Potter is back!

No, not that Potter...Chris Potter. It appears he was on production duties for "Love is Noise," so he is definitely working with The Verve again. More than likely, he has helped the band produce the upcoming album Forth. For reference, here's the reverse side of the "Love is Noise" promo.

Q Review

'After the best part of 10 years away, Richard Ashcroft and co's trademark swagger remains all present and correct. The songwriting, however, is a notch shy of their previous achievements.' I wouldn't read much into this, its just one person's opinion, perhaps a person who favored the Urban Hymns balladry. There's a small clip of "Sit and Wonder" here. Its also rumored that "Columbo" might be the second single.

Forth pre-order on US iTunes

Forth is now available for pre-order on the US iTunes website. If you pre-order the album you get "Love Is Noise" as an instant download. Extra tracks are also included in the pre-order making the track-listing the same as the LP, as well as a 20 minute documentary. iTunes has also given the band some publicity with this one, adding a banner for Forth across the top of the main store. It lists the expected release date as August 26.

Uncut Magazine September 2008

Uncut magazine has given 'Forth' a review of 4 stars out of 5 in their current issue. Article here.

The rebirth of music tv?

Recently launched music television station, 4Music, will host The Verve among others. Details here.

'Love Is Noise' plus TV dates

"Love Is Noise" is currently NME's track of the week with a 9/10 rating. See article here.

The song is also on Radio 1's 'The A list' playlist

TV dates: UK only

VH1 UK 22:30 - 23:00 1st August - The Verve at Oxegen
VH1 UK 21:00 - 21:30 2nd August - The Verve at Oxegen
MTV TWO 21:30 - 22:00 2nd August - The Verve, a live performance

Competition for new Ashcroft book

Two copies of the new Richard Ashcroft book are going to be given away at www.theverveonline.com. Go there for more details.

Upcoming Maida Vale Session, BBC Radio 1

Just announced on BBC Radio 1 tonight...The Verve will be playing a brand new Maida Vale session, next Tuesday. More details on this as they unfold.

The Verve at Eden

Guitarist Nick McCabe and Eden Sessions Creative Director Peter Hempel chat about The Verve gig at Eden Sessions, plus Richard Ashcroft on stage.

• Update: The link once above for this video interview is now broken. This post remains for archival purposes.

"Love is Noise" on iTunes

Even though the "Love is Noise" single isn't out until August, its been posted on The Verve's US iTunes page. I haven't personally downloaded this, but I've been informed that its legitimate. No b-sides available at the moment, and no publicity either.

Official Verve biography?

An official Verve biography seems to be in the works. Apparently, the author of Richard Ashcroft: The "Verve", Burning Money and the Keys to the World, Trever Baker, tried contacting Jazz Summers for an interview with the band but was turned down because the band is working on their own book.

"Love is Noise" b-sides announced

• The CD single will have "Chic Dub"
• Two 7inch singles: one will have "A Man Called Sun" [Live 2007] and the other will have Let The Damage Begin [Live 2007]

The singles were first announced on the official site's 'Store Section' and are now available to order as a bundle: 3 singles for 3 pounds. Some of the back catalog is now available for purchase as well as some new shirts.

The Third Coming

Richard Ashcroft hasn't changed much since I last met with him when his solo album Keys To The World was released in early 2006. His jacket is probably new and he has a cold which causes his voice to dry up (he swigs regularly from a bottle of water throughout our chat) but nothing in his face says that he's a different man, except.... ....except that we're here to talk about the return of The Verve. They rise again!

I love rewriting rock and roll history," he says clearing his throat. "I love it when you go into Waterstones and look at those massive, factual, coffee table books and it's the latest edition with a description of us in it and you think 'Great, I've just made them have to re-write it again!"

Roundly welcomed at Glastonbury Festival and with their new single Love Is Noise all over the radio, you might think that Ashcroft would bound into the room and do a little celebratory jig. He doesn't.

It becomes clear that no-one in The Verve (Mark III) is taking anything for granted. Reading between the lines, both Ashcroft and guitarist Nick McCabe - who I interview later, separately - seem anxious to avoid the pressure of being a couple who have got back together again.

"All of us have grown up," says McCabe, a little rough around the edges after what de describes as 'a heavy night.'

"We've had a lot of time to think about things, but hopefully we're older and wiser, and it just seemed to me that I put a huge chunk of my life into this and there is no way that I would turn my back on it if there was ever a chance of it working again."

"Obviously there's baggage and things that you've got to sift through," is the way Ashcroft had put it earlier. "It's not some Mills & Boon scene running down the beach as the sun sets. But it is the case that these four people make a unique sound together."

And he's not wrong. No-one but them could make a record that sounds like the new Verve album (and I think we know that people will try). A more spacious and atmospheric album than Urban Hymns, the new album Forth, wanders back towards their debut record A Storm In Heaven - a place where Ashcroft's modern fables and questioning lyrics ease their arm around McCabe's instinctive and experimental guitar sounds.

This time it really does feel like they're starting over. Ashcroft says it was never their intention to make Urban Hymns 2, while McCabe shrugs and says that whatever happens they've "made the record we wanted to make."

He gives the look of a man about to add "and if that's commercial suicide, then so be it!" But even if that were the case, Forth is a genuinely valid addition to their CV. It sounds very true to the group's pre-Hymns era, a very natural meeting of minds, which has benefited from their individual work over the past decade.

Bassist Simon Jones and drummer Pete Salisbury - collectively the Derek Smalls to the others fire and ice - enthuse about the recordings. Much of the album was the product of the initial two weeks jamming together.

"The first time we all met was actually in a studio," says Jones. "And all our gear was set up so, you know, that was a thrill in itself. It was just like right, this is what we do and it sounds amazing. To still have that chemistry...."

And so what we get is a hulking new, sometimes bewildering Verve record which is darker and deeper than Urban Hymns, but not as trippy as Storm In Heaven or as manifesto-led as A Northern Soul (even if one of my favourite tracks at this point, I See Houses, returns to similar themes). Love Is Noise is the biggest groove, the biggest hook on the album, although it was actually built round a loop which Ashcroft lifted from another of the tracks on the record called Columbo.

Rather Be, has a lovely lilting line from McCabe, and could be a single (it sounds like a collective sigh of relief); Valium Skies veers close to their version of a psychedelic love song; and the eight-minute Noise Epic is in McCabe's word, their 'Frankenstein' creation. In other band's hands it would be a nonsense and it's dangerously pompous in places, but it's worth it for the climax alone where Ashcroft lets go and from nowhere looks you straight in the eye with the words "Wake Up, Wake Up, Wake Up."

In this age of three-minute wonders, is there a place for The Verve, particularly this version of The Verve? We shall see in the next six months - the album arrives mid-August - but I for one would hope so.

Source: BBC, Steve Lamacq

Ask The Verve a question

I've just been informed that the band are looking for fans to send in questions for them to answer. The top 50 submitted questions will be posted on www.theverve.tv. Those who send in the two top questions (chosen by the band) will receive a pair of tickets to the V Festival.

So is there a question you have always wanted to ask The Verve?

To enter, email your question to: asktheverve@theverve.tv

The deadline for entries is Sunday, August 3 and winners will be contacted via email.

So why sit and wonder?

Someone recorded a recent radio premiere of "Sit and Wonder." The radio snippet can be found here. Its not the entire song, but a very short clip. If you're curious, check it out.

Final 'Forth' details for the UK release

Before laying out the UK release details, I'll note that the band's management/record label have provided no official news about the US release of 'Forth.' I find this fairly disappointing. The information I've managed to post has come from individuals sharing the information with me and not from a higher up. By now I would have expected more specific official news about the album release this side of the Atlantic.

The problem lies in the separate editions, namely referring to any edition with a DVD extra. For now it appears that in order to get the DVD extra, fans in the US need to buy the LP edition priced at around $40. I personally don't care for an LP edition, but there has been no indication that a CD and DVD combined set will be released. In addition, the DVD released here will not include the extra performances listed for the UK release.

The following was sent to the band's mailing list about the UK release only. I've edited some areas to include details for fans in the US.

'Forth' will be released on Monday August 25th

1. Sit And Wonder
2. Love Is Noise
3. Rather Be
4. Judas
5. Numbness
6. I See Houses
7. Noise Epic
8. Valium Skies
9. Columbo (Mama Soul in the US)
10. Appalachian Springs

Three different versions of the album will be available to pre-order from The Verve's official online store. Other locations have also announced a pre-order. For those in the US, please check the USA pre-order links I've posted.

Deluxe Box set

For the UK, the deluxe box set will only be available at The Verve's official online store. This version will consist of a double heavyweight gatefold LP vinyl (containing two bonus tracks not on the CD version of the album), limited edition CD, DVD, and a memorabilia tour book. A similar set will be available in the US minus the memorabilia tour book and the DVD extras noted below.

If you order the deluxe edition (not recommended for those in the US unless you have $140 lying around, plus the DVD will be in PAL) you will receive a download of 'Love Is Noise' recorded live at Glastonbury, and will also receive the full album as a download on August 18th, one week ahead of the general release date.

CD & DVD Package
A CD and DVD package is also available in the UK. Its unsure yet whether this package will be available in the US. The DVD features a band documentary and live footage from The Verve's headlining appearance at Coachella in May 2008. The set is packaged in a case bound tour book (not sure what this really means). Tracks featured on the DVD will be:

01. Sonnet (Live At Coachella)
02. Life's An Ocean (Live At Coachella)
03. The Rolling People (Live At Coachella)
04. Lucky Man (Live At Coachella)
05. Love Is Noise (Live At Coachella)
+ 20 minute "Space And Time" documentary

As with the Deluxe Edition, if you order this version of the album from the Verves official online store (alternatively US fans can buy the LP, CD, and DVD in NTSC as a package for $40 but won't include the extra performances above) you will receive a free download of 'Love Is Noise' recorded live at Glastonbury.

Original CD Album

Fans in both the UK and US will be able to buy the standard CD album upon release. If ordered from the Verves official store in the UK, one will receive a download of 'Love Is Noise' recorded at Glastonbury.

Please note: All versions of the album ordered at Verve's store before August 18th , including the deluxe box set, will be delivered on release date. Orders received after this date will be delivered as quickly as possible.

'Love is Noise' single

The video for the new single, 'Love Is Noise,' is now available to watch online on the band's Myspace. 'Love Is Noise' will be available as a digital download on August 4th, with the physical release available one week later. Full release details will be available soon.

One for VH1 Europe

VH1 will air The Verve at the Oxegen Festival on August 1 from 10:30-11:30 PM.

Amazon USA pre-order links

• Click the following for the LP/CD/DVD package. Apparently, the DVD is an extra for the LP set which also includes the CD. I can't say I agree with that. How common are turntables these days?
  
• And this one links to the CD edition. Just a CD, nothing more.

USA "Forth" pre-order

So far these are the pre-order links available:

• Amazon (CD)
• Barnes and Noble (CD)
• Elusive Disc (2 LP, CD, DVD)

Airplay + Classic Anthems

Verve's new single "Love is Noise" has been receiving heavy airplay in the United Kingdom. The single can be heard on the band's myspace: http://www.myspace.com/theverve

A Classic Anthems vote on MTV Two includes four Verve songs. Click here to vote.

Verve songs played on NYC radio

Apparently both "Sit and Wonder" and "Valium Skies" were played on the Matt Pinfield's New York City radio show yesterday. Mindblowing is what I've been told.

"Love is Noise" music video

The Verve have made the video to their forthcoming single 'Love Is Noise' available to watch on the internet.

The first single "Love Is Noise," from the band's soon to be released album Forth (their first album since 1997's Urban Hymns), is due out on August 4.

The video mixes up shots of the band performing in a dimly-lit room, with frontman Richard Ashcroft sitting on the floor, with montages of other images, including snow-capped mountains, a dancer, and a woman with a falcon.

"Lucky Man" and "The Drugs Don't Work" behind the scenes, and "Three Steps" studio footage

The Verve make a video for "Lucky Man"

 

The Verve make a video for "The Drugs Don't Work"

   

The Verve "Three Steps" to 'nye bevan'

• Kudos: furrylewis1

The album with four names

Pun intended. Although some websites claimed the album would be called Four (thanks Billboard) and others Fourth (4th), we now know the official and correct title is Forth. A play on words maybe? More than likely, with the name referring not only to the band going forth, but also this being the fourth album and the four band members being united once again.

Album pre-order links (UK)

Forth

• Two versions of the album plus a vinyl edition can be found at Amazon UK
• Play (UK) also has a pre-order link
• Another one at the What Records website

Love is Noise

Two 7-inch vinyl editions plus a CD version of "Love is Noise" can be pre-ordered at http://www.recordstore.co.uk

* Forth will be released in the United States on August 19

The Verve go 'Forth' with new album

Billboard reported last week that the new album, titled Forth (Billboard cites it incorrectly as Four) will be released on August 18 in the United Kingdom and a day later in the United States.

The first single from Forth, "Love is Noise", was premiered on British radio June 23 and will be released a couple of weeks before the album. It is currently streaming from the band's MySpace page.

In the United Kingdom, The Verve are signed to EMI Group and will release Forth via Parlophone, but in the United States, a unique release scheme will be utilized, somewhat similar to Radiohead's deal in the U.S. for In Rainbows earlier this year. The band has set up a label, On Our Own, and will release the album through a distribution deal with RED Distribution and Megaforce Records. Previously, the band's albums had been released through EMI's Virgin Records imprint in the United States. Forth can be pre-ordered here.

NME sneak peak

The Verve have completed recording their comeback album - and have given NME an exclusive listen before they've even finalized the tracklisting.

The band recorded 12 new songs in Richmond, southwest London, and having mixed the album, Richard Ashcroft and co are now deciding on a running order of 10 songs. Here are just a few of the stand-out tracks which we listened to last week.

'Sit And Wonder' and 'Love Is Noise', both of which the band have played live since reuniting, are included. The former is a much tougher proposition than the fledgling effort the group performed last year. The latter, which stunned festival-goers at Coachella in March with its high-energy dance vibe, will be the bands' comeback single.

The other new songs find The Verve mixing Ashcroft's structured 'Urban Hymns' balladry with freeform sonic storms inspired by Nick McCabe's guitar.

'Rather Be' is a piano-led track about redemption, brought to life by ambient guitars, Ashcroft's croon on the mellow 'Valium Skies' provides a lighter-in-the-air moment and 'Mona Lisa' is The Verve's most conventional song ever - a glam-rock stomper not unlike Slade's 'Cum On Feel The Noize'.

However, the album also regenerates their pre-1995 space-rock jams like 1992's 'Gravity Grave'. 'Mama Soul' boasts a classic old-school Verve groove, over which the atmospheric guitars and Ashcroft's vocals intertwine hypnotically. 'Noise Epic' is an ever-growing wall of static, held together by a 'Day Tripper'-esque bass riff. 'Numbness', meanwhile, sees the band melding trademark raw emotions with a spiraling, bluesy jam.

Other tracks that are in contention for the album, due out in August, include 'Judas', 'Appalachian Springs' and 'Columbo'.

Source: NME, 28 June 2008

"I See Houses" video; Eden Sessions, 27 June 2008

Only half the song, but its beautiful. This album will be fantastic.

Forth is Four; Four is Forth

The BBC website has Verve's upcoming record titled Forth, not Four. Thanks David.