Start playing guitar How to choose a guitar for beginners?
Alt Reviews

The Verve – “Urban Hymns” Reviewed and Revisited

the verve urban hymns review 2

The Verve finally managed with 1997’s “Urban Hymns” what they’d been promising the world ever since they’d formed – they’d made a transcendent, genre-defying album that put them straight on top of the alt-rock heap. But it proved as much a curse as a blessing.

Their monumental “Bittersweet Symphony” created infamy and triggered lawsuits. But “Urban Hymns” did not lead to the first or the last breakup of The Verve.

Is “Urban Hymns” quite the tour-de-force we were led to believe it was? Is it an alt-rock masterpiece? Today, I am reviewing and revisiting Richard Ashcroft’s most famous album.

the verve urban hymns review 1

“This is Music”

There were plenty of bands in Britain to whom the label “shoegaze” stuck. Some of them, bands like Slowdive or my bloody valentine, made colossal, beautiful rock noise. Few of them got into music magazines, and, indeed, fewer of them possessed a singer with an overachiever personality.

That’s how The Verve was different. They, too, played music that seemed to flow like molten lava down an Icelandic valley. They, too, often wrote beautifully hazy songs. But The Verve wanted to take over the world and treated this as a birthright.

Moreover, the band was led by one Richard Ashcroft, a singer once described as a mix between the cocky confidence of Mick Jagger and the shamanistic impulses of Jim Morrison. Dubbed Mad Richard by the press, who also adored writing about him, there was nothing ordinary about this musician.

Ashcroft was searching for mystical, transcendental sounds. And he had just the right team to help him. Nick McCabe was a shy man and a visionary guitarist who was able to open up other realms of reality through his playing. Simon Jones and Peter Salisbury’s rhythm section was brought up on the hypnotic grooves of The Stones Roses.

That’s not to say that the band got along. They fought often and broke up before and after “Urban Hymns.” And when they finally reunited, they promptly broke up again.

“A Storm in Heaven” was The Veve’s debut album, which established them as one of the most promising bands in Britain. The press loved songs like “Blue” or “Slide Away.”

The psychedelic use had increased by the time of the follow-up, “A Northern Soul,” but so had the confidence. Slower, acoustic-based songs like “History” or “On Your Own” accompanied the gigantic psych-rockers like “This Is Music.”

And then, the group, who were already heavily praised by admirers like Oasis, broke up.

Richard Ashcroft wrote songs for an intended solo record. But even he knew that when The Verve was a band that could deliver like no other. Ashcroft and McCabe patched things up, and in an atmosphere of post-paranoia- spiritual-healing, they recorded “Urban Hymns.”

the verve urban hymns review 3

Genre-Bending, World-Conquering “Urban Hymns”

Alt-rock was getting formulaic by the tail-end of the 1990s. Whereas the start of the decade had given the world memorable albums by R.E.M. and Nirvana, the public now had to settle for Bush and Collective Soul.

“History” had been a hit for The Verve and had shown the band that they could work with slower, acoustic-based songs as well as the gigantic psych-rockers with which they’d made themselves famous.

Working first with an acoustic guitar is where many of the best songs on “Urban Hymns” came from. This allowed Richard Ashcroft’s songwriting to improve massively. Words became more powerful, and melodies became more memorable.

Many of the tunes here contain a tinge of sorrow and regret that accompanied the band’s early demise, as well as hopefulness for the future.

“Sonnet,” “Lucky Man,” or “The Drugs Don’t Work” all begin with an acoustic guitar strum. But they all develop into something resembling orchestral pop and matching the band’s ambition.

Of them all, “The Drugs Don’t Work” is the most startling. It’s a desperate love song mixed with broken promises. It’s a song that could have just as well been about The Verve’s first American tour and subsequent descent into chemically induced madness.

“Sonnet” is one of the most pristine, gorgeous and effortlessly delivered love songs of 90s alternative rock. The band brilliantly blends with the orchestral arrangements to create a colossal sound.

“Lucky Man” is one of the rare snippets of hope from Ashcroft, a man who had publically expressed both his anxieties and extreme self-confidence. This was the music of a band who knew just how big it deserved to be.

Songs like “Rolling People” and “Catching the Butterfly” proved that The Verve was still one of the premier psychedelic-rock bands around and that they’d brought in some hard-rock tricks to round off their sound.

the verve band Songs by The Verve

“Bittersweet Symphony”

Anything missing? Ah, yes, the song that would The Verve’s career opens the record. “Bittersweet Symphony” began as an exercise in missing musical genres. Ashcroft wanted to fulfil Gram Parsons’ dream of creating a space-rock sound that blended blues, country, rock, and electronica seamlessly.

The lyrics were important. Aschcroft’s vocals were superb. The song had a swagger that Verve had hinted at many times before.

The music video was a mainstay on MTV, showing a cooler-than-cool Ashcroft bumping into people on a crowded London street.

However, the orchestral elements found in many songs on “Urban Hymns” were the biggest talking point. They helped give the song its identity. They were excellently chosen. They’d been inspired by a little-known orchestral cover of a little-known song by The Rolling Stones.

Famously, the song became a gigantic hit, possibly the biggest rock song of the late 90s and one of the biggest in alternative rock history.

Just as famously, The Verve was sued for royalties for the song by notorious dirtbag and former Beatles and Rolling Stones manager Allen Klein. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards may not have been involved, but they received songwriting credit until 2019 when the copyright was returned to Ashcroft.

Most importantly, however, in 1997, The Verve was the biggest rock band in the world. “Urban Hymns” and, especially, “Bittersweet Symphony” had helped do this. Few bands deserved it more.

Typically, it didn’t last long. No longer had The Verve played a homecoming concert in Wigan, in front of tens of thousands, that the band broke up again. This time, the breakup had left McCabe with a broken hand and Ashcroft with a broken jaw.

The Verve’s reunion became one of the most desired musical events for years. It finally happened in 2007. The Verve delivered a great, but underrated album, “Forth.” And, wouldn’t you know it, the group called it goodbye once more, this time, most likely for good.

the verve urban hymns review 4

Legacy of “Urban Hymns” and The Verve

“Urban Hymns” is as famous and as popular as ever. In fact, in many, it is better known than the band behind it, The Verve.

The Verve was one of the most splendid bands of the 1990s. They made a few great albums and many incredible songs. They are, however, remembered only for a handful of them, and that’s quite a shame.

Is “Urban Hymns” that good? Yes and no. The very best songs on the album, about five of them, could rival any other group in the existence of rock for quality. “The Drugs Don’t Work” is one of the few tunes that could reliably and pleasantly be played on a three-hour loop.

The rest of the songs aren’t quite as good. They do showcase the vision of a unique band and a powerful creative force.

In the end, considering the conflicts and madness surrounding The Verve, the band from Wigan achieved about as much as it could have. Not many bands have a song like “Lucky Man” in their discography, let alone a “Bittersweet Symphony.” It only lasted for what seemed like a second. But, damn, it was a special thing.

About author

Eduard Banulescu is a writer, blogger, and musician. As a content writer, Eduard has contributed to numerous websites and publications, including FootballCoin, Play2Earn, BeIN Crypto, Business2Community, NapoliSerieA, Extra Time Talk, Nitrogen Sports, Bavarian FootballWorks, etc. He has written a book about Nirvana, hosts a music podcasts, and writes weekly content about some of the best, new and old, alternative musicians. Eduard also runs and acts as editor-in-chief of the alternative rock music website www.alt77.com. Mr. Banulescu is also a musician, having played and recorded in various bands and as a solo artist.
Related posts
7.8
Alt Reviews

En-Vitro and Mister Sunshine Reviewed

7.5
Alt Reviews

Griffin Benton and Ethan Samuel Brown Reviewed

7.5
Alt Reviews

The Hypnatwists and Mooses Reviewed

8.0
Alt Reviews

The Holy Knives and Johnny & the Dinosaurs Reviewed

Be part of the Alt77 community

Leave a Reply