Still doing his thing

Apparently, Richard Ashcroft has a solo date planned in August. A bit confusing considering the upcoming Verve album should be out during the same month, but at least this puts Ashcroft fans at ease who thought his solo career might be in jeopardy now that Verve have reformed.

From the Trinity Street Direct Team

Potentially good news...

Question: Will the new Verve album be available for pre-order from the Verve store on the official site nearer to the release date?

Answer: This will be most likely.

New album finished and ready to mix

Stand-out points from a fellow contributor:

They had the thing written and recorded in its entirety by early February' and 'Its finished and ready to mix' coming from Si Jones. So I would say August or September is a fair guess at the minute, as it usually takes about 6 months to get a record out, due to all the record label 'red tape' etc. September would be ironic as its when Urban Hymns came out too. If it did get released in Sept then it would be able to do battle with Oasis' new record, which would be a laugh. I would imagine that the lack of news/interviews is a good thing.

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Although it happened less by design than through excess and interpersonal acrimony, the Verve never gave itself the time to become washed up.

Far from it, in fact. When the Wigan, England-bred quartet parted ways in 1999, it went out on the highest note of its short career, having finally attained the global rock stardom to which it had always behaved as if it was entitled with 1997's deserving mega-hit Urban Hymns.

It wasn't a bad spot to bow out, by any means, but the steady refinement of the Verve's epic Brit-pop sound – which evolved from the heady, narco-mystic psychedelia of 1993's A Storm in Heaven into the stadium-shaking populism of "Bittersweet Symphony" and "Lucky Man" in just four years – demonstrated over the band's three-album catalogue has always left admirers with a lingering sense of business perhaps unfinished.

The speed with which a new Verve album was completed once bandmates Richard Ashcroft, Nick McCabe, Simon Jones and Pete Salisbury decreed last October that, yes, there would indeed be a new Verve album suggests there's some substance to this thought. They had the thing written and recorded in its entirety by early February.

"The record's finished. It's ready to mix," said a hoarse Jones between back-to-back gigs in New York City earlier this week. "We didn't just wanna do the reunion-tour cliché thing. We wanted it to be fully formed, right from the start. We want a record, we want to be out there. We want to be a working band."

Crucial to the survival of this latest iteration of the Verve – its third, for scorekeeping's sake, since the oft-abrasive relationship between front man Ashcroft and guitarist McCabe prompted another, briefer break-up between 1995's A Northern Soul and Urban Hymns – will be keeping the workload (and its attendant, non-musical distractions) to a manageable level.

Nothing short of world domination was the goal from the moment the four teenaged school chums formed the band in 1989, said Jones, but when the full weight of rock stardom landed on the Verve's shoulders after Urban Hymns, it "buckled."

"We burned ourselves out, basically," he said. "We wanted a massive record, we wanted to be a big band, but I think it took us by surprise the amount of pressure that comes with that when it actually happens. So we kind of imploded.

"You have all these dreams and ideas about what it's like, but when you get a successful record like that, it's just non-stop, the amount of promotion and interviews and videos. It's never-ending, really. When Urban Hymns came out, we were looking at two years on the road and we just weren't made for that. This time, we have to learn from our mistakes of overwork and keep this thing together by being a bit more in control of our destiny."

The tour that ushers the Verve into the Ricoh Coliseum tonight thus comes amidst a short run of "select" North American dates tied to the group's well-received performance at the Coachella Festival last weekend. More will come when the as-yet-untitled new album surfaces in August, but the band has no intention of running itself into an early grave to support it.

One must always take a rock 'n' roller's claims that his latest record is his "best yet" with a grain of salt. But when you're dealing with a band as staunchly self-important as the Verve – when Ashcroft brashly declared "This Is Music" on A Northern Soul, he believed it – there's room to grant Jones's enthusiasm some credence. Lord knows someone has to atone for Ashcroft's dismal solo records.

"Having been away for such a long time, when you come back to it, you've got that enthusiasm that you had when you were making your first records. And you can't get that back, really, when you're eight albums into your career or whatever," he said.

"So we've got an advantage here in that we've got this hunger again. I think we've just made the best record that we've ever made, without a shadow of a doubt, and I don't think we would have attempted to make a record if we didn't think we could surpass what we've done before. It's a true representation of this band and what we're about, and we're very proud of it."

Source: Today's Toronto Star, Ben Rayner

Album update...but more like a reminder

Most of the new record is being recorded at State Of The Ark Studios, in Richmond, Surrey, England.

Food for thought from a fellow contributor:

There was mention that mixing was taking place while the band were in the United States. I'm not sure where. I reckon a producer must have been involved somewhere, or at least a mixing engineer alongside The Verve. Otherwise its a pretty big risk for a record company to take. Perhaps Chris Potter may have been involved, and even more possibly Youth as he has just finished the new Futureheads album, so he would now be available. Who knows?

They've probably had a few days at Olympic too; this was the studio where they recorded most of the cuts on Urban Hymns over a ten day jam session.

Overall, its now gone very quiet on album number four details.

12 years ago

Richard Ashcroft modeled for Mossimo and a pre-Urban Hymns demo disc was sent to a Verve fan running a popular website on the band at the time. The tracks were made public.

Non-Verve related: Viva La Vida

If you like Coldplay, this seems like a good deal. Amazon is selling the band's forthcoming album for $9.99. Link here. Also, the band's official website is advertising free tickets for their concert at Madison Square Gardens in New York City later this year. But if I'm not mistaken, MSG has a 20,000 seat capacity and the fine print on the contest signals 3,500 free pairs which equal 7,000 tickets. How about the other 13,000?

The Verve trying to get to a rehearsal in 1996

Verve reviews and pictures

Here are a few reader-submitted reviews of the recent North American tour. Thank you Frank and Sal.

April 23, Warfield Theater in San Francisco, CA, USA

• review (added May 13)

April 29, WaMu Theater in New York City, NY, USA

• review

May 1, Ricoh Coliseum, ON

• review 
• pictures

Urban Hymns (mini vinyl replica)

This just in from one the site's contributors:

Was having a look for the new album pre-order, and came across this. Its listed as a mini vinyl replica and includes "Lord I Guess I'll Never Know" on it as well. Due for release on May 19, 2008

The real (non-mini) vinyl can be bought here.

From NME; appearing in the May 7 issue

'An amazing version of 'LES artistes' [By Santogold] sets us up nicely for The Verve, who are the ultimate festival band ever. Who else, at their first festival in 10 years, would dare follow a climax of their three biggest anthems - 'The Drugs Don't Work', 'Lucky Man' and 'Bitter Sweet Symphony' - with the live debut of a new song? 'Love Is Noise' sounds like a shamanic LCD Soundsystem, laden with unforgettable hooks and conclusive proof that both the reunion and Glastonbury booking were definitely a good idea.'

• The comments refer to Coachella 2008; written by Hamish MacBain.
• Its not exactly true that it was the 'live debut' of the new tune but at least they got the song name right.

Possible future for Verve classics

Verve classics "South Pacific" and "Brake Lights" may see the light of day after all. A track name taken from the forthcoming album titled "Blue Pacific Ocean" has begun rumors (maybe started here with a post I made a few months back) about the resurgence of Voyager One album-less, b-side-less, early-Verve glory-tune "South Pacific." No confirmations, just speculations at this point.

Towards the end of last year, Simon Jones on Radio 1 with Zane Lowe briefly (really just briefly) mentioned demoing 'Brake Lights' for the new record. The tune has some mad guitars. Here's hoping.

A new battle for Bitter Sweet Symphony

In a recent Urban Hymns anniversary podcast, Jazz Summers mentions that he's had a meeting with Richard Ashcroft and they are apparently going to try to challenge Allen Klein with the "Bitter Sweet Symphony" credit/royalties/copyright wrangles.

Hats off to The Verve if they get publishing rights back 100% for the song. If you're not familiar with the issue, go here.

Love Is Noise, that's what it is

Its official. The new tune with five different names is definitely called "Love Is Noise." Straight from Simon Jones.

Studio time at the Electric Eel

Adding to the Simon Jones interview posted a couple days ago, here are a few pictures and a brief description of the private studio in Richmond, England where Verve are putting together their forthcoming album:

Terry Britten's 1960’s EMI mixing console was complemented by housing his vintage equipment in 1960’s style racking systems, hand built in the Electric Eel workshop.

Traditional acoustic treatments were used in the live area which had to potentially accomodate a whole band. Sound-proofing was critical since the studio is in the twice daily flightpath of concorde.

Last September, Jones described the studio as "brimming with vintage gear, an old E.M.I desk (Pink Floyd -'Dark Side Of The Moon' era) and billions of guitars, old analogue gear, a treasure trove of effects pedals (Nick like a kid in a toy shop!)."

Source: Electric Eel

The Verve reunion sweet to T.O. fans

Mad Richard is back in the saddle.

That would be "Mad" Richard Ashcroft, the charismatic frontman for '90s British psych-rock band The Verve, recently regrouped and in Toronto on Thursday night for the Wigan band's first concert in Canada in a decade.

The lanky and darkly handsome Ashcroft took the stage in front of a sold-out crowd at Ricoh Coliseum with his usual rock star cool while bassist Simon Jones was noticeably more animated, often wildly grinning and holding his hands up in the air beckoning the audience to clap and sing along, alongside more reserved lead guitarist Nick McCabe and pounding drummer Pete Salisbury.

Missing from the lineup was second guitarist-keyboardist Simon Tong who replaced McCabe when he left and remained when he returned before The Verve's final split in 1999. (Tong's since hooked up with Blur's Damon Albarn and The Clash's Paul Simonon so don't feel too badly for him.)

In any case, Tong's absence hardly affected The Verve's punishing sound levels or overall dynamic during a riveting hour-and-40-minute set that featured expansive, groove-driven anthems fuelled by plenty of guitars and strobe lights.

And just as Ashcroft, all outstreched arms and swaying body, was hitting his stride vocally on such standout songs as Sonnet, Space And Time, This Is Music, and Life's An Ocean, he sat down on the stage and took his shoes off, eventually getting rid of his socks too.

It's one his trademarks to perform in barefeet and thankfully he didn't let his Toronto fans down.

Appropriately, The Verve opened the evening with A New Decade from their 1995 sophomore effort, A Northern Soul, seeming to announce they are back in the 21st century to stay, or at least for one new album, expected later this year.

Two new tracks - the decent if not spectacular Sit And Wonder, and the more promising and electronic-influenced Love Is Pain - were played on Thursday night.

Otherwise, the set was made up of a nice sampling of tunes from their three existing records, rounded out by 1993's A Storm In Heaven and their 1997's monster breakthrough Urban Hymns, with such crowdpleasers as Weeping Willow, History, and Rolling People.

However, they saved the best save for last as they trotted out Urban Hymns anthems The Drugs Don't Work, Lucky Man - whose dramatic ending was punctuated by Ashcroft holding his acoustic guitar up by one arm up in the air - and Come On at the very end of the show.

Their biggest hit, Bittersweet Symphony, which sampled the Rolling Stones orchestral version of The Last Time, and prompted lawsuits, opened the encore with Ashcroft urging the crowd to reclaim the song from "all the lawyers and managers."

Ashcroft, who made softer-sounding, more folk-oriented solo records in his post-Verve phase, truly seemed like a man who had found his musical niche again.

And that's very good news for Verve fans indeed.

Source: Sun Media, written by Jane Stevenson

Simon Jones interview - Eye Weekly

Richard Ashcroft may be the public face (and cheekbones) of The Verve, but as the UK psych-rockers’ tumultuous history has shown, guitarist Nick McCabe is its heart and soul.

In 1995, following the release of A Northern Soul, the visionary but notoriously reclusive guitarist fell out with Ashcroft, prompting the band’s temporary dissolution.

He reconciled with the singer in time to complete 1997’s Britpop valedictory statement Urban Hymns, only to depart in the wake of that album’s multi-­platinum success, leaving The Verve to flounder on what should’ve been a triumphant 1998 North American arena tour.

After a nine-year absence that saw Ashcroft struggle to establish himself as a solo artist, The Verve mounted a reunion last fall that was as unexpected as their break-up, leaking a new 10-minute jam, titled “The Thaw Session,” that harkened back to the acid-rock odysseys of the band’s 1992 debut, A Storm in Heaven.

Whether that exploratory ethos will inform the band’s as yet untitled new album (due out later this year) remains to be seen; but on the phone from his home outside Chester, UK, bassist Simon Jones is quite happy to provide the early prognosis: it’s their best album yet, natch. 

On The Verve’s last tour in ’98, you had to get three people playing guitar — BJ Cole, Simon Tong and Richard Ashcroft himself — to replace Nick McCabe. And then you broke up shortly thereafter. Is it safe to say then: no Nick, no Verve?

It’s safe to say, yeah. To me, he’s the greatest guitarist of our generation. No one else can do what that guy does. It’s like an orchestra, what comes out of his amplifiers. We’ve been rehearsing all day and it’s such a joy to play music with these guys. It just works — that’s why we’re back together again. It’s such an outlet for all of us. You’re in a marriage with people and you have arguments, and that’s just the way it’s always been with us, but being a bit older now, we can better deal with the idiosyncrasies. 

Was pulling the plug at the height of your success the smartest or dumbest thing you ever did?

I’ve had a great time since the band broke up. The first year [after] was the hardest, losing something that big, but life goes on. You can’t dwell on it or it’s going to drag you down. 

There’s something to be said for only getting together when you’ve got something to say, rather than it becoming your job.

Totally. If we had just carried on for the last 10 years, it’d be like, “well, how vital are you?” Like Oasis — they were around the same time as us, but we’re not the kind of band that could keep putting records out, we’d burn ourselves out. And now, after such a long time, you’re full of that energy you have when you first start a band. I think this new one’s the best record we’ve ever made. It’s the most true representation of what The Verve’s music is about: it’s got a great balance of songs, jams, experimental things. The hardcore Verve fan will be very satisfied. 

Are you working with a big producer again like John Leckie?

No, it’s self-produced. We had a pure vision of what we wanted, and to put someone else in, you end up having music you don’t necessarily think is valid. We’ve been working in a private studio in Richmond. The guy who owns it, Terry Britten, is quite a well-known songwriter here — he’s got an old EMI desk that used to belong to the Stones in the ’70s… 

Are there any cocaine deposits on the board?

Oh, no, no, the times have changed — I have a few kids now…. 

No, I meant the Stones’ cocaine deposits…

Oh! I thought you were implying it was us! Actually, it’s funny, there are names etched into the board with a compass — you can see “Keith” and “Mick” and “Charlie.” It’s quite a novelty. But it’s an amazing place — the studio is full of old vintage gear, it’s bit of a musician’s paradise. It’s like stepping back into the past. 

Source: Eye Weekly, Written by Stuart Berman

NME Video: The Verve at Coachella 2008

Featured below is an NME interview with Nick McCabe at Coachella 2008, covering Verve's upcoming album and the band's return to the festival fold.

On the Road: The Verve

The Verve tour, which rolled out across the UK in late 2007, found front-of-house engineer Ian Laughton and monitor engineer Tristan Farrow both manning Midas XL8s provided by Britannia Row Productions. Mix caught up with Farrow during the tour.

How much gear are you carrying?
The Verve December tour carried full production. Britannia Row provided all the sound equipment, and for myself I had my monitor rig of choice. The desk was an XL8 with all the associated bits. I used all the onboard “accessories” other than the onboard graphics, for which I chose the digital TC Electronic EQ station. All wedges were Turbosound 350s, which are fantastic for the full-frontal fatness required for the band. Sidefills were three-deep V-DOSC flown, with three dV-DOSC subs underneath them. This gave a very even coverage of the band over the stage.

Do you have a specific mixing style for this band?
It is always a pleasure when your own ideas about how the stage should sound is similar to what the band wants. I was fortunate to be in this position with The Verve. They are a band that jams and plays by feel, so it is important for the sound to have an emotive and sonic quality.

Is the band on in-ears, wedges or a combination of both?
The band is entirely on wedges. Pete, the drummer, will use IEMs for songs with a click-track for a more precise timing. This has been working great.

Where can we find you when you're not on tour?
If you're searching hard, you will probably find me in my backyard, with a trowel or a barbecue close to hand.

Source: Mix; Professional Audio And Music Production magazine

Infamous Nike commercial

In early 1998, The Verve's management issued a statement saying that the band would not have consented to the Nike commercial if they had retained publishing rights to their song in the first place, according to Ambrosia Healy, the band publicist.

"Though it is not The Verve's policy to have their music used in commercial advertising, a portion of 'Bitter Sweet Symphony' has been approved for use in a Nike television ad that is currently appearing in the U.S. for a limited run. This would not have happened had The Verve not lost the publishing copyright (and therefore artistic control) of 'Bitter Sweet Symphony' to Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Allen Klein/Abko Music," the statement read.

So here it is folks; Nike's sixty second spot -- a stylish, cinematic salute to athletic determination.

Nike Experience Bittersweet For Verve
The Verve, Hollywood Records & More
Posted Feb 16, 1998; Rolling Stone online

If it were up to the Verve, Nike never would have received permission to use the band's "Bitter Sweet Symphony" as the cornerstone of the company's new multimillion-dollar ad campaign. But thanks to a tangled web of music-publishing rights, the Verve claim that the decision wasn't really theirs to make.

"The Verve are a rock band, and they don't think their music should be used to endorse things," says the group's manager, Jazz Summers.

Problems for the Verve arose, however, because the band does not control publishing rights to "Bitter Sweet Symphony." Since the song includes a sample of the Andrew Oldham Orchestra's version of the Rolling Stones song "The Last Time," ABKCO, which owns the copyrights to many early Stones tracks, took control of "Bitter Sweet Symphony" last year. That meant ABKCO could sell the song's rights to any advertiser willing to pay for it, and that the advertiser could then -- without the Verve's permission -- hire studio musicians to re-record a sound-alike.

Rather than allow that to happen, the band members decided to license their actual recording of "Bitter Sweet Symphony" to one major advertiser in the hopes that this would deter others from wanting to buy the publishing rights. In the end, Nike beat out Budweiser, Coca-Cola, General Motors and others for the sweeping hit single.

Nike's sixty-second spot -- a stylish, cinematic salute to athletic determination -- is just the latest in a cascade of commercials utilizing pop music to sell everything from shoes to cars to computers. Among others in heavy rotation: Sly and the Family Stone's "Everyday People" (Toyota), David Bowie's "Heroes" (Microsoft), the Who's "I Can't Explain" (Ford), Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young's "Our House" (Chase Bank) and Erykah Badu's "On and On" (Levi's).

And the price to license these songs isn't cheap; most hits go for $250,000 or more. Nike paid $700,000 for "Bitter Sweet Symphony," but the band received only $175,000, while ABKCO pocketed $350,000. (The Verve are donating their share to the Red Cross Land Mine Appeal; they're asking ABKCO to do the same.)

Not that the Verve haven't benefited from the ads. Two weeks after the Nike commercial debuted, during the NFL playoffs, the Verve's Urban Hymns jumped thirty-four spots on the Billboard 200, hitting Number Thirty-six, the album's highest point since its release last September. Summers concedes that the ad may help generate the Verve's U.S. breakthrough: "If this music is being played during football games and 20 million people are listening to it for a minute, it's going to have an effect."

And a higher chart position is not all they got. "In our final negotiations with the band's manager, he was asking if [the Verve] could get tickets for the World Cup," says Nike's Mark Thomashow. So the band will be heading to Paris this summer for some soccer matches? "I said, 'Whatever it takes,' " says Thomashow.