The Verve announce box-sets of first two albums

Deluxe versions of A Storm In Heaven and A Northern Soul will include unreleased material

The Verve are to release box-set versions of their first two albums A Storm In Heaven and A Northern Soul on September 9.

The albums will be available as 3CD-box sets, with A Storm In Heaven also adding a DVD. These will feature unreleased songs as well as B-sides and BBC session tracks. They also feature interviews with all the band bar singer Richard Aschroft.

A Storm In Heaven, released in 1993, adds songs from The Verve’s early pre-album singles, as well as B-sides, acoustic versions and two unreleased BBC sessions. There are also two previously unreleased songs, "South Pacific" and "Shoeshine Girl."

The DVD for A Storm In Heaven features a 1992 gig from Camden Town Hall, footage of the band in New York, the videos for the album’s five single, the U.S. video for "Blue" and a video for "South Pacific" comprised of footage of the band recording the album, taken by producer John Leckie.

The box adds a poster, four postcards, a 48-page book of interviews and previously unseen photos by bassist Simon Jones and sleeve photographer Michael Spencer Jones.

The box-set for 1995’s "A Northern Soul" adds B-sides and two previously unreleased BBC sessions. It also has seven previously-unreleased songs, including two that were later released on Urban Hymns ("The Rolling People" and "Come On") and two that were finally recorded on 2008’s comeback album Forth ("Muhammad Ali" and "Mover"). The other unreleased songs are "Echo Bass," "King Riff" and "Brake Lights." The box also features a poster, four postcards and a 36-page book of interviews.

Both albums are remastered by Urban Hymns producer Chris Potter, with gatefold vinyl versions also available.

• Source: NME, by John Earls