The Verve took the music world by storm when their album Urban Hymns was released on September 29, 1997.
While it only reached 23 in the U.S., it was an immense hit in England where it hit number 1 and is eleven-times Platinum, making it one of the twenty biggest selling albums in British history.
Bittersweet Symphony is probably the best known of the songs on the record although it failed to make it to the top of the charts in England while the second single from the album, The Drugs Don’t Work, did hit the peak.
On September 1, UMe will release a special 20th Anniversary Edition of Urban Hymns that will be available in a single-CD, two-CD Deluxe Edition, five-CD/one-DVD Super Deluxe Edition, three-disc vinyl box set and via digital retailers.
Among the extras are all of the b-sides along with 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 have 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 of 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 U.S. 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 a poster and five postcards. The Vinyl Edition comes in a gatefold sleeve and includes a 20-page booklet plus a download card which entitles purchaser to all audio from the super-deluxe CD box.
The Verve Urban Hymns track lists
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
2-CD Deluxe Edition
Disc 1 (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
Disc 2 (Live 1997/98 – 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))
Super Deluxe Edition (Remastered Version) – 5CD/1DVD
Disc 1 (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
Disc 2 (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)
Disc 3 (B-sides (cont.) + 2 session tracks issued in 2004)
Bitter Sweet Symphony (extended version)
Session Tracks (2004)
This Could Be My Moment
Monte Carlo
BBC Evening session August 27, 1997
Life’s An Ocean
A Man Called Sun
The Drugs Don’t Work
On Your Own
So Sister
Disc 4 (Live at Haigh Hall May 24, 1998)
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
Disc 5
Haigh Hall Encore
One Day
History
Come On
Further live material (Washington / Brixton / Manchester – 1997/8)
A New Decade (Washington DC 9.30 Club (November 3, 1997))
The Rolling People (Brixton Academy (January 16, 1998))
On Your Own (Brixton Academy (January 16, 1998))
History (Brixton Academy (January 16, 1998))
The Drugs Don’t Work (Washington DC 9.30 Club (November 3, 1997))
Slide Away (Manchester Academy (November 8, 1997))
A Man Called Sun (Washington DC 9.30 Club (November 3, 1997))
A Northern Soul (Washington DC 9.30 Club November 11, 19/97))
Space and Time (Brixton Academy (January 16, 1998))
This Is Music (Manchester Academy (August 11, 1997))
Weeping Willow (Washington DC 9.30 Club (November 3, 1997))
Stormy Clouds (and Reprise) (Manchester Academy (August 11, 1997))
DVD
The Video 1996-1998
Later with Jools Holland – November 1, 1997
Lucky Man
Life’s An Ocean
The Drugs Don’t Work
Bitter Sweet Symphony
Live at Haigh Hall
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
Vinyl Box Set
Disc 1 (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
Disc 2 (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
Disc 3 (Live at Haigh Hall)
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
Disc 4 (12″ Single)
Side A
Bitter Sweet Symphony Alt. Version (limited promo-only in 1997)
Side B
The Drugs Don’t Work – Washington DC 9.30 Club (3/11/97) (unavailable elsewhere on vinyl)
