Verve - A Northen Soul

It makes my blood boil when people talk about this album as a warm up or a lead up to Urban Hymns. This was the album Verve were born to make. and its Verve not "The" Verve yea....  It's the sound of a band locked on a collision course to the bottom of their souls (I nicked that from 'This is Music', my favourite track here).

The band shine on this album, i saw them play it at Glastonbury 1995, middle of the afternoon , fucking hot as fuck, Ashcroft on one , no shoes, dripping in sweat, totally immersed in everything the band are doing, the guitar amp breaks down mid set, the bass and drums jam for 15 mins while Ashcroft chants,sings and ad libs lyrics like some shaman preaching to the perverted ...... amazing my friends......

 Salisbury's rock solid rolling drums, Jones' rumbling bass grooves, McCabe's fucking brilliant vast guitar, and Ashcroft's raw bottled pain. It's also produced perfectly with a real gritty sound throughout (especially the vocals - I can hardly listen to the blandified sugary production of the vocals on Urban Hymns, actually think it was played it twice and then filed rather quickly to gather dust because, lets face it, its fucking shite compared to this album , and yea , i don't really care how many people bought Urban Hymns you are fucking wrong if you think otherwise.

The slower tracks on this are worth the asking price alone, under rated classics but for me this album is all about the white noise, anger, energy and pure adrenalin of openers A New Decade and This is Music and the ear-bleeding feedback of the last track.

This album is Verve at there best.

A New Decade

This Is Music

On Your Own

So It Goes

A Northern Soul

Brainstorm Interlude

Drive You Home

History

No Knock on My Door

Life's an Ocean

Stormy Clouds

(Reprise)

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