commute. But on a long drive to the North it became a 3.
Started strong but got a bit boring
Really liked this. I hadn’t given the verve much time beyond bittersweet symphony but sonically this sits alongside oasis and Radiohead in a really pleasant way.
Nice soundscapes throughout but bittersweet symphony and lucky man are the only songs I really enjoyed
I enjoyed this album. The only song I knew going In was Bittersweet Symphony (which is definitely the standout on the album) but the rest is still very enjoyable.
Excelente.
90s kills me in a bad way. Just entourage vibes always.