Reviews (page 9 of 13)
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.
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!
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
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
Several songs gave me U2 vibes. Overall not a terrible album.
Some good songs but some get lost. It has a lot of build and inspirational verve..but I think others bands do it better.
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.
Day 41 - September 7th, 2024 So mid. 3/5
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
Oh they just made Oasis again
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.
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.
3.5
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?
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.
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
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
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......
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 //
meh
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.
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
A late nineties relic! So many influences. Like a message in a bottle.
Classic
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
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 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
Meh
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.
I think I had this album but barely remember it. It holds up well enough
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.
3.5
Favourite Song: Come On
The first song is fantastic but the rest was pretty meh
Bitter Sweet Symphony immediately throws me back to getting rides home from my friend Justin senior year. Scrounging for loose change to pay for gas. Getting confused whether it was The Verve or The Verve Pipe with the song on repeat on the radio. Nothing on the rest of the album stands out.
Rolling People reminds me of U2 meets Oasis which now reading the wiki I can see they were friends/toured with Oasis. I did not realize this band started in 1990 and sounds like it was a long way to a huge hit. Bittersweet Symphony is such a catchy layered song. The vocals fit the tone so well. I was really only familiar with this song given it was so huge when it came out. The potential this song demonstrates is great and goes way beyond the sample they use. When Oasis existed, I do rather listen to Oasis. With that said I did enjoy Weeping Willow, Lucky Man and Velvet Morning. They were redeeming on my rating.
I have mixed feelings about this album. There is a lot to like, but I keep coming back to the idea that this seems like what an AI bot would create as an album. The vocalist has the right sound, there are musical elements that are catchy, the single is very memorable and actually sounds important, etc., but after listening to the album, I don't have a connection with the album at all. Could I spend time and listen to this album more and gain a greater appreciation for its significance? Sure. Will I? Probably not.
They really hit it out of the park with bittersweet but the just had the same sound but not as good as bittersweet
A lot of the same, and that same was fine. 2.8.
Aside from Bittersweet Symphony this album was pretty unremarkable and unmemorable. Personal enjoyment: 3/5 Relevance to this list: 3/5
i liked this much better in 2024 than in 1997. A Storm in Heaven is still their best, by far imo, but this was good.
Bittersweet Symphony is great. The rest is background music
-I definitely like it a lot more than the other Verve album, there seems to have been an improvement in direction and sound -I loved the more experimental ambient-esque stuff on Neon Wilderness and Deep Freeze -Favorites are Bitter Sweet Symphony, The Drugs Don’t Work, and Weeping Willow
I started this album only knowing the one song (Bitter Sweet Symphony) but I have enjoyed the other songs, they are rather calm. The lyrics can get pretty repetitive though.
I think every human being should once experience the joy of walking on the street to Bittersweet Symphony.
I mean, there's the one song everyone knows if they have HEARD of The Verve. But what's interesting is that seemed to get more and more repetitive to me the more the song went on. The other songs on the album were more interesting to me because I hadn't heard them before. Which is different from a lot of other albums where I know the hit (or hits) and the other songs are not as interesting. (BTW, how much more Britpop is on this list? There seems to be an overwhelming amount.) Songs like "Weeping Willow" and "The Rolling People" I really enjoyed. The second of the two had a shuffle feel which was interesting. The singer reminded a bit of Oasis, but without as much bite. (Really, I thought "Bittersweet Symphony" was an Oasis song to begin with.) So I guess because of the incorporation of the orchestra? THAT makes it so relevant? Still it, had a few good tracks, but mostly standard britpop fare. Top tracks: "Bittersweet Symphony," "The Rolling People," "The Drugs Don't Work," "Weeping Willow"
It's a pretty easy to listen to album and it came out of nowhere in the late 90's to become one of the biggest albums ever in the UK. But it feels a little bit of the same thing over and over doesn't it? I enjoy all of the singles, though I like their biggest one (Bittersweet Symphony) less than the others (Sonnet, The Drugs Don't Work, Lucky Man). And yet I find it hard to pinpoint a non-single that really stands out to me. Some good ones, or at least decent ones, but they just kind of blend in with the rest of the album. Knowing all 4 singles and not knowing the rest of the album well, I thought I was going to be more energized listening to the rest. Instead I felt indifferent to at least half the songs on the album.
The music was good, but fifth graders are more lyrically complex than this was.
Bitter Sweet Symphony - 8 Sonnet - 6 The Rolling People - 7 The drugs don’t work- 6.5 Catching the butterfly - 6 Neon Wilderness - 5.5 Space & Time - 5 Weeping Willow - 6 Lucky Man - 7.5 One Day - 6 This Time - 6 Velvet morning - 6 Come on / Deep Freeze - 5 Total = 62/100. 3.1* Seems you have to be in a certain mood in order to be able to enjoy this album. First somg was great but it seems that every song in the album suffers from extreme repetition that enhanced the boredom of the mind that slowly gets worse as it goes.
There are some (obviously) strong late 90s vibes to this album. It's a little long, making it drawn out in my opinion 3.4/5
sleepy
isn’t really a bad album just not my kind of music. it would be good to listen to for background music or if you’re doing homework.
Iconic Bitter Sweet Symphony on here. Some other okay songs as well, but not too much that stands out.
This album is held up by its singles. Bitter Sweet Symphony is a fantastic single and a staple of Britpop. The Drugs Don't Work is also a masterpiece in its sadness. Lucky Man's tune and lyrics make it stand out among the rest of the psychadelic-leaning songs. Speaking of which, the psychedelic remainders are not bad, with more dynamic production than Oasis. However, it gets repetitive, with the rock-y bombast for most tracks letting them down after 3-4 minutes. The exception is Space And Time, which earns the noodling at the end. This is a lesson in why \"Oasis' \"BE Here Now\" was doomed to failure - psychadelic-inspired hard rock songs should be way shorter to start with, let alone wall-of-sound for 7 minutes. Overall, great sound and vibes overall but the lack of re-listenability means it loses stars.
I almost like Bitter Sweet Symphony, Lucky Man, One Day, This Time
“Bittersweet Symphony” is easily the best song here and still hits (almost) the same. “The Drugs Don’t Work” reeks of trying too hard. The rest of it is pretty generic Brit Pop. The Verve still have the problem of an album full of overlong, repetitive songs.
Great first track
This was quite a surprising album, much better than I expected. I remembered the hits but most of the songs stand the test of time quite well, much better than most of their brit bands peers. It has more groove and grit than I thought. Arrangements are clever, occasionally a bit experimental too. Bittersweet Symphony is a little classic.
Итс олрайт. Я бы сказал, что из всех бритпоп альбомов, что мне пока встречались в этом листе, этот звучит наиболее бритпоп, но при этом будто бы понравился мне больше других (Suede, Pulp и Oasis еще не было). Несколько прямо отличных песен, но упомянутая ниже стала для меня сюрпризом, поэтому ее я и выбрал вместо Bitter Sweet Symphony. Лучшая песня - The Drugs Don't Work.
It’s fine. Fine. Overlong, some stinkers, but it just sounds the same as the last Verve album I got, which was only like a week ago, and it’s just the same Brit pop that proliferates throughout this list. It’s fine! Why did the Verve need TWO albums on this list, when there’s amazing bands and performers I know not represented at all?!?
Clásico, relajante, profundo al mismo tiempo. Un 100 para una mañana de estudio
Bittersweet Symphony is an obvious banger, but this is solid throughout.
they dhould have changed thte rest of the songs to be as good as bittersweet symphnony
It was nice, easy listening. First song was the best, but overall, nice.
Pretty good
At least two of these songs were used multiple times during Scrubs
Bittersweet Sympathy is such a wonderful song, everything else on this album is cast in its long shadow and can not step out of the shadow
Nice.
It’s okay. The Drugs Don’t Work connects along with Bittersweet Symphony.
A good album, definitely some hits in there but at the same time it's not ethereal enough
Heard a lot of shared DNA with other Britpop groups like Oasis. Bittersweet Symphony is a classic; I wouldn't mind revisiting this later. Also, hidden track? What a throwback!
Sounds like my late 90s soundtrack. Enough big tunes to warrant a 3. Unfortunately a lot of the other songs run together.
I remember this album when it came out. Bitter Sweet Symphony was a huge hit, but I thought it was repetative and dull. After listening to the album, it just doesn't do it for me.
Prima arrangementen, maar uiteindelijk niet echt goed. De topnummers zijn te weinig.
Recently I have been doing some intense pipetting while listening to my generated album of the day. This one was pretty boring to listen to again while pipetting, but there was nothing really wrong with it. My baseline is the metal album I listened to three days ago- nothing will compare to that experience. 3/5
Sounds good
Of course Bittersweet Symphony is one of my all-time favorites. The remainder of the album wasn't very memorable for me, though.
Bittersweet symphony is great, but the rest of it really didn't stick.
Better than I was expecting, but my expectations were pretty low. The Aphrodite's Child influences were interesting.
Pretty classic 90s
Woaaah, bittersweet symphony has been popping up a lot in my life these past couple of weeks, crazy! Let's see if the rest of the album holds up as well. Very Oasis reminiscent. Catching the butterfly sounds proto-Muse. Overall enjoyable album, 3*. It's interesting that this is such a high selling album; I think that is all an artifact of an era where you had to buy the whole album for just one song,, you couldn't pick and choose like we do with streaming. This means these guys had one amazing banger and that's that. A la tubthumping. The hidden track was weird. Highlights: bittersweet symphony
Heard Bitter Sweet Symphony way too many times to actually enjoy listening to it today. The rest of the album was a little samey, although The Drugs Don't Work was good, and I added Weeping Willow to my Spotify!
“Bitter Sweet Symphony” is this band’s big claim to fame, but even that song wears out its welcome eventually. The rest of the songs are good, but why are they all over 6 mins?!
Good, not great album
All these songs sound the same.
One of the bigger hits of the 90’s was “bittersweet symphony”. This album was pretty good. 3.5
Bueno.
I didn't think I'd heard The Verve before, but then as soon as "Bitter Sweet Symphony" started playing, I realized I *had* heard them (at least that song, many many many times), and I always enjoyed hearing it on the radio. The video is weirdly misanthropic, though, and makes me like the song less, sadly. (Likewise, the Wikipedia article for this album only seems to reinforce that Richard Ashcroft is a selfish, arrogant jerk, sadly.) I'm pretty sure I haven't ever heard most of the rest of the album, and for all of the hook to "Bitter Sweet Symphony", the rest of the album doesn't really deliver on that promise. The album seems just sort of average overall. Nothing great, nothing horrible (except maybe that video...). It's a bit shocking that "Urban Hymns" is #19 on the list of best-selling albums in UK chart history, as I feel like I could list a lot more than 19 UK albums that are much better than this (and yes, I know that's not the same thing). I'm also *super* bummed that the track "Velvet Morning" wasn't a cover or adaptation of that bizarre Lee Hazlewood/Nancy Sinatra song.
My take is that Bitter Sweet Symphony is brilliant and I was really excited with the first part of the album. However, as it went on, none of the other songs really landed. I like the feel and tenor of the band more than the songwriting. I'll need to come back to this one as it could raise over time, but it's a:
This one started slow for me, but I liked it more as the album went along. Probably wouldn't ever choose it intentionally.
I enjoyed this a lot! Totally new to me (besides track 1 which bothers me a little at this point). I give it a 3.2.
It kind of went in one ear & out the other. Didn't dislike it. Prefer the Beta Band. Admittedly tired of posting 2 & 3 star reviews.
I can remember not particularly rating this as an album. Only remember drugs and symphony. Will be interesting to see what I think now. Better than I remembered especially the last few tracks, but too long a bit mono paced and no great emotion coming through to me.
Britpop er VIRKELIG ikke min ting. Det er et par sanger som kan være ok å høre på. Hvis pop er din greie, så kan det sikkert være et bra album.
I liked this album.
I enjoyed several songs
I enjoyed this one well enough, though didn't find a whole lot here to love outside the first track.
pretty good album, lucky man and bittersweet symphony standout!
Massive hit. Some pretty good songs. But drags on
So much filler!
classic
Urban Hymns is a bona fide classic 90s britpop album. Ashcroft's smooth vocals and melodies paired with big spacey verbed out guitars, and well layered production. The obvious big hit, "Bitter Sweet Symphony", I think is the main reason this album even makes this list. Undeniably memorable, but just as much so for the copyright debacle as the song itself. All in all, it's a good album, but suffers from most of the songs sounding pretty similar throughout. Throw it on in the background while you cook dinner or study or work. It's not an album I'd say you want to sit down for a fully dedicated listening session as the somewhat repetitive feel of the album can be a bit of a drag over the 75 minute runtime (knock about 5 or so minutes off if you skip the silence between "Come On" and the pseudo sci-fi sounding instrumental hidden track "Deep Freeze")
Kinda the background for a lot of outdoor experiences of the era.
“Who the hell are these guys” *first song plays* “oh”
I like Bittersweet Symphony, but sitting down for 75 minutes of it again is a no thanks for me. I’ll admit being into the general vibe in the 90s and early 2000s and still to some extent when I’m in a particular mood these days, but the overwrought pseudo symphonic thing generally just doesn’t hit right at this stage for me. I’m not offended or anything by this and it all sounds fine, but I’m very skeptical about the assertion that any of us need to listen to this album before we die and think maybe the author just had Bittersweet Symphony stuck in their head when they were getting toward their deadline.
Okay
Hey Robert Dimery, which kinda mediocre, completely unexceptional, generic brit pop album should we include on the list of 1001 albums you must here before you die? Robert Dimery: YES!!!! 76 minutes of shoegaze-lite monotony. Ugh. These songs are too long and too boring and the lead singer sounds like the guy from Coldplay. This album isn't bad, but it sure as hell isn't good.
Only knew bittersweet Symphony but the rest of this album was quite good and quite a bit not that...which is good. Loved his raspy vocals and almost psychedelic guitar moments. Overall a great listen from a band I previously knew nothing about
This was HUGE at the time and it's hard for me to be too objective as I was sick of the singles so much. Saying that, I enjoyed it more than I expected but man, way overlong. There's a super tight 40-45 minutes here. A generous 3
bittersweet symphony - excellent song. The rest was fine.
Helping to define the lush alt sound and definably influenced by the success of Britpop, the Verve worked hard from a Storm in Heaven to achieve this level of success. I think they left a bit too much silence before the secret song, but always a treat to see it. Still find it hard to believe this is considered one of the BEST British albums but I feel the same about Good Morning Morning Glory Bittersweet symphony is far overplayed, but learning the sample is from an orchestral rolling stones cover is particularly cool.
- The Rolling People is an epic song - The rest of the album is fine but isn't anything too crazy
Thije vond m overrated ik vind m legit wel hard
CAUSE ITS A BITTERSWEET... SYMPHONY THATS LIFEEEEE
dollar store Oasis. 3/5. would be 2.5 if i could do half stars. its fine. completely inoffensive. lifted a lot of guitar tone from the stone roses which i can appreciate but thats really it.
One amazing song followed by some mid tunes.
Only a few songs I wasn't feeling, including the hidden track, which is kind of a shame because it was a long wait. Overall, a pretty good album
I do have a soft spot for The Verve, especially their earlier work. This album continues some of the shoegazing sonic philosophy of their first two albums, but mixes it with crowd-pleasing maudlin tracks. 50% of this is really good, and 50% of it just isn't.
Not really sure how to feel about this one. Bitter Sweet Symphony being almost a meme song is hilarious, the rest of the album was decent and a little corny. Definitely some stronger songs. Negative points for making me thinking Lucky Man was going to be an ELP cover. Top tracks: Sonnet, The Drugs Don't Work
Like many of these albums I know the one super famous song (bittersweet symphony) but didn’t know the rest. Drugs don’t work was cool, the rest sort of just blended together
Solid. Not great. Not bad.
I liked this album and I will return to it one day. That said, I think it’s more accurate to say that “Bitter Sweet Symphony” is one of the 1,001 Songs to Hear Before You Die, rather than this album being a necessity. 3.5/5
Pretty good, and a bit darker than I expected
Thrilled Catfish is making a comeback, but I probably could have supplemented with the guys
One hit wonders
All the songs are so samey
I've listened through this album several times before this. It's quire nice, though I will say it gets a bit one-note by the end. I can only do symphonic light rock for so long before it makes me sleepy.
90s brit-pop??! WHAT?! I would never have expected that on this list after (checks album count) 666 (hail satan) albums. But, in all seriousness, as much as I've hated all the brit-pop this list's editors have crammed down my earholes, Bitter Sweet Symphony is a pretty solid song. It deserves it's place as a classic of the era. I really don't think I've ever heard another The Verve song, though. The rest of this album is unremarkable but they get a kudos for the hidden track! How does this one hit wonder band still have 9.2M monthly listeners on Spotify? I blame the algorithm.
Its hard to listen to this album and not hear U2's slightly less edgy and much sadder younger cousin. Not hating it, but this feels like one of those albums where you can drift away for 9 minutes and not be really sure that the song you were listening to ever actually ended. Is this the same song. A different song? Are these guys still strumming and brooding? Whatever. Not horrible but I'm not sure I will have a reason to dig out Urban Hymns in the future to hear it again.
#153. Another one hit wonder? At least this album as a whole was pretty good, unlike some of the other one hit wonders. 3/5: acceptable
I think the album’s hurt a bit by starting with The Verbe’s most memorable song (Bittersweet Symphony) rather than building up to it, but overall I found it a pretty enjoyable experience. Besides the obvious favorites I really liked “The Drugs Don’t Work” and “Velvet Morning”.
It’s good, but someone definitely heard Oasis and thought “I could do that”
Growing up I was always confused by The Verve vs The Verve Pipe. Still not entirely sure I know the difference
extremely ok drunk british guy voice
Aggressively OK.
favourite song: bittersweet symphony mannnnn this album kinda sucked i think. obviously bittersweet symphony and the drugs dont work are great songs, but the albums too long and never reaches that level again. i also am not particularly fond of the singers voice.
This was decent, some good songs. Kind of long.
Like 1 good song
Not bad, some good songs on this one.
The three singles are all great obviously. They clearly knew that and decided to make every other song on the album as similar as possible. That can work in some cases but here it means you end up with over an hour of mumbled, soporific rock mush.
I was familiar with some of the singles prior to drawing this album. It's an alright listen, as I've been exposed to other Britpop from around this era. If anything, though, listening to this made me want to listen to Oasis. This album runs a bit long, with a few 5+ min tracks including the interesting final hidden track that literally contains like 7+ min of silence. The singles themselves are memorable (talking about the iconic "Bitter Sweet Symphony" and "Lucky Man" of course), but nothing else really stands out.
Bitter Sweet Symphony 3.7 Sonnet 3.5 The Rolling People 3.6 The Drugs Don't Work 3.6 Catching the Butterfly 3.3 Neon Wilderness 3.6 Space and Time 3.5 Weeping Willow 3 Lucky Man 3 One Day 3.1 This Time 3 Velvet Morning 3.2 Come On / Deep Freeze (Hidden Track) 3.1
Bittersweet Symphony is such a great song but honestly nothing else is really memorable here.
Three good songs can’t hold up a mediocre album, and I just don’t understand why this one gets so much praise. Sure, I get that the three big tracks were massive, but come on—the rest of the album is boring and repetitive. Nothing special, to keep it simple.
This album undoubtedly had a lasting cultural impact, but about half the tracks on this album feel derivative of each other. I had a good time listening through this, but probably won't revisit it again.
Very light 3 stars. The album is...pleasant. The lead single was overplayed, but it's a cool song when actively listening to it. Reminiscent of Rufus Wainwright with the lead singers singing and Oasis with the instrumentation. All the songs sound good, but nothing really stands out. Album is very long for all these songs to be pretty indistinguishable. The words are hard to parse out with how the singer sings them, and even looking at them, they seem superficially deep. Nice enough, but no real reason to return to it.
2.5-3
Good album, good listen, some good classics
Legendary first song of the album. Everything else very bland and blah. Not special.
British pop/rock, kind of dull for me
Burnt by 90s
Better than I remember with seemingly a lot of influence from Radiohead.
lots of what just seems like "noise" and repetitive tones. do like bittersweet symphony though
Not as good as Oasis but definitely the vibes and influences are there
Nostalgisch aber nur Ok
2.5
Genre: BritPop, Alt Rock Instruments: 2/5 Modern Translation: 3/5 Dance Potential: 1/5 Listening Location: Making/eating lunch in Auckland Heard it before: Yes (some) Favourite Song: Bitter Sweet Symphony, Lucky Man Made me feel: This is a 90's iconic album. I liked listening to the whole thing, but it's a little too rocky for me and thought it was a little similar all the way through. I really enjoyed the nostalgia.
Radiohead were robbed when this won the ‘Best Album’ in the 1998 Brit Awards over OK Computer. Still, it is a good album, 3.5 stars.
Good surprise! One of those albums in which all the songs are better than the hit!
The instrumentals are probably a 4 for me but not the vocals.
I’m pretty sure every Britrock album I’ve ever heard has sounded like every Britrock album I’ve ever heard before (maybe minus Stone Roses). A fine album with that might overstay its welcome a bit.
Ratings: 5: I will happily play this album anytime 4: I may occasionally play this album of my own free will 3: I will happily listen to this if someone plays it in the background 2: I will tolerate this if it is playing in the background 1: I will leave the room if someone plays this in the background Solid 3. Bittersweet Symphony alone is one of my favorite tracks from the 90s...but it almost hurts the album as a whole as the rest of the songs pale in comparison. There are some other decent tracks here but by the end of the album it is just becoming a slog to get through it all.
de las mejores entradas en un album pero de ahi no se que paso se podía explotar mas eso
it's totally fine. great for some 90's nostalgia but i don't really know if i'd ever be in the mood to just jam out this whole album
Typical 90s Britpop
Wait... I always thought the bittersweet symphony was a song by Moby! I stand corrected. The album has some interesting experiments but is not the kind of music that resonates with me. Didn't hated it but didn't fell in love either.
a vibe, the drugs dont work is my fav.
75 minutes of 90s Brit rock is too much 90s Brit rock. I think “What’s the Story…” outpaces this album by a long shot. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ it’s fine, it’s just too long.
Yet another album from the '90s that I have never heard and I only even recognize the name of this band because of the major pop single that they released That's the opening song on this album. And I was delighted to see that they did not lock into the methodology of that pop single and the other songs on the album had intonations of the upcoming psychedelic trend that would develop in the 2000s, And I really enjoyed the sound of the vocals and it was a soft mesmerizing album to listen to. I don't know that I would venture in to listening to anything else by then but I'm glad I did get to hear this and that it was a pleasant experience.
I thought I would like this more but I can see why they have one hit.
A couple of good songs on this album.
maybe it's me but it didn't feel very special
Hidden track was the star of this album tbh
A couple of great songs, but I struggle to remember anything about the rest the album
It's alright.
Bitter sweet symphony is fantastic. Others I felt were mostly ok, nothing else really stood out to me
The Verve is like U2, if they were less annoying, but also way more generic.
Just finished my second listen, and I may be feeling contrarian and/or my feelings here might be impacted by my having been born the same year this album came out- but honestly? It's pretty boring basic stuff. A few moments I enjoyed but otherwise inoffensive and like. Fine. A solid 3.5 for me. Won't be listening again. Catching the Butterfly: Very good!! I like this one a lot!! Bittersweet Symphony: always felt neutral-positive about this one. Not a bad song but I would forget it exists if not for the Rolling Stones copyright drama. Sonnet, Space and Time, Weeping Willow, Lucky Man, Deep Freeze: Enjoyable in a very passive way, a neutral example of a genre that I usually like The Rolling People, Neon Wilderness, Come On: Feels like they were inspired by a lot of good music and came up with a much more neutral version of what they heard. I do actually really like the end of Come On though, it's good. The Drugs Don't Work, One Day, This Time, Velvet Morning: Okay. whatever.
Solid
Always annoying when an album starts with the best song, sets you up to expect greatness only to end up a little bit disappointed. Still enjoyable overall though.
This album has its ups and downs. This might be the most 90s thing I've ever experienced and that is wild. Hootie would be embarrassed at the amount of 90s haha
i liked this just not loved it
Nothing amazing. But not bad.
Solid album.
It was fine. Nothing extraordinary.
At last we’ve gotten out of the classic rock rut & songs that've been so overplayed we never need to hear them again, no matter how earth-shaking in their original release. This list is called ‘1001 Abums To Hear Before You Die’, and so far I’d heard them all. This is the first one I’ve not heard before. Somebody else said it was really interesting to hear ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ in context with all these other songs, and I completely agree. Also, sounds a little more current even though by now it’s 25 years old than the other 40 to 50 year old tracks we’ve been listening to. Don’t know that I will listen to it on repeat like some ref reviewers have said, but I had fun listening to it once all the way through. Do absolutely get the Oasis comparison though.
I like it. The first song is great, the rest is okay.
A British classic, melancholy vocals with classic guitar band rhythms.
Didn’t think this album was really good or bad, it just was
Everyone has heard Bittersweet Symphony hundreds of times. The rest of the record is rather obscure. There are a couple of gems on there such as The Rolling People but the rest is fairly forgettable.
enh
-Track that stood out: The Drugs Don't Work -Recognized Lucky Man from the radio but never knew before that it was The Verve! -Overall enjoyed the album, hard to imagine when I would go out of my way to listen to it though -Will always love Bittersweet Symphony for the great role it plays in the Cruel Intentions soundtrack
Urban Hymns by The Verve is a standout album that truly defined the sound of a generation—mine included. It captures a unique blend of emotion and atmosphere that still resonates today. The Verve were also an incredible live band, and that raw energy comes through in every track. Favourite Tracks: There are some absolute belters on this album. Bitter Sweet Symphony is iconic for a reason—its sweeping orchestration and emotional pull are unforgettable. Sonnet is another highlight, with its poignant lyrics and haunting melody. Least Favourite Track: Honestly, every song on Urban Hymns brings something to the table. There’s no real weak link—each track feels carefully crafted and worth revisiting. Album Artwork: The cover is effortlessly cool. It perfectly reflects the introspective, moody vibe of the music within.
i understood why every song was in the album (well, nearly every song) and though i loved this album overall, i will never listen to some of these songs again - to me, they were very dry-my-hand-and-lean-out-of-the-bath-to-skip kind of songs, so i rate the album a solid 6.5/10. perhaps my opinion will change, and if it does, i’ll update you all. but for now, i stand by my rating ! rest of the review on ig: @musicwithnessa
That felt like a more melodic, meloncholy Be Here Now. An absolute slog to get through to be honest. I'm exhausted and the last track is still playing. A few tracks less and a few minutes trimmed off several of them would have made for a much better album. Reading up on it now, how was this voted one of the best British albums ever. Jesus Christ. 2.5*
Olha os cara tem outras músicas boas, mas isso só aumenta meu ódio por Bittersweet Symphony
The first thing I always think when I see this album cover is “Wow, that guy’s shoes are so huge!“ I like the orchestration on the various pieces. Good mixture of instrumentation beyond the normal guitar/bass/drums/vocals. “Bittersweet Symphony” is a 5 star song, the rest were average or forgettable. Overall I’d I’ve this 3 stars.
I found myself signing along to Bittersweet Symphony, and tbh I've always thought I hated the song. So far enjoying this far more than I wanted to. Ok, I didn't hate it. 3.2/5
This is one of those albums where I wish I had a copy of the book to understand why it is here. I presume it’s because the Verve were massively popular and this is the 19th-biggest selling album in the UK ever. I love Britpop (despite being born well after the movement occurred) but I found this far too melancholy. The album itself was too long — 75 minutes?! I couldn’t really understand what he was singing due to the mixing unless I focussed, but I used this as background music due to the aforementioned runtime. I like the two hit songs but unfortunately they happen very near the start so the rest was a slog to get through. 5/10.
Everybody knows the big hit that opens the album. Not sure the rest of the offering lives up to that, but it’s much more solid all-around than I expected. Will definitely listen to it again.
"Bitter Sweet Symphony" is one of those songs that I get really excited about at first, but then it seems to get kind of tedious and whiny by the end. But the first minute and a half is perfect. Turns out maybe I just like the song it sampled more than the rest of it. This album as a whole was kind of like that. The first half I was thinking it was a solid four. Getting somewhat bored of it by the last track (my least favorite track), and the hidden track (Oh, how I HATE those and especially this one!), I was thinking the album was a three. So I listened again, and confirmed that the first half is good but the last of it rounds it down.
I wasn’t expecting much, for no real reason, and so I was rather pleasantly surprised at how well the first few tracks went. After about a hour (it seemed) I looked to see how many tracks were left and saw I was on track 4….then it started to just drag on and on. It really lost what charm it had by the end.
Aside from the distinctive and ubiquitous Bitter Sweet Symphony, I found this very generic and very long. I can't imagine listening to it again.
It was alright if long. I feel like I have heard enough of this style music in my current life though.
What a great imprint from the late nineties- There is a reason Bittersweet Symphony hit top charts all over the world and can still be heard today, i think many people forgot who the original band was (including myself until i was able to put 2&2 together). Nevertheless, i feel a great wave of nostalgia when listening to them, and i like a lot of the messaging in the lyrics as well.
Hadn’t heard Bitter Sweet Symphony in a long time, never liked the song and still don’t care for it. Weird as an opener too. However, I’m pretty surprised how much I like many of the tracks that come after it
It’s fine. There’s times where it sounds a bit generic, but there were a few standouts to me—Bittersweet Symphony of course, as well as Sonnet. It’s a bit bland at times, and can run a bit long. Once or twice a song tries to go in an “acid-rocky” type direction that doesn’t really hit. Overall, it’s a 90’s alternative album!
Thought this album was pretty decent.
3.4/5 - Its probably the best album ill never listen to again
İt's definitely not the best Verve album but don't expect the others to be in this list. This was their most radio friendly and more britpop sounding with a hint of psychedelia. Love Sonnet and Space and Time.
- Rundes aber im Gesamteindruck gemächliches Album - Neben bekannten Mega-Hit gibt es noch ein bis zwei andere Tracks die sehr ins Ohr gehen. Der Rest lässt mich ehrlich gesagt etwas kalt - Stilistisch sehr charakteristisch, wenn auch bequem im Britpop verwurzelt. - Ich habe bei The Verve leider das gleiche Phänomen, wie bei Oasis auch: Irgendwie sind sie mir, aus nicht erklärbaren Gründen, leicht unsympathisch und das wirkt sich bei mir auch auf das Hörvergnügen aus. 3/5
Rating: 2,75 / 5
Bitter Sweet Symphony is the only song I know from these guys, but I guess the rest of the album is alright. It is kind of generic otherwise.
Goo goo dolls radiohead
Bittersweet Symphony is a great song! I love the strings, the lyrics. So different really from the rest of this album. Drugs don’t work is a great song. I remember Ben Harper singing it, not The Verve. Giving it a 3 only because of the hit song is that good.
Starts off with such an epically, wonderful, 5/5 song and then just ok for an hour.
Listened to this many of times, happy to give it another go Production is very nice but the songs aren’t exactly amazing
Good music, some hits, some songs i liked and can play from time to time
3/5 Thought it was good, but over time the tracks were way too long and the songs started to sound kind of same-ey.
Meh
Very much a three star record. Some of the songs are fantastic, especially the singles, but much of the record is bogged down by a feeling of self-indulgence. Almost all the songs are at least a minute too long, overbaking what could've felt like a more clever, subtle record and some of the songs duffer from overproduction. A shame, because there really is a spark somewhere here.
Was alright, reminded me of 2000s FIFA soundtrack
A really good album.
Ja pretty cool maar ook wel vrij standaard niet heeeel bijzonder, eerste track wel vet ofc en leuk dat er een hidden track was al was dat echt niet om aan te horen
General thoughts: The Verve is really not my kind of band, its personality is very insipid, someway very 90s, the singer does a really good job, also the band, its the songs. There are some songs which feature orchestra elements, maybe if they would have taken that as the special trait of the whole album the songs in average would stand more, but really just a couple of them stick to the ear. Favorite songs: Other than the obvious Bitter Sweet Simpphony, Sonnet & Drugs don't work are pretty good, also Deep Freez was a very good outro. Cover: Pretty much reflects the bland aspect of the band, really boring. Real rating: 2.93
Bittersweet symphony and some other cool tracks. I really like "come on" which is the last track. 3.5
It was ok. More than just bittersweet symphony. Reminded me a bit of Oasis. Not a relevation, but not bad
3 stjörnur(nenni ekki að skrifa ritgerð hérna eins og þið tónlistarnördarnir)
Can't currently listen to Bitter Sweet Symphony without thinking of the whole Rolling Stones lawsuit. This issue, along with the dreadful pop song from 2023 that uses this same melody (don't really know its name but I've heard it in malls), does not allow me to enjoy listening to this song anymore. The rest of the album is definitely more interesting, I really like the way the Verve integrated the whole shoegaze and baggy movement into their music while maintaining a rock edge.
Boring songs for dads with bowl cuts
It's fine. Some decent songs, bit wanky
A few good tracks, but frankly most are not memorable.
2.5
Not to be that guy, but it true: their early psychadelic shoegaze stuff was better than their commercial breakthrough album. Sadly this album finds them less as a Slowdive rival or a ladish Spiritualized and more as a proto-Coldplay. It retains elements of their early sound - big spacey reverb-laden ambience, swirling wah-wah & delay pedal guitar parts, trance-inducing slow riffs and looping bass parts, big builds and breakdowns - but it's filtered through a much more mainstream alt-rock, almost Pearl Jam-like, approach with a much bigger emphasis on the balladeering mournful vocals front and center which makes it somewhat more generic. I'm a sucker for the twangy lapsteel accents which give it an extra element of angelic spaciousness - functioning as a blissful contrast to the misery of the lyrics on a song like "Drugs Don't Work"
This is 90s Britian. The swan song album with every sound recorded. The lush British orchestral background with the cheeky lyrics and cigarette rock sound. Bittersweet Symphony will always be the sound of the generation. Britain is always a little rougher around the edges. Sound of the all night club that looks like it's in a living room. Crepe paper decorations are all that'll do. But there's a sound there that feel like the truth.
I only ever listened to Bittersweet Symphony. The entire album was good. It reminded me a bit of the Beatles. I would listen to it again. Although more likely I'll just put Bittersweet Symphony in a play list.
This album was fine, but nothing earth-shattering if you exclude how big track 1 became. There's only a few tracks I would go out of my way to listen to again—6, 8, 9, and 11. Listening to this does make me feel it's too bad some of their other songs didn't get much airtime on the radio back when this came out.
Everything kinda boringly blends together after the first track (which remains a really good song). It wasn't bad, but I don't think I'll ever listen to this again.
The singles are all pretty great. The album tracks, maybe growers. Favourite tracks: the singles
melancholic city vibes, reminds me of The Smiths a lil bit
Still working through it, but I like the first few songs!
Bittersweet symphony obviously fantastic, the drugs don't work and lucky man also nice
Very similar to Oasis, have always known the classics, good to listen to the rest of the album. Pretty good if you are in to brit rock.
Very fine.
I started listening to this, and was like "this isn't the album I remember really liking" then I realized it was The Verve Pipe's album with one hit on it, not the Verve's album with one hit on it. three stars I guess - the famous song on this one was better, but the Verve Pipe's album was better overall.
I’d have to listen more closely to the other songs to decide on them, but I really like Bitter Sweet Symphony
Obviously the symphony song is amazing. The rest of the album is just okay.
It's a meh album. Pretty dated at this point. Bittersweet Symphony is a good song. I like The Drugs Don't Work but it sounds similar to another song but I can't tell which song it reminds me of. It's a fine album.
Better than I would have expected, but not brilliant.
soooo 90s, early 2000s, was a little over it by the end
It's like wish.com radiohead
I used to use Bittersweet Symphony as my pump-up song for my HSC - it would be the last song I'd have playing in the car before I went in. Don't know why, but the intro got me in the zone. The actual album and other songs take them or leave them.
the drugs dont work
not as bad as i remember.
It wasn’t bad but it all sounded the same.
Torn on this one - some songs are outstanding but it’s hard to listen to as an album as some songs are not to my taste at all. Of I coild go back I’d give steely Dan a 2 and this a 3. So a three in any case
Good first listening experience decent album. Really captures the sound of Brit Pop and what I’ve come to expect from it. I’ve heard the classic song, bitter Sweet Symphony before but revisiting it was a treat, and reading about the history of the band was also excellent. Perhaps, someday I will go back to their discography listen to their first album.
Average 90s inidie album.
Bitter Sweet Symphonie ist einfach grossartig, was für Gefühle! Der Rest des ist solide, kommt in der Tiefe aber nicht an den Hit heran.
Bitter Sweet Symphony, forgettable softish rock music. Grocery store classic.
7/10, banger of an opener
Pretty much the same as most other English alternative bands from their era. Elevated by "Bittersweet Symphony" of course but otherwise rather forgettable.
i only liked two songs in it, the rest felt too similar or was repetitive. Not fully my style
I can see why Brits would like this
How long is this album?! Singles are all great, overall sound is pleasant but just too much of it. The story of the royalties with Bittersweet Symphony is mad.
I don’t get it.
-this album cover is really giving lets go to the park and take aesthetic photos for our album cover -but i kinda like it -WAIT I THINK I KNOW THIS FIRST SONG -i really liked sonnet a lot, especially the strings at the end -all of these songs are on the longer side but they feel enchanting the whole time -i am REALLY liking this album which is UNEXPECTED -its not very interesting, kinda wish there was more diversity between the songs -why is the HIDDEN TRACK the most interesting song on here. sigh
90's sadness
The unceasing melancholia wreathed in BritPop mastery could irritate in larger volume, but this album definitely shows restraint. Of course Bittersweet Symphony is a jewel of 90s pathos; the rest of the album is surprisingly similarly and sweetly sour.
Liked sonnet and the drugs don't work
Whole album is fine. Not a huge fan of Bittersweet Symphony. Probably wouldn't go out of my way to listen to it again but wouldn't turn it off if it comes on the radio.
Not really my style
не нашла отличий от оазиса (но скучновато, видимо надо несколько недель попривыкнуть)
Bittersweet Symphony is stands out because the strings are so unique. The rest of the album does not.
Some decent songs on this (especially bitter sweet symphony), but it really did not need to be an hour and 15 minutes.
Best album heard yet, liked the vibe but no songs really stood out to me, would listen again though
first song is good and iconic but the rest are kinda just meh