Urban Hymns

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Urban Hymns
Studio album by The Verve
Released 29 September 1997
Recorded 13 October 1996 – 4 August 1997, Olympic Studios, London
Genre Alternative rock, Britpop, psychedelic rock, soft rock, hard rock
Length 75:58
Label Hut (UK/US)
Virgin America (US)
Virgin (UK)
Producer The Verve, Chris Potter, Youth
The Verve chronology
A Northern Soul
(1995)		 Urban Hymns
(1997)		 Forth
(2008)
Singles from Urban Hymns
  1. "Bitter Sweet Symphony"
    Released: 16 June 1997
  2. "The Drugs Don't Work"
    Released: 1 September 1997
  3. "Lucky Man"
    Released: 24 November 1997
  4. "Sonnet"
    Released: 2 March 1998

Urban Hymns is the third album by English rock band The Verve, released on 29 September 1997 on Hut Recordings. It earned nearly unanimous critical praise upon its release, and went on to become the band's best-selling release and one of the biggest selling albums of the year. It is currently ranked the 15th best-selling album in UK chart history.[1]

Contents

[edit] Background

The Verve had previously released two albums, A Storm in Heaven in 1993 and A Northern Soul in 1995. Neither album had achieved mainstream success,[2] and the band split shortly after their second album due to internal conflicts. Vocalist Richard Ashcroft quickly reformed the group, with Simon Tong, an old friend of the band on guitar, however Ashcroft realised Nick McCabe's unique guitar style was required to complete the true Verve unit and later asked him to return. Tong also remained adding more guitar and keyboard/organ textures, making them a five-piece band and expanding their sound.[2]

The four-piece had already recorded several tracks for the album with Youth as producer, but once McCabe returned they re-recorded several tracks and changed producers to Chris Potter. McCabe said that in the next seven months of work, "... the key tracks were recorded from scratch, but some of them were already there."[3]

The cover photo was taken in Richmond Park, London.[4]

[edit] Music

The Verve were known for their music's complex, immersive sonic textures. "Bitter Sweet Symphony" was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, and remains the band's most well-known song. "The Drugs Don't Work", the band's only number one single in the UK, became a concert staple for jam bands and other groups.

The rest of the album alternated between wistful ballads like "Sonnet" and "Space and Time" (written by Richard Ashcroft), spacey grooves like "Catching the Butterfly" and "The Rolling People" and all-out rockers like the Led Zeppelin-esque, pounding "Come On" (written by the band after Nick McCabe's return).

[edit] Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Pitchfork Media (8.9/10) [5]
Melody Maker (Positive)[6]
Allmusic 5/5 stars [7]
Entertainment Weekly (B+) [8]
Rolling Stone 3.5/5 stars [9]

The album received nearly unanimous critical praise upon its release, with Melody Maker naming Urban Hymns as the number-one album of 1997 in its year-end list.[10]

Urban Hymns debuted at #63 on the Billboard 200, becoming the first album by the group to chart in the U.S.[11] The album ultimately peaked at #23, and is the group's best-selling album in the U.S. with over 1.3 million copies sold.[12] The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA on April 4, 1998.[13]

[edit] Legacy

In the years following its release, Urban Hymns received much acclaim. In 1998, it won Best British Album at the Brit Awards, it was also shortlisted for the Mercury Prize, and Q magazine readers voted it the 18th greatest album of all time.[14] The magazine placed it at the same position in 2001.[15]

In 2006, its editors voted it the 16th greatest album of all time. The Verve were awarded with the first ever "Q Classic Album" award for this album at the 2007 Q Awards. In a 2008 poll, Urban Hymns was ranked as the 10th best British album of all time.[16]

It was also nominated for "Best British Album of the Last 30 Years" at the Brits 2010 but lost to Oasis's (What's the Story) Morning Glory?[17]

[edit] Track listing

All songs written by Richard Ashcroft, except where noted.

  1. "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (Jagger/Richards, Ashcroft) – 5:58
  2. "Sonnet" – 4:21
  3. "The Rolling People" (The Verve) – 7:01
  4. "The Drugs Don't Work" – 5:05
  5. "Catching the Butterfly" (The Verve) – 6:26
  6. "Neon Wilderness" (Nick McCabe, The Verve) – 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" (The Verve) – 15:15
    1. "Come On" - (00:00–6:38)
    2. [silence] - (06:38–13:01)
    3. "Deep Freeze" - (13:01–15:15)

The Japanese edition of the album contains 15 tracks — the bonus track "Lord I Guess I'll Never Know" is track 14 and "Deep Freeze" is track 15.

[edit] B-sides

  1. "Lord I Guess I'll Never Know" (Ashcroft) (produced by Youth)[18]
  2. "Country Song" (produced by Youth)[18]
  3. "So Sister" (Ashcroft) (produced by Chris Potter)[19]
  4. "Echo Bass" (produced by Chris Potter)[18]
  5. "Three Steps" (Ascroft) (produced by Chris Potter)[20]
  6. "The Crab" (Ashcroft) (produced by Chris Potter)[21]
  7. "Stamped" (produced by Chris Potter)[18]
  8. "Never Wanna See You Cry" (Ashcroft) (produced by Chris Potter) [22]
  9. "MSG" (produced by Chris Potter)[23]
  10. "The Longest Day" (produced by Chris Potter)[18]

[edit] Other

Songs which did not make the cut include

All of these five songs, however, would later be released; the first three as solo singles by Ashcroft, and the latter two on the band's compilation album, This Is Music: The Singles 92–98.

[edit] Sales

Country Chart position Certification
United Kingdom 1 8× Platinum
United States 23[12] Platinum[13]
France 1 Platinum
Canada 1 2× Platinum
Australia 9 3× Platinum
Netherlands 1 Platinum
Switzerland 1 Platinum [24]
New Zealand 1 5× Platinum

[edit] Chart positions

[edit] Album

Chart (1998) Peak
position
Billboard 200 23
Top Canadian Albums 18
Media Control Charts (Germany) 11
Lista Top-40 (Finland) 4

[edit] Singles

Single Chart (1998) Peak
position
"Lucky Man" Modern Rock Tracks 16
Lista Top-20 (Finland) 16
New Zealand Singles Chart 38
"Bitter Sweet Symphony" Top 40 Adult Recurrents 9
Adult Top 40 8
Modern Rock Tracks 4
Mainstream Rock Tracks 22
Top 40 Mainstream 23
The Billboard Hot 100 12
New Zealand Singles Chart 15
Lista Top-20 (Finland) 6
"The Drugs Don't Work" Lista Top-20 (Finland) 9
New Zealand Singles Chart 10
"Sonnet" New Zealand Singles Chart 43

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Band

[edit] With

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Top 40 Best Selling Albums: 28 July 1956 - 14 June 2009". Official Charts Company. http://www.bpi.co.uk/assets/files/top%2040%20albums.pdf. Retrieved 2011-07-26. 
  2. ^ a b Follow the Yellow Brick Road
  3. ^ 1999 interview
  4. ^ Scene of Verve's Urban Hymns
  5. ^ Pitchfork Media Review
  6. ^ James, Martin. "Review: The Verve - Urban Hymns, Hut Records". Melody Maker (IPC Media) (October 4, 1997): 51. 
  7. ^ Allmusic Review
  8. ^ Entertainment Weekly Review
  9. ^ Rolling Stone Review
  10. ^ "Albums of the Year 1997". Melody Maker 74 (51): pp. 66–67. 20 December 1997 – 27 December 1997. ISSN 0025-9012. 
  11. ^ Author unknown. "Bridge to the Past". Rolling Stone. October 8, 1997.
  12. ^ a b Trust, Gary. "Ask Billboard: "English Beat". billboard.com. January 23, 2009.
  13. ^ a b "Gold and Platinum Database Search". http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=Urban%20Hymns&artist=The%20Verve&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=Artist&perPage=25. Retrieved 2010-02-09. 
  14. ^ 100 Q Magazine - Readers 1998
  15. ^ In our lifetime #2; at RockListMusic
  16. ^ Oasis top best British album poll
  17. ^ BRIT Awards 2010 Homepage
  18. ^ a b c d e f Verve Universe discography
  19. ^ Verve Universe discography
  20. ^ Verve Universe discography
  21. ^ Verve Universe discography
  22. ^ Verve Universe discography
  23. ^ Verve Universe discography
  24. ^ The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community
  25. ^ Verve Universe discography

[edit] Notes


Preceded by
Be Here Now by Oasis
Let's Talk About Love by Celine Dion
Titanic (OST) by James Horner		 UK number one album
11 October 1997 – 14 November 1997
3 January 1998 – 7 February 1998
21 February 1998 – 27 February 1998		 Succeeded by
Spiceworld by Spice Girls
Titanic (OST) by James Horner
Titanic (OST) by James Horner
The Verve
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