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"Bitter Sweet Symphony" was nominated for the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or A Group With Vocal and Best Rock Song.
URBAN HYMNS contains a hidden track after "Come On."
The Verve: Richard Ashcroft (vocals, guitar); Simon Tong (guitar, keyboards); Nick McCabe (guitar); Simon Jones (bass); Peter Salisbury (drums).
Producers: Andrew Loog Oldham, Youth, The Verve, Chris Potter.
Personnel: Richard Ashcroft (vocals, guitar); Simon Tong (guitar, keyboards); Nick McCabe (guitar); Simon Jones (bass guitar); Peter Salisbury (drums); Paul Anthony Taylor , Mel Wesson (programming).
Audio Mixer: Christopher Marc Potter .
Directors: Mathew Sankey; Martin Catherall; Brian Cannon.
Photographers: Chris Floyd ; John Horsley; Michael Spencer Jones .
Additional personnel: Mel Wesson, Paul Taylor (programming).Rolling Stone (10/16/97, pp.104-106) - 3.5 Stars (out of 5) - "...their strongest album to date....the songs on URBAN HYMNS are anchored by propulsive guitar rhythms and sinuous, infectious vocals....a breathtaking venture, an ambitious balance of stargazing and worldweary pathos."
Entertainment Weekly (10/10/97, p.92) - "...a surprising--and stunning--comeback from Britain's shoe-gazing shamans the Verve, resurrected after two splintered years. Crooner Richard Ashcroft makes it all sound like churchworthy gospel." - Rating: B+
Q (10/01, p.81) - Ranked #18 in Q's "Best 50 Albums of Q's Lifetime"
Q (12/99, p.92) - Included in Q Magazine's "90 Best Albums Of The 1990s."
Q (1/98, p.115) - Included in Q Magazine's "50 Best Albums of 1997."
Q (6/00, p.69) - Ranked #58 in Q's "100 Greatest British Albums" - "...Rose to national anthem league, an appeal to a post-club generation who now use rock'n'roll as a comedown aid..."
Q (7/00, p.141) - Included in Q's "The Best Male Angst Albums Of All Time"
Uncut (p.108) - "[T]he most striking qualities of URBAN HYMNS now are its musical coherence and the powerfully sustained mood of melancholic stoicism."
Melody Maker (12/20-27/97, pp.66-67) - Ranked #1 on Melody Maker's list of 1997's "Albums Of The Year."
Melody Maker (10/4/97, p.51) - "...An album of unparalleled beauty so intent on grabbing at the strands of music's multi-hued history....all songs which sound like they've lived a little more than most."
Village Voice (2/24/98) - Ranked #18 in the Village Voice's 1997 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll.
NME (Magazine) (12/20-27/97, pp.78-79) - Ranked #3 in NME's 1997 Critics' Poll.
NME (Magazine) (9/27/97, p.54) - 8 (out of 10) - "....Its sheer magnificence and spirit is such that the danger of it overwhelming anything that follows it is obvious. This, after all, is the musical signature of the year....The Verve's best album to date..."
Verve - Urban Hymns Songs
Urban Hymns Music Review
Average Rating: (4.6 out of 5 stars)    List All 21 Reviews Prophetic: Long Live UH's
Reigning in the wilds of their psychadelic past, URBAN HYMNS exhibits the qualities to be missed by the Verve's untimely departure. Uplifting rhythms, cathartic melodies and ear licking hooks combine to produce the finest album of consistently enjoyable music going around, and around, and around. It'll convert you to Brit in an instant.
Submitted by a reviewer (Kempsey, NSW, Australia)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No 1 of 1 found this helpful.
History's Greatest Album
OK, so that's a tough call. But it's certainly one of the best. Urban Hymns has everything, from the full string section in "BitterSweet Symphony" to the light guitars in "Sonnet" to "Weeping Willow"'s psychedelic blast to "Velvet Morning"'s calmly striking lyrics. The Verve manage to take almost every element of music and find a powerful place for it here.
It's a terrible shame that they broke up again, but at least they'll go out on top of their game, after recording a near-perfect record that never, ever gets old.
Submitted by bkverve99 (Wappingers Falls, NY)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No 1 of 1 found this helpful. Great Music
I think is a Great Job, It is a Shame that we can not have more Music of this Group.
Submitted by luis_fernando37 (Zacapu, Michoacán Mexico) 
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No  almost good, but not quite
This version of "Bittersweet Symphony" has the words so muddied, they are indecipherable. "The Rolling People" & "Lucky Man" are outstanding, but the other 10 tracks sound like bad rehearsals.
Submitted by tdtiegs (Rockford, IL)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No
 Good listening from a talented group
I've had The Verve on my mind ever since I heard 'symphony of Life'. This is my first CD from this group, and I haven't been disappointed.
Well crafted, with a spacey evertones, and downright good rock n'roll. The lead singer has a great voice. Overall, this is a unique CD well worth the purchase if your the adventurous type.
Submitted by a reviewer (Columbus, OH)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No
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