Urban Hymns was a
Britpop album released on
September 30,
1997 (see
1997 in music) by British rock band
The Verve. After the releas of the band's previous album,
A Northern Soul[?], The Verve broke up due to growing tensions between
Richard Ashcroft[?] and
Nick McCabe[?]. They reunited in
1996 (see
1996 in music) and recorded
Urban Hymns, which earned nearly unanimous critical praise upon its release.
The Verve was known for complex sonic textures, exemplified by songs like "Bittersweet Symphony", which used a sample from an orchestra performing a Rolling Stones sample, reversed it and repeated it to form the musical basis for the song, which was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic. Songs like "The Drugs Don't Work", another hit, has become a concert staple for jam bands and other groups, including Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals and Dave Matthews Band.
Track listing
- Bittersweet Symphony (Ashcroft/Jagger/Richards)
- Sonnet (Ashcroft)
- The Rolling People (Verve)
- The Drugs Don't Work (Ashcroft)
- Catching the Butterfly (Verve)
- Neon Wilderness (McCabe/Verve)
- Space and Time (Ashcroft)
- Weeping Willow (Ashcroft)
- Lucky Man (Ashcroft)
- One Day (Ashcroft)
- This Time (Ashcroft)
- Velvet Morning (Ashcroft)
- Come On (Verve)
Personnel
- Youth - Producer
- The Verve - Producer
- Simon Jones - Guitar (Bass)
- Richard Ashcroft - Guitar, Vocals
- Nick McCabe - Guitar
- Peter Salisbury - Drums
- Mel Wesson - Programming
- Lorraine Francis - Assistant Engineer
- Will Malone - Conductor, String Arrangements
- Brian Cannon - Director, Design, Sleeve Art
- Mathew Sankey - Director, Design Assistant
- Gareth Ashton - Assistant Engineer
- Martin Catherall - Director, Design Assistant
- Christopher Marc Potter - Producer, Engineer, Mixing
- Jan Kybert - Assistant Engineer
- Michael Spencer Jones - Photography
- John Horsley - Photography
- Simon Tong - Guitar, Keyboards
- Chris Floyd - Photography
- Paul Anthony Taylor - Programming
Chart positions
Billboard (North America) - albums
1998 The Billboard 200 No. 23
1998 Top Canadian Albums No. 18
Billboard (North America) - singles
1998 Lucky Man Modern Rock Tracks No. 16
1998 Bitter Sweet Symphony Top 40 Adult Recurrents No. 9
1998 Bitter Sweet Symphony Adult Top 40 No. 8
1998 Bitter Sweet Symphony Modern Rock Tracks No. 4
1998 Bitter Sweet Symphony Mainstream Rock Tracks No. 22
1998 Bitter Sweet Symphony Top 40 Mainstream No. 23
1998 Bitter Sweet Symphony The Billboard Hot 100 No. 12
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