Day 858 - Urban Hymns

The Verve "Urban Hymns" (1997)

The Verve reformed a year or two after breaking up (where's the commitment to the quitting?) and started working on new music.  Initially they were joined by Simon Tong in place of guitarist Nick McCabe but McCabe was convinced to rejoin.

While there is still some of the swirly, psychedelic rock  of "A Northern Soul" in tracks like "The Rolling People" and album closer "Come On" (featuring Liam Gallagher on backing vocals), the album's strong points are more in its subtler melodic moments like morose ballad "the Drugs Don't Work" or Orchestra-sampling, lawsuit-courting album opener "Bittersweet Symphony" that borrowed a little too obviously from an old Rolling Stones song.

I remember when this came out in the late 90s I didn't really care for it at all.  I kind of liked the track "Lucky Man" but I found the other singles to be quite grating.   I'm not sure if I was just being contrary, if my tastes have changed or these songs just needed time to percolate because coming into this listen I was really looking forward to hearing "drugs don't work" and other tracks, and just enjoyed listening to it all.

Day 0800 - A Northern Soul

 The Verve "A Northern Soul" (1995)

 

Okay, I have to admit that my only real experience with the Verve was the "Urban Hymns" album.   This whole psychedelic rock with hints of droney shoegaze took me (pleasantly) by surprise.

There are some almost dance-influenced beats like on "Life's an Ocean", mixed with the noisy wash of guitar that is reminiscent of bands from My Bloody Valentine, Ride and maybe the Happy Mondays.

The long, slow moody mellow atmospheric "Drive you home" is quite dreamy and wonderful.  

The  band broke up after this, but reformed and hit new commercial heights.

Day 0069 - Freak Out

Frank Zappa and the Mother's of Invention "Freak Out" (1966) - got it

This album has hints of the sounds popular at this point of the 60s... but with a huge helping of weirdness on top.  Nowhere near the virtuosic oddball stylings the band would exhibit once Frank fired half the band and ensconced himself well and truly in the driver's seat, but still comfortably 'out there'.

There are one or two pretty solid pop songs here, a direction that Zappa would explore more completely with his doowop album "Cruisin' with Ruben and the Jets".
"Trouble every day" sound suspiciously like it is mocking Bob Dylan... wouldn't surprise me, as Zappa was making fun of EVERYBODY at this point in his career

The last couple of tracks start to investigate some weirder, musique concrete-esque territory (which, again, Zappa would explore more fully in later releases).  All in all a startling and well formed debut.