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Urban Hymns
 
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Urban Hymns

~ The Verve
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (79 customer reviews)
Price: £9.08 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Product details

  • Audio CD (29 Sep 1997)
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Label: Hut
  • ASIN: B000000WF0
  • Other Editions: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  Mini-Disc  |  MP3 Download
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (79 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1,065 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

    Popular in these categories:

    #22 in  Music > Indie > Britpop
    #23 in  Music > Indie > Grunge
    #92 in  Music > Rock > Indie Rock & Punk

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Listen to Samples and Buy MP3s

Songs from this album are available to purchase as MP3s. Click on "Buy MP3" or view the MP3 Album.

Samples
Song Title Time Price
Listen  1. Bitter Sweet Symphony 5:58£0.69
Listen  2. Sonnet 4:21£0.69
Listen  3. The Rolling People 7:02£0.69
Listen  4. The Drugs Don't Work 5:05£0.69
Listen  5. Catching The Butterfly 6:26£0.69
Listen  6. Neon Wilderness 2:37£0.69
Listen  7. Space And Time 5:36£0.69
Listen  8. Weeping Willow 4:49£0.69
Listen  9. Lucky Man 4:53£0.69
Listen10. One Day 5:02£0.69
Listen11. This Time 3:50£0.69
Listen12. Velvet Morning 4:57£0.69
Listen13. Come On 6:40£0.69
Listen14. Deep Freeze 2:12£0.69


Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

Calling it a day in early 1999 was probably the best thing the Verve ever did, as it meant that they quit when they were at the pinnacle of their success, sparing their faithful followers an unsightly degeneration. Urban Hymns is a fitting final testament to Wigan's favourite sons, as Richard Ashcroft and Nick McCabe temporarily buried the hatchet and reformed one of Britain's greatest songwriting partnerships since Lennon and McCartney. From the unmistakable introductory chords of "Bittersweet Symphony" to the sheer pop perfection of "Lucky Man" via stoner rock-outs like "Weeping Willow" and the call to arms that is "Come On", every track justifies its presence by being part of a cohesive whole. Their previous album A Northern Soul was already marked down in the annals of rock history as a classic; Urban Hymns surpasses it and then some. --Helen Marquis


CD Description

This is the third studio album by the Wigan indie-rock act fronted by Richard Ashcroft. It is the follow up to 1995's 'A Northern Soul'. The no.1 single, 'The Drug's Don't Work', is included.

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Customer Reviews

79 Reviews
5 star:
 (56)
4 star:
 (10)
3 star:
 (4)
2 star:
 (5)
1 star:
 (4)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (79 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars I let the melody shine, let it cleanse my mind, I feel free now..., 6 Aug 2006
By J. Cracknell "james_the_brains" (Bristol) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
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.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars one of the best albums ever!, 9 April 2003
By taters "taters_is_mint" (york, England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   
the history of the verve (previously without 'the') is a quite extraordinary journey that produced two under rated albums ('storm in heaven' and 'northern soul'). The journey in the early 90s took its toll ...forcing verve to split after the fantastic single 'history' in 1995.

its unclear how they started up again two years later but my guess is cos the genieus that is richard ashcroft wrote songs such as 'bitter sweet symphony', 'sonnet', 'lucky man', 'drugs dont work', 'space and time' and decided it would probably be a good idea to record these songs. i reckon it was probably a wise decision as this is without doubt a classic that will still sound fantastic in years to come.

it seems after years of trying to make the big time the two year break was what ashcroft and the boys needed.anyone who has heard the fantastic b-side 'so sister' will realise how strong the album was for it not to be included.'catching the butterfly', 'weeping willow' and the amazing 'this time' will never tire from my cd player. not a bad track on the album at all and from the opening song 'bitter sweet' to the closing number 'come on' the verve finally achieved their place in history....and then split up again!
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Hymns to die for., 20 Jan 2002
By A Customer
Urban Hymns, quite simply one of the most ingenious and underrated albums ever produced in the history of music. Northern Soul was a superb album in itself, undermining Ricxhard Ashcrofts view that it would take them three albums to produce a good one. It took them two to produce a good one, three to produce such a stunning and moving one as Urban Hymns. With Ashcroft taking over most of the lyric-writing, and McCabe able to concentrate on his superb guitar playing skills, Urban Hymns became the theme tune of summer 1997, with Bittersweet Symphone being the song which made people stand up and recognise the Verve for wha they are. Followed by The Drugs Dont Work as a released single. This was a tune that was beautiful, haunting and sad. Other great tracks on this album incude the marvellous Sonnet, the uplifting Lucky Man, ansd surely one of the greatest songs never to have been rerleased as a single, Velvet Morning. This is the album of the 1990's and dare i say it, one of the best 10 albums ever, and in years to come will be seen as a breakthrough album for a group who werent able to prove their greatness after their split a year later. This album is unmissable. Buy it now and your life might just change!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Iconic masterpiece, pure brilliance.
THE album of the 90's, nothings came close since, beautiful lyrics enchanting melody's and so uplifting it never fails satisfy. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Brian S. Northey

2.0 out of 5 stars Poor Verve offering
Essentially a Richard Ashcroft solo album this can only be described as a let down after the genius of the Storm in Heaven and Northern Soul albums. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mira Prospekt

5.0 out of 5 stars This UK pressing is far superior to the 2008 Capitol vinyl
I had recently purchased the 2008 Capitol re-issue of Urban Hymns on vinyl. Although there are quite a few decent pressings from Capitol, this didn't appear to be one of them... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Steven Burke

5.0 out of 5 stars The album that Be Here Now should have been.
In 1997 bands like Blur,Oasis,U2 and Radiohead were releasing long awaited albums, it's more suprising that the band who would come out of 1997 on top of the world would be a band... Read more
Published 4 months ago by T.K

5.0 out of 5 stars Utterly exhilarating from start to finish.
This is the first review I've ever written on Amazon. Im not sure why I've chosen to suddenly write my feelings about this album. Read more
Published 5 months ago by T. Budden

5.0 out of 5 stars very happy
had this album on tape cassette, original album..... so needed cd to update... excellent album
Published 6 months ago by claire

5.0 out of 5 stars One of THE best British albums of all time
One of the people said in a review of this album it was

"the most boring album they ever heard"......... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Drew McDonald

4.0 out of 5 stars The highlight of Ashcroft's career
Richard Ashcroft has been in the industry a long time, whether as part of The Verve or solo.
The Verve never had the high profile of Britpop supergroups ike Blur and Oasis... Read more
Published 10 months ago by haunted

5.0 out of 5 stars Britpop's last great album.
Richard Ashcroft has never been one to undersell his own brilliance - his solo career may have been weak, and the first two Verve albums excellent, but on Urban Hymns the hype... Read more
Published 16 months ago by dynamitekid156

5.0 out of 5 stars Love This Album
One of my favourite if not favourite album of all time. Enough said. If you don't own this album then you're missing out, on one of those truly special albums.
Published 16 months ago by D. Best

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