Urban Hymns - Definition and Overview

Urban Hymns
Album by The Verve
Released	September 29 1997
Recorded	Olympic Studios October 13 1996 - August 4 1997
Genre	Britpop
Length	75 min 51 s
Label	Virgin 7243 8 44913 2 1
Producer	The Verve, Christopher Marc Potter
Professional reviews
AMG (4.5/5) link (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=UIDMISS70403121920353271&sql=Alif8zfdoehpk) Pitchfork (8.9) link (http://pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/v/verve/urban-hymns.shtml) Q (4/5) September 1998 (http://www.q4music.com/nav?page=q4music.review.redirect&fixture_review=131196&resource=131196&fixture_artist=146636) Rolling Stone (4/5) 12/25/97 - 1/8/98 (http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/cd/review.asp?aid=58257&cf=1476)
The Verve Chronology
A Northern Soul (1995)	Urban Hymns (1997)	This is Music: The Singles 92-98 (2004)

Urban Hymns was a Britpop album released on September 29, 1997 (see 1997 in music) by British rock band The Verve. After the release 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.

In 1998 Q magazine readers voted Urban Hymns the 18th greatest album of all time.

Track listing

1. "Bittersweet Symphony" (Ashcroft/Jagger/Richards)
2. "Sonnet" (Ashcroft)
3. "The Rolling People" (Verve)
4. "The Drugs Don't Work" (Ashcroft)
5. "Catching the Butterfly" (Verve)
6. "Neon Wilderness" (McCabe/Verve)
7. "Space and Time" (Ashcroft)
8. "Weeping Willow" (Ashcroft)
9. "Lucky Man" (Ashcroft)
10. "One Day" (Ashcroft)
11. "This Time" (Ashcroft)
12. "Velvet Morning" (Ashcroft)
13. "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