The Verve's 'Urban Hymns' was probably the last great album of the Britpop era. Originally intended to be a Richard Ashcroft solo album after The Verve's first break up in 1996, he and guitarist Nick McCabe soon patched things up and recorded 'Urban Hymns'. There are two very evident musical styles on the album. First there are the Ashcroft-influenced pop rock ballads and rockers. Of these, there is the world famous 'Bittersweet Symphony'. A hit in both the UK and US, this string-laden song is both majestic and empowering. 'The Drugs Don't Work' is a heartbreaking acoustic ballad dealing with Richard Ashcroft's father's battle with cancer. It is depressing yet beautiful. 'Sonnet' is also another upbeat song and so is 'Lucky Man', a gem of a song consisting of simple chords,keyboards and a beautiful guitar solo. Then there are the McCabe-influenced space-rock/psychedelic rockers such as the dreamy 'Catching the Butterfly' and the groovy rocker 'The Rolling People'.The band often launches into lengthy freeform jams during these songs but they never get tiring due to bass guitarist Simon Jones, who maintains a solid rhythm section by providing simple and effective basslines. The band also finds middle ground on songs such as 'Velvet Morning', 'Space and Time' and 'One Day'. The album closer 'Come On' is an epic way to finish off a brilliant album. It starts off slow enough before building into a pounding hard rock finish.'Urban Hymns' is one of those albums that stand the test of times. A must-listen for all.Song Picks :
- Bittersweet Symphony
- The Drugs Don't Work
- Lucky Man
- Catching The Butterfly
- The Rolling People
- Come On
No comments:
Post a Comment