The Verve’s Urban Hymns Gets A 20th Anniversary Edition. Come On!

Every now and again, the world of music throws up a record that is out of the ordinary, something in its timing, quality and spirit that just feels right.

The Verve’s 1997 album Urban Hymns, released September 29, 1997, was one such record. It captured the mood and spirit of the times with songs of an emotional and musical depth that touched a raw nerve throughout the world and ensured this band would graduate from highly respected indie favourites to a genuine rock colossus. A certified classic, Urban Hymns is one of the 20 biggest-selling albums ever in the UK (now 11 times platinum) and has sold over ten million copies worldwide.

The album spawned three highly successful singles. The first was the epoch-making worldwide smash Bitter Sweet Symphony, which trailered the album and became the sound of the summer, followed by The Drugs Don’t Work (UK No. 1) and Lucky Man (UK No. 7).

20 years on the strength of the writing, the quality of the ensemble playing and sensitive production ensure the album sounds as riveting as ever and to mark this anniversary, Virgin/Universal Music are releasing a remastered version of the album with a bounty of bonus material – all of the accompanying b-sides (and The Verve’s b-sides were genuinely something special) plus three hours of powerful, previously unreleased live material, including the full triumphant May 1998 hometown show in front of around 35,000 fans at Haigh Hall, Wigan (on both CD and DVD).

The remastering and mixing work has been undertaken by Urban Hymns’ original co-producer Chris Potter and Metropolis’ Tony Cousins – as it was for the two super deluxe Verve reissues issued last year, A Storm In Heaven and A Northern Soul.

The DVD includes the documentary ‘The Video 96-98’, only ever previously available on VHS.

The deluxe packages also feature new interviews with all the band and all physical releases draw on a vast array of previously unseen photography by Chris Floyd, who first travelled with The Verve on their US tour of 1994 and was granted unprecedented access during the making of Urban Hymns and beyond – up to and including the Haigh Hall show. His work brilliantly captured the band in the studio, on stage, backstage, during down time, on their video sets and tour bus.

The Super-deluxe CD includes a lavish 56-page hard cover book plus poster and 5 postcards. The Vinyl edition comes in a gatefold sleeve and includes a 20-page booklet plus download card which entitles purchaser to all audio from the super-deluxe CD box.

The track-listing of each of the 4 formats is:

Standard CD remastered album:
Bitter Sweet Symphony
Sonnet
The Rolling People
The Drugs Don’t Work
Catching the Butterfly
Neon Wilderness
Space and Time
Weeping Willow
Lucky Man
One Day
This Time
Velvet Morning
Come On

2CD deluxe
CD1 – Remastered album
Bitter Sweet Symphony
Sonnet
The Rolling People
The Drugs Don’t Work
Catching the Butterfly
Neon Wilderness
Space and Time
Weeping Willow
Lucky Man
One Day
This Time
Velvet Morning
Come On

CD2 – Live 1997/98 – ALL UNRELEASED
Tracks 1-11 from Haigh Hall concert – May 24, 1998
This Is Music
Space and Time
Catching the Butterfly
Sonnet
The Rolling People
Weeping Willow
The Drugs Don’t Work
Lucky Man
Life’s an Ocean
Velvet Morning
Bitter Sweet Symphony
A New Decade – Washington DC 9.30 Club (3/11/97)
History – Brixton Academy (16/1/98
Slide Away – Manchester Academy (11/8/97)
3) Super Deluxe (Remastered) Version – 5CD/1DVD

CD1 – Remastered album
Bitter Sweet Symphony
Sonnet
The Rolling People
The Drugs Don’t Work
Catching the Butterfly
Neon Wilderness
Space and Time
Weeping Willow
Lucky Man
One Day
This Time
Velvet Morning
Come On

CD2 – B-sides
Lord I Guess I’ll Never Know
Country Song
Bitter Sweet Symphony (James Lavelle Remix)
So Sister
Echo Bass
Three Steps
The Drugs Don’t Work – original demo
The Crab
Stamped
Never Wanna See You Cry
(Bitter Sweet Symphony) MSG
The Longest Day
Lucky Man (Happiness More or Less)

CD3
B-sides (cont.) + 2 session tracks issued in 2004*
Bitter Sweet Symphony (extended version)
This Could Be My Moment *
Monte Carlo*

BBC Evening session 27/8/97 – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
Life’s An Ocean
A Man Called Sun
The Drugs Don’t Work
On Your Own
So Sister

CD4
Live at Haigh Hall 24/5/98 – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
This Is Music
Space and Time
Catching the Butterfly
Sonnet
The Rolling People
Neon Wilderness
Weeping Willow
The Drugs Don’t Work
Lucky Man
Life’s an Ocean
Velvet Morning
Bitter Sweet Symphony

CD5 – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
Haigh Hall Encore:
One Day
History
Come On
Further live material (Washington / Brixton / Manchester – 1997/8)
A New Decade – Washington DC 9.30 Club (3/11/97)
The Rolling People – Brixton Academy (16/1/98)
On Your Own – Brixton Academy (16/1/98)
History – Brixton Academy (16/1/98)
The Drugs Don’t Work – Washington DC 9.30 Club (3/11/97)
Slide Away – Manchester Academy (11/8/97)
A Man Called Sun – Washington DC 9.30 Club (3/11/97)
A Northern Soul – Washington DC 9.30 Club (3/11/97)
Space and Time – Brixton Academy (16/1/98)
This Is Music – Manchester Academy (11/8/97)
Weeping Willow – Washington DC 9.30 Club (3/11/97)
Stormy Clouds (and Reprise) – Manchester Academy (11/8/97) 7.24

DVD
The Video 1996-1998
Later with Jools Holland – 01/11/97 – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
Lucky Man
Life’s An Ocean
The Drugs Don’t Work
Bitter Sweet Symphony
Live at Haigh Hall – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
This Is Music
Space and Time
Catching the Butterfly
Sonnet
The Rolling People
Neon Wilderness
Weeping Willow
The Drugs Don’t Work
Lucky Man
Life’s an Ocean
Velvet Morning
Bitter Sweet Symphony
One Day
History
Come On
The promo videos:
Bitter Sweet Symphony
The Drugs Don’t Work
Lucky Man
Lucky Man (US version)
Sonnet

4) VINYL BOX SET
DOUBLE LP1
Remastered album

Side 1
Bitter Sweet Symphony
Sonnet
The Rolling People

Side 2
The Drugs Don’t Work
Catching the Butterfly
Neon Wilderness

Side 3
Space and Time
Weeping Willow
Lucky Man
One Day

Side 4
This Time
Velvet Morning
Come On

DOUBLE LP2
B-sides, session tracks issued in 2004*

Side 1
Lord I Guess I’ll Never Know
Country Song
Bitter Sweet Symphony (James Lavelle Remix)
So Sister

Side 2
Echo Bass
Three Steps
The Crab
Stamped

Side 3
The Drugs Don’t Work – original demo
Never Wanna See You Cry
(Bitter Sweet Symphony) MSG
The Longest Day

Side 4
Lucky Man (Happiness More or Less)
Bitter Sweet Symphony (extended version)
This Could Be My Moment*
Monte Carlo*

DOUBLE LP3
Live at Haigh Hall – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

Side 1
This Is Music
Space and Time
Catching the Butterfly
Sonnet

Side 2
The Rolling People
Neon Wilderness
Weeping Willow
The Drugs Don’t Work
Lucky Man

Side 3
Life’s an Ocean
Velvet Morning
Bitter Sweet Symphony

Side 4
One Day
History
Come On

D2C 12” SINGLE
A
Bitter Sweet Symphony Alt. Version (limited promo-only in 1997)
B
The Drugs Don’t Work – Washington DC 9.30 Club (3/11/97) (unavailable elsewhere on vinyl)