Reviews (page 7 of 14)
The first song is so good and there were a couple other enjoyable tracks but most of the album is completely forgettable. Favourite song: Bitter Sweet Symphony Least: One Day
talk about a front loaded album. Bittersweet Symphony is real banger to start with but unfortunately the rest just cant measure up. Its not bad, just more of the same kind of generic rock coming out the UK at the time.
Bittersweet Symphony is a banger obviously, the rest of this album is decent but forgettable British indie rock. Has no place on this list
I'll admit it: I didn't really get Bittersweet Symphony when it came out. I still don't really, though I've grown to appreciate it. The repetition, the small small vocal range, the heroin chic of Ashcroft bumping into people all down the sidewalk. It did nothing for me. It's still a weird single that would have gone nowhere without a lesser known Stones sample. You've gotta wonder if it was worth it, given how much they absolutely would have probably paid in royalties. What got me instead was eventually coming around to The Drugs Don't Work. That, ironically, opened up to me as a friend brought the mood down with it at a Karaoke night. It was the right kind of beautiful hopelessness, the thing BSS could only replicate with someone else's strings. But even then, it wasn't something that made me want to follow up on Urban Hymns. You sort of forget how huge a thing really was when you try to ignore the hit, tho. But it's also just such a long album. It's over an hour long before you even get to the artificially elongated, secret-track containing final song. Individual songs are not much better. Bittersweet Symphony obviously loops on for six minutes, we all have experienced that, but it's not even the longest song on Side A. Three of the first five tracks are over six minutes long, and five of the first seven are over 5. It's a lot of concentration to expend at the start and still have half an album to get through. I'd still say that The Rolling People is one of the better songs on the album, and if Catching the Butterfly was a little less snooze-a-delic it could have been too, but thr latter especially could have ended two minutes sooner. There's a whole ass ending there! Overall though, the Long Section has redeeming bits throughout, short of the albums briefest song, Neon Wilderness. But ultimately this always feels like something else. Bored Oasis? More self-aware Stone Roses? Depressed Pulp? The back half, by comparison, speeds through but leaves little impression. I guess this makes a light ⭐️⭐️⭐️.
I will start off by saying that this review is certainly going to be biased, as I used an instrumental version of "Bitter Sweet Symphony" as my floor routine music in high school gymnastics; it has since become "our song" in the eyes of my mom and I. All that aside, this album is pretty classic Britpop, with very clear influences from U2, Oasis, and Radiohead. At several points, I thought about how I easily could have been tricked into thinking these were U2 songs if I didn't know any better. A little slow, a little boring at times, and overall pretty middling. Favorite tracks: Bitter Sweet Symphony, Catching The Butterfly, Lucky Man
Bittersweet symphony: muligvis en af de bedste rocksange, genial britpop. Desværre er resten af albummet for langt og kører meget i den samme rille.
Some classic britpop anthems mixed with their previous stock psychedelic shoe gaze. Personally I find it a little heavy going but no questioning the strength of 4 hit singles and the impact of this album in the UK.
Bardzo miła, przyjemna płyta, porządny brit-rock i tego nie można im zabrać. Bittersweet Symphony jest równie przeklęte co Wonderwall, pa.
This album outstayed it's welcome for me (and I didn't even listen to the 2 hour 35 minute deluxe version the generator linked to!). Richard Ashcroft's voice over a full 75 minutes was a bit much, and I think the songs were a bit inconsistent. Although that might have something to do with how many singles were released and how ubiquitous those singles were. Bittersweet Symphony is the obvious, and massively successful, one of those singles. It's a great song*. Probably my favourite song off the album, though I do also like The Drugs Don't Work a lot. Another middling mark from me: 3/5 * Anyone reading this who hasn't seen Ren's YouTube live version of Bittersweet Symphony with his own lyrics, you should watch it. He's an amazing story teller.
Love their sound! Very London Underground 90's sound and feel. Gives 90's-00's Teen Movies and the Fall
There’s a good selection of really good songs from this album but there’s also a good selection of super mediocre songs This is album is too long Deep freeze is so lame like I get the idea but I don’t want to listen to that 3 or 3.5/5 Favorites: weeping willow, bittersweet symphony the drugs don’t work
Much better than the other album of theirs we listened too. Still way too long though.
i guess it's alright, just a tad underwhelming
Britpop Boss-level meh
The Drugs Don't Work
It was okay, LONG. Not a lot of choruses. That one hit then it kinda puddled. I likely won't reach for it again.
I get why Bittersweet Symphony is there only hit. The rest aren't bad just boring.
Lost a star when it just kept going…
Enjoyed this though wasn’t completely blown away. Probably unfairly, I’d never really listened to the Verve and lumped it dismissively with the britpop label. More depth than I was expecting, Can see me potential revising this score upwards after repeated listens but for now a very solid 3.
Album 58/1001. Listened 8/28/2026. It's okay, but this kind of British rock band doesn't really jive for me.
Okaaayyyy, this was once a great hit. But imho it did not age too well...
I can see why this was a hit record. It sounds familiar. In fact, the whole record is derivative of the Brit-Pop or U2 sound. It’s predictable and safe. While it’s far from unpleasant, it’s certainly not original or “must hear” in any way for me.
it was interesting i kinda liked it.
"Urban Hymns" by The Verve is a great album from 90s era. I found this album has whole 90s era vibe. The production level and vocal and instruments performance is wonderful in this album. The album start with their signature track "Bitter Sweet Symphony". This is one of the best songs from the 90s era. Another song that is wonderful which is less talk about from the album is "The Drugs Don't Work". This is one of the saddest songs from the album with wonderful vocal performance. Other standout tracks are "Sonnet", "The Rolling People", and "Lucky Man". But I have find the album is quite too long for about 1 hour 15 minutes which kind of kill the whole vibe of an album. There is too many tracks that should not have included. Some of the tracks I found weaker are "Neon Wilderness", "One Day", "This Time" and "Come On". The last track "Come On" also feature hidden track which makes this song over 10 minute long which I feel is useless too. Overall great album to listen.
Better than I expected knwing only Bittersweet Symphony (which I consider a good hook but ultimately too little idea for one song).
Enjoyed some of it, although at times they sounded like an Oasis tribute band. A few songs stick out as being top quality, but a lot of the albums is forgettable, but not necessarily bad. I probably won’t listen again in full, but some songs might stick in my rotation.
3⁵
I listened half asleep on a train home from someone I visited and could not stop thinking about so much of the album went somewhat unregistered...
I kinda enjoyed the sound. It is VERY 90’s sounding in some way though, which is not my favorite. It also had a couple songs a little too reminiscent of Oasis.
Good so goes but not a fan of the whole project.
Good, but goes on too long and becomes more average the longer it goes.
It was okay, first song incredible, didn’t make it to the end of the album
Solid 90s rock. BSS still rules
Did enjoy Bittersweet Symphony and The drugs don't work.
I’ve never been big on The Verve. I can accept that their biggest hits form an irremovable part of the tapestry of 90s music but I’ve always found them quite blasé and droning. Just fine on a full listen, but possibly still my least enjoyed flavour of Britpop which I already have little time for.
good songsb
I'm not a huge bittersweet symphony fan, so wasn't looking forward to this. Ended up being pleasantly surprised and know there was a time in my life where I would have enjoyed this album more. This album has a few songs that really seem at home as the soundtrack to a wrapping up/moving on montage for early 2000s network dramas, which sounds like an insult but isn't. The album did drag on a bit at the end and soured the review a bit, but overall more listenable than a lot of the albums that have been served up.
Alright, so I kinda dismissed this album before I actually listened to it. We know this list has a British bias, so I expected this to be here solely on the strength of “Bittersweet Symphony”, but that's not totally true. In the Brit Rock hierarchy, I’d put this under Oasis but probably on par with the Blur record on this list. Maybe slightly higher.
Did we really need multiple Verve albums on the list? Britpop rock like this and Oasis are always just fine. It's not great, but it's not bad either, it's just something inoffensive to put on. The Verve isn't reinventing the wheel or doing anything interesting here, it's pretty much just generic 90s rock fare. 'Bittersweet Symphony' gets all the attention here, and nothing else really rose to that level. A perfectly average 3/5
there are some beautiful songs on this album.
I think the songs would improve if I gave them more time and grew to fully understand the lyrics. Otherwise they all kind of sounded the same - pleasant enough, but nothing fully grabbed me.
I had kind of dismissed this album, never really got into it but it’s actually pretty solid. Catching a Butterfly is a lovely song.
I didnt finish alllll of this but i thought it was decent
I like Bittersweet Symphony a lot, but the rest of the album is just a drag.
Bitter sweet symphony is overrated but a banger nonetheless. Drugs don't work was my favourite. 7/10
A bit better than your average pub rock.
This album has that one very well known song. However, I don't think that said song justifies having this album on the list, as it is pretty long and mediocre.
This album was pretty much Bittersweet Symphony and then an hour of lesser songs. The other songs were okay and weren't offensive or anything, but they were so overshadowed by the one huge hit on this one that they were completely forgettable. One hit albums are not my favorite, and I don't see wanting to revisit this milquetoast music at all.
Interesting, Bitter Sweet Symphony has come up in playlists before but I had not associated an artist with it. A number of these have worthwhile characteristics. However Richard seems to think that repeating the same phrase over and over during a track makes a lyric more meaningful when, in fact, it simply makes this listener want to shout “enough already, we get it, move on!”
Not exceptional, although definitely capturs the sound at the time. Surprisingly large number of singles on that one album.
Ok I guess
Britpop came into my life like an avalanche. I was introduced to Oasis, Blur, Pulp and Suede at the same time, but Bitter Sweet Symphony was by far the most inescapable song of any artist in that list (Wonderwall was on the way out more or less). This album has several songs that are just as grand as BSS that I'll treasure forever. The rest of the album is good within itself, but nothing extraordinary. In terms of album content pound for pound I'll say Pulp>Oasis>The Verve>Blur>Suede
Of course I’ve heard THE song before but never really dived into this album. Was pleasantly surprised at how trippy it was. There’s some cool sounds in there
Bittersweet Symphony is just so so good. Their breakups and makeups was a train wreck to read about.
#50 Standard 90s Brit-Pop, nothing too exciting or innovative. A pretty easy listen, but it also drags on a bit too long. Very top heavy; the 3 best songs are Bittersweet Symphony, Sonnet, and The Drugs Don't Work, and they are all excellent songs. After that much of it runs together and isn't memorable. 3.5/5
Done quite a bit of fingering to this album back in the day given its ballad content so it has to get a full extra point. 4.2 / actually 3.2
Ah, more of this kind of bullshit, huh? I guess I shouldn't hate this as much as I do, because when I was a kid I loved Bittersweet Symphony. Man, when that video popped up on VIVA I was like, hell yeah! And it still (like the rest of the album, sounds very Full. It's the strings, I think, but also the mid-90s boingy noise that for some reason shows up here, too. But the songwriting is embarrassingly maudlin, and I can't get past it. Also as a kid, it reminds me of when my classmate wrote a love note to some girl in class that was just the lyrics to this album's contemporaneous Savage Garden's Truly Madly Deeply and she had no idea who he was or what the note was and it was very public and almost 30 years later I'm still getting second hand embarrassment. That's what it's like listening to this.
Britpop/Neo-Psychedelia Favorite Song: Bitter Sweet Symphony Least Favorite Song: Come On I’m gonna keep this review short: while it sounded pleasant enough, and while Bitter Sweet Symphony is a really good song, I find the album to be kinda boring. That’s how much investment that I have. 6/10.
Some standout tracks. 3.5.
The Verve or sort of unfairly regarded in the U.S. They're more than a one hit wonder. I've never listened to this all the way through before, but Richard Ashcroft is a good songwriter and this is a good record. "The Drugs Don't Work" is a phenomenal track. Let's call this a 3.49.
Not a fan
3.7 it was almost a 4 as i was intrigued enough by it that i wanted to listen again, but i never did
Good singles
This was better than I expected. I have always loved “bittersweet symphony” but somehow didn’t expect too much from the rest of the album. Reminds me of Stone Roses a bit. Some trippy songs like “the rolling people” are very good. Sags in places but I wouldn’t call it boring.
A medicore Britpop album. "Bitter Sweet Symphony" is the highlight, but it's all downhill from there unfortunately.
Standouts Bittersweet Symphony The Rolling People Lucky Man
Put all the 90s Brit pop band sin a blender. It's fine but feels a bit generic after a few tracks.
Some actually nice indie rock. It goes a little long though.
I think I only know "Bitter Sweet Symphony" by this artist and I'm not a fan of it. I've never listened to this album though. I enjoyed the more groovy tracks more than I expected I would. They should stick to that stuff and drop the ballads. Also, why _did_ "Bitter Sweet Symphony" become such a hit? It's just boring and not a good example of the rest of the album. In the end, I'm happy this list made me listen to this album because it changed my opinion on the group.
bastante olvidable de una banda one hit wonder
Bittersweet Symphony is by now a parody of itself. The rest of the album is 90% good but not really memorable. I revisit it once in a while.
not bad, 3? didnt listen to all of them
Not terrible. Prefer this over most Blur or Oasis.
el mundo no es perfecto una prueba es el britpop, eeee chevere pero no para mi no lo escucharia enel auto
Would I listen again: yeah I mean there’s some bangers on here. But it did start getting a bit samey and britpop warmly over time. Can’t beat bittersweet symphony though
Zaczyna się od hitu, kończy na niczym. Bardzo przeciętne, encyklopedyczne wręcz w swoim braku wyrazistości. Nigdy nie wyjeżdżają za linie, a to wcale nie jest zaleta. 6/10
Loved this album back in the day, but it really hasn't stood up to the test of time.
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.
Home decent chill jams other than bittersweet symphony. Didn't hate it.
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
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!
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.
It's peak Verve, but it's still britpop. Really not into that stuff except for some Blur songs.
"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
Pretty good album (Nate didn't approve). Who hasn't heard bittersweet symphony.
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
I remember having it in cassette,was in the navy back then ,3.5 /5 for me .
Bittersweet Symphony is amazing. Lucky Man is pretty good. The rest is alright. Minus a star for the hidden track.
solid
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.
Bitter sweet symphony is natuurlijk geweldig vond de rest een beetje saai.
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
3 out of 5. Overall smoother album than I thought it would be, only knowing Bitter Sweet Symphony.
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!
A product of its time (‘90s)—sometimes dramatic, sometimes soft-spoken, sometimes psychedelic. Enjoyable, but strange.
Not impressed. Expected this to be better. I'll go with a low 3.
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.
After listening to this, it’s no surprise at all that Oasis beat The Verve for best UK album of the last 30 years.
Some good moments, but overall just fine/forgettable
Verve (noun): great energy and enthusiasm, particularly in artistic expressions Not sure they live up to their name, especially on the live 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
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.
Perfectly ok, but not essential pre-death listening.
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??
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.
New Wave Britpop Dreampop Ethereum eh
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
Pretty good, but somewhat one dimensional. They seem talented enough to have more diverse songs
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.
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.
Pretty much a One Hit Wonder.
Very good
couple of good songs but not much that special
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.
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
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'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.
One incredible song and the rest just okay
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.
Esta bien, pero me aburrí un toque
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!
Not too bad.
Pretentious title for a collection of mostly boring songs with a couple of OK ones...
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.
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.
Couple good songs and the vibe is okay.
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
3.5/5 - a quite iconic bit of britpop
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.
Meh. Expected much more. Sounds like any other britpop band.
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.
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.
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
I only liked Bittersweet Symphony. That’s also the only song I know by this group.
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.
I listened to this while I was drawing. And I really liked it!
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
Oh shit that one song
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.
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.
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.
oh hey! I know that song from Tik Tok! 3 stars
J’avais jamais écouté un album de ce groupe, c’était sympa ! C’est bien ancré dans son époque je trouve
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
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
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.
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.
Bittersweet symphony is kinda the most annoying song on this album but their vibes were good overall. Moodier than I expexted
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.
Nothing particular special but nice to listen to
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.
First song is the most popular
Bitter Sweet Symphony is excellent but a bit of a singles album.
I have sweetspot for string arrangements but even those don’t make this album rise above 3
Britpop. Bitter sweet symphony! Gillade också Lucky man
3.5
Solid 90s rock. BSS still rules
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
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
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.
Bittersweet symphony is a nostalgia drug
Now I know why I only know one song by them.
Enjoyable but bland - kind of like a microwave Korma.
Pre-listening: don't know much about them. 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.
Typical 80s/90s band. Decent songs 4 stars
The Hymn of the 00s.
Prefer ‘History’ but this is the album that made (and probably broke) them.
3.4
Nice
Bittersweet Symphony The Rolling People Catching the Butterfly Weeping Willow
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.
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.
Where the classic, Bittersweet Symphony came from. Album is a relic of its time, encapsulating that quintessential late 90s rock sound.
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.
some classic songs on this album overall a solid piece of work
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!
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!
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
gets hard carried by bitter sweet symphony
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
While there is a symphonic grandeur to their music, it ultimately bored me to death!
bit of nostalgia, still good tunes
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
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.
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.
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
ENOUGH FUCKING UK POP ROCK
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
3 great songs plus filler
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.
Liked this one more than I thought!
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.
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.
A mix of good, bad, catchy, boring and irritating.
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.
First listen
Pretty good, knew the first song
Good start meh end
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
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
Not all songs for me
pretty classic dad rock vibes
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.
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.
***A good easy listening album
7,5/10
This one was ok. I'll give it 3 stars.
Some good songs
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.
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
some really cool songs
Just an ok album and one listen was fine but don’t need to revisit.
6/10
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.
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.
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.
I didn't feel particular to this album either which way. It was just something to have on in the background.
See my note for full breakdown.
Pretty decent with a few better than the rest
Fine. Hidden track is dumb
Who knew this one was more than one single that got them into hot water with the Rolling Stones? Never dove too far into this one. I suppose there could be some argument made that it's over-produced in some aspects, but it still sounds pretty good almost 30 years on.
It’s like they were never taught how to just end a song so they gave them all long closers that sounds like they have never been the first to leave a call
It was cute, not my favourite, dad playlist vibes, i liked this time
a little bit boring ngl... maybe due to the fact that I'd listened to bittersweet symphony about 3920482390482304 times yet all the other songs were new to me (maybe i'm uncultured idk)
late 90s! we love it
Weird to hear more than sweet symphony
Given all the mediocre British alt-rock bands the author likes to throw on here, I expected this album to be the same. I only know The Verve for Bittersweet Symphony and The Drugs Don't Work. This album actually surprised me though, as I found the more psychedelic elements to be really interesting and enjoyable. Still, there were a handful of forgettable tracks on here, and they largely started to sound the same by the end. 3.5 -> 3/5
i came into this album with the perception of the verse as a one hit wonder due to the huge success of bitter sweet symphony. i always thought the song was fine, not spectacular but way too long. after listening to the album, i now believe that to be an accurate description of this entire album
yo what happened from the beginning song to the end song??
L'exemple type du rock neutre pas nul des années 90. Un point bonus pour Bitter Sweet Symphony qui est quand même un putain de classique.
Other than Bittersweet Symphony I was not familiar with the verve. I enjoyed it.
Album Review 040 Urban Hymns by The Verve (1997) Rating 3.5/5 The Verve’s debut album, A Storm In Heaven, is a contender for a place in my top 20 albums of all time. Their third album, Urban Hymns, never really reaches the brilliance of A Storm In Heaven but it is still a strong album. Urban Hymns has the feel of break-up and regret to it, which is obvious in hindsight largely due to the conflict between Richard Ashcroft (Vocalist) and Nick McCabe (Guitarist), and Ashcroft’s indulgent use of drugs. I hadn’t listened to Urban Hymns or felt the urge to listen to it for at least 20 years as I never thought it was that good an album but enjoyed it more than I thought I would this time around.
Didn’t finish listen.. but off to a good start
Just good enough. Surprisingly, the one hit wonder wasn't the standout, it was the other popular songs on the album which I suppose are more known in the UK. It's like Oasis without the whiny vocals but less musicianship.
pretty nostalgic feel that I have towards this record, isn't bad but not enough big highlights from the lows like the drugs wont work
Cool album, but I think they leaned into the psychedelia aspect of it a bit too much, which wasn’t for me. The atmosphere was nice, but I thought that some of the songs overstayed their welcome, and considering that this album is over 70 minutes long, I lost interest a bit. It was still good background music, but I like something a bit more involved. 7/10
Album normalito ni tan tan ni muy muy buenas canciones pero nada que me transmite el volverlo a escuchar
This album, oddly, sounded familiar to me, but I don't believe I've heard it before. Perhaps it put me in mind of a different band I just can't put my finger on. Regardless, I thought this was nice. Perhaps a bit unmemorable, but nice nevertheless.
i know it was an impactful album, but it’s not to my taste. good production tho
Okay. Maybe some good stuff, but not great.
“Urban Hits” by The Verve is one of those albums that there are far too many of: one big hit – “Bittersweet Symphony” – and otherwise insignificant. Of course, what is insignificant is in the eye of the beholder. In this case, it refers to Britpop of the most average kind – and Britpop is not the most exciting genre of music in itself. Not bad but boring.
I do enjoy their sound, though most of the songs sound like a repeat.
Yikes, there’s a reason I know only one of their songs
I had forgotten I saw them in concert years ago. no surprise since this is very forgettable music. like Oasis "light". Britpop once again on the list & wondering why it's there 2.5 stars