Product Description

Something happens when the Verve are together that none of them experience when they are apart. Individually, the Verve are all highly-accomplished players. Singer Richard Ashcroft has been called the greatest singer in the world by no less a peer than Coldplay s Chris Martin. Liverpool-born Simon Jones s dub-informed bass takes the Verve s music far beyond rock and into space and dub; Peter Salisbury plays drums more like a jazz great than a conventional rock drummer and when the tag guitarist of his generation is thrown about it often lands at the feet of the hugely adventurous, psychedelic, exploratory Nick McCabe. However, when they are together a chemistry takes hold that transcends the four people onstage to blast the Verve somewhere else entirely and this chemistry and spontaneity has survived an absence of almost a decade. Already, since their typically unpredictable 2007 reunion, live shows have been running the gauntlet of everything from material so new that Ashcroft has been singing the words from scraps of paper to long-lost, hazy B-sides like Let The Damage Begin and A Man Called Sun, amid all manner of musical fireworks. When they take the stage, literally anything can happen.
After an absence of almost a decade, these songs are again being played, as they should be by the Verve themselves. The individual members have not been slouches. Richard Ashcroft has enjoyed a successful and prolific solo career. Simon Jones formed a band, the Shining, who were not altogether dissimilar to the Verve, and has played with Damon Albarn s Gorillaz. Nick McCabe has been remixing and playing with everyone from the Beta Band to John Martyn while Peter Salisbury has been playing with Ashcroft, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and has further diverted his musical obsessions into running a Stockport drum shop. However, all seem to have realized what their enormous fanbase has been telling them all along. That today, as much if not more than ever, music really needs the Verve.
However, a band like the Verve would never settle for easy nostalgia. Even before they d set out on their initial comeback gigs last year, which sold out within an astonishing 20 minutes, they made public (via the NME website) the results of their very first jam session as a reformed band. The Thaw Sessions comprised 14 wondrous minutes of music, which signified their ability to spark off one another remained undimmed. Soon afterwards, the band debuted new song Sit And Wonder a tune trimmed from a 25-minute jam, just as they would in the early days, a taste of things to come. Those comeback dates proved so successful and were so enthusiastically received that the band immediately embarked on a full-scale tour of arenas in December of 2007, playing bigger gigs in many cases than the first time around. In 2008, they look set to up the ante even further, by appearing at many of the major festivals and, in a turnaround that would have seemed unthinkable even a year ago, releasing their enormously-anticipated fourth album. The results will certainly be worth the wait. - Dave Simpson.

Track Listing

1. Sit And Wonder
2. Love Is Noise
3. Rather Be
4. Judas
5. Numbness
6. I See Houses
7. Noise Epic
8. Valium Skies
9. Columbo
10. Appalachian Springs

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7930 in Music
• Brand: Verve
• Released on: 2008-08-26
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .12 pounds

Customer Reviews

A Triumphant Return!
A Masterpiece Revival for a group that clearly creates something special when they get together. Regardless of the relationship between Richard and Nick, they make otherworldly good music in collaboration. Singles are surely "Love Is Noise" and "Sit and Wonder"--with strong guitar lines, exploding rhythms and Ashcroft's vocal instrument at the top of its game with rises and falls and memorable lyrical work. Other highlights include "Rather Be", "Judas" and "Valium Skies". I was lucky enough to see them live in NYC in the early summer and now I am just thankful the album finally came together--it was well worth the wait. I could go on and on with a deep analysis of Richard's introspection, soul-searching, life-wondering--as well as the evolved musicianship of the band, but I will leave that to your own discovery. They have again created something timeless but contemporary that rivals even, dare I say, "A Northern Soul" or "Urban Hymns". In sum, thank you to the band, Forth is gold in its own right but yet a fine continuation from an already unmatched legacy.

Doesnt beat Urban Hymns but good nonetheless
Most "reunion" CD's are disappointing and many are downright terrible. Verve breaks the trend by offering 10 tracks that range from good to great. Most tracks are closer to "good," but there's no denying that this CD stands fine along side with Verve's 3 CD's from the 90's. If anything the tracks we get this time are more akin to their first "shoegazer" CD "Storm in Heaven," than the 2 later "rock" albums. Most of the tracks are quiet and long length and often have a nice (to me at least) bassy drone sound. Melodies are less constantly present but they are there. The studio production quality is uniformly excellent.

If you're not a fan of Verve, this is not the first CD to buy. Get Urban Hymns first if you're curious about the band. Also if you can find their recent Glastonbury 2008 concert on video, it is worth it. They peform the "hits" plus "Love is Noise" and they play in truly excellent form.

Enough with comparing it to Urban Hymns already!!
I realize after reading many of these reviews that you are younger than me and did not get introduced to Verve's music until Urban Hymns. I am a 38 year old man who was 23 at the time when in '93, these outrageous wall to wall, full flanger, Chorus pedals on 10 echoing sounds were coming from the second stage at Lollapalooza in New Jersey. I was wandering away from the first stage while Arrested Development were playing and was drawn to the majestic sounds. For the next forty minutes or so, I and just a 100 more were fixated on the tranquility this band bestowed upon us. It was an unbelievable experience. Of course, the band was Verve. all the music played was from A Storm in Heaven. I made sure I owned that tape (yes, tape! ) before I went back to college. I must have played that tape in my dorm room endlessly that semester. To this day, THAT album is monumental. Yes, The Verve changed, and it wasn't a bad change but when I think of where The Verve really peaked, it was actually their first album.
This reunion album is good, and it certainly is Verve. ButI don't think I can ever experience that first euphoria I felt when I first heard them, and live at that. Not the band's fault. Just an amazing experience and I truly believe that no other piece of Verve music can compare to ASIH