Urban Hymns

1	Bittersweet Symphony 5:58
2	Sonnet 4:21
3	The Rolling People 7:01
4	The Drugs Don't Work 5:05
5	Catching the Butterfly 6:26
6	Neon Wilderness 2:37
7	Space and Time 5:36
8	Weeping Willow 4:49
9	Lucky Man 4:53
10	One Day 5:03
11	This Time 3:50
12	Velvet Morning 4:57
13	Come On 15:15

Barnes & Noble

The Verve split in 1995 after two albums and a particularly disastrous, hedonistic American tour. When Brit-pop icons Oasis championed their cause and wrote a song, "Cast No Shadow," about the group's charismatic singer, "Mad" Richard Ashcroft, the Verve regrouped and surprised all by delivering one of the great British rock albums of the late 1990s. A northern English five-piece that borrows from '60s rock and psychedelia while recalling '80s bands like Echo and the Bunnymen and Aztec Camera, the Verve wore their influences prominently on Urban Hymns' opening hit single, "Bittersweet Symphony," which used a sample from a Rolling Stones orchestral album as its foundation and catapulted the album to prominence and platinum sales. This classic rock stomp epitomized the re-formed band's newly found confidence with its emotional power, which featured Ashcroft singing with unequivocal passion of life's painfully simple struggles underneath those soaring strings. Nothing else on Urban Hymns quite matches the majesty of "Bittersweet Symphony" but plenty of songs challenge, especially the ballad "The Drugs Don't Work," the yearning mid-tempo love songs "Sonnet" and "Lucky Man," and the raucous finale "Come On." Tony Fletcher

All Music Guide

Not long after the release of A Northern Soul, the Verve imploded due to friction between vocalist Richard Ashcroft and guitarist Nick McCabe. It looked like the band had ended before reaching its full potential, which is part of the reason why their third album, Urban Hymns -- recorded after the pair patched things up in late 1996 -- is so remarkable. Much of the record consists of songs Ashcroft had intended for a solo project or a new group, yet Urban Hymns unmistakably sounds like the work of a full band, with its sweeping, grandiose soundscapes and sense of purpose. The Verve have toned down their trancy, psychedelic excursions, yet haven't abandoned them -- if anything, they sound more muscular than before, whether it's the trippy "Catching the Butterfly" or the pounding "Come On." These powerful, guitar-drenched rockers provide the context for Ashcroft's affecting, string-laden ballads, which give Urban Hymns its hurt. The majestic "Bitter Sweet Symphony" and the heartbreaking, country-tinged "The Drugs Don't Work" are an astonishing pair, two anthemic ballads that make the personal universal, thereby sounding like instant classics. They just are the tip of the iceberg -- "Sonnet" is a lovely, surprisingly understated ballad, "The Rolling People" has a measured, electric power, and many others match their quality. Although it may run a bit too long for some tastes, Urban Hymns is a rich album that revitalizes rock traditions without ever seeming less than contemporary. It is the album the Verve have been striving to make since their formation, and it turns out to be worth all the wait. Stephen Thomas Erlewine