Any thought on Urban Hymns by the Verve?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by fungomatto, Jan 6, 2017.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. TheSeldomSeenKid

    TheSeldomSeenKid Forum Resident

    Put a request in to IR Shane for his company.
    Does Mofi take recommendations?
     
  2. bigshot

    bigshot Forum Resident

    Liked it when it first came out. It got overplayed everywhere and I got bored of it, then came back to it a couple of years back. Great album
     
  3. aussievinyl

    aussievinyl Appreciator Of Creative Expression

    I was living in the UK when the album came out and love the 'widescreen' feeling of it, yet there are there some quite personal and universal concepts in the lyrics too. The guitar work is amazing - perfect for the songs. I've not heard any albums with the same feeling that URBAN HYMNS has - it's unique for me in that way. Favourite tracks would be 'Sonnet' and 'Space And Time' as I love the way the lyrics deal with relationships.
     
  4. lester christgau

    lester christgau Forum Resident

    Location:
    Rugby
    The album that killed the band.
    Ashcroft got a giant ego cause some of his insipid ballads went mainstream and this wrecked the second best band of the decade.

    Seriously, if people really dig Sonnet and Drugs Don't Work that's great. Happy for ya.

    But that ain't VERVE. That's the beginning of the crappy strings on every song aka the Potter Period.

    Anyone like the new Ashcroft solo lp? Yeah, didn't think so.
     
    Hallogallo, DHamilton, Graham and 2 others like this.
  5. spindly

    spindly Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago, IL
    Jagger, Richards, Klein, and Oldham made out pretty well with the royalties from Bitter Sweet Symphony.
     
  6. marazico

    marazico Too Busy Staying Alive!

    Location:
    Perth, WA
    Rolling People, Weeping Willow & Come On are my favourites off Urban Hymns, proper Verve songs. They went from alternative to main stream in this period though. Give me A Storm in Heaven any day over it.
     
  7. RockyRaccoon

    RockyRaccoon Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Anyone have a chance to listen to the new deluxe reissue?
     
  8. marazico

    marazico Too Busy Staying Alive!

    Location:
    Perth, WA
    Yeah Ive played through it a few times. If you have all the CD singles from back in the day then I'd say it ain't worth the dosh until it comes down in price. The live stuff is a nice addition though.
     
  9. Diamond Dog

    Diamond Dog Cautionary Example

    It's a record that still hasn't really clicked for me but I haven't given up on it. My preferences as far as Britpop are still evolving so who knows ? Used to really like Blur but now they kinda get on my nerves sometimes. Didn't get Suede but now I just love 'em. Always loved Pulp, never cared for Oasis.

    D.D.
     
  10. Favre508

    Favre508 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    I actually just listened to this album 3 days ago. I though it was pretty good, although I think it could use some trimming on some of the songs length. Overall, a great album, I'm definitely going to check out a northern soul.
     
  11. beatleroadie

    beatleroadie Forum Resident

    Absolutely love it. Listened to this so much 1997-2000 really. It soundtracked so much of my high school experience.

    If I'm going to be critical of it as an album, I'd say it is too long. If it was trimmed down to 10 tracks, I'd call it a stone-cold classic of all time. Still, it's one of the greatest rock records of the 1990s.

    I'd trim off "Neon Wilderness," "Weeping Willow" and "One Day." Just make those b-sides, and keep the LP tight to 10 songs.
     
    Favre508 likes this.
  12. mdm08033

    mdm08033 Senior Member

    Did they expand the dynamic range or squash it even more?
     
  13. TheSeldomSeenKid

    TheSeldomSeenKid Forum Resident

    For the Album, it is the same crappy DR Average of 7.

    For the Deluxe Set for 'A Northern Soul', the 1995 CD had a DR Average of 9, which is not great, but now made the CD of the album in the Deluxe Set that came out earlier, an Average DR of 7. Not sure about the CD of 'A Storm in Heaven' Deluxe Set, but looks to be similar as 'A Northern Soul' going from a DR Average of 9 on the 1993 CD to 7 on the CD in the Deluxe Box Set.

    So basically, you are buying these Deluxe Sets for the Extra Songs-B-Sides, Out-Takes, Live Recordings, etc. and for 'Urban Hymns' there is also a DVD, which is why I bought the Deluxe Sets for 'Urban Hymns' & 'A Northern Soul', and eventually will buy the Deluxe Set for 'A Storm in Heaven'.

    Yes, the DR# are terrible, but a big part of my Collection are from albums released from 1995 until the present, so not much I can do, if wanting those albums on CD. The Verve, Spiritualized, Radiohead, BLUR, PULP, Manic Street Preachers, Gene, Mansun, Placebo, Stereophonics, James, Mogwai, OASIS, Supergrass, DOVES, Elbow, Arctic Monkeys, Kasabian, etc.(including all Bowie & Morrissey CDs from 1995-2016) are a big part of my Music Life, so no matter what the DR #s are to their catalog of CDs, I am still going to listen to their albums on the CDs I bought(I am just getting into Vinyl though, so will buy a few of those albums on Vinyl).
     
    mdm08033 and PhantomStranger like this.
  14. Yep, most of the bigger 1990s acts have sounded terrible on CD for the most part. They mastered their albums loudly back in the day and haven't really let up on reissues. The only one I can think that came around was Beck.
     
  15. TheSeldomSeenKid

    TheSeldomSeenKid Forum Resident

    I think the recent Kate Bush Albums(Aerial & 50 Words for Snow) on CD the past 12 years have good DR#s, but that is one of the few examples that I can think of for at least 11-13 DR#s since the Loudness Wars started around 1995(or a few years earlier).
     
  16. AveryKG

    AveryKG Sultan of snacks

    Location:
    west London
    That one person in the universe who’s never heard this… that’s me.

    Now, while long album-eulogising threads on internet forums have (DJ Shadow: Entroducing) or have not (MBV: Loveless) been a way I’ve discovered enjoyable music in the past, I’d be tempted to give it a listen, but given that:
    (a) I’ve just discovered Vini Reilly/Durutti Column and Stephen Wilson/Porcupine Tree, both artists whose back catalogues are somewhat, shall we say, intimidating, and
    (b) the fact that I absolutely loathe both ‘The Drugs Don’t Work’ (tiresome, turgid, tuneless) and ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ (if I might quote one memorable comment I saw somewhere years back about this: “The good bits aren’t original and the original bits aren’t good”),​
    I can’t say I’m predisposed to check it out anytime soon.
     
  17. mdm08033

    mdm08033 Senior Member

    I recently watched the Oasis documentary on Netflix or Amazon and they briefly address the compression decision. They claimed the everything louder decision was based on trying to capture their live sound.

    I've listened to Northern Soul and Urban Hymns enough times that the music matters more than the mastering and I'll keep listening regardless.

    Regarding the bonus tracks, I have Lord I Guess I'll Know and Country Song perpetually on my iThingy. They had some brilliant leftovers from the Urban sessions.
     
  18. Hallogallo

    Hallogallo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Behind you
    Could have been their best album if they actually put the best songs on it.
    Many of the b-sides and almost all of the unreleased songs are better than most of the album except Rolling People, Come On, Catching the Butterfly, and Neon Wilderness.
     
  19. The Acid Mouse

    The Acid Mouse Forum Resident

    Location:
    England
    Velvet Morning is just beautiful on that album
     
    mark renard and mdm08033 like this.
  20. Octowen

    Octowen Forum Resident

    Amazing album with so many great songs, especially "The Rolling People", "Weeping Willow", and "Come On".
     
    marazico likes this.
  21. manco

    manco Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Jose, CA
    Essentially it was the Peter Cetera-fication of The Verve.
     
  22. Neonbeam

    Neonbeam All Art Was Once Contemporary

    Location:
    Planet Earth
    Definitely a step down from "A Northern Soul".
     
    Hallogallo and Defrance like this.
  23. manco

    manco Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Jose, CA
    Although "The Rolling People", "Catching a Butterfly" and "Space and Time" are pretty good too.
     
  24. walrus

    walrus Staring into nothing

    Location:
    Nashville
    Your loss, although given your tastes, you might like their first two albums more (as many do).
     
  25. SoundDoctor

    SoundDoctor Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    Good, not as good as A Northern Soul.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine