By far and away the best thing about the Verve. Proof: A Storm In Heaven.
The music on there is very cool, but from a songwriting perspective? Not very developed.
If you compare that to Pink Floyd's trajectory, Dark Side of the Moon may not be as musically adventurous as the earlier stuff, but that is one damn fine collection of songs. I think Urban Hymns could have been an all-timer, and for some people it is. Had McCabe not had a nervous breakdown in the middle of the tour, who knows? A Northern Soul is probably where you split the difference, but you know I'd take History and On My Own over anything from A Storm in Heaven.
He was talking about what personally held them back, not about musical ability. I like The Verve, but they were always another Britpop band, never seemed poised to take over the world. I was disappointed when they fell apart again before they could tour here for Forth.
That's unfair. The point I was trying to make was that they were NOT like the other Britpop bands; in fact, I don't know how you could even classify them as that. Their songs are like the least
British of any big band from that period. I love Blur, Supergrass, etc., but there was a provincial angle in the writing, singing, and/or the sound that prevented any of them from going totally global. With Oasis, Liam has that snarl of a vocal that's far from welcoming, more suited to a Rolling Stones ripoff band than one who wants to emulate the Beatles. And of course they were douchebags, which failed to break them here. No America, no international reign.
Incorrect, kind sir. Every Ashcroft solo album has at least 2 or 3 stellar tracks.... the rest are shit
Thank you. And I'd say the first two albums have more than 2 or 3 good songs, but whatever.
Oh, fair enough, he is definitely what initially drew me to their music. Aschroft has some playful vocals, but overall he does get under your skin when you watch him perform. You'd think after years of all his other endeavors coming up short he'd realize he's not the second coming.
I can't speak for how he's been post-Verve, but that's not the point. I saw them in 1997 at a small club in Boston, and the guy BROUGHT it. He was like a combination of Jagger (in terms of his physical display) and Boner (in terms of how he was going into a spiritual trance at times). They were easily capable of handling stadium-sized crowds here (something they surely did in Britian).