Last week, the British band The Verve announced that it would be reforming after an 8-year hiatus. The band will play a few shows and maybe even record a new album (assuming they don’t break up again within the next few months, which is very possible).
To many, including myself, this is a big event. The Verve was more influential than most people realize, having affected many of the British bands you hear today. They made great albums and they also sounded incredible live.
But to others, The Verve was just that band that sang “Bittersweet Symphony;” nothing more and nothing less. Though “Bittersweet Symphony” was a huge hit, it wasn’t representative of the band’s catalog at all. So if you’re wondering why the reunion of some one-hit wonder if causing such a buzz, here is a crash course in The Verve’s music…
10) “Space and Time”
This song comes from the Verve’s Urban Hymns album, which is a masterpiece. The songs “Come On” and “Velvet Morning,” also off that album, could’ve made this list if they weren’t impossible to find online. The band’s signature trippy-ballad style and singer Richard Ashcroft’s distinct voice really come across on this tune.
9) “Blue”
The band made its mark in the mid-to-late 90s, but this is an old-school Verve tune from the early 90s.
8) “Life’s an Ocean”
I’ve always thought of life as more like a tributary, or possibly an inlet. But I guess those don’t really roll off the tongue like “ocean.”
7) “Weeping Willow”
“Weeping willow / Pills under my pillow.” Little known fact: If you leave a pill under your pillow before you go to sleep, the Pill Fairy will come to your house and leave you a dollar. Of course, he’ll also break your windows, steal your wife’s jewelry and expose himself to your 7-year old son. But hey man, a dollar!!
6) “This Is Music”
I have a Verve live album – before this song, Ashcroft yells out “This Is Music!!!” then the song kicks in. When I first heard this, I didn’t know that “This Is Music” was the title of the song. So I thought Ashcroft was just implying that The Verve was the definition of authentic music and that everything else was garbage. Naturally, I assumed he was a huge dick.
5) “The Rolling People”
Possibly the most drug-induced song ever.
4) “Lucky Man”
I once played this song for a chick I knew in college.
It didn’t work.
3) “Sonnet”
The chorus of this song is actually a sonnet. Yeah, what’s up now, Bill Shakespeare?
2) “History”
The live version of this song great is what really makes it great.
Studio version –
Live version –
1) “The Drugs Don’t Work”
This heart-wrenching ballad about a man dying of cancer has been covered by Ben Harper. This song also teaches a great lesson to the children. You see kids, don’t do drugs, because the drugs don’t work. Except heroin. That shit is fantastic. Well… see you later.
Bonus Track – “Bittersweet Symphony/Get That Dirt Off Your Shoulders Remix”
I know I said we weren’t including “Bittersweet Symphony” on the list, but this is a remix.
