1001 Albums Generator
Urban Hymns by The Verve

Urban Hymns

The Verve

1997
3.37
Rating
29492
Votes
1
3%
2
14%
3
38%
4
31%
5
13%
Distribution
Genres: Rock Styles: Indie Rock, Britpop, Alternative Rock

Reviews (page 9 of 15)

I’ve gotten kinda lazy about listening to the whole album but also this is pretty slow and not very interesting

Starts with their biggest hit and it’s a slow tumble into mediocrity after.

An okay album, kind of boring and not altogether memorable.

Not my cup of tea at all. Very blah.

Never heard the album before. This is okay I guess. Not sure it deserves to be on the list. It's pretty unremarkable.

Wow a Symphony and then a Sonnet. Yeah, so what? Pretty boring. It was easy listening but that's not what I expect from one of the albums to listen to before I die.

Another band from Manchester!? There were some other interesting bands in the same era that offer more variety... Dave Matthews Band, The Cranberries, Garbage. Nothing really wrong with the Verve exactly, and I like them more than Oasis, but I'm griping about yet another band that sounds like other bands that we've listened to on this list.

Aside from the main hit, most of this album was unimpressive. I have a hard time distinguishing The Verve from Oasis in sound, and it feels like the kind of stuff that fades into the background and then you become aware of it and ask yourself "what is this I'm listening to? and why? Isn't there something better?"

2 okay songs do not make up for this 1-hit wonder.

3.5 really

Favourite tracks: bittersweet symphony; sonnet; lucky man; drugs don't work; space and time; one day

If the middle of this album matched the beginning and the end, then it would’ve been truly epic. Instead, they fell asleep.

There’s a few songs I didn’t like and a few I did like. Ur welcome for the most groundbreaking review of an album ever.

5/10 - The songs with strings sounded better than the songs without. Those also happened to be the only songs I had heard before and the only songs I liked after.

It was fine, just got a bit boring. Sounded way too Americana for a britpop band which was a little confusing

4 to 4.5

This death rattle of britpop really milks every moment until it's beyond dry. Every song doesn't need to end in a repetitive slow fade, ffs. Whinging wankers wax wailingly without windup. Where's Wonderwall?

Smashing album that I forgot was so good. Great reverb guitar reminiscent of the 60s/70s psychedelic rock.

I've heard Bitter Sweet Symphony way too many times to really enjoy it anymore. I do think it's a good song, but I'm still quite burned out on it. I was interested to hear the rest of this album. Overall, I really liked this album and was going in expecting to hear a knockoff of Oasis or Radiohead and other 90's Britpop acts, but these guys are distinctly different. They remind me a lot of Echo and the Bunnymen in parts, and even older acts like The Beatles and Rolling Stones. 4/5

Y'know, it never struck me before now that The Verve is a one-hit wonder, but they totally are. Before I started this list, there wasn't a single song I knew from them besides "Bitter Sweet Symphony". In the public consciousness, everything else may as well not exist. Todd In The Shadows could totally cover this group if he wanted to. And even after my group had gotten the Verve album before this one, A NORTHERN SOUL, a couple of months ago... Yeah, no, I still only care to know one song from them. And thing is, that goes for this album, too. I don't figure it's ever a very good sign when a one-hit wonder has their one hit open their album. Of course, there was no way they ever coulda known, but still, goodness. It's right there at the top of the pile; you don't even hafta dig for it. And, I mean, "Bitter Sweet Symphony" isn't their one hit for nothing. That orchestral riff, taken from a Rolling Stones song or not, is incredible, and the vocal melody placed on top of it... It's so unique in Britpop. Seriously, I can't think of another song in this genre that sounds like this. It's a great one hit to have. The rest... Well, as I might've implied, the risk you run when your one hit is placed at the top is that it might all be downhill from there. That was the case with Chumbawamba's TUBTHUMPING, for instance, but it managed to prove it was a great album even besides that. URBAN HYMNS, meanwhile... Doesn't. I'm not gonna say it's bad, necessarily, 'coz I do like Britpop, especially in the Oasis mold, but... That's it. That's all there is to the rest of the album. It's just pretty-alright Britpop; nothing terribly unique about it. It all jus' kinda ran together and faded into the background. And, like, I feel bad about that sorta thing, but... That's just how it is, y'know? This is my group's tenth Britpop, and honestly, I'm just wondering how this band got **one** album on this list, let alone **two**. Besides "Bitter Sweet Symphony", what else is there? All that said... The presence of "Bitter Sweet Symphony" alone keeps this thing at a 3. I really wanna say that if it wasn't here that this album could still be a 3, but... Honestly, would it even be on this list if not for that song? So, this album gets a pass from me, but really only barely. I guess I can only hope that the rest of the Britpop albums (or one-hit wonder albums, for that matter) can do more to prove themselves.

Asides from the first track, this album just kind has that generic britpop sound to it. 3.5 bumped up to 4.

I’m at a 3.5, and I wish I could leave it there, but I think I’m going to barely bump this up to a 4, even with some hesitations in doing so. I mean, I’ve been sitting here for about 68 minutes of total music, and I just sort of feel… strange. This is not a bad album at all; it’s incredibly technically sound, and in terms of the actual soundscape, production, melodies, and appeal, what’s here is a marked improvement over the sort of dreadfully bland “A Northern Soul” from 290 albums ago. As a whole, I really did enjoy most of the tracks here. Bitter Sweet Symphony is still pretty damn good, and most of the other 12 tracks are enjoyable. However, this album falls into the same trap and pit that “A Northern Soul” did – it takes a while for it to fall into that pit, but it gets there. I wasn’t able to put this into words 290 albums ago, but I’ve figured out what it is now: this album treats every single track like it’s the closing track of the album, and it creates a homogenous sort of effect where all the luster of the orchestral arrangements, and the big epic swirling soundscapes sort of become… mundane. It doesn’t ruin the album experience as much as it did on “A Northern Soul”, mainly because they managed to figure out how to make most of the tracks compelling while sustaining me as a listener for the most part… but it does really start to creep in the longer the album goes on. This could easily be avoided if they just threw in some “lesser” tracks, but… I dunno, hearing what ELO did on “Out of The Blue”, which does a pretty similar thing with giving every track a level of bombastic importance, but to a much more successful degree, makes this album feel like it sort of failed in comparison. Don’t get me wrong, what’s here still sounds great across the board, and I’m sure most of, if not all of these tracks will likely feel better individually, separated from the 68 minutes that turn the album experience into a bit of a slog. The strength of that individuality is, oddly enough, what’s giving me the leeway to bump this up from a 3.5 to a 4, if only because I feel like this deserves higher than a 3. I vibed so much more with the tone and soundscapes and the general energy of this album compared to “A Northern Soul”, and I fully acknowledge that most of these tracks, if they pop up on shuffle, are gonna feel fucking great to listen to. As an entire album experience, front to back, it starts strong, and then really settles into a flatline around the middle, with occasional little peaks back upward, but… man, when it settles, it settles in a weird way that doesn’t feel as engaging as it could have or should have. This is full of individually good to great tracks that simply don’t mesh super well as an album – when you’re deep in the trenches, it just feels too similar to really feel good as an album. They just sound so damn good though. I feel OK with bumping this up to a 4 – I could easily regret it in the future, but it feels correct right now.

Long had I thought I should check this band out. Now, I don't regret putting it off 30 years. This is background 90s music that grows tiring.

great tracks. very nostalgic. about 40 minutes too long and you can Feel it

first song restored my faith in humanity 🙏 🙏 Album had a really nice sound, but did get a little mind-numbing after a while. Would probably be better if they cut the worst 30 minutes. Definitely enjoyed the first half more than the second half, especially after the last track had SIX MINUTES OF SILENCE, and then a "secret track" (which was awful). "Bro thought they were cooking with that one!!" -in talha's voice I do really like the first half though, Bitter Sweet Symphony was the best track, Sonnet, The Drugs Don't Work (I kept hearing "The Trucks Don't Work"), Catching That Butterfly, Space and Time, and Lucky Man were the most notable tracks.

Kinda mind-numbing. The only song I knew was the first and I don't really care for it either (but it is the best). Certainly not terrible.

Really liked this as a teen but went right off Richard Ashcroft, probably due to overplay. Revisiting after a long break, many of these songs really stand up - emotive, textured. Some of the production feels unnecessarily dramatic from a modern perspective.

This is so bad! I don’t know how they made it past being a one hit wonder, they sound like a much worse U2

What a great album. 90s Britpop at some of its finest. The only song I didn't like was "This Time." Every other song I dug. I really only have the popular songs from this album in my regular rotation, but will definitely be adding more.

Lots of long, drawn out songs. Some were much too sleepy for me. One obvious stand-out. I honestly didn't really like any of the other tracks. Majority were meh, a few are just boring. Ten minutes of silence in the last song sealed it's 3-star fate.

I LOVED The Verve back in the 90's, I saw them support Oasis in '97 at Earls Court and they were brilliant. If you'd asked me then to score Urban Hymns, it would be 5 stars all day long. Now though, with extreme familiarity and maybe a little less youthful exuberance I score it 4 stars. Weeping Willow, Catching The Butterfly, Rolling people are all just as good as the singles. Check out their debut A Storm In Heaven and the 2nd album A Northern Soul, both great in their own ways and very much 2 different sounds that came together well on Urban Hymns. Even their comeback album Forth is worth checking out. Come on!

Avausraita on suorastaan meemi tässä kohtaa. Muuten musta hieman huonosti vanhentunut alt-rock-levy. 2/5

Szczerze mówiąc trochę nie rozumiem Waszej niechęci do tego albumu. Moim zdaniem jest naprawdę całkiem ok. Zgadzam się z wieloma uwagami co do jego mankamentów (jest zdecydowanie za długi, spokojnie można było z 4 utwory z niego zdjąć, może nawet 5; pierwsza połowa solidniejsza od drugiej, która już trochę nuży), ale wydaje mi się, że te dwójki są zdecydowanie zbyt harsh. Zastanawiam się, czy to nie kwestia tego, że jeszcze mało zespołów było w rankingu i oceny były mniej zniuansowane. To na pewno jeden z tych albumów, który pomógł ukształtować pewien kierunek w muzyce, jeden z wyznaczników odejścia głównego nurtu od cięższych brzmień w kierunku soft indie na przełomie tysiącleci (choć dokonało się to ostatecznie jakoś w drugiej połowie 2000s tak na moje niewprawne oko i bez sprawdzania danych). Dla mnie pierwszych pięć kawałków ("Bittersweet Symphony", "Sonnet", "The Rolling People", "The Drugs Don't Work" i "Catching The Butterfly") jest naprawdę solidnych i przez dłuższy czas zastanawiałem się nad słabszą czwórką. Ta druga część albumu ostudziła mój zapał, ale dla mnie to wciąż podchodzi pod 3,5. Chyba w dużej mierze dlatego, że słyszę inspiracje tym albumem (zwłaszcza utworem "Sonnet") w twórczości zespołu Blackfield Stevena Wilsona, który całkiem lubiłem w liceum i którego wciąż czasem słucham. Gdyby album był krótszy, to pewnie byłoby 4.

They really made the music they wanted to see in the world.

Ein, zwei große Hits. Ansonsten läuft es so vorbei.

The album is good but comparing first track with any other song on the album is completly unfair. It speaks both for memorability and impact that Bittersweet Symphony has and how the rest songs struggle to even close to that level.

Ehhh... BitterSweet Symphony to chyba jedna z ważniejszych piosenek w moim życiu - miała na mnie duży wpływ w nastolectwie, do dziś uważam, że jest bardzo dobra i super catchy - ma dobry tekst, jest ciekawie skomponowana, no i ofc doskonale używa klasycznego motywu jako przewodniego. (kurwa, brzmie jak krytyk z Filmweba, nie chciałem xD ). Urban Hymns to dla mnie spore rozczarowanie - mam wrażenie, że poszli w ilość i zupełnie nie dali rady z jakością. Nie potrafię za bardzo odróżnić od siebie większości piosenek po przesłuchaniu. Nie kupuję większości tekstów, do tego osobiście irytuje mnie fakt, że większość z nich (mam przynajmniej takie wrażenie po przesłuchaniu) opiera się na powtarzaniu w kołko dwóch wersów, jakby były one przejawem geniuszu (a imho zupełnie nie są). Trąci bufoniadą. Z kawałków, które mi zapadły jeszcze w pamięć, mogę wyróżnić "Drugs don't work" i chyba "Lucky man", przynajmniej złapałem się na tym, że sobie je śpiewam (szczególnie drugs siadło). Nie wiem. może po wielokrotnym przesłuchaniu płyta zyskuje, ale po jednym jestem underwhelmed.

Urban Hymns is a classic, an undeniable britpop masterpiece. But the voice of Richard is becoming boring after a good amount a time, and this album is just 2 or 3 tracks too long to be honest.

Topalbum (jammer genoeg het enige goede album van deze band). Bitter Sweet Symphony blijft een legendarisch nummer, maar ook Sonnet, Drugs dont work, Lucky Man, Velvet Morning etc... zijn geweldige nummers. 3.9

I enjoy the 90s mellow sounds.

feels boring to me

I like it

This one lives somewhere between Britpop swagger and soft introspection. Shades of Radiohead, but without the same edge or experimentation. The arrangements are rich, but some tracks meander. It’s an album that reaches high, though not always evenly.

spent too much of late 90s listening to this album while playing battletanx on n64

I didn't appreciate this album as much when I was a teenager. Hazy, slow, multilayered britrock. I found I remembered most of the songs decades later when I didn't think I would.

Bitter Sweet Symphony (Remastered 2016) I MEAN COME ON! "One day" was okay....

Always loved Bitter Sweet Symphony, but hadn't heard much else from The Verve before. The rest of the album was kinda eh, though. Not bad, just generic rock. Best song: Bitter Sweet Symphony

favourite song - bitter sweet symphony favourite lyric - happiness, more or less / it's just a change in me, something in my liberty / happiness, coming and going / i watch you look at me, watch my fever growing / i know cover - 7/10 album overall - 5/5 love

When I first heard Bitter Sweet Symphony in 1997, I was thrilled. Back then, music channels like VIVA and MTV were still an important source of information for music and clips. I also liked the video for the song. This song was played over and over again on my music station, so at some point I got tired of it. In the meantime, I can listen to it again in good doses. Even then, I wondered what the rest of the album would sound like. I didn't want to buy the album without further ado. At some point I was able to listen to it. I wasn't particularly interested in it, so I was curious to see how I would get on with the album now. Well, not much has changed. I occasionally listened with interest. But that wasn't enough for me to pay more attention to it. And so the album rushed through on the side. I don't need to listen to it again. 3/5

Booring...

Drug inspired Britpop. On one hand this album has some filler, and might be a track or 2 too long. On the other hand, the best songs on this album (Bittersweet Symphony, The Rolling People, The Drugs Don’t Work) are incredible. I’ll give it a 5 since it’s my favorite britpop album

There are still their spacey, psychedelic jams of past albums, but this time it's coated with britpop slickness, surely to get their share of the craze that was going on at the time. There's nothing inherently bad here, but it's way too long for its own good and a lot of songs just aren't that interesting.

I guess you had to be there.

Outch... This album would have be really decent if the best of it was kept for a 30 to 40 minutes record, but the fillers are killing it. It's too long.

Seems very good, did not finish (surely will)

90's grunge I am not sure if that was a baby or cat at the end of one song. Mostly mellow

I like the verve. The album starts with bitter sweet symphony, which is a welcomed known song. I think I only know this one. Fun rock, I feel like I'm a rock bar. I liked it very much.

had heard that first song genuinely 100s of times and never knew who performed it. not a huge fan of britpop but i loved the more psychedelic elements.

I was afraid to look at reviews for this, and I was right, so I have to leave one on this one. I'll give this 5 stars but this is nowhere close to the best Verve album or what they sounded like on previous albums. This is like half a Richard Ashcroft solo album. I always liked this album, but it's a chore to listen to due to the length of it. And yeah, there biggest hit is on here so it was a top selling album. Always loved Catching the Butterfly on this album, and Lucky Man is a great secondary hit on this album. Sonnet and Drugs Don't Work (while good songs), ruin the album flow for me. Would highly recommended A Northern Soul and A Storm in Heaven if you want some good psychedelic 90s rock, that doesn't sound like generic "Britpop" that you reviewers describe. A Storm in Heaven is in my top 10 albums of all time and highly recommend smoking some weed before starting that album.

Aside from the first song, there really weren't any memorable songs. It was alright.

I only listen to The Verve casually, that is to say, I only know their greatet hits. This album is good, I never know that Bitter Sweet Symphony is the opening to this album. That song can go down in history (songs are overplayed for a reason). Classic britpop sound, if you love britpop you're probably gonna love this one, remind me of Oasis a couple of times. Not that much of a fresh air though. I personally will give it a vague 4-5, I'm hesitant in giving it a 5, so let's make it a 4. My favorite is Weeping Willow.

Not sure how this sold 10M+ copies. Nothing wrong with it, just meh.

Other than Bittersweet Symphony, I went into this totally cold. Brit Pop, innit? Very much enjoyed it. 4

This album came out swinging with the first song being their most well known, Bitter Sweet Symphony. After Lucky Man, the album got a bit boring for the last few songs on the album. Definately a front loaded record. The "hidden track", Deep Freeze, we pointless. It sounded like a baby crying in space.... That's it..... No music, just noise. Kind of dumb. Overall, not a bad album. Pretty solid 90's alt rock, and loads better than their other album I reviewed on here, A Northern Soul. Favourite songs: Bitter Sweet Symphony, Lucky Man, The Rolling People, Weeping Willow, Space and Time, Sonnet Least favourite songs: Neon Wilderness 4/5

Not a bad album! This was a lot more “out there” than I expected, and I really enjoyed it. Thought provoking lyrics, some catchy hooks, some wild spacey guitar. In some ways it felt like the bridge between Oasis and Radiohead. I’m between a 3 and a 4 but I’m leaning 4 on this one. Will definitely revisit.

Bittersweet

Schitterend

4☆/5 11.03.2024

Overlong, overblown and for the most part underwhelming

Bittersweet symphony is iconic and popular and timeless, but i wasnt much of a fan of the rest of the album. Probably cuz of how slow it was, and non interesting enough. Another notable song was “lucky man” though. I dont think it was enough for me to want to save it, but it was a nice listen.

The Verve... now that's a name I haven't heard in years.... Is starting an album off with Bitter Sweet Symphony even fair? This might be one of the greatest 90s songs of all time, tbh. 5/5 for this song. (Also TIL it's Bitter Sweet two words, not Bittersweet) Do I have to listen to the rest of the album?? Yeah as expected the rest of the album was fine but totally forgettable. I'm torn here. This is a clear 2/5 for me but damn that opening single!!!!

The Verve is just not that interesting of a band to me. This era of music, late 90s, has some pretty dull mainstream music and the only thing saving this from a lower score is Bittersweet Symphony. Sonnet is a good song as well, but this album did not need to be an hour long.

Alternative band from the late 90’s. Some good music.

One of my favourite albums, a perfect blend of Britpop / Indie / Psychedelic music

Solid, still prefer any other "britpop" band

It was a very welcome surprise. Beyond the famous initial track, "Bittersweet Symphony," there are enough interesting tracks to make listening to the album a rewarding experience. The second single, "Drugs Don't Work," was my favorite song. I even made a cover on the piano. Despite its overall quality, "Urban Hymns" falls increasingly flat in the second portion of the album with songs that are remarkably similar to the previous Oasis's output years prior. Although imperfect, this is an album I might revisit often.

the party ended in 1997. first there's Oasis's Be Here Now, which was an Emperor's Clothes moment for a lot of critics of the movement. all the songs are gaudy, overloud, overblown, and so indebted to a quickly faltering liberal British optimism that it became shorthand for the failings of the genre through its ugly borrowings and inescapable peace n' loveyness. the Beatles are all well and good until someone else tries to convince you they're the Beatles by playing a 9 minute vamp about spreading the word about how everything's gonna be alright, maaaaan. functionally, Oasis would break up and turn into a sibling boxing match before the turn of the millennium. in a way, Urban Hymns sits on the opposite end of the Britfatigue scale: it's an album where the band evolved their sound to fit with the times, pushed the sound of the genre to fit their tastes, and gained international success through an insanely catchy crossover hit indebted to 60's British pop... and it also completely destroyed the band. see, you probably already know that the Verve got sued for sampling by federal tax criminal and former superstar agent to the Rolling Stones Allen Klein, forcing Richard Ashcroft and co. to give up 100% of the rights to the song due to them sampling an orchestral version of "The Last Time" without his permission. as of writing, it took until about 5 years ago for all parties involved to realize this is fucking bullshit and that millions of dollars were stolen from Ashcroft for no reason but greed. however, i have a theory: this lawsuit made these clinger-on bands realize that the greats were still alive, and if you took enough inspiration from them, they could probably sue you. it made the prospect of paying tribute to the 60's and 70's a bit of a gambit if you didn't have a superstar legal team and millions of dollars to pay them. if you're planning to play this type of music, you're basically realizing you're late to the party anyhow. so people moved onto a newer, fresher sound that was representative of a colder, more modern society -- Radiohead, Coldplay, Doves, all those post-Brit guys. the world didn't have time for free love and mellotrons in the age of digital love and terror bombing. still, even if you chopped "Bitter Sweet Symphony" off the album (a crime against music), you'd have some very decent tunes here. it goes without saying that "The Drugs Don't Work" and "Lucky Man" are timeless, but "Weeping Willow", "Sonnet", and "Come On" are all respectable deep cuts as well. maybe we could have done without seven minutes of "The Rolling People" or six minutes of "Catching the Butterfly", but for its length (about as long as Be Here Now when you take out the obligatory hidden CD track silence), it never really feels bloated. in time, i could see myself loving Urban Hymns. there's fresh ideas, tons of creativity, and new directions navigated in a sound that many considered a bit less than fresh at the time. still, money talks. the kicker is that it can never sing.

Really enjoyed this one a lot more than "A Northern Soul". I got very pleasantly lost in the musical landscape of this one. I'm not sure individual songs stand out to me much but a nice album to vibe to.

Not earthshattering or groundbreaking. Just okay. 3/5

Bitter Sweet Symphony That's it

All the songs on here are gorgeous. The production is noticeably original and experimental in a good way. Not sure why they’d put “Bitter Sweet Symphony” at the start and not the end. I suppose it’s better than just slapping it somewhere in the middle. Why couldn’t they make any other songs with melodies as popular as that one? Because they didn’t make that melody. So take that song out and the rest are forgettable, but still quality. Would they really be remembered if they hadn’t had the one song that was mostly written by someone in the sixties. I don’t believe so. They are still good. Their lyrics are good enough. The length isn’t justified though. Great album. 4/5

The album is fine, I didn't hate it but I don't see where its an album everyone MUST listen to really.

An utterly forgettable album except for that one track, and that one track is only memorable because the entire groove that is great about the song was sampled from a different band's previous hit. I was a fool that bought this album in 1997. Totally regretted it. Their previous album was bollocks, so I should have known. Ironically the songs don't have much, if any, verve at all. The album is way too long. Ashcroft's lyrics leave a lot to desire. The drums are boring, the guitars are boring. One of the most boring albums I ever owned. Way, way overrated. Maybe if someone had separated the wheat from the chaff to get under 45 minutes and did some passes on the remaining songs, supplying them with varying tempos and dynamics so that they actually feel like they go somewhere once in a while this album might have been saved. I feel dirty giving them additional streaming income by listening to this lump one more time.

Needs more listening. Some standouts, very Britpop.

Bittersweet Symphony still goes way harder than it ever has a right to. The Rolling People kinda sounds like a modern-day U2 song. Space and Time sounds VERY U2-y.

I enjoyed listening to this album. I'll give it four stars.

I sometimes really wish there would be a possibility to rate ,5. This is one of those albums. I like it, but not enough to give it a 4. On the other hand, 3 is too little. I have to choose one - this time it is the 3.

So very late 90s...

Great mix and good vibes. Most songs sound like they’d be played in the background of a 2004 drama tv show season ended as the main character drives down route 1 in California with the top down right after breaking up with their partner. Bittersweet symphony and Weeping Willow were solid stand outs.

Rating: 6.5/10 Overall pretty good, just way too long. Choice cuts: Bittersweet Symphony, Weeping Willow

Too mellow

The most popular song on this album is probably my least favorite. It more people would have listened to the ret of the record I think it would have been much bigger.

A couple good tracks the rest did nothing for me.

Oy. I'm so bored.

BSS is one of greatest songs ever written in my honest opinion

Everyone knows song #1 but the rest of this album is awesome too

This album gets super high praise but it’s never been one I come back to much. I love all the singles. Maybe this time it’ll be different This time It really grew on me. It is a little Long in spots but this is a good album. 3.5/5 (could be a light 4)

This album is so great. It's like if Radiohead and Air and Oasis all had like 10 really sexy babies and then they all made music together. Such awesome melodies and tunes and sounds and whatever. I really love this. Great stuff.

Totally fuckd this one and didnt listen to it yesterday but i dug out my cd today and looked at the music video for bittersweet symphony and learned that everyone in this band hates eachother now. Pretty good album i like it. neo-psychedelic influences are interesting and lend a lot to the albums composition. beats fucking oasis.

A fantastic opportunity to give more royalties to The Rolling Stones… Shame it’s so mediocre and dated

Wow haha, u subotu smo Tihi i ja sjedili na kavi i svira Bittersweet i ja krenem pričati o toj pjesmi i bla bla - zaključimo da će sigurno biti na listi ovaj album 😂. Nisam slušala album, tako da me stvarno zanima (it better be good koliko traje 😂), ali Bittersweet mi je jedna od onih pjesama koje ću vječno moći čuti negdje usput i neće mi smetati, nego ću pjevušiti. Ta melodija mi je baš predivna i sjećam se kao dijete da sam odljepljivala. Možda znam još koju rendom pjesmu ovako, ali nisam njih slušala aktivno. Dap, toga sam se pribojavala, dosadni su mi i njegov vokal mi ide na kurac u drugim stvarima. Drugs don't work je okej pjesma. Na trenutke mi jako zvuče kao Oasis, ono, doslovce ništa originalno. A Oasis ne volim. Meni će ovo biti 2 ili 4/10.

Otvaranje albuma s klasikom. Klasični hit jel. Bacio sam oko na popis pjesama, ima dva tri super hita, ali me baš zanima kako će ostatak benda zvučati Njih do sad nisam volio niti mrzio, ali nisam ljubitelj tog 90s engleskog rocka Na pola sam albuma, nemam volje uopće komentirati ista. Dosadno, sladunjavo, englesko drimerski, jadni Englezi su tužni i beznadni. Booooooooring Već vidim da će ovo biti album s 2-3 dobre pjesme. I to nisam siguran jesu li dobre zbog nostalgije i toga što sam ih čuo 2003. kada nisam imao pojma koliko je proročanska pjesma drugs don't work ili su stvarno dobre. Ok wow, ako na YouTube staviš da je brzina duplo brza, zvuče kao solidan bluegrass band s dosta opakim finger picking lickovima Malo ljutih engleza za kraj i skrivena psihodelija Bezi bre 2

3.5/10 Osobno, jako zbunjujuc album. Ima dovoljno elemenata da bude ok te da se nadje neki hidden gem u njemu ali to se jednostavno nije dogodilo. Neke gitarske dionice imaju potencijala ali klimavi vokal bez ikakvog range-a i pretjerano koristenje ovih prokletih violina u svakoj drugoj pjesmi su mi bas turn off. Ucinilo mi se vise puta dok sam slusao da je ovaj album apsolutni maksimum sto bend moze napraviti, a bas dosta se šlepa na druge bendove, poput U2-a i Rolling Stonesa (kojima su maznuli Bittersweet Symphony, pa je zavrsilo vise bitter nego sweet za njih posto su izgubili prava na sav royalty od pjesme, jedinog hita kojeg imaju na albumu, uz, za mrvicu meni bolju Lucky Man). Ne vidim cemu ovo treba trajati sat i 15 minuta. Bilo bi bolje da su izdali neki EP od 4 pjesme, zaboravili da postoje gore spomenuti bendovi, platili vokalu satove pjevanja, ili jos bolje, zamjenili ga s nekim vecim talentom, izbacili violinu iz svih pjesama, usudili se hrabrije vecinu stvari snimiti i jos puno toga sto bi stavio na popis. Nije mi ovo bas dobro.

Just not for me.

Cool 90's rock. 4/5

Because yesterday was a holiday I didn't find time to get through the whole album. Listened to the first 5 or so songs then skipped around. I could see a time when I would want to put this on but it wasn't today.

I expected everything to sound like Bitter Sweet Symphony, they definitely have more range than that. Do I love it? not so much. It’s fine for what it is and I wouldn’t leave the room is someone put in on, but I probably wouldn’t choose it on my own.

I'd rather hear the first couple of Oasis albums and the Stone Roses. Pretty non-descript Brit Pop from my listening. Won't be going back to this one.

So far, nothing special. Didn’t really like that symphony song when it originally was released and still don’t. Not much here for me lyrics wise either. Yeah, only occasionally did I notice a change the song, they all seemed pretty similar and boring.

Pretty generic after the first song.

Very blah album, except for Bitter Sweet Symphony. Truly a one-hit-wonder of a band. Do the English ever make music that isn't as bland as their food?

Does everyone picture Reese Witherspoon driving away in Ryan Phillipe’s sporty convertible at the end of Cruel Intentions when they hear Bittersweet Symphony or is that just me? I like that track enough, the rest of the album didn’t grab me but I didn’t hate it. 2.5 rounded up to 3.

Thought I would like this more as I listened to the first few tracks but got tired of it as it went on. Dumb 7 minute gap on the last song before the “hidden” track. All in all fine.

In the late 90s, we all fell under the spell of a long, rambling British pop song that felt vaguely spiritual and uplifting. Champagne Supernova. Tender. The Universal. All You Good Good People. And yes, Bitter Sweet Symphony. This album dares to ask the question, “What if we made the whole plane out of those songs?” And let me tell you, unless you’re Blur, you just don’t have two of them in you. Two great ones, at least. (I did kind of like Lucky Man, I’ll admit, but it’s under 5 minutes, so I’m not even sure it counts, and it’s certainly not at the level required to justify this experiment.) So it’s a pretty disappointing album all told.

Good album studded with the occasional gems. Tone is mixed between psychedelic and indie which leaves one with the question what the album would have sounded like had there been more thought put in the overarching concept.

Bittersweet Symphony and Drugs Don’t Work are good songs but the whole album kinda blends together. Overall not bad.

good tracks: Sonnet The Rolling People: great beat Catching The Butterfly: sounds like Radiohead?

Well this is annoying. I got A Northern Soul the day before yesterday. Spread it out lads! Still, I guess I can contrast. Midway through Rolling People I'm already fearing I was right in my previous review. The strength of Northern Soul was it was a whole vibe, this is less so and the album tracks are more boring. Although I never did like the rolling people. Drugs don't work and catch a butterfly are still good to be fair, and there's a couple others that were half decent for nostalgic purposes. Definitely a more middling album than it's predecessor though, and actually quite tedious as a whole given its length.

If it wasn't for the opening track of the record, it would have been forgotten amongst the ground swell of britpop albums that all seemed to appear almost overnight in the 90s. The members are good enough at their instruments to make music better than this, and I wish they had.

Bitter Sweet Symphony is one of those all time classics, but the rest of the record is wayyyyyyyy too long for my tastes.

One song doesn’t make a great album. This actually has a couple of very good songs - drugs don’t work is a bit special - but it’s more of a decent attempt showing promise than a must hear. Another couple of albums might have seen a must hear. This is fine. But a not yet. 2.5.

Ah. wow. Decades. I want to pull out my old CDs and listen to more wonderful albums of our youth... The album - Definitely floods of nostalgia, imagery, ah the 90s. This album seemed to articulate so well the unspoken and intangible uneasiness , insouciance or malaise of a generation of youth. So , we did hear it too much. I certainly like it again now. It must be here as it was undeniably iconic and hugely popular - of a time and style. The wikipedia page has a huge amount of analysis, so there is a lot of meaning and significance in the compositions and content I remain unaware of and don't have time for right now. [p.s. tech #glitch gripe; despite this album having 10,000,000 certified sales its not available on YouTube Music premium. Very odd. and it throws the same incorrect playback error its been shooting out for a decade. I don't want to go to Amazon, i cant go to Apple can I, but maybe Tidal....or Spotty does good algo..]

A quick scan of the reviews I have written so far in this project reveal that I have used the adjective "verve" to describe at least five different albums to date. Ironically, Urban Hymns by The Verve will not be one of them. I never really liked Britpop much; too Anglocentric, too concerned with its own image, a seeming contempt for its own audience, a tendency towards arrogance and aggression and sexist laddishness bordering on outright misogyny. Many commentators have described this album as the swansong for Britpop, and it comes across like that to me; the party's over and this is the hangover album. It is, admittedly, more introspective and downbeat than Oasis (say), but that's because all the cocaine is now gone and we're left to deal with the shitty repercussions. Mad Dick Ashcroft was right on the money: the drugs do not, in fact, work. Emily Tartanella astutely wrote in the Magnet (https://magnetmagazine.com/2009/08/18/the-overunder-britpop/): "The Verve has one—count it, one—great song, and that is 'Bittersweet Symphony.' Not only that, but 'Bittersweet Symphony' was immeasurably improved by a Jay-Z remix. The most impressive aspect of the Verve is how Richard Ashcroft has successfully tricked the world into thinking of him as a deep, insightful writer, despite penning lyrics as inane as “Are you invited/To the party of life?/Now you’ve decided/Do you live ’til you die?” The answer to that question is, by the way, yes. Despite having more high-profile break-ups than Jennifer Aniston, the Verve has endured both commercially and critically. While 1995 sophomore album A Northern Soul had its moments, 1997’s Urban Hymns (the band’s biggest success) is one of the most bloated, boring and overpraised albums of the ’90s." Preach, Emily, preach! As proof of how over-rated they are, here is a list of musical influences that Urban Hymns 'recalls', according to wikipedia: Oasis, Stone Roses, Suede, Ennio Morricone, old Motown singles, Richard Thompson, Britpop, indie rock, orchestral rock, psychedelia, post-Britpop (whatever _that_ is meant to be), Big Star, Van Morrison, Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, Amon Duul II, Spacemen 3, U2, Radiohead, boom bap, trip hop, angelic choirs, Aphrodite's Child, Funkadelic, Led Zeppelin, the Stones (again), Kurt Cobain, John Lennon (solo), the Beatles, Cocteau Twins, Happy Mondays, Jeff Buckley, Neil Young ("playing in hell"), Bob Dylan, Derek and the Dominos, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, John Squire, Lee Hazlewood, Echo and the Bunnymen, Neil Diamond, Led Zep (again), MC5, the Stooges, "churchworthy gospel", and, unsurprisingly, Blur. Well, if you mix all of that up in a bucket (and don't skimp on the reverb), you get a pretentious mess of boring midtempo codswallop just like this album. Of course, if you spend two million quid recording an album, it's going to sound pretty schmick. But every song on the record needs a couple of minutes trimmed off to reduce the bloat that plagues this album. Most albums should be less than 40-45 minutes in length, and that goes double for Urban Hymns. Most of the decent songs are front-loaded on the album, which makes the back half drag endlessly with meandering, over-long and unfocused filler tracks, all plastered over with slathers of reverb to bring some kind of cohesiveness to a patchwork of samples, wonky guitars, and different production approaches. The spaciousness and slightly depressive lyrics don't hide that Urban Hymns suffers from all the sins of Britpop; bloat, arrogance, infighting, laddishness, public drama, and bucket hats. The proof is all in the final lines of the last song: "Fuck you... we're breaking up".

This album immediately jumps back to the 90’s Brit pop era. Besides Bitter Sweet Symphony and the orchestral arrangements, it stalls into a sea of sameness.

Oasis' Be here now from Temu. It feels really overindulgent. There's some nice songs here like The Drugs Don't Work, but the overall thing is a lengthy 75 minutes with songs that have been needlessly dragged out. Can't say they aren't nice noisy soundscapes though.

damals, als Brit Pop noch gitarrenwände aufstellte und den sound auf „warm“ trimmte! gleich der einstieg mit einem der besten songs ever (Bitter Sweet Symphony) setzt die hürde hoch, und im gleichen stil mit streichern geht es weiter. hammer!

Was für ein Album! Hatte es etwas vergessen aber hat mich sofort wieder gepackt!

I remembered this being very front-heavy and very very long - and it kind of is both of those things. But it’s also very good Combining britpop with more of a U2-style sound but also some more psychedelic and shoegazey instrumentals, the soundscapes are lovely and obscure the fact that most of these songs are over the 5 minute mark - the whole album is about 1hr 15 but really doesn't feel that long, even if it does start to drag a little bit after Lucky Man Bittersweet Symphony is an all-time great opener, Sonnet is a beautiful counterpart to it, The Drugs Don’t Work is a stunning ballad, and Catching the Butterfly is fun and trippy - there’s a lot going on here and it all just works together very well

Nothing objectionably bad, but pretty basic 90s British rock to these ears.

Not enough stands out for the lengths... still some decent stuff though.

Sounds like Oasis. Hits are good but rest is quite boring. Favorite Tracks: BSS, The Drugs Don't Work, Lucky Man

I enjoyed it. Sounded exactly as I expected it to based on the two songs I already knew. Listening to a hidden track on a streaming service feels weird.

I can't do it. I can't do another late 90s britpop album. How are there so many on this list?

Overall, the album was a bit meh, apart from the one song that is their (I think) only popular song, which also had over a billion stream on Spotify - Bitter Sweet Symphony. That one song is a great jam and boosts the rating of the whole album slightly. Nothing too exciting overall and nice just having it in the background, as it is relatively chill.

Popper lige ind for at være en hater 👋 synes alle sangene var for lange og monotone, sangerens stemme lød som discount Oasis. Jeg hadede den ikke men det er en stor 1’er, kan ikke se mig selv sætte den på igen

Hørte den her plade virkelig meget som teenager, den er for lang men jeg synes der er mange gode numre!

Super duper forgettable, except that one song, where they infringed on some copyright..

Enjoyed the mood this set for my day. Listened through 3-4 times. Lol I have such a love/hate for hidden tracks. Cheeky little novelties. Solid 3

Good album. Way better than I remembered.

Neutral. Couple tracks interesting. I knew only bittersweet symphony.

Loved this album when it was released and it’s even better now.

Liked a few, disliked a few, was indifferent about a few. if I could, I would give it 2.5, but I will round it up to a 3.

Had very high highs but unfortunately the sound felt repetitive and songs blended together

I admire the earnest nature of this album and they are pretty good with setting tone and atmospherics, I just personally find it a bit boring. This will sound harsh, but I wonder if the popularity surrounding this one is because it was the U2 album most people hoped for but they got "Pop" instead.

britpop ändå va. lite långt men väldigt trevligt.

Really fun brit rock

Muy buenas las dos primeras canciones. Un disco con buen sonido

Har alltid lurt på ka dei seie i refrenget til Bittersweet Symphony. Va visst ikkje "I'm here immamo", men "I'm here in my mould"

Ikkje så bra

Dit is echt U2 2.0 eerste nummer heel vet natuurlijk maar verder echt wel saai

There are some interesting instrumental moments scattered here and there but I struggle with the dour, dreary vocals. If they gave Ashcroft the boot and got a decent singer with some personality, this could have been much more palatable, albeit lethargic, neo-psychedelia. Great band name and cover artwork though.

When i saw this I groaned, but it was quite enjoyable if a bit long.

I'm ashamed to say that I always seemed to think of this as sitting in the shadow of Pulp which isn't fair, this is a cracking album

Highly enjoyable indie.

Of course the opening track is a classic, but when the second track kicks in, you know you're in for a real treat! Enjoyed this album much much more than The Verve's previous album.

Så många klassiska kompositioner

I like it much more than what i expected. The rest of the album isn't as insufferable as Bittersweet Symphony, but sadly overstay it's welcome.

Pretty good album but nothing special

O.K. some songs on this album might be a bit too long but with the anthems "Bittersweet Symphony" and "The Drugs Don´t Work" and other great songs like "Sonnet" and "Lucky Man" there would be enough potential for a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐album with about 45 minutes playing time. Unfortunately there is also a forgettable rest that makes it in total 76 minutes. 😞 3,5

Pretty good stuff. Familiar with Bittersweet Symphony, the rest of it is nice stuff but not standout IMHO.

rest of the album not as good as the 1st song

Bitter Sweet Symphony is the all time classic, but i was presently surprised by the rest of the album. After the first track, the album took us into the early 90s and 70s way back machine. This is definitely worthy of the 1001 list and gets a 4

I did not like this one as much as their other album. The cover being a photo at an outdoor location was an immediate bad sign. I mean, the most famous single from the album is a remix of a Rolling Stones song. Most other tracks are either chill winding tunes, reminiscent of Dreampop, with further Classic era references, or just lukewarm hipster Alternative/Indie. I have to give them credit for trying to compete with Radiohead, though.

Hot take: Lucky Man is even better than Bittersweet Symphony. The Drugs Don’t Work is solid. Rest of this is fine, particularly like Weeping Willow, but doesn’t really connect with me like Lucky Man.

this is completely interchangeable with oasis . i think bands in manchester need to take a break from the derivate 60s rock. and also catching the butterfly sounds exactly like a radiohead song. WEEPING WILLOW SOUNDS EXACTLY LIKE CHAMPAGNE SUPERNOVA?!?!?!

The songs are slight, with the three major singles standing out. All wrapped up in swirling production. Catchy 90s melancholy ballads that still have some power to evoke a clumsy come down swagger. But this swagger is stolen, like the sample, from bands who have greater talent and longevity. The Verve is ultimately a pale imitation, this album is not a classic in the sense of others.

I was fully prepared to give this album a three-star and move on with my life, but I listened to it again with headphones on and the volume up and I have to give credit where credit is due— this album is actually pretty good. It's very 90s-alternative-but-what-is-it-the-alternative-to type of music. Mainstream and accessible, sure, but I don't necessarily think that means it's boring and middlebrow. And tbh, it takes a bit of adroitness to pull off a towering, anthemic song like "Bitter Sweet Symphony." Not many bands can do that.

For decades I haven’t remembered which songs were Verve, Pulp or Blur, or ever listened to albums by any of them, in spite of which this entire album felt familiar. Giving it a 4 in hopes of remembering which one I like (apart from Common People by one of the others, which is great).

One great song does not an album make.

I love discovering where certain sounds originate from. Without this generator, I’d have never known the intro to Bitter Sweet Symphany

Gorgeous tbh

Very good. Lush and unique soundscapes.

Unfinished symphony is amazing and leaves the rest of this album in the dust, however the rest of the album is nice to listen to. I would definitely come back for some songs

A pretty middle of the road Britpop album (which I like). Bittersweet symphony was the only song really trying to do anything different and the slower songs kinda suck but still very good. 🚗

gang theyre all too old and bad

A classic Brit pop album.

Down to earth rock album

Bitter sweet symphony only memorable song

It makes sense these guys are one hit wonders. They aren't terrible and I think they're trying to do their own style but it feels like it never really goes anywhere that adds a lot. Don't regret the listen but won't come back.

I'm not sure I can do this. Bitter Sweet Symphony almost turns my stomach because it has gone in my ear holes so many times. There is a lack of soul to these songs and the production has no body. So I guess that leaves them with nothing. It's like they are casting spells of boredom. It's a cohesive album that comes so close to sounding like things I like but just doesn't.

I hated this band when this came out. It had so many ubiquitous songs on it. When I saw this come up here I dreaded it. Turns out time has turned me a lot milder towards it. I accidentally made it through the whole expanded edition and it was grand.

this one had bittersweet symo[phony on it

Bitter Sweet Symphony and Lucky Man were standout tracks for me, but i didn't really end up loving the album, felt like watered down shoegaze and psychedelic rock. Didn't think it was boring though, Deep Freeze left me pretty interested, very chaotic and clashy at the end which I think would've paired well with the rest of the album earlier on. But yeah, in the end I saw a lot of small (like very small) details I like about shoegaze, psychedelic rock, and grunge, but nothing really amazing jumped out for me. None of the songs made it on my playlists, Bitter Sweet was the closest but didn't really do it enough for me, cool orchestrals though

Overall, the album was decent, but I can’t say I’ll be going out of my way to listen to it again. Honestly, reading about the legal battle between The Verve and The Rolling Stones over the Bitter Sweet Symphony sample was far more entertaining than the album itself. So, let’s talk about that instead. Basically, Bitter Sweet Symphony used a sample from an orchestral version of The Rolling Stones’ The Last Time, arranged by the Andrew Oldham Orchestra. The Verve had supposedly negotiated and obtained a license for the sample, but the trouble started when they were accused of using “too much” of it. The legal battle eventually ended with The Verve losing, and all rights and credits for the song were handed over to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. So, even though the song was primarily written by The Verve’s frontman, Richard Ashcroft, all the royalties went to The Rolling Stones and their team, leaving The Verve without a penny from one of the biggest hits of the ’90s. But hey, after more than 20 years, when all the buzz around the song had long faded away, Jagger and Richards graciously gave the rights back to The Verve. It must’ve been a real struggle for Mick and Keith, considering they’d never had their 15 minutes of fame at any point in their careers!

First half is awesome. Gets less great as it goes on. Too long but really enjoyable.

A few good songs but too long and often boring

a brit pop classic. there are some personal highlights (weeping willow, velvet morning) but overall pretty enjoyable

Boring. Sorry to all the verve fans reading this (literally no one will ever read this)

Katottiin album cover ja nolosti kävi... Aikamuuttujan arveltiin olevan 60 luku.... every song.. incredbile incredible how how how how how 1960's.. the verve 60s band... 30 years ahead...

Bittersweet Symphony was everywhere when it was released. It is a good song though. Kind of an alternative-lite album, clearly influenced by Achtung Baby. This is another album that sounds very much of it's particular time. These guys were one-hit wonders, but the album is good so far. Very string heavy. This could have been a late 90s U2 album or series of outtakes except for Bittersweet Symphony. I guess they could be called proto-Coldplay or Radiohead for pop fans. I'm realizing a lot of music from the UK in the late 90s/early 2000s had an eerily similar sound. The lyrics are a little whiny throughout. It feels a little bit like these guys strategically planned to make a knock off of (What's the Story) Morning Glory? It started out strong but it loses its appeal pretty quickly. The album has a specific sound, there's just very little after the first song that is different at all, the songs all kind of blend together. 15 minute final track which is really two tracks separated by a five minutes of silence to.....I don't know what...this was a stupid but popular trick to try and pull on your fans. They aren't the only band to do it and it was so incredibly dumb. I think with the rise of mp3s and streaming this might be a relic of a time when CDs ruled music formats. Six and a half minutes of silence for a static filled "hidden track" lasting two minutes. I don't get the point of this...finding out who your real fans are? Being clever? Burying something that sucks but you love? The baby crying noises on a loop are an especially nice touch. Why do so many artists need to have such moronic last tracks on an album? Songs played by Spotify automatically after the album?.....The Cranberries and, you guessed it, Coldplay.

Some decent songs but there is a lot of songs that just sound generic

Cracking!

Several songs gave me U2 vibes. Overall not a terrible album.

I liked it so much when it came out and still like it - shame the lead singer 'wrecked' it by going solo

If you’re going to make an album with this many songs it better be worth it to the listener, which this wasn’t. I don’t like the tone of the singer’s voice. He’s whiny and annoying. A lot of the songs sound the same. Despite its popularity I don’t particularly like Bittersweet Symphony. Catching a Butterfly was my fave but the rest is forgettable.

Some good songs but some get lost. It has a lot of build and inspirational verve..but I think others bands do it better.

This has aged far better than expected. A few less inspired moments but overall this is a far more solid record that i remember. It really seems to predict the transition to what comes next in the British music scene - for better or worse. Guitar histrionics are tamped doesn't but the much production is excellent and sounds great to my ears all these years later. i came in thinking 3 but going to give this a 4...

Enjoyed most of this album

5/10. “Meh” overall but it had ok moments and Bitter Sweet Symphony intro is great.

Bittersweet Symphony carries this whole album. Maybe, just maybe... Lucky Man, too. Other than that, it's pretty unremarkable.

4.5. Almost perfect. The Drugs Don’t Work is in my top 10 mellow mood songs. Lucky Man is great too The singer is weird looking.

I was surprised at how well this album held up over the years. I listened to it twice over the weekend and enjoyed it each time.

Day 41 - September 7th, 2024 So mid. 3/5

I liked it more than i anticipated for a one hint wonder band. A bit moody. Feel bad for this band.

Liked the orchestral rock feel

An undisputed heavyweight classic of an album! There is not a bad song on this record. Absolute masterpiece.

They sound like they're trying to do the same stuff Oasis did, with a little added flair psychedelic rock. However, some definite bangers on this record. Bitter Sweet Symphony is iconic and I loved the songwriting and instrumentals in Sonnet, The Rolling People, and Catching the Butterfly. Where they excel is in the psychedelic sound they add to these indie tracks.

This album is far too long for what it offers. Bittersweet Symphony is a great song to start the album. The rest of the album features the lead singer alternating between doing his best Thom Yorke and best Bono impressions over forgettable instrumentals. I get why someone might enjoy this, but I don’t see myself revisiting this over other Britpop albums.

I expected to be less into this than I was back in the day, but I enjoyed it a fair bit; there are some good tracks on here.

Mega-Hit: Bittersweet Symphony Sonst spannend zu hören 4/5

Awesome album and still holds up!

Nice 90britpop

Holy shit, what a year for music 1997 was! I’ve loved this album since I heard it in maybe… 2004. So - happy 20 years, Urban Hymns. An easy 5 stars.

Has all the ones I know, and they're decent tracks. Apparently they've another album on this though. I didn't even known they had another album period. Whatever they've got a style and it works ok, does get a lil grating at album length though.

An album that gives men the permission to feel (it's fine)

pretty nice pretty okay! was easy to listen to and had a nice time! liked the first half more than the second! a little long but good!

sad british boy pop. Didnt know lucky man wasn't a switchfoot song. 3 stars

I remember back when these guys were on the radio and not liking those songs. Well I'm older now and was interested to see if they sounded better with the wisdom of age, and also what the rest of the album contained. The best word to describe this album is bland.

Oh they just made Oasis again

Good starting to the album, well its actually good for chilling with blunt on hand idk

The whole Britpop malarkey mostly passed me by, but I did buy this album on release. The standout tracks are really the various singles - particularly Bittersweet Symphony and The Drugs Don't Work. I think that the album is overlong with some of the tracks dragging a little. But that being said, this is a sterling album.

Solid album but not necessarily my thing. Some classic songs that I didn’t realize were the verve. Feels like driving through the Midwest when you’re a little depressed.

I don't know why but I never liked Bitter Sweet Symphony. That was the first track and I just skipped it. And other than that song I don't know if I know any other songs from these guys. The second song mentioned the lord a bunch so fuck that one. This third one sounds like Oasis. The album art is so 90s lol with his bucket hat. meh 3 stars.

https://youtu.be/68KWlxzZS_I?si=judZAAQO-yOjExe8

Bittersweet symphony was huge for me when it came out. Played everywhere constantly! And I pretty much forgot about it. I think that song holds up, not crazy about the rest of the album.

I like some elements of this record very much but it's hard to compare it to others in the 1001 who are either groundbreaking or feel more compelling or more unique.

Why does this album sound like u2?

Highlights: Bittersweet Symphony, Sonnet. In a nutshell: rein it in, boys. Showing restraint as a musician isn’t always a bad thing. Restraint is what the album needed. Save the extended jams with little payoff for the live shows. You made the same mistake with the last album. This album does have some good lyrics, but it’s not enough to bump the rating higher. Overall: 2/10

Had some songs I really enjoyed, but a lot of the them just became fillers. I only got to listen to it once, so maybe it has potential to be a 4.

I can imagine being in the mood, just not today

Solid 3. The hits are a five, but they do not pull the rest of the album with them.

It's aight. I prefer other shoegaze/britpop/British music. They owe Achtung Baby a lot of credit with this one tbh

I'd listened to Bittersweet Symphony many times. Relaxed listening style of album.

The albums peaks with the first song, which makes the rest blend together for me.

Starts off strong with Bittersweet Symphony, the rest had a good rock sound throughout

First song, Bittersweet Symphony, sets off the tone and the album moves on from there. Definitely starts at the peak, but I think the rest held up fairly well. I was pleasantly surprised and think this is an album I want to add to my collection. They aren't the one hit wonder I had thought they were. Go Verve.

Although the tend to drag with some of their songs, the bulk of this is still an unmatched level of infectious.

rumin mies maailmassa... tietää että rumiluksen tehtävä hyvää musiiikkia... muuten ei ura menossa mihinkään... kaveri unohtanut estetiikan.. seksi anti-ikoni... top 10 ugliest motherfuckers peoples magazine 1997: this bitch.... sulje silmät ja kuuntele... beauty in the sound... horrible face but listen... siis kokeilkaa kansa hetken.. HETKEN.. olla katsomatta ällötystä!! ja kuuntelette vaan... on se hyvä... ei tarvitse kommentoida kauhunaamaa pelkästään, musiikkikin on tositosi hyvää!!! bitter sweet smyphhonyyy ... blaa haa llaaaffhh......

Uninteresting, long, and samey

One obvious banger but the rest was meh.

Opens with a banger. Lots of decent hymns to follow.

Didnt go all the way through but really only liked bittersweet symphony

Bitter Sweet Symphony // Sonnet // The Drug’s Don’t Work // Lucky Man //

There's a decided lack of hooks in their music. For music that isn't that complex I find that good hooks can make all the difference.

Du rock mou qui dérange pas, ça serait un 2 sans Bittersweet Symphony

It was better than I expected, but it really rides the high of the single.

Overrated

It sounds like, The Beatles, Oasis etc. And you don't want to skip it.

Skipped Bittersweet Symphony because 25 years of overplay is enough to form my opinion on it. The rest of the album switches between mid paced rock and more enjoyable psychedelic jams. Found a few songs worth relistening to, surprisingly.

what do you think the odds are that Robert Dimery was a teenager/young adult during the new wave and britpop eras?

Cracking album one of the best brit pop albums

No private session need for Spotify, I enjoy this album, and that over played song in conveniently the first track so it's easy to put in CD player, hit play and then the skip button.

Decent enough to be a 3. Doesn’t blow me away and at times feels derivative of U2

Lots of Cali callouts. It was ok

I’ve only ever heard the big song the Rolling Stones sued them over. This will be a fascinating listen. Sad to learn they hit it big… And then very quickly started fighting and broke up. Love the big single, but do not do not do not like the vocal. It’s whiny and ear splitting. Track two “Sonnet”. Wow. Everything about this is beautiful. I hope the rest of the album is more like this. “The Rolling People”. You honestly expect me to believe this isn’t an Oasis song?! “The Drugs Don’t Work”. Everything about this is perfectly beautifully heartbreaking. The songwriting and the production are exactly what the song needs. Wow. “Weeping Willow”. Immediately conjured Oasis “Cast No Shadow”. I have read that these guys started as a shoegaze band, and there were hints of that as the album progressed! Tracks that were much more mood focused than song focused and that definitely felt like the guitarist going “oooo what does this button do…” Especially the final track “Come On/Deep Freeze”. The album could have stood to be cut by a few songs. They’re all fine, but a little tighter of a track list would have been a stronger sequence and stopped me from feeling tired by the end. All in all a very good album and I’m sad the band didn’t last long afterwards!

Some great iconic music, i like it!

Meh. I really don’t understand how this album is on this list. The “best” track and definitely the reason it’s on anyone’s radar (or this list, tbh) is because of a song that is popular because it bit the instrumental from the orchestra version of “the Last Time.” There are plenty of Britpop and neo-psych out there that’s much more enjoyable. From just a contemporaries standpoint: - blur, oasis, manic street preachers, stone roses, shit - even supergrass is a better option - same shit with neo-psych. There’s too many better options of that era to even mention here. I’m being kind of harsh, but it’s only because of the presumed accolades of being on this list. It’s not a horrible album, but it’s not essential. The Verve will go down in the books as a one hit wonder and a case study on plagiarism

Bittersweet Symphony is my least favorite song of all time. This whole album reeks of adjacency to it.

Dumb and annoying

A late nineties relic! So many influences. Like a message in a bottle.

I’ve always thought “Bittersweet Symphony” was too long, boringly repetitive with no distinction between verse/chorus/bridge. It just plods along at one pace, and still ends up nowhere. The rest of the album is equally unremarkable.

I would probably like this more if I was going through a bad break up in the 90s. Im guessing it was huge among Fathers 4 Justice

Great album! Memorable, iconic tracks

Bitter Sweet Symphony is an all timer, 11/10 kind of song for me. I knew that already. But somehow, had never listened to the full album. Quite enjoyed it. I loved it while I was listening to it, but looking back a day or two later, it's not as memorable as I had hoped. But still really enjoyed it and will listen again.

Pretty good mid nineties soft rock. Bittersweet Symphony is a classic.

3.5 90s Britpop but not on the level of Blur or Oasis

pretty underwhelming

So much more to this than bittersweet symphony. Loved it!

The 90s decade rating is really suffering at the hands of these middling brit pop acts. Why does it have to be so long?

Fantastic record. One of my favorites. What can I say?

Important in that there's a unique time period-based sound of drug fueled british bar bands, but nothing that set me afire.

One wong repeated during all the album, boring.

Listening to this album really feels like getting lost in the music - but not in a good way.

Pretty average, but that's what a lot of this late 90's mellow rock was to me in general. It's a decent listen but nothing I'd come back to. 3/5

Listen to the first song on the album and then turn this off and save yourself an hour of a lackluster Coldplay meets Oasis.

It's tricky; I like quite a lot of it. Maybe somewhere in here lurks a 38-minute, tight, 4-star album. But I find it a bit too narco nod-off in places, sludgy, or like a low(er)brow Spiritualized.

Not that I thought it would be bad, but I did enjoy this a lot more than I expected to. Very consistent. 3.5/5

It was ok. Bittersweet symphony is a great song, and it wasn't bad music. Just sounded like Oasis without the hooks, energy, attitude, or Liam. Kinda meh outside of the first song - which also is kinda only good because the sample is amazing.

I think I had this album but barely remember it. It holds up well enough

Day198 - better than i thought it would be. more like oasis less like blur. weird strategy to start with the biggest song but there are at least three other songs worth hearing

TIL: The Verve and The Verve Pipe are two different bands. Just kidding. I prefer Oasis.

3.5/5. The Rolling Stones were so wrong with the royalty thing, sucked this band bone dry. Glad it was eventually made right.

I liked this more than I thought I would. Bittersweet Symphony was always a song I sort of enjoyed but it drags on. The rest of the first half is solid, way more trance-y than I expected. The second half got a little dull. Also, it was far too long.