URBAN HYMNS contains a hidden track after "Come On."
The Verve: Richard Ashcroft (vocals, guitar); Simon Tong (guitar, keyboards); Nick McCabe (guitar); Simon Jones (bass); Peter Salisbury (drums).
Additional personnel: Mel Wesson, Paul Taylor (programming).
Producers: Andrew Loog Oldham, Youth, The Verve, Chris Potter.
"Bitter Sweet Symphony" was nominated for the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or A Group With Vocal and Best Rock Song.
On URBAN HYMNS The Verve continues to widen the creative spectrum of psychedelic Britrock. The Verve exhibits a great deal of musical depth as they blanket "Bitter Sweet Symphony" with a full string section, employ acoustic guitars to evoke the simple, Carpenters-ish sentiments of "Sonnet" and "The Drugs Don't Work," and utilize heavily processed guitars on "Weeping Willow." Whether exploring the loud or soft extremes of their dynamic range, the band aspires to classic songwriting, tastefully incorporating retro sensibilities with sweet-sounding hooks that yield a tranquil, pastoral beauty.
What the critics say...
Rolling Stone (10/16/97, pp.104-106) - 3.5 Stars (out of 5) - "...their strongest album to date....the songs on URBAN HYMNS are anchored by propulsive guitar rhythms and sinuous, infectious vocals....a breathtaking venture, an ambitious balance of stargazing and worldweary pathos."
Entertainment Weekly (10/10/97, p.92) - "...a surprising--and stunning--comeback from Britain's shoe-gazing shamans the Verve, resurrected after two splintered years. Crooner Richard Ashcroft makes it all sound like churchworthy gospel." - Rating: B+
Q (10/01, p.81) - Ranked #18 in Q's "Best 50 Albums of Q's Lifetime"
Q (12/99, p.92) - Included in Q Magazine's "90 Best Albums Of The 1990s."
Q (1/98, p.115) - Included in Q Magazine's "50 Best Albums of 1997."
Q (6/00, p.69) - Ranked #58 in Q's "100 Greatest British Albums" - "...Rose to national anthem league, an appeal to a post-club generation who now use rock'n'roll as a comedown aid..."
Q (7/00, p.141) - Included in Q's "The Best Male Angst Albums Of All Time"
Uncut (p.108) - "[T]he most striking qualities of URBAN HYMNS now are its musical coherence and the powerfully sustained mood of melancholic stoicism."
Melody Maker (12/20-27/97, pp.66-67) - Ranked #1 on Melody Maker's list of 1997's "Albums Of The Year."
Melody Maker (10/4/97, p.51) - "...An album of unparalleled beauty so intent on grabbing at the strands of music's multi-hued history....all songs which sound like they've lived a little more than most."
Village Voice (2/24/98) - Ranked #18 in the Village Voice's 1997 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll.
NME (Magazine) (12/20-27/97, pp.78-79) - Ranked #3 in NME's 1997 Critics' Poll.
NME (Magazine) (9/27/97, p.54) - 8 (out of 10) - "....Its sheer magnificence and spirit is such that the danger of it overwhelming anything that follows it is obvious. This, after all, is the musical signature of the year....The Verve's best album to date..."
