Urban Hymns - The Verve > Reviews

Advantages: Amazing songs
Disadvantages: The price

The Verve released what prooved to be their most successful album to date in 1997. As I sit here typing this I am being thrown into a state of a come-down like trance as I listen to it. A whole number of emotions comes over me as I hear the beats - the cheerful chords of 'Lucky Man', their final single before they went their own ways, the mind numbing beats of the base drum in 'This Time', the saddening strokes of the violin in 'Bitter Sweet Symphony' ... Read review

Advantages: Great songs
Disadvantages: none

...I decided to put in Urban Hymns just to have something to listen to. By chance, "One Day" was the song that started. And I can remember clearly how good it felt to have someone sing "one day maybe you will love again - love that never dies" I listened to the entire tape that day like I never ever listened to it before. I wanted to slap myself in the face for not realizing what was just gathering dust on my desk, would actually turn out to change the ... Read review

Advantages: really good album
Disadvantages: none

The Verve released an excellent album in 1997 titled ‘Urban Hymns’. The lyrics, videos, everything was such a hit. They released a couple of singles off the Album which went to number one. ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ the infamous video when Richard Ashcroft is walking into everyone and the more serious ‘Drugs don’t work’. It was a good message to young fans especially since Oasis and Brian Harvey were shouting ... Read review

Advantages: A decent introduction to a great band.
Disadvantages: No where near their greatest work.

...they'd always craved. However, despite buying Urban Hymns on the day of its release, my opinion soon changed. This was not the work of the same band, the tortured individuals that made the classic A Northern Soul. It sounded sanitised and purposefully commercial, as if The Verve were trying to appeal to as many people as possible instead of just following their instincts. I got rid of the album soon after. I listened to it again recently and, ... Read review

Advantages: Sonnet
Disadvantages: a bit too long

Urban Hymns By The Verve was released in 1997 on HUT records and got media acclaim right along the board. It is probably one of the best albums of the 90’s with a very indie sound. Songs like ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ and ‘The Drugs Don’t Work’ have become classics in there own write. Apart form those tracks there are also other great songs such as ‘Catching The Butterfly’ and my favourite song on the album ‘Sonnet’ this song contains classic Verve ... Read review

Advantages: Classis Tunes
Disadvantages: Overplayed

Urban Hymns was released when the Britpop era was dying, and reflects that hangover feel of 1997. The Verve had split after their previous album, A Northern Soul, but managed to reform to produce their most commercial work. The singles are all classics, if now sounding overplayed. Bittersweet Symphony was based around a sample of an orchestral version of The Rolling Stones The Last Time, and subsequently all royalties were lost to Andrew Loog Oldham. The ... Read review

Advantages: amazing in every way possable
Disadvantages: what disadvantages?

This is probably the best album ever. I originally bought this album because I say Bitter Sweet Synthony on a music channel and it made my jaw drop, but to be honest its one of the lesser songs on the album cos its all so amazing. It is one of those CD's which you could easily listen to all day and not notice anything else. There is a bit of variety in the CD them seem to have about three styles. The best songs to try and get hold of are probably ... Read review

Advantages: Reputation
Disadvantages: Let Down by the Content

...tell you right away that Urban Hymns was disappointing when compared to the epic Northern Soul or seminal Storm in Heaven. Don't get me wrong, the greatness of the Verve still shines through and their prowess as prophets of miserable indie cool is never brought into question. But... and its a big but.... the whole album is overshadowed by the sacrilage that is Sonnet. The Verve were worshipped throughout the 90s because they were depressed lads from ... Read review