The Verve: Urban Hymns 20th Anniversary Editions, September 1

VerveUH20

CD / Deluxe 2CD / Super-deluxe 5CD + DVD box / Super-deluxe 3 X 2LP box

06 JULY 2017 (Toronto, 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/USM/Universal Music Canada, the country’s leading music company, 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:

  1. Bitter Sweet Symphony
  2. Sonnet
  3. The Rolling People
  4. The Drugs Don’t Work
  5. Catching the Butterfly
  6. Neon Wilderness
  7. Space and Time
  8. Weeping Willow
  9. Lucky Man
  10. One Day
  11. This Time
  12. Velvet Morning
  13. Come On

2CD deluxe

CD1 – Remastered album

  1. Bitter Sweet Symphony
  2. Sonnet
  3. The Rolling People
  4. The Drugs Don’t Work
  5. Catching the Butterfly
  6. Neon Wilderness
  7. Space and Time
  8. Weeping Willow
  9. Lucky Man
  10. One Day
  11. This Time
  12. Velvet Morning
  13. Come On

CD2 – Live 1997/98 – ALL UNRELEASED

Tracks 1-11 from Haigh Hall concert – May 24, 1998

  1. This Is Music
  2. Space and Time
  3. Catching the Butterfly
  4. Sonnet
  5. The Rolling People
  6. Weeping Willow
  7. The Drugs Don’t Work
  8. Lucky Man
  9. Life’s an Ocean
  10. Velvet Morning
  11. Bitter Sweet Symphony
  12. A New Decade – Washington DC 9.30 Club (3/11/97)
  13. History – Brixton Academy (16/1/98
  14. Slide Away – Manchester Academy (11/8/97)

3) Super Deluxe (Remastered) Version – 5CD/1DVD

CD1 – Remastered album

  1. Bitter Sweet Symphony
  2. Sonnet
  3. The Rolling People
  4. The Drugs Don’t Work
  5. Catching the Butterfly
  6. Neon Wilderness
  7. Space and Time
  8. Weeping Willow
  9. Lucky Man
  10. One Day
  11. This Time
  12. Velvet Morning
  13. Come On

CD2 – B-sides

  1. Lord I Guess I’ll Never Know
  2. Country Song
  3. Bitter Sweet Symphony (James Lavelle Remix)
  4. So Sister
  5. Echo Bass
  6. Three Steps
  7. The Drugs Don’t Work – original demo
  8. The Crab
  9. Stamped
  10. Never Wanna See You Cry
  11. (Bitter Sweet Symphony) MSG
  12. The Longest Day
  13. Lucky Man (Happiness More or Less)

CD3

B-sides (cont.) + 2 session tracks issued in 2004*

  1. Bitter Sweet Symphony (extended version)
  2. This Could Be My Moment *
  3. Monte Carlo*

BBC Evening session 27/8/97 – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

  1. Life’s An Ocean
  2. A Man Called Sun
  3. The Drugs Don’t Work
  4. On Your Own
  5. So Sister

CD4

Live at Haigh Hall 24/5/98 – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

  1. This Is Music
  2. Space and Time
  3. Catching the Butterfly
  4. Sonnet
  5. The Rolling People
  6. Neon Wilderness
  7. Weeping Willow
  8. The Drugs Don’t Work
  9. Lucky Man
  10. Life’s an Ocean
  11. Velvet Morning
  12. Bitter Sweet Symphony

CD5 – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

Haigh Hall Encore:

  1. One Day
  2. History
  3. Come On

Further live material (Washington / Brixton / Manchester – 1997/8)

  1. A New Decade – Washington DC 9.30 Club (3/11/97)
  2. The Rolling People – Brixton Academy (16/1/98)
  3. On Your Own – Brixton Academy (16/1/98)
  4. History – Brixton Academy (16/1/98)
  5. The Drugs Don’t Work – Washington DC 9.30 Club (3/11/97)
  6. Slide Away – Manchester Academy (11/8/97)
  7. A Man Called Sun – Washington DC 9.30 Club (3/11/97)
  8. A Northern Soul – Washington DC 9.30 Club (3/11/97)
  9. Space and Time – Brixton Academy (16/1/98)
  10. This Is Music – Manchester Academy (11/8/97)
  11. Weeping Willow – Washington DC 9.30 Club (3/11/97)
  12. Stormy Clouds (and Reprise) – Manchester Academy (11/8/97) 7.24

DVD

The Video 1996-1998 –originally issued as HUTVID1

Later with Jools Holland – 01/11/97 – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

  1. Lucky Man
  2. Life’s An Ocean
  3. The Drugs Don’t Work
  4. Bitter Sweet Symphony

Live at Haigh Hall – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

  1. This Is Music
  2. Space and Time
  3. Catching the Butterfly
  4. Sonnet
  5. The Rolling People
  6. Neon Wilderness
  7. Weeping Willow
  8. The Drugs Don’t Work
  9. Lucky Man
  10. Life’s an Ocean
  11. Velvet Morning
  12. Bitter Sweet Symphony
  13. One Day
  14. History
  15. 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

  1. Bitter Sweet Symphony
  2. Sonnet
  3. The Rolling People

Side 2

  1. The Drugs Don’t Work
  2. Catching the Butterfly
  3. Neon Wilderness

Side 3

  1. Space and Time
  2. Weeping Willow
  3. Lucky Man
  4. One Day

Side 4

  1. This Time
  2. Velvet Morning
  3. Come On

DOUBLE LP2

B-sides, session tracks issued in 2004*

Side 1

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

Side 2

  1. Echo Bass
  2. Three Steps
  3. The Crab
  4. Stamped

Side 3

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

Side 4

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

DOUBLE LP3

Live at Haigh Hall – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

Side 1

  1. This Is Music
  2. Space and Time
  3. Catching the Butterfly
  4. Sonnet

Side 2

  1. The Rolling People
  2. Neon Wilderness
  3. Weeping Willow
  4. The Drugs Don’t Work
  5. Lucky Man

Side 3

  1. Life’s an Ocean
  2. Velvet Morning
  3. Bitter Sweet Symphony

Side 4

  1. One Day
  2. History
  3. Come On

D2C 12” SINGLE

00602557562439 5756243

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)