Favorite Album of the 1990's

My favorite album of the 1990's is by a band that is considered a one hit wonder in the US.  That album is Urban Hymns by the Verve.  This is the last real triumph of 90's Britpop.  The Verve are considered one of the top bands in Britain from the 90's and had big hits before even releasing this album.  This album should have launched them into stardom in the US except that they broke up during the ensuing tour.

I love this album because every song has multiple layers and resonates after every listen.  The opening track and most recognizable track is Bitter Sweet Symphony.  The string loop immediately brings you in and keep you going with the song never breaking apart.  It truly is a masterpiece.  Something this album features heavily which is not used as much as it should anymore is guitar echo.  It is all over the place here.  The Verve try different approaches through out the album from sweeping ballads to dense noise experiments.  I think the Verve work best in their sometimes unstructured jam songs like "Come On."

The song on the album that really brought me in for another listen is "Lucky Man."  It has a cool psychedelic feel to it with layers of echo and lyrically thoughtful.  "Space And Time" always appeals to me as an engineer and a studier of physics mostly because of the time alone, but the song itself is fabulous with a great build up from chorus to chorus until the final call of "There is no space and time."  A good build up should always have a worthwhile payoff and this album does in spades.  The final song of the album, "Come On," is itself the payoff of the build up of the album with the final shouts of "come on now!"

People who enjoyed the Britpop era should find this album immediately as it is a must listen.  The Verve should have been more than they became, but maybe that is their fault.  There is no denying the power and greatness of this album.