Product reviewsThe Verve - Urban Hymns (1997)

Not as described

Would nt play at all and item was not new as kept be inh scpat out. Of sterio

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: new | Sold by: dvd_overstocks_ltd

Great album and great sevice

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: musicmagpie

Everything is good, thank you.

Everything is good, thank you.

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: musicmagpie

Love The Verve.

Rewind to when I was young.

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: seafronth

A singular must-have

Urban Hymns is the peak of the verve career and a must have if you're a collector... It's an overall great album with classic songs such as bittersweet symphony, sonnet, lucky man and the drugs don't work. A great album to have and to hear!Read full review...

I let the melody shine, let it cleanse my mind, I feel

Urban Hymns - for me the greatest record of all time. If I can somehow convey at least a part of the reason why I believe this to be true, I'll have done well. Because it's hard to put into words how good this album really is. Both musically and lyrically, it is as close to perfection as I think any record will ever get.

There are four very famous songs on here, but they are just one dimension to Urban Hymns, there is so much more to this record than the first four singles. Even so, each is outstanding. Bitter Sweet Symphony is emphatic, euphoric and exhilarating. The strings begin, but once the beat kicks in it sends a chill down my spine. Sonnet is sweet, a beautiful acoustic song. The Drugs Don't Work was number one on the day of Princess Diana's death. It has another beautiful acoustic melody, but The Verve are so good at adding depth to their songs, this is them at their best. And Lucky Man, if I had to choose, this is my favourite song on the album. It has been such an inspiration to me at difficult times of my life, whenever I feel low I can play it and it reminds me of who I am.

Then there are the nine other songs here which really make the album into what it is - a masterpiece. That word is overused a lot in music but here it truly does apply. There are three songs I'd like to point out here, which show that The Verve are more than just a one man show, and that they know how to rock out as well. The Rolling People is a huge song, full of spark and craft, "here we are the Rolling People, can't stay for long, we gotta go." Weeping Willow is the hidden gem on this record, if you aren't paying attention it can pass you by, but stop and pause to listen to this because I assure you it will grab you and suck you in. This is one of the most intense songs I've ever heard. I'd been playing this album for seven years before I discovered how great Weeping Willow "the pills under my pillow" really was. Then there is the raging climax - Come On. It is completely different to all that went before because rather than encouraging you to reflect, it encourages you to stand up and shout, with a fist in the air, "**** you - Come On!" I cannot think of a better way to end an album like this, one that takes you on such a life affirming journey, than to finish with such a jubilant celebration.

And still, there so many more great songs on Urban Hymns... "I'm gonna keep Catching That Butterfly in that dream of mine... in a Neon Wilderness, he was restless... there ain't no Space And Time to keep our love alive... maybe One Day we will dance again... good times are hard to hold, This Time I'm gonna find... into the half light, another Velvet Morning".

Altogether, these thirteen songs make up seventy-six minutes of pure genius from start to finish. It represents a great year in modern history, 1997, a year of hope; expectation, celebration and tragedy; but in the end, this album is completely timeless. I love it.Read full review...

URBAN HYMNS - NO URBAN MYTH - ALBUM OF THE DECADE

ONE OF THE BEST ALBUMS FROM THE LAST DECADE. DEFINITELY A MUST FOR EVERYONE'S CD COLLECTION IF ONLY FOR THE SAKE OF THE HAUNTING CLASSIC "BITTER SWEET SYMPHONY". RICHARD ASHCROFT (LEAD VOCALIST) IS RAW TALENT IN HIS MUSIC AND LYRIC WRITING AND HIS WORK WITH "THE VERVE" IS SIMPLY HIS BEST EVER. EVERY SONG ON THIS ALBUM CAN BE LISTENED TO REPEATEDLY WITHOUT TIRING OF THE FANTASTIC MELODIES AND ORIGINAL TRACKS. I BELEIVE THAT THIS WILL ALWAYS BE A CLASSIC ITEM - HELD UP WITH THE DEFINITIVE ALBUMS OF THE 90'S GENERATION - AND MANY OTHERS WILL FALL AT EVEN COMING CLOSE TO THE OUTSTANDING LYRICAL ABILITIES OF ASHCROFT.Read full review...

Urban Hymns, The Verve

This album is very good. One of their best. I would advise anyone viewing it to look at the track listing. If the band is for you, go ahead and buy it.
Most of the songs on the album I had never heard of to be honest, part from "Bitter Sweet Symphony". I sat down and listened to all of them. The music is real good, as so is the vocals. "Drugs Don't Work", "Sonnet" are other good singles on Urban Hymns too. I'm sure you'll find that out.
From that I would give this album a 9/10. Thus because I like the band's music.Read full review...

Urban Hymns - an apt title

I bought it finally because everyday since release a snippet of this injects itself into the background noise and it is always heard and always attended to. It is inexplicable that this is not regarded as one of the ten best issues of all time. We actually listen to these songs like they were hymns, recognising that they represent something simple, valuable and missing from our day to day lives. People's lives are temporarily interrupted when a big track from this gets within earshot and they slow down and get thoughtful and wistful at the same time as though they were trying to remember something important that we are now totally alienated from. The 'Bitter Sweet Symphony' video is a work of mysterious art, is he charging towards something or desperate to escape something: is the nightmare before or behind him? Or is he just desperate to be heard without interruption? Nobody could listen to 'The Drugs Don't Work' without visualising a tower block. Guitar riffs that recall raindrops on windows that won't open looking out on walls of other windows that won't open. Punk was supposed to actualise this sense of urban deprivation and desperation but Punk never got this close.Read full review...

Urban Hymns - The Verve

Almost ten years old but a classic. Richard Ashcroft is a star and songs like Lucky Man and Bittersweet Symphony are timeless. As for downloading the album? There's nothing like owning the real thing and thanks to ebay now I do!! I'm delighted with my purchase.Read full review...