Urban Hymns

6.5/10

This album overall was pretty interesting. I didn't particularly love it but I think I will listen again to see if it strikes be differently.

Bitter Sweet Symphony was such a groundbreaking track in my youth. This brit pop emo fill with nostalgia.

Blah. This list has made me realize that I do NOT like Brit pop. Not sure why this is on the list at all.

90s classic

The last good Brit pop album with some very memorable songs

A lot of great tunes.

Bittersweet symphony is kinda the most annoying song on this album but their vibes were good overall. Moodier than I expexted

Honestly a pity 1 song eclipsed all the other ones. Love this music, sort of melancholic rock

Bittersweet Symphony is my jam. The rest... has nice moments, but is pretty underwhelming. I was really looking forward to hearing the rest of the album, but it's an immediate, noticeable drop in quality.

Aside from Bittersweet Symphony this album was pretty unremarkable and unmemorable. And even then, the most memorable part of that song was not written by this band.

So, I mean, this album is fine, it's listenable. But I'm not sure why it is on this list. It is one popular late 90s alternate album, in a sea of popular late 90s alternative albums.

Noted

Great

In all the years that I've heard Bittersweet Symphony on the radio, I've never once thought "I want to hear more by this artist" the album is fine I guess but not really my thing.

Some really solid late 90's British rock. Bittersweet Symphony is probably the best track, but it remains really consistent throughout. Would give a 3.5 if I could.

Eriiiittäin hyvän kuulonen lätty! Hyvä sekotus rauhallista ja vähän menevämpään! Omaan kokoelmaan lisättävä.

B+

Nothing particular special but nice to listen to

One of the most underrated albums from the 90s. Bittersweet symphony was a curse for the band. From my POV, the band would be better with that song as a release on its own, leaving this album (and their rest body of work) a deserved room to breathe. It’s unfair that that song devoured the band. Anyway, make yourself a favor, skip track 1 and enjoy

Roll coaster of emotions. Die. Live. Pray. Reborn. Incredible. Like if you confessed to god all your sins in order to take that heavy bag out off your fucking mind.

This was surprising good. I knew the single but there were a few tracks on the album that reminded me of Oasis. Not sure why it was included, but I'm happy I checked it out.

Spectacular album. 90s Brit poppy excellence

First song is the most popular

Was fine and chill.

Bitter Sweet Symphony is excellent but a bit of a singles album.

very catchy (& ultimately annoying) song, absurd piece of popular music history for Richards/Jagger to get songwriting credit. a person could go through life never hearing any other Verve song and that's fine.

A good avatar for about a hundred British rock albums that have washed over me, more or less inoffensively

There are a couple of decent songs outside of Bitter Sweet Symphony, but I was disappointed overall.

meh

Worth the lawsuit

meh. I feel like we're playing a little fast & loose with the "must hear" designation. Nothing about this was a must

Also pretty boring. It sounds like typical mid-90s "rock". At times the singer sounds like Thom Yorke, in an almost mimicking fashion.

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

I have sweetspot for string arrangements but even those don’t make this album rise above 3

The Verve was part of my lad culture life in the 90's, along with Oasis and shit ton of drum'n bass and jungle. I own this album as a CD, as I stopped buying vinyl in the early 90's for about 15+ years. It's a strange listening experience now. It's very pretty pop music, doesn't have the harsh edge I remember it had and all in all all of the lad shite I thought it had is nowhere to be found. Anyway, I like it. 4/5

Britpop. Bitter sweet symphony! Gillade också Lucky man

3.5

Solid 90s rock. BSS still rules

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

JUST CAN'T HATE ENOUGH

Bittersweet Symphony seems to have been a really happy accident ... if you listen to the rest of this album full of whiny low-energy music that is endlessly dragging on without going anwhere. The singer looks kinda cool on the album cover though.

la primera canción la mejor, luego me suena bastante igual

Ah, Britpop. What a quaint genre. Everyone knows “Bittersweet Symphony”, but I enjoyed a few other songs on top of that one. The softer vibe of that song carries into some other tracks, but I also got shades of Tonic and Jane’s Addiction at times. This brand of alternative rock is very nostalgic for me. Some songs are more interesting than others. I saw there’s another album from them in here, so I’m looking forward to them popping up again. Favorite track: Lucky Man

I was surprisingly pleased by this album. No, I will not ever listen to the full 15 minute song. But I am definitely going to save it and listen to it on a day I'm feeling nostalgic. For a one-hit-wonder, this is a really good album.

it's hard when you have an iconic hit that is known by all, regardless of what type of music they're typically into. this started off with a bang and then faded into background music for me. 2.5

favs: bitter sweet symphony the rolling people the drugs don’t work neon wilderness weeping willow rating 2/5

High highs but not everything up to standard

Great. Seen it live

1997. Third album, after the band got broken up and re-formed but without the guitarist Nick McCabe. Nick McCabe rejoined in early 1997, so they re-recorded several songs to include his guitar parts.

It was good but I didn't think any of the songs were particularly great. They just seemed like good representations of all the 90s British alternative rock. I also think that Bittersweet Symphony needs to be shorter. They basically are just riffing over that one Rolling Stones sample the whole time. At about 6 minutes, it seems like a little much.

This band reminds me of a blend of Radiohead and Oasis. That being said, I prefer Radiohead and Oasis to them, but there are some standout tracks like "Bittersweet Symphony". The album is too long without need, but overall was decent - probably closer to 3.5 stars for me

Bittersweet symphony is a nostalgia drug

Drugs won't work is a banger of a tune, so is bittersweet symphony even if I've heard it a million times! Not convinced on this as an album as a whole though, there's not much that stands out..

banger

Now I know why I only know one song by them.

Its alright, except the singer grinds my gears.

Not really much to say about this. The singles are obviously great for what they are. The album sold millions. Not really my thing though.

Está bien, es sólido, constante. Está Bitter Sweet Symphony que es un temazo. Me gusta que sea de los casi dosmil y por momentos suene tan setentoso. Cuatro fuerte

Great listen, reminiscent of oasis

This was such a nostalgic pick for me! I listened to this album so much in high school, but haven’t really since. I really enjoyed listening to it again. I was struck by how many hits are on this album- I think it has 4 singles on the radio from this single album. My favourite is still The Drugs Don’t Work- so pretty and sad. It’s interesting how all the singles are the slower songs, when you listen to the whole album they are interspersed with more fast, louder songs- which makes for a great overall album experience.

Liked this better than the other recent Brit pop selections, nice variety and contrast of tunes. Felt kind of drawn out by the end, but lots of hits from my young days. Enjoyed most of it, ballads in particular are pretty iconic, though found it kind of drawn out by the end, could have been shortened up a bit imho.

All-time great classic stacked with songs that have only grown more and more popular through time

I like Bittersweet Symphony in the same way I love all 2000s ear worms. Otherwise this was lukewarm, moody, brit-pop with too long of songs and not much to say. Crazy that it wormed it's way onto this list.

I'm not a big fan of BritRock from that time; there were some good songs, but most of it somehow blurs (pun intended) into one another. The Verve stands out a bit for their broad, sometimes symphonic touch, with Bittersweet Symphony as the pinnacle. The restof the album holds up to this as well.

Didn't like

Enjoyable but bland - kind of like a microwave Korma.

good chilling vibes! thanks !

This was not my favorite.

Reminds me of high school, but in a good way.

Pre-listening: don't know much about them. 1997 1: lovely title and captures the theme well 2: Same for this. A sonnet, but edgy like music 3: 4: sad good song. probably will make me tear up 5: a response to the previous song, a good pair catch the butterfly metaphor for drugs? 6: just your run of the mill 90s rock vibe i think 7: similar as #6 i dont think I'm lyrically compelled 8: of course the title adds points to my like and the droopy vibes hit as well 9: i like the opening lyrics, but trails out after this 10: same, great initial lyrics with an easy rhythmic melancholy that matches. 11: this time. lyrics continue to have the same texture as the last 3 songs. Melancholy dull hope? 12: nice but almost wish this was the last song 13: Come On is on the rock-ier end, lots of good drums, lyricially uncomplicated. Deep Freeze hidden track ok.

“Bittersweet Symphony” is one of those colossal songs that everyone knows and falls in love with. Great song and it holds up even after countless listens. Great epic sweep and so cool that the strings play the hook. And the rest of the album is excellent too. Big sound, soaring melodies, nice guitar solos. All around a pleasure to listen to and fun to play nice and loud. At times, The Verve sound a lot like Oasis, but they were releasing music alongside Oasis, so probably influencing each other rather than one copying the other. (They sound a lot like early Radiohead on “Catching the Butterfly” too. And later, on a few songs, like U2.) But The Verve has enough songwriting chops and stadium rock energy that I don’t care much about originality here. I’m just down for the ride and down to rock.

"Bittersweet Symphony" is a song that will forever hang around my life. My wife absolutely loves it and has put it on playlists for as long as I've known her. It's probably one of the more consistent songs that I've heard through decades of living that I've never gotten sick of. It's so cool. "The Drugs Don't Work" is a nice one too. I like the chorus a lot, and the guitar / string parts are really great. There's lots of hidden layers in there, like a pedal steel guitar and even sometimes a sitar I think? They all accompany what is a at it's core a foundational good song. There's such a nice cinematic touch to this sound and every layer and voice fits really well, which I appreciate. Sometimes I'll hear a band that has some unique sound like indie rock with some big orchestral elements and I'll think "oh wow this is sounding cool" and then the singer's voice will come in and it will be someone who sings very softly, like a whispery compressed style.. and it won't match the big orchestra sound at all. But here the vocals fit REALLY well. Cool album cover- very 1990's.

Bitter Sweet Symphony is an all timer. Some good songs, some okay songs, then the last two songs kick fucking ass

What can I say here? Opening track is somewhat of a guilty pleasure for me as I liked it when it came out and I was 3 or 4 at time. I expected the rest to be worse, but it turned out to be more rock sounding and mostly good. Maybe will give it a spin again at some point, but this is not going to be my playlist staple though

Very nice album with some guitar-friendly songs that I enjoy to play

Typical 80s/90s band. Decent songs 4 stars

Eh? Exactly what I thought of this album the first time I heard them.

Fantastic! Loved from start to finish.

The Hymn of the 00s.

Prefer ‘History’ but this is the album that made (and probably broke) them.

Loved it

3.4

bože, strašno, gdje početi... krenimo s ispoređenjem s prethodnim albumom (sjeverna duša - zašto se uopće tako zove? prije nevera kurčine): svaka pjesma opet traje predugo. i to duplo. neke pjesme od jedva pet minuta kao da traju petnaest. i glavna stvar, ali ne u jednakoj mjeri kao na prvom albumu: dosadno, jako dosadno. ipak postoje znatne razlike koje su u stvari nekakav napredak; bilo bi tužno da su ostali na istoj usranoj razini prethodnog albuma... prva stvar, radijskin iskasapljena, okej je, ali ništa posebno, mogla bi, kao i sve ostale pjesme, biti kraća; pjesma lucky man je isto tako prolazna, ali nećete past na guzicu. na zadnjoj pjesmi ton albuma napkon se mijenja (premda mi je pjesma zakurac), ali tada je već prekasno, samo usere dojam na kraju. u stvari dojam potpuno usere skrivena pjesma koja je potpuno pomodno instrumentalno izdrkavanje. sve u svemu ovo bi bio stoput slušljiviji album da je svaka pjesma duplo kraća, bez zajebancije. a i vokal bi mogao biti podnošljiv, ali jebiga, šta ćeš. ipak, dat ću dva jer su stvarno dogurali do nečeg trunku boljeg od prethodnog smeća. pretpostavljam da bolje od ovog dečkima ne ide, i to je okej

Nice

Bittersweet Symphony The Drugs Don’t Work Lucky Man

Bittersweet Symphony The Rolling People Catching the Butterfly Weeping Willow

Perfect album to have in the background and not pay attention to. 90’s sound capsule

I hope listening to this turns out to have made me secretly better at karate or something.

Solid.

I wanted to give this album a higher rating, but I feel like there’s a decent amount of filler on here. The sound of this album is pure 90s Britain, Bitter Sweet Symphony is a classic but I’m going to give my standout track to Lucky Man, I enjoyed the lyrics on the majority of these tracks but the music started to feel repetitive about half way through the album. Would listen to again if I was in the mood for some Brit pop but don’t think I’ll be rushing back to this one.

My rating 3.6

Most of these songs are the same song.

The first half of the record was painfully mediocre, with maybe the exception of the first track, which was used in every 2000s YouTube video. The second half of the record is a little bit better. Overall, this was okay. I'm knocking off a point for running way longer than I think it should have. Favourite Track(s): Weeping Willow, One Day Least Favourite Track(s): The Drugs Don't Work, Catching the Butterfly

Definitivamente un género que me encanta por fin. Me gustaron 5/13 y estoy segura que si lo escucho otra vez me gustarían más, porque esa es solo la primera impresión. Descubrí que era el Neo- psychodelic. Weeping wilow y su sonido absolutamente maravillosa, y cómo le voy a poner menos a un álbum que empieza con Bittersweet symphony. Británicos siendo británicos.

q capa pika quero refazela FAVS (top 3): bitter sweet symphony, lucky man, one day mençoes honrosas: the rolling people, the drugs dont work, space and time, weeping willow gente a track de abertura!!!!!!!!!! um CLASSICO!!! esses manos sabiam oq tavam fazendo muito boa a composiçao dos instrumentos serio mt bom nota final: 4/5

favorites: bitter sweet symphony; sonnet; the drugs don't work

Ja, den snurrade mycket när det begav sig, men har den verkligen åldrats med värdighet. Nja, det är rätt mycket utfyllnad och mellanspår. Verve var bättre på sina två första album än på urban hymns.

A Britpop classic, with one of the greatest pop songs of all time. Otherwise a bit samey, though, and very of it's time.

CAUSE ITS A BITTERSWEET SYMPHONY

Top

Happy I listened to this with an open mind because it was a genuine surprise to hear such nice harmonies.

I have this album. I think it's okay, but the absolute only memorable thing is bittersweet Symphony.

Imperious. Right up there with the best albums of the decade. Hasn’t aged in the slightest 10/10

Loved it! Understated grungey vibes in the best way possible.

Where the classic, Bittersweet Symphony came from. Album is a relic of its time, encapsulating that quintessential late 90s rock sound.

This album was very boring. I can see why they only had one hit. At least they were nice enough to make their one hit the first track on the album.

One banger followed by music that just gets more and more uninteresting.

Arrancar con Better Sweet Symphony es poner la vara muy alta, el resto del álbum nunca llega a estar a la altura, tal vez porque en vano espero alguna canción similar. Es un álbum correcto más bien orientado al downtempo, no decepciona pero tampoco resulta memorable.

Great album, led with a song I adore. A little dull in the middle, but early Coldplay vibes and I like it.

I never heard much of the Verve, besides Bittersweet Symphony. That song ruined them, because the whole album was so much better than the first track. I loved this. 4 stars because Bittersweet Symphony is too overplayed.

The equivalent of a 3hr movie. Shave off 40 minutes and this 4 star album is a 5 star baby! Another fix: bittersweet symphony being the first song realllly drags those next three tracks down. But the second half of this is much more for me. Diet U2.

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.

If I could describe this album it would be like telling your friends about a surreal evening you had in the 90s without video phones. Summary; finding yourself at a mulholland drive after party where the walls are textured and the furniture is furry. Robbie Williams decides to muster up the courage to leave the couch he’d sat in without moving for two hours, to start jamming with the band, who you later found out was Radiohead (before they’d dropped acid). It’s good. I’d say worthy of the list :)

Solid 90s rock album. I really enjoyed the psychedelic vibes on most of the tracks. They all seem to get into a groove and then just vibe, which I think is great if you're in the right mood but otherwise feels very meandering. The Rolling People, The Drugs Don't Work, Space and Time and One Day were all great. Bitter Sweet Symphony is fantastic but so ubiquitous I don't want to put it on my playlist.

My first time listening to The Verve, other than having heard Bittersweet Symphony a gajillion times. I think I disagree with the popular sentiment that the first track is the best, in general I much preferred what came after, though that could be due to hearing Bittersweet Symphony too many times. I have to say I was really swept away by the meandering, almost lazy, flow of the album. The thick texture of the instrumentals made for a quite immersive experience that I think is maybe better than the sum of its parts. Stand out tracks for me were “The Drugs Don’t Work”, “Weeping Willow”, and the explosive finale, “Come on”.

some classic songs on this album overall a solid piece of work

p818. 1997. 4 stars. Almost perfect hybrid of Oasis and Crowded House, let down by filler on the second half. When it's good - and most of it is - it's brilliant.

It was ok, a bit samey, I’m weirdly culturally familiar having been a child in the late 90s. The drugs don’t work is good!

solid album if not a bit repetitive bittersweet symphony is one of the best songs ever tho so that saves it a lot did not listen to the last two songs admittedly

Будучи любителем больших городов всегда радуюсь видя слово urban в названии

Väldigt varierande kvalitet och lite för långt. Några låtar var toppen, men andra var inte alls min smak. Jag landar väl i en svag 3a

Tycker det alltid är spännande att lyssna på album från brytpunkter, och detta känns verkligen som en sådan! Utöver temat på texterna kan man höra hur 90-talet och britpopen är påväg att ta slut. Det är dags för alla lads att växa upp och möta verkligheten som det nya millenniet kommer med. Där på andra sidan står Coldplay redo att ta över den lite störiga och sentimentala facklan The Verve springer med på upploppet. Blur ska utforska nya världar, Oasis vägra ge upp och fortsätter släppa en handfull impotenta skitalbum vilket leder till att man blir irrelevanta för att sedan självimplodera och komma tillbaka när världen är tillräckligt konservativ igen. Som album var det bättre än vad jag trodde, passade den stundande vårsolen fint. Trea rakt av!

Riktigt bra första halva med några odödliga hits. The Verve överskuggas ju av bittersweet symphony så pass att de känns som en one hit wonder, vilket ändå är orättvist. Men finns ett gäng sömnpiller här också och skivan är lite för lång. Stark 3a.

Positivt överraskad igen. Britpop är ju rätt segt alltså. Tänkte att det bara skulle vara typ oasis fast ännu sämre, men speciellt första halvan levererar ändå!

ok men för mycket som oasis. för gnälligt, för långt

Varför har alla låtar samma rytm? Nä det här går jag inte på.

algumas musicas icônicas, bom álbum

Nostalgic af

Would listen again. But fair few songs I'd skip. Nearly gave it a 3. But singles are all 5 star songs.

Znači ovako - album traje sat i 15 minuta, od toga je 10 minuta tišine na kraju; već na pola albuma mi se smučilo sve osim poslednje pesme. Svaki dan nova borba, već vidim da će i danas biti borba sa radio glavom... Ocena za album je ..... 2.5/5 samo zato što mi se dopala poslednja pesma

треки которые понравились: • bittersweet symphony • sonnet • the drugs don't work в остальном скучновато. как кто-то написал "группа одного хуесосного хита"

This album is alright, a few hits and catchy songs. Boy did their egos inflate behind their talent. I can't shake the idea that the Verve were the Razorlight of their time and Dick Ashcroft the Jonny Borrell.

i love this album so much, i can’t believe how many hits it has. the drugs don’t work is one of my favourite songs ever and it’s one i listen to a lot when i’m down. brilliant album and i had my shazam out the entire time

had my shazam out the whole time

This one feels like it has some bloat compared to the last two (excellent) albums by this band, but I could see it growing on me with more listens. A strong 3 but this website doesn't have HALF STARS!!! So I must go with that. It's like a perfect 3.5 to me.

se nota mucho la influencia con oasis. muyyy britpop. temas muy estilo oasis (que lei que tienen el mism productor en este disco que algunsod e oasis) nota: vot a empezar a leer mas sobre las bandas que escucho, y los discos.

3/5

One of My favorites ever. Bettersweet symphony just don't fit in the sound of the whole record. Since Drugs don't work, this record is a piece of art.

gets hard carried by bitter sweet symphony

With not being a psychedelic rock fan came the worst possible fate. That being that this albums sound is very consistent , usually a good thing. But, in this case it just wasn’t for me.

I can see why The Verve was a one-hit wonder. Despite my hopes that "Urban Hymns" would reveal The Verve to be one of those groups with many brilliant songs neglected by the mainstream, the majority of the tracks range from sounding like a knock-off Radiohead at best to a self-important bar band at worst. The fact that "Bitter Sweet Symphony" is the first song on the record does not do the album any favors, as every subsequent pales in comparison to that lead-off hit. I'm confused why the band didn't incorporate strings as prominently throughout the album; they made it work to perfection once, yet the orchestral arrangements immediately disappear besides some accents in a few other songs. Unsurprisingly, those songs with strings are the strongest: "The Drugs Don't Work" and "Lucky Man."

There is a very good album in here, but it’s hidden within a bloated experience. I really enjoy the highlights but they are joined by some midlights

muy noventero efectivamente

It's a good album. I like it. At moments it's sound like beatles. At others, it is sound lke Pink Floyd. Very dense atmosphere.

Not for me.

Een warm, gedragen album dat vooral werkt als sfeer en flow. Bekende hoogtepunten als Bitter Sweet Symphony en The Drugs Don’t Work steken er duidelijk bovenuit, terwijl de rest van de plaat een constante, dromerige achtergrond vormt. Emotioneel niet allesverpletterend, maar wel tijdloos, rustig en perfect om bij te werken of te koken. Een plaat die niet eist, maar blijft dragen.

While there is a symphonic grandeur to their music, it ultimately bored me to death!

bit of nostalgia, still good tunes

One of my all time favourite albums. Grew up with the sound of Mr Ashcroft, legend and this album is pretty much peak

Really enjoyable 90s brit-pop Beatles melancholic clone.

Urban Hymns is the closing credits for the Britpop era. It's a band firing on all creative cylinders and the result is a melancholic masterpiece that shined brighter than their contemporaries in 1997.

Bitter Sweet Symphony is excellent. I am surprised I had never hear of The Verve. The rest of the album was okay. The sound is very relaxed and mellow. The singer has almost a mesmerizing sound.

It was fine. Way too long for mediocre music

Chill vibes, goede nummers

Un album de guitare/ de britpop bien de son temps. Bittersweet Symphony est un gros banger, qui commence direct l'album, le hook a été samplé. Le reste de l'album est trop long, les tounes sont trop longues. Il a une belle voix though

Will give a 3 star because I enjoyed the first few songs but the back half of the album didn’t do much for me.

This is lush and boring. I feel the same way about Oasis. And this sounded way too much like Oasis.

The first song is ok, the rest not so much

This was slightly better than the previous few albums and I liked a couple of songs on the album but the bar is so low at this point. I liked the sound a bit better but still wouldn’t listen to any of the songs on my own time.

It's got its fair share of epic, anthemic bangers, even other than Bitter Sweet Symphony. Weeping Willow and Lucky Man in particular have this addictive, nostalgic vibe about them. Unfortunately on a lot of the songs here I found the songwriting to be very average and the instrumentation kinda lackluster. Especially on the song that go in kind of a spacey, more abstract direction. It's not really a sound they do much justice. I would still say the album is worth a listen simply for the highlights.

4/10

i think it's an album that it's really hit or miss: you really gotta like this sound, or it's quite repetitive and not exceptional. ehh

I love this album almost perfect as far as I'm concerned... probably like 4.99999999 but not quite a 5

Albumet med den legendariske Bitter Sweet Symphony. Britpop, en sjanger jeg har nesten utelukkende gode erfaringer med. Dette er intet unntak. En bunke med introspektive låter fulle av melankoli og behagelige melodier. Simpelthen umulig å mislike, og det ville vært en klink femmer dersom det høye nivået var mer konsistent. Top 3: Weeping Willow, Sonnet, The Drugs Don’t Work

65

2.4/5 I'd only heard the singles off this album but I enjoyed the album as a whole mostly.

Kinda mid? Idk man I didn't love it. It felt like noise after a while

Sounds monotonous to me. The strings are superfluous. Not for me.

Não foi a primeira vez que ouvi este álbum. Sabia perfeitamente que o álbum era muito bom, mas não me lembrava que era assim tão bom. É só grandes músicas. Noto influências de Stone Roses, o que só pode ser bom sinal. Aliás, prova disso é o álbum ter uma hidden track de longa duração, tal como o álbum de estreia dos Stone Roses. Álbum perfeito para hoje.

The first track overshadows this album … I’d forgotten how many great tracks there are 👍

ENOUGH FUCKING UK POP ROCK

This is Brit-Pop at it’s absolute best. Maybe it's the nostalgia. Maybe it's the hits. Maybe it's the fact it's simply just a very well written album. I can't help but absolutely love it. Ashcroft’s vocals are iconic and land just as well on the heavier tracks as they do on the slower, mellow tracks. All round one of Britain's best.

sounds way more like U2 than I thought - but right up my alley very enjoyable - doesn’t need to be said bittersweet symphony is an all time classic

I remember when Bittersweet Symphony was released when I was in highschool. I had really only listened to that. I didn’t have this album so I had never listened to entire thing. Most of the songs sounded the same. Favorite song: (obviously) Bittersweet Symphony There’s also a hidden track at the end: Come On/Deep Freeze. 13 minutes long Rating: 3/5

Hidden tracks aren't cute anymore. Decent album though.

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.

3 great songs plus filler

They should've been bigger than just being known for bitter sweet symphony cause this is actually beautiful.

IMO not as good as A Northern Soul, but one of my favorite songs ever is in this album.

Very good album. I’ve not listened to it for a long time. Remember when it came out and it was huge!!

A primeira faixa é realmente excelente, mas o resto do álbum não me encantou muito.

oh no I do not like the voice okay it gets a bit better whos writing these lyrics... musically its really good but I don't care for the lyrics or the voice

I've got a theory that one of the reasons Noel and Liam Gallagher seem to have such an affinity with Richard Ashcroft from the Verve is that they all give interviews that are vastly more entertaining than a lot of their music. A couple of these songs are great on their own (Sonnet has always been my favourite) but taken as an album, it's all a bit slow and stately.

Wow i almost wrote that off based on the beyond overplayed intro track (which is a fine track but man its done to death.) that was fantastic!

Honestly, I was excited to give The Verve a proper listen. Naturally, I knew their most famous track so I was hoping for an underrated album of absolute bangers. Unfortunately, the only song I liked was the famous Bittersweet Symphony. Side A has a few tolerable songs alongside the great opening, but nothing else really stands out. Side B was a blur of droning Britpop nonsense. One-note. Although the lyrics are ok, I largely detest Ashcroft's vocal performance. It feels garage rock in quality, but with the polish of high-end production backing. Ultimately, I feel terrible rating this album so low, but I can't justify rating an album of this length any higher because I enjoyed a single song that I've previously heard.

Liked this one more than I thought!

Favourite song: Sonnet

Richard Ashcroft and the bad just don’t get the credit they deserve on this. Overshadowed by Oasis and Blur when this came out but this stand along side and better than some of their albums. Bittersweet Symphony is worth giving this a listen on its own. Lucky Man, The Drugs don’t work and Sonnet are also bangers. Will be back to this one time and time again. Incredible

Britpop is just ok in my book. It's pretty boring for an entire album. This seems like good britpop so that's better than the lot.

This isn’t that awful.

I always thought Bittersweet Symphony was overrated. And that’s the best song on here. It’s fine.

An original classic!!

Rock des annees 2000 sans aucun doute, le debut d’album est incroyable, ca commence tres fort puis milieu d’album plus lent et rock avec batterie tres presente et guitare saturee. Mouvement britpop, tres oasis. Plus grosses ventes cette annee la. Beaucoup de balades mélancoliques. Bitter sweet symphony est nommee pour le grammy de la meilleure chanson rock

Very cohesive album which doesn’t feel as long as it actually is to me. I couldn’t stand Bittersweet Symphony and The Drugs Don’t Work when I was younger because they were very overplayed in my house, but I’m getting over it.

Yet another way-too-long british indie pop album, how many of these are there gonna be? Its boring, monotonous, and just not fun to listen to.

Super excited for this one! Obviously Bitter Sweet Symphony is a classic. I’ve heard it many times and it’s constantly referenced in other music I like! Sonnet is such a beautiful track. The way it ebbs and flows throughout just does something to my brain. The Rolling People was super interesting to me. There were a lot of different sounds but they ended up coming together really well. That guitar solo at the end slapped. I wasn’t sure about the track at first, but it really came into its own. The Drugs Don’t Work almost made me sob like a baby. I’ve had a rough week and this one really hit for me. When that chorus hit, oh my god, gorgeous. This is a song that is 100% going to go into heavy rotation. Unfortunately I didn’t love the next track Catching the Butterfly. There was just something about it. I think it was the way it’s sung, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. Neon Wilderness and Space and Time were awesome. The end of Space and Time, brilliant. I am loving this album. Weeping willow continues on with the overall vibes of the album so far. Again, super cool guitar solo. The guitar in this album in general is great. Moving in to Lucky Man that is more than apparent. This track, so good. The strings in there bringing it back to Bitter Sweet Symphony. That was cool. One day was great. This Time wasn’t my favourite, but I didn’t mind it. Velvet morning was good, but at this point I felt I’d heard similar songs earlier in the album. Come on was a great closer. The hidden track… oh boy do I have something to say about hidden tracks. They’re great when you’re spinning a record, but please when that album goes on a streaming service, cut out the 5 minutes of silence. PSA over. Also points off because of the baby crying. I can’t stand that noise. This has to be a 5/5 ⭐️ album for me. I haven’t had one in a while but I think this one deserves it. I loved most of it, and even that I didn’t love, was still good. I needed this album today, and it came to me. 36/1089

7/10 doesn't hit hard as much

Started off with their most popular song, the rest was pretty mid.

Good album that I've heard many times. "Bitter Sweet Symphony" is obviously the instantly recognizable track, but "The Drugs Don't Work" has always been my favorite.

I wish I could come on here and write “The album with the token Britpop song that everyone knows is actually a banger - they aren’t just a one hit wonder.” But unfortunately that’s not how I felt about this one.

Better than I remember.

A mix of good, bad, catchy, boring and irritating.

The Verve follow the classic rock and roll tradition of a bunch of good musicians that make good music with each other while also hating each other with great equal fervor. Such classic bands like The Police or Ramones or Cream all made really great music tempered by the fact they all wanted to kill each other at some point. The Verve continued that tradition by breaking up before Urban Hymns was finished, then they came back together again because catching music talent lightning in a bottle is about as rare as being struck by lightning. Twice. The end result was their most commercially successful release, that most people probably know the biggest hit off the album, Bittersweet Symphony, although ball-knowers probably recognize Lucky Man and The Drugs Won't Work, the latter sometimes described as the most depressing song ever. I do really like this album, but I don't really want to write more about the songs on it: If you know the old Verve albums, this is a much more commercial (dare I say poppish but The Verve were always kind of doing their own thing not like a band like Sparks for instance that is more pop-centric). The sort of mix of britpop, alternative/"college" rock and shoegaze were three different lanes of 90s music that the most you'd see a combination of the two, but on Urban Hymns you can hear all three blend together to make an album that emotionally is a bit like a roller coaster but is sonically wonderful and really does sound like what the songwriting on paper envisioned. There was a good reason this album exploded in popularity, as 1997 is one of those really good years in music like 1967. In the end I do prefer The Verve's earlier works, but Urban Hymns is a much bigger album than the band even expected. Rolling Stones writing disputes aside (that would end in The Stones giving writing credits back to The Verve, ending one of rock music's more bizarre music lawsuits), the production on Urban Hymns is really top notch and makes each song sound big, the music really making the landscape of the dark, bitter world around us while illustrating sound like a rainbow appearing in the sky at the end of a bad rainstorm. It's this weird mixture of dark songwriting and light instrumentation (please forgive the purple prose I can't think of a good metaphor at this time) that you don't come across often. Urban Hymns certainly sounds like a post 9-11 world, but coming four years earlier as sort of this cautious optimism vibe that you know will waver into pessimism quickly.

always like me some britpop

My only exposure to The Verve was Bitter Sweet Symphony. I'd heard that if you were expecting the rest of the album to be as good as this song, you'd be disappointed. That's a partially true statement. The album as a whole is creating a mood for you to flow into and through. If you resist the pull, you miss the mood. I enjoyed this album, but the high point is definitely the opener.

Their third album. BritPop / Indie. Bitter Sweet Symphony and Sonnet are two fantastic opening tracks. The Drugs Don't Work and Lucky Man are two fantastic songs too. The rest of the album meanders somewhat. As an eighteen year old working class lad in council estate Britain in 1997 this album was a huge influence, still is. Probably a comfort album for me but still a four out of five.

One of my favorite parts of going through this 1001 albums experience is recognizing a song I’ve heard my whole life but never known where it comes from and getting to enrich my culturally deficient brain. One of my least favorite parts of this experience however is waiting through 6 minutes of silence just to hear some goofy ahh techno baby whining in the outro.

Cool baseline Feels repetitive Overall sound is nothing really special Average

책을 때 들으면 좋을 듯. 무난무난~

Decent

Непогано, Bitter Sweet Symphony взагалі легенда. Поставила б 2,5.

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

It's a very good album with beautiful, captivating melodies, although not all the tracks are equal and some are even a little boring.

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.

Only knew of “Bittersweet Symphony” ahead of the listen but this album was a grower on me as it went along.

First listen

4/10

Literally feeling so conflicted on this album. On one hand it gave us bittersweet symphony which is an objectively incredible song. On the other hand, the album is front loaded with its best songs and after they're over it just becomes an hour plus of of repetitive bullshit. Literally the first 2 or 3 songs on the album are the only good ones, at least they sound distinct! Not happy with this album, especially after being such a big fan of that song since I first heard it all those years ago.

Pretty good, knew the first song

The singles are great, especially Sonnet, but the rest is one big snoozefest. Why did they insist on every song being a minimum of 5 minutes long? Most of these songs start out ok but soon fall into the same dull, boring style. Meh. 2.5.

Excellent album

Good start meh end

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.

Убрать сэмпл оркестра и роллингов, кто ты без него?

Отзыв для Карины: Это просто бесподобный альбом от лучшей группы в мире после Oasis, он идеален во всем, он ломает привычную связь пространства и времени, чтобы создать нечто более прекрасное и совершенное. 12 из 10, удовольствие на кончиках пальцев. Карина, дальше не читай!!! Отзыв для остальных: Как бы ни хотелось засрать альбом для контраста, но как можно это сделать с аж 4 суперхитами, один из которых вообще выбрался из рамок конкретного жанра и стал одним из главных вневременных хитов целого поколения. Пусть он и целиком основан на заимствованном сэмпле, но этот сэмпл еще нужно было откопать в возможно самом обскурном сборнике Rolling Stones. Благодаря этому пику я наконец послушал альбом целиком, и остальные треки меня тоже не разочаровали. Многие из них оказались на удивление психоделичными, хотя я слышал, что группа начинала именно с психодела и шугейза. При этом они звучат не отталкивающе сложно, а, наоборот, интересно и притягательно. Мелодизм и атмосфера этого альбома запоминаются, и я точно буду его переслушивать. 4,5 из 5.

А теперь без шуток. Если кто-то поставит ЭТОМУ альбому ниже 4… Я достаю дробовик. Я переживу тройки Принцу, я проглочу двойки Боуи. Но здесь игры кончились…. Я начинаю стрелять. В этом альбоме идеально все. От великих бэнгеров на все времена до гигантских туфелек Ричарда на обложке. Люблю, ценю, обожаю. 100000 Лакимэнов из 5.

Наконец-то альбом, который не слушал до этого. Вообще с бритпопом мало пересекался в своей жизни, из полноформатников знаком только с Different Class и (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, а также слышал несколько основных хитов у ключевых групп жанра. Что касается The Verve, то вроде что-то как-то когда-то и где-то доносилось до меня кроме Bitter Sweet Symphony, но какого-то четкого следа не оставило. Альбом начинается отлично, и я говорю не про главный их хит, так как мне лично сложно испытывать хоть какие-то эмоции от трека, который ты в своей жизни слышал 1000 раз не по своей воле. А вот связка Sonnet - The Rolling People - The Drugs Don't Work вселяет надежду, что это оно самое. Однако дальше ждет просто неплохой ровный альбом, где много влияния спейс рок ривайвл (в какие-то моменты думал, что на Spiritualized спотик переключился) и в меньшей степени нео-психоделии. Отдельно взятых цепляющих песен немного, и все они в начале расположены, но при этом альбом не очень сильно проседает и откровенно скучным не становится. Финальный трек классный, а это очень большой плюс для меня всегда, так как позволяет немного закрыть глаза на недостатки проекта. По ощущениям 3,5 все таки, но тут снова карандашом 4 поставлю.

Лучшая песня: Bittersweet symphony Худшая: Catching the butterfly Слушать можно, но с каждым треком все становится скучнее и скучнее. 3 или 4 хороших песни и мутота

"Шутка про грузин и брит поп". Прослушав основные альбомы данного жанра могу продолжить утверждать, что не моё. Баллады на альбоме интереснее, чем энергичные треки

3.5, не только 3 хита, остальное тоже приятное

60% кайфовых треков, гимнов брит-попа+ 40% похожих на них филлеров. Был бы альбом чуть короче цены бы ему не было

Все, что знала об этой группе до прослушивания альбома - хитовый трек Bitter Sweet Симфония. Жаль, что не начала свое знакомство с бритпопом с этого альбома - с музыкальной точки зрения он звучит интереснее своих собратьев. Возможно, полюбила бы жанр, ну или просто так сработал шантаж 💅🥲 В плейлист ушли Weeping willow, Space and Time, one day и hidden track из концовки

Моются в бане два грузина, играют песни группы The Verve. Один другого просит потереть ему спину. Тот соглашается, смотрит ему на спину, опускает взгляд чуть ниже, а у того ни одного волоска на жопе. Спрашивает: - Гоги, ты что, гэй? - Нэт, брат, я просто люблю брит поп...

It’s fine. It doesn’t stand out at all from the rest of the late nineties alternative pretenders.

Not an album I would seek out to listen to again but some catchy tracks - I just prefer more energy in my sounds...

Enjoyable listen but the song are too long for my liking

Good britpop. This has much more to offer than just Bittersweet.

meio triste imaginar você ser o the verve ao mesmo tempo que blur e oasis existem… mas um bom álbum!

Peak 90s British psych rock. Don't ever remember listening to the full album. This is exceptional start to finish.

Not all songs for me

pretty classic dad rock vibes

One of my favorites

One of the best starts to any British album

Full disclosure that I have PTSD from having to endure Richard Ashcroft live and thought I wouldn't live through the extended disco version of Bitter Sweet Symphony he played, so this record was slightly triggering. It was also quite same-y and kinda felt like a lesser Oasis. Mid, with a point deducted for emotional damages.

i listened to the shit out of this in 98-99, right before i moved to michigan for grad school. haven't heard it much since then and didn't think too much of the album since. this is mainly due to the annoying ubiquity of "bittersweet symphony," which is an excellent song that overshadows the rest of this, frankly, set of songs that are almost all superior to BS (ha-ha). still love songs like "the drugs don't work," "space and time," and "lucky man." top notch songs all of them. i really love this album when they stretch out into psych rock territory. "the rolling people" and "velvet morning" are remarkable, and "catching the butterfly" sounds like a track from _kid a_ five years before _kid a_ came out. so, just a wonderful album all around

Alright innit.

Booooooooooooriiiiiiiiiiiing

Iconic Album. The added live versions are also just a little bit extra

a fun britpop album

Started out good, first two songs at least. I find britpop quiet pleasant. But this one unfortunately was quiet boring, without any variety between songs. They honestly sounded like quiet a mush of sounds, almost too similar to differentiate. I gave this album a couple of chances cause I wasn't able to focus on the whole album for its entirety, but I guess that shows what type of albums it is.

Better than expected. I originally bought it hoping it would have more songs like Bittersweet Symphony but there's some heavy freak stuff that was worth hearing again. Iron Butterfly would do well to pay attention!

some songs ended up way too long.

Catching the butterfly is actually mega underrated

Bittersweet Symphony is a never skip track for me and has been since the first time I heard it. It remains as anthemic and true as it was the day it was released.

Classic Brit pop. Very 90s, and surprisingly psychedelic. Bittersweet Symphony is such a great opening song to the album. Other favorite song: The Drugs Don’t Work.

Heard Before? Only "Bitter Sweet". Notes: - yet more midtempo britpop. hurrah. - the deeply layered, complex and often gorgeous production is lipstick on the pig of these underwritten songs. - the worst sin of the CD era was pointlessly long songs and albums that don't justify their runtime. - all the players are supremely competent, if lacking in imagination. - I just could not bring myself to care about anything Richard Ashcroft had to say. He started to sound like the adults in Peanuts. - WAS THEIR METRONOME STUCK? Verdict: Mostly these are immaculately polished turds. I got lost in the lovely details a few times, but none of the songs meant anything to me. Listen Again? Nope. Not awful but there's just no reason for me to pay attention.

Super

***A good easy listening album

BEST SONGS: - Velvet Morning - The Drugs Don't Work

Vet, veel hits

7,5/10

There’s a reason you can only name one song by The Verve. Bittersweet Symphony is a great start and the rest is just long and forgettable

This one was ok. I'll give it 3 stars.

Not much of fan. One note music. Nothing too exciting

Some good songs

Well, I didn't hate it as much as some of y'all did. The opening track is fantastic, no doubt about it. I really wanted to latch on to something else but it felt uninspiring to me. A lot of mid-tempo plodding. Maybe you just need to be in a mellow mood for this one. 2.5 stars.

Bittersweet Symphony may be their most recognizable song, but I feel like it doesn't represent their sound. I think that's done by Lucky Man, but it's altogether a long and decent album.

Sounds like knockoff oasis

Amazing album!

3,5 - Startet stark, verliert dann aber am Ende den Drive. Aber allein für Bittersweet Symphony gehört das Album gehört. Highlights: Bittersweet Symphony, The Drugs Don't Work

gecko beats

some really cool songs

Freshman year of high school, my biology teacher was going through something. He would lock himself in the supply closet and play Bittersweet Symphony on repeat every class period. That song gives me flashbacks. The rest of the album kinda sucks too. The singer had a whiny voice and the album goes on forever.

Just an ok album and one listen was fine but don’t need to revisit.

Imagine listening to any song after bittersweet symphony.

Bought this in '97 on cassette. Great album with all the singles.

6/10

Great Brit pop album of the 90s. Lots of great tracks and the classic “Bittersweet Symphony” Highlights: “Bittersweet Symphony”, “Lucky Man” and “Velvet Morning”

9/10 great album

Such a classic album, very enjoyable. Lucky man > BSS

It's fine for background music, very consistent, no goofy shit. I was really happy when the hidden track hit.

Good little album! Starting off the group project well.

Unfortunate that they didn’t make more albums. Decent easy listening.

So one of my favorite songs is The Drugs Don't Work. They get a point for that song alone from me. I'm not sure if I truly like Bittersweet Symphony or if I just heard it so many times my brain gave up wanting to hate it. Seriously that song was played so much I think if you were alive around then you kinda just know it. The rest of the album is boring though. Very slow drivel honestly. Like if they wanted to just rock the hell out they could as they have the talent, but drugs or a producer told them no, embrace the super emo. It's an interesting album that is very much of it's time. I'm not sure if released at any other time it would gain traction. It's like all the millennials chose depression to listen to.

Britpop is probably the second most overrepresented genre on this list, behind New Wave. You could realistically shave it down to five albums to get the full idea of the genre. Personally I'd pick What's the Story (Morning Glory?), Everything Must Go, Blur's Self-Titled, Different Class, and this one. I'm really not big on albums that stick the one song they made the album for right at the start, but this one still manages to be good by putting actual effort into the 13 other songs. Really the only thing that makes Bitter Sweet Symphony the song that the album's obviously designed around is the fact that it sounds like a lead single with the strings that sound like they're made to be put in a Nike ad. The whole album is great, though. Very spacey in a really appealing way with a driving feel to match it that makes it sound really unlike any other Britpop on this list.

This album is 5.5 hours long, 5 volumes. Buckle the fuck up. It's good stuff though. Great sound.

Good as it gets for late 90 s rock

Apart from the overall praise for "Bitter Sweet Symphony", I see a lot of very critical reviews here for this album. To me, this album was a classic in its heyday and still is great. It matches contemporary Britpop bands like Blur, Pulp, The Charlatans, or The Happy Mondays, to name a few, and exceeds Oasis by far. So, what's all the hate? Beautifully crafted ballads like "Bitter Sweet Symphony", or, in my opinion, the even better "The Drugs Don't Work", can't be to blame. So is it the psychedelic touch on "The Rolling People", "Catching the Butterfly", or the pounding "Come On"? Personally, it's these songs combined with their aforementioned ballads that make this album so great. So, 4 stars for the album as a whole, and one more for all the haters. 5/5

Partly heard before Saved 3/13 Top track: Bitter Sweet Symphony

great directionality. strong central motif n packs some heat

Really really pleasantly surprised Screw the haters Bittersweet Symphony’s great, if a bit overplayed. I think it’s a really cool spin on the Rolling Stones song it’s based off of Couple of songs on there that aren’t really necessary but way more good than bad. I think the psychedelic sound combined with the singer dudes vocals works extremely well Man do I actually like britpop? Guess we’ll find out when I have to listen to an oasis album or something

i really liked it! i think with the strings and orcestration it's easy to fall into a trap of feeling too overproduced but the instruments sound great. The drums bring in a ton of energy to the tracks. the rolling people is def my favorite. ive also never heard bitter sweet symphony before so im wondering how it got 1 billion streams on spotify???? its like oasis but theyre actually play instruments. I think i just like music that has more variety and production to them. also the songs change up on themselves so even when listening ambiently while working, it still catches my attention

My first thought was to ask the question: What would happen if U2 and Oasis had a baby? Answer? Urban Hymns. Fun fact: Oasis formed about the same time and in the same place as The Verve, and U2 was of course ubiquitous in the 90s. The Verve is the only band I can name to break up more than Oasis! Second thought was "ChatGPT, create me generic 90s style songs that will be background music on a teen supernatural sleuth TV show." Recognized one song (didn't know it was originally The Verve, actually) but the rest were pretty nondescript. Not good, not great, not bad. Wiki says this was one of the all-time highest selling albums in the UK, and my question was, "How???" Meh. 3 stars.

This album sounds nice, I like Bitter Sweet Symphony despite the fact that it’s overplayed. However, this album had the same problem that The Clash had which was every song sounds basically the same. I was also fighting the final boss of KH1 while listening to this so I might not have been paying attention, idk. Also, what happened to the end? There is just pure silence.

Meh. I find much of this whole Brit Pop thing to be so limited to a time...and not in a good way. Sounds like early Coldplay and a late Oasis. And I've got Blur and Radiohead...don't really need anything else. Though I'll admit that Bittersweet Symphony is an amazing song no matter how overplayed. The Hidden Track concept is a fun CD memory. But besides that, not much jumps out at me here. These songs are too long. The whole album is too long. And "The Verve" and "Urban Hymns" along with track titles like "Neon Wilderness," "Space and Time," and "Velvet Morning" feel like titles and names put together by ad people. There's a bit of classic rock psychedelia here that is a nice twist and squeeze on the old Brit Pop formula. But it's a far cry from the grit and kaleidoscopic brilliance of some of the other albums on this list. It all feels very safe here. Very classic rock. In a way that both millennial sons and boomer fathers can nod along too. And that sentiment is nice. It's just also a little boring. I honestly don’t want to put this on the same tier as Faust IV but I’m gonna have to go with a 2/5

I liked some of the music from this album. Best song: "Sonnet", worst song: "The Rolling People" and I didn't care for "Catching The Butterfly" either. "Catching The Butterfly" really reminded me of the music that movies would often put behind scenes of people tripping, which made me wonder if the title was an euphemism of the times. I could have done without the foul language and the heavy guitar riff in the last song of the album, "Come On/Deep Freeze" too.

Good album. Similar to Oasis. Richard Ashcroft writes and sings a good mix of rock songs and ballads.

meh, achtergrondmuziek op zn best