The Verve - Forth
|
List Price: Our Price: $6.96 You Save: $8.02 (54%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $1.48 (click here) Category: Music CD See more new music releases 
|
|---|
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Free Music Notes for Forth
Free Music Review: So many years in the making, so worth the wait.
Hit: 5 Stars
On August 26, 2008 at 12:15 am, I took a breath, opened my ears, and the world changed forever.
Was that appropriately dramatic? Was really shooting for heart-wrenchingly dramatic, not just regular old "Far From Heaven" dramatic.
OK, so maybe I'm kind of a loser for waiting up past midnight (on a work night!) to download an album from a band that (sort of) broke up almost 10 years ago, reading the lyrics while listening through it (twice!), then writing a review so that my fellow Amazoners can happily click me away into unhelpfulness. Which would be seriously unkind, because I'm seriously exhausted and have to get up in a few hours to relive Monday on Tuesday; not that my job isn't great, but it's just going to be one of those weeks, so it would be great if at least 10 million people buy this album after reading what I have to say about it.
Peerless.
Richard Ashcroft + Simon Jones + Nick McCabe + Peter Salisbury = Pure Peerless Musical Genius (PPMG)! I've never heard anything like this before, thus the use of the adjective "Peerless". This album, quite literally, cannot be compared to a single piece of music I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing before. It's kind of what I'd imagine Jeff Buckley's second album (if that album had been Revolver and the Beatles hadn't done it in the '60s) would have been like if the Mississippi hadn't consumed him first; not necessarily in tone and tenor but in PPMG.
Opening Forth with "Sit and Wonder" was a good idea. I was so ready to call that Bittersweet Symphony the Greater and run around for the next two weeks humming snippets of the tune so that when the good people of NeverWhere asked me "What's that amazing hymn you seem so attached to?", I could launch into a diatribe about the Verve's newest masterpiece. Sadly (or happily, matter of perspective I suppose), it's not even the best song on the album! It just turned out to be a "light" way to open the album without overwhelming the listener.
This is a heavy album, folks. Radiohead heavy, and that's probably a mild understatement (remember: Peerless). Let's shoot for another adjective that may (or may not) help me get my point across:
Timeless.
Timeless like Elvis, the Beatles, the Stones, the Roots, the artist formerly and currently known as Prince, and so few more. Forth could have been released anytime since 1960 (give or take a distortion or two) and no one would be the wiser. Ok, maybe not the `80s, but we can all admit the `80s were a little different.
In the interest of not making myself out to be an idiot, I won't make the all encompassing statement of calling this "The Greatest Album Ever", because it isn't. Not yet, anyway. I'll leave that up to VH1 and Dave Navarro, since they're obviously the experts on all things Great. But I will say this: Forth is now my favorite album ever. Ever! It's supplanted Stage's self titled album "Stage" which, for the 3 of you who know me, is quite a leap, because I'm a huge fan of Stage. And to prove my sinceriousness, I'll even sign off on this little review.
God Bless and Enjoy the Music!
John P. O'Brien
Leader of Mice
NeverWhere, USA
Free Music Review: Not Really A Review, Just My Thoughts
Hit: 5 Stars
I became aware of The Verve years ago, when I saw the video "Bitter Sweet Symphony," and was very impressed with the singer. I didn't take it upon myself to check whether or not there was a CD, so I have not heard "Urban Hymns," But after "Bitter Sweet Symphony" exhausted it's play on the radio and VH1, the group seemed to disappear. So when I found out that a new CD was on the shelves, I purchased it as soon as I was able to find it.
I purchased the newly released "the Verve" CD five days ago, and have listened to it everyday since. I wanted to share my thoughts about the CD, but I could not think of how to express myself about the songs. I want to say that it has a theme, in that many of the songs deal with a personal relationship, and a wide variety of emotional expressions, and feelings of longing connected with relationships.
The CD opens with a brooding song where the singer expresses that he is falling into a black hole, falling into pieces, and waiting for the moment to come. He also expresses a lot of confusion and frustration, saying that he has trouble going on inside his head, and then asking that she give him some light. Sounds like emotional stuff, and I'm sure it means something - to him at least. "SIT AND WONDER," is a great title for this powerful and emotional opening song.
I like all of the songs on the CD, but if I had to pick one, or even two, I'd pick "LOVE IS NOISE," and "RATHER BE," because the stories that are told could be my stories, stories I can identify with in a quirky, yet personal way. The lyrics in all of the songs are darkly poetic, yet great, and so is the music the band - all is good. All of the guitar work is intense and appropriately so, the drum work is rhythmic and beyond effective, in a strangely almost danceable way. A few of the songs have background voices that sound odd, but have great powerful harmonies. I call them "The Greek Chorus."
The lead singer Richard Ashcroft has a hugely powerful voice. His vocal range has tremendous flexibility, making it possible for him to have a great storytelling ability too.
The closing song is "Appalachian Springs," where the singer speaks of solitude, and that he doesn't like being alone. He expresses that he has searched in many directions in his life, but he cannot find what he is looking for. At the end of the song he sings, that he can see his soul but doesn't recognize himself. I certainly can relate to those words.
In my opinion this is a very powerful music project, and it is apparent that it took a lot of time to put it together. I highly recommend it to anyone capable of recognizing great musical talent.
Free Music Review: Urban Hymns 2.0 + a deeper meaning!
Hit: 5 Stars
Bittersweet Symphony was one of my favorite songs of the late 90's. It became the anthem of my life at the time because of the depth of the lyrics and the singer's delivery, but then I didn't hear anything else from this band (except Lucky Man) and left it at that. In 2006, during Coldplay American X&Y tour, a singer named Richard Ashcroft was the opening act. Not knowing this guy by name, I decided to give him a listen. When he opened up with Bittersweet Symphony I was completely floored because it dawned on me who this dude was and wanted to hear more. He continued to play "Lucky Man, The Drugs Don't Work (which I didn't even know existed and became one of my favorite songs) and Sonnet." Next day I drove to the nearest record store and purchased Urban Hymns. What I discovered was one of the best albums ever made. How could I have awaited so long to get this Album?
Enamored with the sound and lyrics of The Verve, I longed to hear more from them, but heard they'd broken up. Again, instead of digging back and finding out if they had any previous material (EP, A Storm In Heaven, A Northern Soul, Ashcroft's amazing solo and follow-up albums)I just decided to cherish Urban Hymns and leave it at that. Again, I was wrong. But then on August 29, 2008 something amazing happened- I found out The Verve had a new album. I quickly previewed it online and was blown away by the quality, sound, lyrics, sincerity and delivery of each track! Wow!!! What a great band and gifted musicians. They're like a breath of fresh air in a desert of mediocre, lame music.
Every track is a musical gem- able to stand on its own on anybody's playlist. "Sit And Wonder" is vintage Verve and Ashcroft and the gang deliver it with enough drive and passion. "Judas and Appalachian Springs" are haunting. Ashcroft's voice and McCabe's psychedelic, ambient guitar sound transport you into pure musical heaven/bliss. "Rather Be, Numbness, I see Houses and Valium Skies" are incredible tracks that make this album worth waiting a decade four! My only regret was not finding out more about The Verve in the 90's and Richard's solo albums earlier in this decade. But hey, better late than never. Buy this album...it is easily one of the best ever made! If your a Verve fan, you'll find yourself playing this at home, in your car and at work! The Verve is truly a band for the ages- our generation Pink Floyd!
Free Music Review: Worth The Wait
Hit: 5 Stars
I found about The Verve from Urban Hymns and at first I thought the album was ok. However, with Verve albums it always takes a couple more listens to actually get the songs and it was amazing. After that, I went to their catalog and listened to Storm in Heaven and Northern Soul and of course it solidified The Verve being my favorite band of all time. So of course, Forth was like the best thing to happen to music in the last decade for me. It is pretty amazing how much this album seems to encompass all their previous work like they have said. The only real difference is the balladry of Urban Hymns. That might be a bad thing but with this band they can really do no wrong. "Sit and Wonder" is a great opener. Its pretty amazing to see how that song has developed since they first aired it live on their first set of shows in the U.K. "Judas" is like a pretty version of "Man Called Sun." "Appalachian Springs" is probably the gem of the album. The ending is so gorgeous. My favorite tracks on the album as songs they have never done anything like, "Columbo" and "Noise Epic." They both sound like they have three different songs in one but its pretty obvious they were both created from their infamous jam sessions. There is no band today like The Verve. No band has a set of musicians consisting of a guitarist like Nick McCabe, the greatest living guitarist, Simon Jones, truly one of the best bassists ever, and Sobbo, would not want any other drummer drumming for the Verve. This band will go down in history like Richard has always said as the greatest rock band ever. Or at least in my mind...Free Music Review: An explosive return, a masterpiece.
Hit: 5 Stars
A Brilliant return. I have been a fan of The Verve ever since i first heard Bitter Sweet Symphony. I bought the cd without having heard a single track, i popped it in and i could not believe my ears when i heard the opening to Love is Noise. My jaw literally dropped i had never heard anything quite like that, i kept playing the begin to it over and over again. I got through the entire album and was very very pleased and suprised i didnt think there return would be that amazing. There isn't a bad song on this album, you can listen to it all the way through over and over again. It's both an emotional and powerful listening experience. I absolutely love the keyboard and guitar in this cd. Lead singer Richard Ashcroft has been compared to Chris Martin has being equal in signing voice, creativity, and song writting ability. Any fan of Coldplay and The Killers would love this album. I highly recommend this album. You will not be disappointed.