Reviews (page 8 of 15)
Balala
Good
Bittersweet Symphony is of course a bop and the other singles stand out, especially The Drugs Don't Work but the longer songs overstay their welcome - The Rolling People is great for a 3 minutes but lasts 7, Catching the Butterfly feels indulgently long. Not bad shoegaze but the deeper cuts are not interesting enough to warrant their run time. Fun listen but not memorable enough as a whole to be a 4 out of 5.
Really good
Mid.
mwah
Pre-listening: This album prompts an interesting question: what do you think is the single song you have heard the most in your life without ever hearing another track from its album? Because I think this one would be in the running for me (at least until today.) Listening: I would probably like Bittersweet Symphony more if it weren't played repeatedly at UT football games. It's obviously a catchy tune though. And I am reading the lyrics while listening and laughing that despite nearly 30 years of repeated listening I had NO IDEA some of these verses/words were in this song. Now for the rest of the album: This second song almost sounds like Tom Petty. Third song: sounds like Oasis. Losing interest... This fourth song sounds like something somebody would sing at a Scott Weiland tribute concert. Meh... OK, I'm starting to understand why I never heard another track off this album. I ABSOLUTELY did not need to hear this before I die.
Very good
Its pretty ok for what its going for, plus it IS one of the best songs of all time. True one hit wonder
I like older Verve OK, but this just seemed over indulgent and pretty cheesy. Not for me.
Only one song of note.
British classic. Moody, questioning, psychedelic (less so than their previous two albums) and melodic. Massive singles surrounded by a set of songs with a cohesive mood and feel. Brilliant.
Bitter Sweet Symphony is good the rest is meh.
A mixed bag for me. Some obvious high-points but drags towards the end and therefore doesn’t quite live up to its iconic status. Some undeniable tunes still.
ugggggGH. I don’t have the patience for this! This list is making me hate Britpop.
Snooze
So boring
It was a decent album with one popular song and the rest were forgettable
Not for me
Having one massive song doesn't make the album great. Not the first record on this list that seems to be one massive hit and a bunch of B sides. It's not bad but it's not interesting either.
good uk rock
3/10…Brit Pop
Too bad the Stones were such money grubbers and too bad The Verve didn't do it the right way... This album is awesome and the band should have been launched but crashed...
Bitter symphony - однозначный хит, который неоднозначен для меня. Мне он не особо нравится. Альбом в том же духе что и сингл - набор инструментов стиль музыки, есть необычные ксперименты, но их прям не очень много. Ровный мелодичный , некоторые песни мне больше понравились, но я не могу к сожалению ни одно выделить, они все достаточно на себя похожи. 6/10 приятный рокешник
Bitter Sweet Symphony is a classic and sounds more modern than it is, and Sonnet is also great but sounds more like regular britpop. Nothing else in the album specifically caught my attention, but it’s just solidly good music, with some of the songs leaning slightly closer to a psychedelic vibe than the rest of the 90s britpop album.
This was more boring than anything else, to be honest. Bittersweet symphony is a pretty good song though.
Mindes dem som ett one hit wonder med Bittersweet Symphony. Men halva plattan är ju så bra eller bättre! Riktigt schysst 90-tal. Femma!
This was a lot better than I expected having only heard bittersweet symphony before. Well produced and clean sound, nothing amazing but overall was an enjoyable album. Favorite songs: The drugs don’t work Weeping Willow 8/10
"Bittersweet Symphony" is one of those songs that was ALWAYS on the radio in England in the late 90s / early 2000s. It's amazing how listening to a song can evoke images of car rides that would otherwise have stayed locked away in my brain-vault forever. "Sonnet" is also good. I definitely recognize it as 'The Verve's other song'. "The Rolling People" is a very Oasis sounding song. The rest of this album kinda faded into general britpop noises.This decade in England had so many bands that sounded exactly like this. They are certainly one of those. They don't have the power of a band like Oasis for me, but I liked it. 6/10
3.5
sometimes a little too space-y/dreamy/shoegaze-y but I like the indie rock bits
pretty alright, a few bangers
Some great songs in here - the hits are hits for a reason. It's a bit toooo lush for me, I'd rather a bit more rawness in my 90s music. 3.5, rounding down though but still a winner.
The music in this album wasn't awful or annoying or anything like that. However, nothing in particular stuck out to me. I didn't hate listening to the songs, but I didn't really have an opinion about their music at all.
Not bad at all! Didn't realize I knew the first track until I got war flashbacks to every commercial I've ever heard
Bitter Sweet Symphony reist es raus. 2.9
Loved. I always enjoyed bittersweet symphony, but had not given the rest of the album the listening it deserved. Lucky man is a jam.
Bitter Sweet Symphony was beat to death on the radio, so I almost turned it off as soon as it started playing. I wished I had. The rest of the songs ran together and sounded the same. The only song worth listening to was Rolling People. It reminded me of early U2.
Spacey Oasis. I’ve not listened to this album before. The hits are the sound of sitting in a pub in the 90s. The rest was both more psychedelic and more boring than I was expecting. And as it went it got more and more boring. Boooooring. 2 stars.
Forgot how many hits on this…. Classic.
I always loved The Verve and this album is amazing. My auntie gifted it to me because she didn’t like it. I saw them live in London, they were amazing. “Bittersweet Symphony” has been over played, but there are so many other great tracks on this album.
So far, Bittersweet Symphony seems like a real one-off on this album. I'm getting notes of Bush, Third Eye Blind, and U2 with the songs that follow. Space and Time and Weeping Willow both have intriguing starts, but then when the vocals kick in, I lose interest. Overall, a vibes album without much songwriting substance.
Killer sound, everything i love about Britpop
It wasn't bad, but it was maybe five tracks too many for me. Bittersweet Symphony is still an all-time banger, though.
Liked it more than I expected too
Simultaneously this deserves all the low stars for being boring and the high star reviews for being great. I found more to be enjoyed on this than just bittersweet symphony - sonnet, drugs don’t work, lucky man being the big ones. The rest faded away a bit for me but I did also enjoy The Butterfly even though it’s a bit long - has that funky 90s sound.
It's one of those albums that was only added in the books because of one major hit song.. Ironically, it reminds me of the suburbs. Favorite Track: "Bitter Sweet Symphony".
Love this album
Really underrated album here. I think that most people just think of Bittersweet Symphony and write this album off as a one hit wonder with a record around it. I would disagree. I think they do a lot on this project, it feels like an interesting bridge between some of the more poppy, alt rock songs coming out in the late 90s and some of the stuff that radio head was trying to do. Obviously there aren't as good as Radiohead, but this was a really solid attempt to do something just as cutting edge.
If it was under 45 minutes, it might have gotten a 3 but over an hour is too long for this. Not as bad of 90s British pop rock as Oasis, but some of the tracks were encroaching on it.
Drittes Studioalbum der britischen Rockband The Verve, das 1997 veröffentlicht wurde. Es wurde größtenteils in den Abbey Road Studios in London aufgenommen und markiert einen Höhepunkt der Bandgeschichte. Die Produktion übernahm die Band selbst, wobei sie Unterstützung von Chris Potter erhielt. Die Nationalität der Band ist britisch, und die Mitglieder kamen aus verschiedenen englischen Städten. Das Album lässt sich dem Alternative Rock, Britpop und Psychedelic Rock zuordnen. Zu den bekanntesten und erfolgreichsten Songs zählen „Bitter Sweet Symphony“, das durch sein markantes Orchesterarrangement und die berühmte Streicher-Sample von The Rolling Stones bekannt wurde, sowie „The Drugs Don’t Work“, das zu einem der größten Hits der Band wurde und melancholische Themen behandelt. „Lucky Man“ ist ein weiterer herausragender Titel, der mit seiner eingängigen Melodie und den introspektiven Texten glänzt. Die Produktion des Albums, kombiniert mit Richard Ashcrofts markanter Stimme, trägt dazu bei, dass „Urban Hymns“ oft als das Meisterwerk der Band betrachtet wird. Die Lieder sind teils introspektiv, teils weitreichend und eingängig, was dem Album eine breite Anziehungskraft verschaffte. „Urban Hymns“ ist ein gut ausbalanciertes Album, das sowohl mit seiner musikalischen Tiefe als auch mit seiner zugänglichen Melodieführung überzeugt. Es vereint Rock-Elemente mit britischer Melancholie und bleibt ein einflussreiches Werk der 90er-Jahre.
Very The verve all the way through. I mean I really only knew Bittersweet Symphony, but the rest was similar and good.
This was painful. How did it make the list? The most vapid, bland pop rock imaginable.
I like the density of melody but I'm not crazy about the lyricism and vocal style. The mix is very nice and pleasingly rich.
Opens with one of the best songs in history. Late 90s Indie Rock, Britpop. Their bestselling album. Loads of hits, otherwise decent British rock.
A great album. Bitter Sweet Symphony may quite possibly be my favorite song of all time.
More contemplative than Oasis. The songs wash over the listener in a nice way but not something I want to go back to.
Great guitars, songwriting is solid, starts to feel slightly boring in places.
Who can forget “Bitter Sweet Symphony” to close out the movie “Cruel Intentions “? That is a great track and I liked “Lucky Man” some as well, the rest of this is a little sleepy. It’s not bad, just mellow.
The ubiquitous opener is the obvious standout and I was amazed to learn how many copies this album sold for such a short-lived band. Some other good tracks here and there, but a bit repetitive throughout.
I think it’s almost to the albums detriment that Bittersweet Symphony is included and kicks things off. Obviously a classic, but doesn’t totally fit with the rest of the album, which is a super solid late 90s alt rock collection. Could probably shave a couple songs off this, but rounding up slightly on account of these guys probably getting written off as one hit wonders, erroneously
Goodness, how massive was bittersweet! It was so overplayed that it’s prob taken me 20 years to ever want to hear it again. Also crazy that the most popular song doesn’t seem to fully represent the band. This was a good listen. Lucky man is also a good song. Not quite 4 territory for me but most props ✊
Obvi the opener is the standout but other good tracks here. Good, not great. 3.25/5
i got to the track "lucky man" and my instinct mental response was "not if im listening to this album" a couple to a few interesting songs and a lot of numbness
Looking at another review here: "Sounds like drinking beers in the sun, smoking marlborough lights, cracking on with girls and feeling invincible... All the best bits of being in your late teens" - erm yes of course, will let you know when that happens.
2.5
2.0
Da muss ich schomal gestah, dass ich das Album sehr verstückelt übers ganz Wuchenend bizli versuecht han z lose. Woni am Mäntig Morge aber gseh han, dass s ganz album doch wider us zwei Discs und 26 Songs bestaht, hani das unterfange abbroche und chans Album au darum nur so halbe bewerte. Aber was klar isch, isch das sich nach em Banger Start Bitter Sweet Symphony doch no einzelni sehr wohlklingendi lieder drigschmugglet hend, wo doch speicher- und wiederlosigspotential hend. Allgemein aber bizli z klassisch 90er-jahr-emo-emotional-truurigi-stimm-like wo mi ned ganz so sehr abgholt het. Hasta la vista und guete Wuchestart mini Albumklöppers
Ja du heilige siech. Bittersweet symphony lacht mich ah - scho fast wieder vergesse de track. Das isch e richtig guete ihstiegs sound für e zu arbeits fahrt am ne sunnige früehligsfritig arbeitstag mit öv. Ketchup mayo Bravo Also hock ich im zug, freu mich uf das lied und e frau wett an platz nebe mir hocke „isch da na frei?“, „ja sicher“, „merci vielmal“ und so witer. Sie isch nett aber ich wett au bitter sweet symphonie hinder tugge. Also konzentrier mi wieder ufs lied gnüsse. Sie möcht de laptop ihstecke, kabel über mich, irgendwie duez nöd, nach 30 sekunde fahds näb mim kopf ah schmörzle und chli rauch und funke. Mir steckeds sofort us, das kabel heds mal sowas vo gnah. Also drucki namal uf von neustarten, demit ich entli de song cha gnüsse. De rest isch easy, aber ez au nöd „us de socke rüehrend“ oder „lade kabel schmörzelnd“. Darum tres puntos
grossi nostalgie klatsche hettmi da verwütscht bi dem album nöd welli das album mal gloset han, eher wegem sound allgemein isch es lustiges gfühl gsi das durezlose und hettmi uf en chline 2000er trip gschickt mit dene albene wommer als CD's bi eus diheim umeligge gha hend shoutout ah powderfinger ah dere stell! aber für meh hetts den doch nöd glanget bi mir ih dem moment, wer weiss obs aber miteme witere album doch no en durchbruch git fühl mich hüt grad güetig, drum drü mal es aug zuedruckt für die hombres
Yes, it's... not great. But with the inclusion of not one, but two Oasis albums, this has every right to be here as well. Also, I rather liked The Verve's debut «A Storm in Heaven». Hashtag soundscapes. It's music that washes over you, unproblematically and uneventfully, with spacious melancholy. "Spacious melancholy"? Whatever, it wasn't particularly difficult so far to get to song nine, hit number three, Lucky Man, where I'm at now. It's fine, I don't hate this. Am I not bored? No, but in a pleasant way. I was being fair with "(What's the Story) Morning Glory" and I can't rate this lower.
Album #239 was the Verve. Album #1069 (nice) is the Verve. 1997: wow, there’s a hidden track on this CD! Neat! 2025: I’m not sitting in silence for 7 minutes for this album, don’t waste my FUCKIN time On that note, what happened to the sonic experimentation on display in the final two minutes of Urban Hymns? Or even from their previous album, A Northern Soul? Not bad by any means, but I don’t love any song on this album like I love “Bitter Sweet Symphony”. No cap that’s one of my favourite songs of the 90s, and of course they made nothing off it because of the Oldham sample that makes it so distinctive. This is psychedelic rock if, instead of LSD, it’s one or two beers. I think I’m especially bummed about this album because, according to the genre classifications of this website, I’ve heard every other Britpop on the list before Urban Hymns. And more often than not, it’s been a pleasant surprise (looking at you, Blur, Pulp, Super Furry Animals, and Supergrass). Unfortunately there are no surprises here, but it’s pleasant. And sometimes emotional (“Drugs Don’t Work”) Also am I crazy, or does “Catching the Butterfly” have the same melody as “Dancing Queen”. HL: “Bitter Sweet Symphony”, “The Drugs Don’t Work”, “Lucky Man”, “Catching the Butterfly” March 6, 2025
the verve, boring
Bittersweet symphony is really the only good song on this album.
C'est sympa mais je ne suis pas hyper fan de the verve. Excepté bittersweet symphony je ne connaissais aucune chanson... très 80s feeling jsp, ça me fatigue un peu au bout d'un moment, mais les morceaux sont tout de mêem bons. J'ai toujours aimé le côté orchestral de Bitter Sweet Symphony, les productions sous la majorité des morceaux sont super intéressantes. J'aime trop la photo de couverture 3.5/5
Solid
Incredibly, you get through Bitter Sweet Sympathy — a marvel of a song, in conversation with Don't Look Back in Anger or Common People or I Wanna Be Adored — and realize there is somehow a full 70 minutes of album left. There is little of interest in the balance of the record.
Great sounding album. Great songs.
I was unsure going into this one. Britpop is one of those genres that I'm confident I'll never be able to "get", though I'll always be the first to defend it as a genre of music. Washed out instrumentals, strained vocal performances and heavy guitar distortion are a pretty unorthodox creative choice for a genre of music that is meant to be patriotic. I also quite like the air of distance that britpop has. It adds a pensive quality to the music when looked at in retrospect. The England of today is completely different to what I imagine it was like 20 years ago. "Bittersweet Symphony" is the highlight. Those string sections are very good, though I admittedly think that they pad out the song to being much longer than it needed to be. "Lucky Man" manages to be quite good as well in spite of the animosity I have towards the second half of this album. String instruments are among the most "feels-inducing" you can have in a song, and I can't complain about feeling every once in a while. The remainder of the album was quite different to what my experience with Britpop has been (all of two Oasis albums). The cleaner-sounding acoustic approach managed to produce some songs that I didn't mind listening to. Same goes for some of the more subdued tracks, which I think work well on an album released near the end of the millenium. It really does feel like the end of an era and the dawn of a brave new frontier in some respects. Despite having some merit, this album has a huge length problem, which is one of the most damning faults you can have in my eyes. I had to do a double take when I saw the hour fifteen runtime on this baby - I thought I had stumbled on to the deluxe version by mistake. I had already gotten my fill of the album by the time I made it to "Weeping Willow". so toughing out the remaining tracks (especially the fifteen-minute fuuuuuuucking closer) really hurt the experience of listening to this album.
Unfortunately after the opening track of Bittersweet Symphony the rest of the album sort of fades away.
Not bad, but honestly it was one of those that became mostly background sound. I do like "The Drugs Don't Work."
Bittersweet yeah
I like the 90s british atmosphere. Sounds nostalgic.
I know “bittersweet symphony” and I like that one. The rest sounds the same so far.
Meh, whatever
drei (plus)
[5/10] Damn this song goes on a long time
Could they be any more generic?
One song can't make an album. 1/5
Bitter sweet isch scho seeehhhr bekannt. Vili schöni Lieder und Harmonie mit äre nice Stimm. Aber irgendwänn isch dänn scho guet.
bitter sweet symphony hets scho immer immer geh? aso irgendwie mega 90er aber au meeega ziitlos. ah waaas sie sind vorband gsi vo oasis ghört mer jo nuuuull. sonnet easy langwilig the rolling people tönt halt würkli noch oasis. bi etz bi catching the butterfly und gnüsses nur so halbe? s isch cool, de song etz besser als die paar vorher aber het etz nüt wo mich meeega packt. space and time cooli chords coolimslide giti cooli drums gfallt mer. lucky man au seehr cool, so fest oasis haha. one day meeega schön oke ich bi warm worde. one day maybe i will love again. aua? sorry en hidden track haa isch tacky und pretentious bini degege
bittersweet symphony findi halt echt cool. iwie söttis schlechter galteret sii aber s isch eifach cool und d drums sind so warm doch es gaht v.a. um die andere lieder, wo ich kei ahnig han! sonnet cool aber chli abglöscht? (ich han scho soo hüfig "cool" gschriebe) the drugs don't work findi recht schrecklich catching the butterfly chunntmer zumindest bekannt vor? isch chli psychedelic, I like neon wilderness spinnt de vibe chli wiiter space and time megaaa oasis weeping willow seeehr schön aber s wiederholt sich chli heee es langed langsam okee s gitarrespiel vo thsi time isch na cool dass es nümme so vill cd's und platte git find ich zwar scho schad, aber hidden tracks sind öppis, wo gern chan ide vergangeheit blibe JZ SPIEL EMAL GOPF HALLOOOOOLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO jz muss ich no 4 min warte bis ich chan mis 3 abgeh? will es isch zwar teilwiis sehr cool aber naja!!! alles chli glich, villes auscho ghört und nüt weltbewegends hä wie churz isch de hidden track? JZ ENDLICH es schreiends baby😐 und chli ihschlafmusig😐
Great voice. Great album. Had a melancholy vibe to it
Song: Bitter sweet symphony I like this song because it's my ringtone just the violin part not the lyrics Song:The drugs don´t work this song is good but it is sad and it's really bad because it is talking about drugs which i do not like but the voice and the beat guitar but he should had change the lyrics then it would not be like bad Song: One day this song is sad again but it is a little wonky so I kind of don´t recommend this song but i recommend the first song but this album is kind of good though
I really enjoy this album because I love the singer's voice. I also feel like the lyrics are very powerful.
I like this song because the start is good and it is my type I would recommend this song I don't like this song because its too sad.
i like this album because it sounds really nice. I love the lyrics and his voice. His voice flows well with the background music. I really would suggest this album to friends and family.
Do you want to listen to some music that has a lot of strings? Well in bitter sweet symphony you can! I rate it ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. I recommend this song. Do you want to listen to some music that has a lot of guitar? Well in The Drugs Don't Work you can! I rate it a ⭐⭐⭐. I kind of recommend this song. Do you want to listen to some music that has some electric piano? Well in One day you can! I rate this song ⭐⭐⭐. I kind of recommend this song.
I like this song because I like the beat and I like how they sound .but something i dont like is that its to slow . but the songs are good so i recommend this album
Have you ever wanted to listen to music? Then this song is perfect for you. In my opinion this album is not very good. I don't like it because of the instruments that are in it. Another reason I don't like it is because I don't like the lyrics that are being used. I would not recommend this to someone else because I don't like it and I don't think anyone else would. I would give this album a solid 3 stars out of 5.
i dont like the type of genre and the lyics the second one i dont like because its sad the third one i just dont like.
Why is everyone looking one way except for one person? I loved "Bitter Sweet Symphony" it was awesome. The lyrics are so relatable and powerful. I also love the violin music. "The Drugs Don't Work" was good. The guitar is pretty. The lyrics are sad because they talk about drug usage and how they just make people feel worse. "One Day" is also good. The music sounds sad, and it talks about loneliness and not having purpose. I would recommend this album.
the first song is alright I like the instruments and I cant really understand the the words but its good. the second song is good I still like the instruments. the last song is good still the same.
Why are they all looking different ways on the cover? I liked "Bitter Sweet Symphony" The string music in the beging it sounded nice. I don't usually like the slow music aspect but in this song I do. I also liked "The Drugs Don't Work" the backround guitar sounded nice and I liked how the song sounded in general. "One Day" was good too. I liked this album. I thought it sounded nice. I would rate it 4 starts. I would reccomend this album to anyone who likes a kind of slow sounding nice music.
I always assumed “The Drugs Don’t Work”was a Ben Harper original. Whatever. His version is better. This album sucks.
Pretty refreshing to hear an actual cohesive album. Pretty solid songs if you're a fan of bands similar to Oasis.
I rock with the verve so heavy, love this album.
Very nostalgic. The songs I particularly liked were the ones I already knew. Bittersweet Symphony & The Drugs Don’t Work particularly stand out as very good. The rest of it is okay but doesn’t really do too much for me personally. Harsh 3, felt to give it a 4 I would’ve needed to feel it just a little bit more
Dreary. I sometimes think the singles are alright, but they all sound the same. Best thing to come out of this was the Bittersweet video, even better was the Paul Kaye piss-take for Vindaloo.
Oasis-lite.
Maybe I'm biased by my social group in high school, when this came out. Objectively it's wonderful music, but it somehow feels uncool. And I don't know why.
Nunca había escuchado a The Verve con detenimiento, más allá del hit "Bitter Sweet Symphony". Me ha gustado mucho este álbum: tiene un sonido único dentro del indie de la época, muy atmosférico, melancólico pero sin llegar a ser triste. La única pega es que todas las canciones parecen seguir la misma fórmula; le veo poca variedad. No creo que merezca estar en la lista, pero, aun así, merece buena nota.
There are some loong ass songs on this album and they feel long.. Th Verve is like 90s british Coldplay but hotter and a little bit more interesting. Bitter sweet Symphony definitely carried the whole album- it's an amazing track.
The big bangers do bang and the whole album is good tbf but do just find his voice quite grating. Unlikely to return beyond the big boys.
Fuera de los 2 o 3 temas "conocidos" el resto parecía una garompa copiada de los singles. Podemos cortar con el rock depre? Nota: 2.3
Dad rock
quite a beautiful album with some soft rock vibes. can definitely say this was an enjoyable experience to listen to it. although the last track (come on/deep freeze, the 15 min one) felt way too overboard.
sigh.
Holy shit I was literally just writing about how 1 popular song can apparently land you on this list
I’m sure I’ve heard worse.
Probably the most deserving to be on the list but ass cheeks album 3/10
Bittersweet Symphony, the pinnacle of nightmare commercial music. 1.2 billion listens on spotify, more than 6 times their next song on their spotify top 5. The Wikipedia article for this album rivals that of Jesus Christ and Napoleon. And for what? The cultural impact that this album has had on the world is creating the anthem for consumerism. The first song on this album is the same fucking riff over and over again with this annoying vocalist droning on and ON. Rhyming "it" and "sonnet" is so fucking lazy man. 75 minutes of music and you have already run out of gas lyrically? Good to see that they weren't saving themselves and taking it easy with the first song, they're just shit. This is their third album, I shudder to think what the first two were like. The real influence that Oasis had on the music scene is illustrating to other artists that it actually doesn't matter what the lyrics are in your music, nobody actually gives a shit. You can just slur into the microphone and brain-damaged Gen X/Y English people (who the fuck else is listening to this shit) will nod along and go 'yeah this is it bruv'. Just as you can track a massive drop in crime in the USA to 18 years after the signing of Roe v Wade, the effects of neoliberalism and Thatcher are on display here. You really would have to be the victim of a grand plan of the erosion of public health, education and administration to be stupid and tasteless enough to love this album. "Urban Hymns received widespread critical praise upon its release" according to wikipedia. But there are always voices of reason and those who will speak out against genocide and atrocities. Following in the footsteps of people like John Brown, Emily Tartanella of Magnet wrote that the release was "one of the most bloated, boring and overpraised albums of the '90s." Highlights: when you find out the light at the end of the tunnel is a train
Maybe I’ve just got TikTok brainrot, but every song on this album could be 40-60% shorter, and it would make no difference. They’re all long and slow and repetitive and drenched in delay. Great rhythm section, but they must be bored af playing live in this band.
Yes
Damn, I totally forgot I knew Catching That Butterfly and Lucky Man, both good songs. Some of the others are just okay; while this album would be groundbreaking in the 60s or 70s, in the 90s not so much. Bitter Sweet Symphony stands the test of the time, the rest of the album not so much.
cute enough
Yes, yes, YES to Closing Track Hall-of-Famer Bitter Sweet Symphony. The crushing desperation it triggered, the shot of Ryan Phillippe launching himself into traffic...teenage sublime. (Shout-out to fellow CTHOF for Fight Club, Where is My Mind?) I was pleasantly surprised with the album as a whole, which had immaculate packing-up-at-the-end-of-a-trip vibes. Had heard some of the other songs before, but never really placed them.
This was so-so, veering on somewhat forgettable. Bittersweet Symphony is a classic and an amazing song, but nothing else really stood out. Feels like a wannabe Oasis.
The poor man’s Oasis. The overall sound/vibe is good, the lead singer has a cool, Liam-ish voice, but the songwriting isn’t really there.
I was excited to see what I was missing but turns out I wasn’t missing much. Lots of potential, never surprised me. +1 star because Bittersweet Symphony is really really good.
track 1: undeniable classic all other tracks: boring knockoff oasis dreck
If we're calling this britpop it's definitley my favorite of that genre. I think of it more as indie rock and it seems like it inspired a lot of current indie rock. Bittersweet symphony is a great song, rest of the album follows up strong
Not my favorite. I was familiar with the opening track but none of the others. Overall this album sounded generic and dragged on far too long. It’s not my favorite genre and this example of it I particularly disliked. I will not return this one.
there's one thing I'm a bitch for, and it's sad british men
This album hasn’t aged well at all. I remember buying it when released largely because of the well known big hit on the album. No one can doubt that BS is an amazing song. But as for the rest it felt tired then not helped by the album length. If it had been stripped down to 40 minutes it would have been a lot better. Hardly played it and actually sold the CD a few years ago but must admit I recently saw it cheap (very) in charity shop so bought it again just so I had BS in my collection. Didn’t bother listening to it in full and dutifully listening today for this project was a slog and fast forward button deployed once or twice. 2/5 15/2/25
Sounds a lot like Oasis, and not in a good way. Bunch of whiny white boys.
Wow, more bland britpop who would’be guessed? 2.38
Not bad, listenable but not something I'd return willingly
Did not know much of The verve outside the overplayed Bittersweet thing ! Globally a good album with nice riffs. Could be confused with Oasis sometimes but no surprise on this ! Weeping pillow
Wonderful. This is The Verve at the peak of their powers, there is not a single weak track here - many bands would kill to have a opening fourfold as good as Bitter Sweet Symphony, Sonnet, The Rolling People and The Drugs Don't Work. And they don't rest on their laurels, Catching the Butterfly, Space and Time, Lucky Man... I could go on. Just put it on and be transported.
I had a boss once (Yogi) who was an MIT grad from India and he had as close to zero personality as anyone I’ve ever met. All he cared about was making his metrics look good and avoiding criticism from his boss (Christian) who he was scared to death of. One time I had to go on a road trip with the two of them to Lloydminister to meet a customer. I was driving, Christian was riding shotgun, and Yogi was in the backseat and we had the radio on at a barely audible volume on a random channel. For the 3 hours to Lloyd, Yogi only spoke when Christian addressed him and always about work. The trip home was more of the same, until about halfway home when Yogi leaned forward between the seats and asked me to turn up the volume on the radio because “he loved this song”. That song was Bittersweet Symphony. I don’t care too much for this album but if that song can touch Yogi’s heart, I have to at least bump it to 3 stars, even though they stole it from the Stones.
3.4 Couple of outstanding songs, and the rest of it sounded like pretty standard Brit pop/rock
Bittersweet symphony and overall good
Es cómo muy de película, también suena parecido radio head pero diferente
Some parts were great others blended together. Standout songs: Bittersweet Symphony The Rolling People Lucky Man
It's a little trippy, also giving 90's skate park vibes. Particularly enjoyed "The Rolling People." The last song was weird :(
It's indie rock and roll for me.
Bittersweet Symphony is an all time classic. I hadn't listened to the whole album before, but this is absolutely brilliant! Just wall to wall excellence. The melancholy, bittersweet vibe pervades the whole album. But the sounds are varied and interesting. Definitely experimental, but it all works. Lucky Man, Sonnet, The Drugs don't Work are other highlights.
Only good song is Bittersweet Symphony and it’s not even close. The rest of the album is middling and boring.
Tämäkin kuulostaa Oasikselta, tässä on jopa mukana samaa mahtipontisuutta, ei sentään ehkä ylimielisyyttä. Mut onko muuta mieleenjäävää kuin Bittersweet symphony (kauhea nimi, vaikka biisi ei ole paha)? Ei, vaikka ihan lupaavia aineksia on. Annan sympatiatähden lisää, vaikka levyn pituus uhkaa viedä sen.
Onko kuultu tasaisempaa (tasapaksumpaa) biittiä? Tämä LP tosin erottuu edellisestä pop-otteellaan: avausraita on pelkkä riffi, mutta se on porattu kaikkien elävien olentojen kalloon täällä päin maailmaa. Pari muutakin toisteltavaa osuutta kiinnittävät huomion. Mutta missähän tilanteessa keksisin laittaa koko levyn puksuttamaan taustalle..?
great first song but the rest felt like a nothing burger of an album
One of the greatest ever. Faultless.
Didn't expect to know so many songs allready. This album is great, however at the end it loses somebof it's momentum.
Peak first song with major fall-off to the middle and spiked up in last hidden track
This is quintessential Brit pop. There’s some really cool arrangements, and I really liked the use of violins throughout the album. Singer’s voice is also very soulful and did a good job of matching the emotion of the arrangement. Best song: Bittersweet symphony
Couple good ones. Nostalgic
BSS is a classic. Rest of it sounds almost like Coldplay and Guess Who had a love child
The fact that like every song on this album was like 10 minutes really pmo lol
The record starts off extremely strong with The Verve implementing many different instruments and vocal progressions in a way that shouldn’t work on paper but for some reason work on the track. Just felt very relaxed and laid-back listening to this entire album as a whole. Out of the three albums we have listened to far, this has definitely been the one most up my alley for sure. I really liked how the album progresses. It starts off pretty slow and intimate but quickly begins to pick up pace and really hit its stride. The instrumentals are very impressive in each of the tracks. A high point for me was the various guitar riffs that are heard. Honestly must have something laced in them for sure. The record honestly is such a cohesive body of work. No track feels out of place, and it had me tuned in the entire time. The last track of the album was one of my favorites and ended the record off with a bang ! The reason this album is not a 5/5 for me is because it is slightly too long in my opinion. I think they would have had close to a perfect album with a few less songs 4.1/5
One-hit wonder album.
and legend has it that he is still walking down that road...
I had never heard of The Verve as a band before, but, damn, this album was packing some hits! Though, I feel similar to something like Oasis or U2 from a few days ago, where there is plenty of creativity and excitement in the music, but, ultimately, not for me, as the circle around the slow, love theming.
The comparison to U2 is not unearned.
Just here to recommend these guys first album 'A Storm in Heaven'. An absolute belter of a shoegaze record. Working with Oasis' people was a mistake. Shame the Stones' people fucked them also. This album is fine. Definitely listen to that debut also/instead.
The more I listen to these guys the less I understand why Bittersweet Symphony is their most famous song. Everything else was much better and way less obnoxious. Stand-out: Sonnet
Some great songs and a lot of noise in between.
Great album, love the soundscapes and some of the lyrics are brilliant. Bittersweet Symphony is obviously an all timer but I'm not sure there's a bad song on here
This album rocks
did i like it? yes. will i listen to it again? apart from the opening track, probably no.
The Verve, especially the lead singer, is interesting. They, once again in my themed reviews, suffer (somewhat) from too many "songs in a row" that can kind of blend together. However, they are very listenable and even when this album finished it took me well into the second album (that came up automatically in Youtube) before I "noticed." Thus, I was not feeling bored or waiting for it to end. Nevertheless I mostly found that the difference between their really great songs and kind of Meh ones was large enough to be sometimes distracting. All in all though, I would like to give them a solid three and a half, ALMOST a weak four.
Favorite Track: Bittersweet Symphony
This was great late-90's brit-pop/alternative sound that I grew up on. Loved it. Hadn't heard anything on here outside of Bittersweet Symphony, but I love their sound and it's very Oasis for me, which I also love. I listed to it twice -- five stars.
This is fine, not as bad as I thought it was going to be. I can't stand the opening track, Bitter Sweet Symphony, but fortunately the rest of the album is a little more bearable.
I thought I was going to love this one more than I remembered. This album has few high highs (Bittersweet Symphony, The Drugs Don’t Work) and very boring lows.
Well this was shite. Super disappointing!! Bitter Sweet Symphony - classic tune +1 star. Sonnet - another good song, most recently known as that song from an overplayed advert And that's the only positives I have for this sadly. It was so boring and bland. Sounded like a less successful Oasis 2 ⭐️
3.5
A few good songs. I think my favourite is the last song
Not for me
Hated this.
3 stars. Good album, however.
Indie Banger.
Nearly a really good album. My sort of thing - rock, beats, bit of psychedelia, songs that build. I love Lucky Man. Unfortunately, as a whole album, it meanders a bit and starts to drag, in my opinion.
This wasn't terrible, but it was incredibly boring.
Never knew the existence of their music outside of the one song. If I would have listened to this album in the 90s I would have loved it.
I have to admit that I only know "Bitter Sweet Symphony" Do I really like it? I can stand it, but not too often. The whole sound is too "laid back" for me. Is that perhaps the meaning of "Urban"? The album is dog shit. But that also fits with "Urban" because most of the dog shit is lying around there. I'd better be careful not to step in that shit again.
Been listening to this for years.
• The Verve is U2 if U2 were somehow more boring and mind numbingly dull. • This sounds like it's an album the Columbia Record Club would send you if you didn't pick something else and your preferred genre was "Alternative." Nobody wants it, but for some reason everyone has it. • For the love of all things holy, why is this album 76 minutes long!? I'm really sort of torn as to whether to give this 1 star or two. It's bad enough to justify a lone star, but I'll give it 2 stars because "Bittersweet Symphony" is actually pretty good and this is on a lot of "all-time top" lists. Maybe I'm just missing something.
If only the whole album sounded like Lucky Man and Bittersweet Symphony this would be a stellar album. Unfortunately the rest is okay, not good, not bad but just okay. Fine for background listening.
Great album, but Come On / Deep Freeze is just plain weird. I thought the album was finished or Spotify crashed, but it's just an intentional silence, followed by a cat in heat.
Pretty good.
‘The drugs don’t work’ is insane!
Iconic Brit-Rock. Fantastic songwriting.
Decent listen. Genuinely enjoyed about half the tracks, and the other half wasn't bad. Very similar again to Oasis, Keane, Radiohead. 90s Britpop bands. Worth listening beyond the very popular first track.
GOOD SHIT. 4/5
Absolute classic brilliant album containing some iconic tracks love it
Everything up to drugs don’t work, yes… then they bit off more than they got a bit greedy. Worth the listen for A side
Mostly only enjoyed the two singles from this - absolutely love The Drugs Don't Work - but the rest didn't do much for me. I did also enjoy the "Hidden Track" Come On/Deep Freeze.
First song aside, this album is pretty meh. Just feels kinda boring/generic.
Such a 90s album. One fantastic song and a few decent ones.
It was good but not really my cup of tea.
Sonnet
Urban Hymns overcame my concerns stemming from my utter disappointment in Northern Foul, sorry Soul. There was more life in this release for sure and while I won’t return to it, I certainly enjoyed parts of it. Clocking in at an hour and 16 minutes, The Verve could have flushed a good 20 minutes of this down the pipe. Did we really need the 6 minutes of silence before finally closing out your final track boys? That being said, I actually did really like the swirling rock the brough in on Come On, wish they worked some more of that into the rest of the album. 3 stars
Guys I'm starting to think that, on the whole, Britpop kinda sucked
Alright but way too long. Every song dragged and dragged and just felt repetitive. If this was 45 mins instead of 1 hour 15 then it would be a 4 star but for now it’s a 3
Good first track meh rest of the album.
Could really have done with trimming the fat on this, far too long with dreamy intersections. The songs proper though contain some defining songs of the britpop era. Seems to be of snobbery about this sound years later but I still think it holds up. 4*
It's alright. Bitter Sweet Symphony is of course a big hit, but none of the rest of the album made me want to give it another listen. Nothing bad, it just didn't grab my attention.
It was nice, but didn’t wow me.
Wasn’t a massive fan tbh, mostly generic 90’s pop but doesn’t deserve 2 stars so I’ll give it a low 3 (5/10), best song is come on with wah pedal but is kind of ruined by the fact it has a hidden track at the end which takes like 10 minutes of silence before it starts
Honestly pretty good. Bittersweet Symphony is a classic, obviously, but other songs I enjoyed were some of their trippier sounds like Catch The Butterfly and Neon Wilderness.
bitter sweet symphony always brings me back to being 11 in 2008, when my family was visiting Disney world. we are at planet Hollywood and it was the first time I ever saw this music video. I was trying to watch him move around all those people but then got very distracted because there was an older lady sitting at a table near us in a cheetah print dress and she had the biggest breasts I’d ever seen. I then got in trouble for pointing out to my family that her breasts were resting on top of her salad on the table. thank you Richard Ashcroft anyways the rest of this album is superb.
Every song feels like the background music for the scene in a movie when the protagonist is at their lowest point and walking away from a situation, in the rain, after missing a bus, with a paper bag that just broke and spilled their groceries all over the pavement. A homeless man just walked by and gave this protagonist his coffee mug with $.13 in it. Keon pity party monologue that ends with them on a couch with empty to go containers surrounding them, haven’t shaved in days, and dirty as I’ll get out.
I don’t think I’ve heard most of these songs before but it still made me feel nostalgic. At the start it was a 4 but then slowly dropped.
I remember loving Bittersweet Symphony as a kid, so I'm sure its just been overplayed... but god damn it did I hate this. I spent a few minutes trying to find a review that explained what is good about this but could not find anything analytical just that they were taking the Brit Pop scene to a new level (via a hijacked sample). I don't like Oasis and from what i gather this is a less interesting Oasis? I do feel bad for them, sounds like they got screwed with the royalties on BSS, but theres no feelings in 1001 world, only harsh truths. And in this case the truth is The Verve suck.
Oasis minus the hooks, edge and charm. It's interesting that their one good song (Bittersweet symphony), built on one awesome hook, is the most unlike the rest of their sound, which is basically hookless, meandering mush.
One of the rare albums we have encountered that I would say I enjoyed less the second time through 😆 These guys are in no way shape or form even close to Oasis and yet all signs point to them being neck and neck with them in critical acclaim This album isnt bad. Its got a giant hit and maybe one other cut (I liked Space and Time enough to listen both times), but its not revolutionary or even close to being a standard brit rock album for me. My gut says if Bitter Sweet doesnt make it on the album, that we totally forget this and the band entirely…. But god damn, whenever those violins start playing, I understand why people like them
When I was like 10 years old I was the victim of the one of those Columbia penny CD club schemes, where I mailed in for a dozen CDs I wanted for a penny, but was required to purchase 12 more at full sticker price throughout the year. I’m not sure I even had to put down my parents credit card. Twelve months later I had purchased zero of the required CDs and we got a warning letter that we needed to buy all twelve before the end of the year, so I got to go on another - much more expensive and parentally supervised - shopping spree. I recall The Verve (and probably The Verve PIPE) album being in one of those stacks, obviously based on the ubiquity of BSS. I don’t remember any of the rest of this album, and I imagine my ten year old self was as bored and unimpressed as I am today. A penny is still too much to pay for this album - I was annoyed and ready for it to be over by the second song, and cannot believe they thought they needed over an hour of AI generated Oasis.
Gear: Meze 109 PRO Artwork: 🌳🐶❓ Production (2016 Remaster): 👂🔪🩸 Music: 🌿💭🧼 Rating: 🐶(🐶)/5
Melancholy vibe
Music to turn any occasion into a dull affair.
Fine overall, occasionally boring. Yes, Bittersweet Symphony is a great song. Maybe a top 25 or 50 pop song of ‘90s? Although for me it is one of those songs that has been played so much back in the day that I doubt I’ll ever specifically seek it out to listen to, but if I did hear it at a store or in a movie or whatnot then I would likely think to myself “wow, this is a great song”.
There’s Bittersweet Symphony and then there’s the rest. A few moments here and there but mostly boring slush that runs together for almost an hour and a half.
Boy, did I really not want to listen to this. And I was right. I didn’t enjoy it.
Niiice and really full of hits!
Another 90s rock band that seems to be looking backwards to the psychedelic rock of the 60s. It sounds pretty good, but I was bored. The ubiquitous hit Bittersweet Symphony was the best song on the album for me
All the singles are so good but I already knew that, what surprised me was the quality of some of the other tracks.
Very solidly consistent, a britpop classic. Lucky man one of my favourite songs
I don't know, apart from the first song that, as most people, I've heard a million times, the rest is kind of forgettable. None of the rest really caught my attention.
prima canzone spacca, il resto meh
Dreary 90s electric guitar soundscapes with very little variation. One of those albums that feels like it will never end. It was fucked up what the Stones did to them though.
kinda cool
3,5 Sterne, es sind wirklich viele schöne Songs drauf, aber leider auch welche, die sich unnötig lang ziehen. Hat aber alles in einem einen schönen Vibe und ich runde auf, das bisher beste Album, das ich hier gehört habe. Der Hidden Track ist schräg, aber cool.
5.5/10 I remember this at the time, and the singles were everywhere. The Verve didn’t do much for me then, they don’t now The 4 singles are all excellent, really good. The rest of the album is genuinely quite poor: sludgy britoop wall of sound (a la Oasis) with a lot of psychedelic soundalikes Best: Lucky Man
Listenable but quite boring. Like if Oasis wrote songs without hooks.
Sooooooooooo boooooooooring
torture
6,86
2 decent songs? The rest is drivelly britpop that sounds wildly inspired.
The drop off in quality between Bittersweet Symphony and the rest of the album is absurd. I can't believe they wrote one off the most timeless greatest singles of all time and then 12 throwaway wannabe Oasis songs. Also the lyrics in The Drugs Don't Work are really lazy and cringe. I think its fair to compare this album to Pablo Honey. One really strong hit and then a bunch of generic 90's songs that are fine. He also kinda sounds like Thom Yorke. Also this album does not earn its length. Mid 3.
As someone who grew up in the 90's, I can't not like Bittersweet Symphony. I can't say I'm familiar with any of there other tracks. Their other stuff is remniscient of Oasis and I think that's why I like it. "Sonnet" was really good and "The Drugs Don't Work" is a perfect sad song. Favorite song: The Drugs Don't Work Least Favorite Song: Weeping Willow
Ik vind dit een vreemd album, maar dat komt vooral omdat ik Bitter Sweet Symphony echt als een afsluiter ervaar, maar op dit album is het dus de openingstrack. Ik moet me er dus even aan herinneren dat dit album niet klaar is, maar juist pas begint als de laatste tonen van dat nummer weg ebben. En niet te zuinig ook: Na de openingstrack volgen er nog 70 minuten muziek. Ik zal het wel overleven, we zijn ook wel eens een bierproeverij met een dikke imperial stout begonnen. Muziek uit de jaren '90 kan nog wel eens verjaard klinken, maar dit album heeft daar eigenlijk geen last van. Qua sound lijkt het een beetje op Skinty Fia van Fontaines D.C. gecombineerd met een soort Radiohead. Dit is prima Britpop, waarbij genoteerd mag worden dat ome Richard zeker niet de minste zanger is in het genre. Ook dit album heeft een bak galm en hoewel ik daar de afgelopen tijd wel eens over heb lopen te zeiken vind ik het hier wel lekker, al krijg je na een tijdje wel zin om even een powernapje te doen, omdat het er toch wel inhakt allemaal. Enigszins vermoeiend dus, maar ik ben daar gewoon gevoelig voor. Om in één keer helemaal te luisteren is het daarom allemaal een beetje veel, maar toch vind ik dit wel een dik album. Ik geef vier sterren.
This album's rating, and pretty much anything from the '90s and '00s, is going to being dramatically influenced by preconceived feelings people have based on personal experience with the record. I'm finding that the most interesting listening experiences in this survey have been with records I've never heard of, or at least never listened to. How can you be objective when a record pops up on your list and you immediately think "those guys suck"? All I know about the Verve is the hit single. I must have heard samples of some of the other songs and been put off at the relentless mid-tempo safeness of it. Plus, this album came out the same year as "OK Computer", which made everything else in the alt/indie-rock world that came out that year and for a couple years afterward sound limp and uninspired. In listening to the majority of this record today, it just sounds to me like what well-off suburban kids would listen to as they experiment with downers and ruin the immense privilege they've been given. "Come On" sounds like the strongest song, but unfortunately it happens after an hour of ennui, and also sounds like a medium-good Oasis song. And the hit lead single has that whole "we borrowed the entire groove, key, mood, and much of the string parts from The Rolling Stones" thing going for it (if you've haven't heard it, check out The Last Time by the Andrew Oldham Orchestra). This is my first 1-star review on this list. Ack!
I came in with familiarity which can work either way. Bittersweet Symphony is excellent. Lucky Man and Sonnet are very good, but the rest is dirge. This is singles padded out with filler
almost gave this a 1 but bittersweet symphony is that good. Super duper disappointed – had high hopes this would be enjoyable (similar to oasis). Instead was very boring. Lucky man is the only other song with at least an above average catchy hook.
Saved Prior: Bitter Sweet Symphony Off Rip: Sonnet, The Drugs Don't Work, Velvet Morning Cutting Edge: None (Would've saved the last song if not for the 7 minutes of silence followed by the *hidden track* of digitized baby crying) Overall Notes: Bitter Sweet Symphony is a classic for a reason and Velvet Morning was a pleasant surprise but everything else is at LEAST a minute too long. Needed more hooks. 2.5 rounded up because Bitter Sweet Symphony is Like That but still.
I do like their vibe so it’s not hard to listen to this album. But there’s certainly isn’t much variety to it. 3.5 if I could. Bittersweet Symphony really is a great tune but nothing else on this album is half as good.
Great album
I like the big hits but not much else. I have some of the same issues with this one as Be Here Now Rating: 3.3
Jaki singlovi, puno filera
More of that generic brit pop that the creator of this project loves so much. Very forgettable.
Нууууууу.... 70минут бритпопа..... Не самого пиздатого.... Еще и первый трэк - обманный...
not feeling a lot of verve for this one
Obviously I had heard Bittersweet Symphony a million times, but nothing else by this artist. The rest of the album sounds like a kind of fever-dream of the 90s. Everything sound vaguely familiar, but not exactly memorable.
2.75
Brilliant!
I had only heard Bittersweet Symphony. I was prepared to write it off but then I listened to the whole album. Good album!
One of my fave albums ever!
Even more boring than I remember it being
I remembered some of these tracks fondly, so I was a bit disappointed at how limp and middle-of-the-road this album was. Definitely a sound of the times but I'm not going to come back to it out of choice.
Wow, I’ve never heard of them. Nice instrumental backup, interesting choice. Good voice. Sonnet is lovely. A 60s sound at times. Definitely on the psychedelic side. 3.5/5
It was BITTER SWEET that I didn’t like this more. Instrumentals had potential, but sound didn’t deviate much.
Fine album
It’s just semi melancholic whiny blue color British rock from the mid 90s. It’s fine but it’s not extraordinary by any means. 3.5/5
Decent, but it got overly monotonous after a while. All the songs started to blend together in one long forgettable musical arrangement.
this started off hot with Bittersweet Symphony, which i unironically love and think absolutely deserves the hype. unfortunately, it was all downhill from there into Diet U2. i was mostly enjoying the first half of the album, but once i crossed into the second half and still had 45 minutes left, i started to lose patience. most of these songs are twice as long as they need to be and nowhere near interesting enough to justify that length. it wasn't actively offensive, i was just bored.
not awful, but all the songs were super long and just sounded like generic britpop. the massive single, bittersweet symphony, absolutely carried this album as far as it could, but even it couldn't save us from another hour and change of the most incredibly average british music. the other singles were fine i guess. the hidden track was super lame and not worth the annoyance of even skipping through the extended silence before it. i kinda liked the energy of the rolling people, but realized it felt more like a 7-minute supergrass song and that's probably why it was somewhat enjoyable. favorites: bitter sweet symphony, the rolling people, the drugs don't work, lucky man
Chill vibe, loved a couple of the songs, lead off was the only one I had heard
https://1001albumsgenerator.com/albums/52AeC4gwbxDfFlLHgK1ByD/urban-hymns
Classic, well written tunes. One of the biggest earworms in musical history on this record. So good.
This intro carried this album on this list probably. Few good tracks but overall not in a 4-5 star range to me. Bitter Sweet Symphony will forever hold a good place but if these mfs didn't came up with this genius wonderful sounding piece of music, i really do believe wouldn't be in all these typa lists. Still respect it tho! the drugs don't work, lucky man and country song where a few i liked. They where not many changes in the project in sense of delivery from the vocalist... (3.0/5.0)
Bittersweet symphony into sonnet is an amazing 1-2 punch. Rest of the album was quite patchy. Reminded me of a radiohead album, strong britpop vibes.
Brit pop rock, but with good guitar riffs, almost psychedelic. Better than I expected
Some great tacks on here and the album has grownin cult stature over the years.
I think I liked this when it was first released- but now find it rather dull.
Bland. Average 90's Britpop. Inoffensive background music, really.
A couple bangers. Mostly forgettable
It's alright, still hate that music video though. Some songs are better than others.
Other than the two famous tracks there really wasn't much to say about this album. And to be fair, the rest of the tracks seemed to spoil the drugs don't work so even that wasn't worth listening to. Probably be unpopular for this but it really wasn't good.
Sensational album full of anthems. Weirdly, ‘The Drugs Don’t Work’ turned me off of this band at the time as it was just too morose. But, I was blown away by ‘Lucky Man’ and ‘Sonnet’. The album has songs of real beauty and melody, and has the rousing anthems too. ‘Space and Time’, ‘Weeping Willow’ and ‘Velvet Morning’ are the stand outs from a consistently incredible album. Full of reverb, and groove, and inspiration. I was lucky to see them at their hometown gig in Wigan - what a night 🧡
This is the culmination of a wave of psych rock from the early 90's, where unknown bands suddenly became popular. Spiritualized were on TOTP, and this lot had a number 1 single! Madness! If LAGWAFIS was the heartbreak album, then this, the 3rd best NME album of 1997 was the happy 'I've got the girl' album. Lucky man indeed. Even though it is heavily watered down psychedelia for the masses, it is a gem of an album. Anything that brings public attention to these underground bands is a good thing, as they need to earn cash to keep going. Ashcroft must have known he was on to a winner, but also he should have checked to see if that violin sample was out of copyright ©️. Pretty much perfect from start to finish.
The 4 singles are all classics and probably account for at least 3 stars between them, but they’re outliers in a way - the rest of the album is neither the same quality, nor the same style. Turns out the band largely abandoned the anthemic, melody-first approach that made these songs great to fall back on their old, psychedelic and slightly shoegazey style, which is alright but not nearly as memorable.
ok had some good songs but not really for me 3/5
Meh
Bitter sweet symphony is the first song on this album and the only one I've heard with the Verve before. While most of the album sounds similar to that first song there is something missing for me. I'm not just hooked on most of them. That being said there is still a few songs on here that I really liked. I had a nice time listening through it and will probably add a few songs to playlists.
Fantasy album
Never heard any of the songs other than Bittersweet Symphony, which fit my mood perfectly for today's commute.
Hittarna är fantastiska resten lite blekt. 3+
Pretty good album with a massive hit that overshadows some other pretty decent tracks. I liked the atmospheric quality of the songs, may lend itself more to background music. 3.75/5
are we *sure* that Catching the Rainbow is not by Radiohead? The 60 Songs episode about Bittersweet Symphony really gave me a primer on the history of this band which was, as far as i had previously known, a one-hit wonder. Glad to have listened to the whole album though, I liked it quite a bit. 3.5
I feel like this got completely blown out of the water by its contemporaries, but it's a perfectly fine brit pop album
this was so nothingburger that i accidentally paused the album twice trying to hit play on my music
Having lived through the popularity of "Bittersweet Symphony" I think I've heard it more than enough for one lifetime. The rest was fine enough, it's just not for me.
Trippier than I expected but meh
This was a cool album. Chill, nice vibes.
Ничё так ничё так
Basically Bittersweet Symphony and nothing else.
Booooooorrriiiiiinnng...
Not my thing. More stuff in the britpop category. 2.49/5
Much better than Oasis IMO, even if I’m tired of “Bitter Sweet Symphony” and prefer their shoegaze era. Some really neat songwriting, though. B