Post-Nothing Rock: The Verve - A Storm in Heaven (1993)

Why I Like It:

So, in my last blogpost (about Incubus) I started out with talking about shoegaze. Specifically its influence in today's music. Today I am taking that one step further and diving into a shoegaze (adjacent? Depends on who you ask) album from 1993 called A Storm In Heaven by the Verve. The "Bittersweet Symphony" band? Yes, that band. But this blogpost is not really about the album; it's more about the songs that are within that album (and EPs before it). Let me me explain.

Don't get me wrong, A Storm in Heaven is a good album. However, the live version songs within this album are just SO MUCH better. Seriously, it will put you into a blissful trance. Shoeless, long haired, front man Richard Ashcroft is blitzed out in a altered state, that we get to witness and imagine his whimsical time amongst the stars. Then you have magic man guitarist Nick McCabe that transports you to that dreamy place that Nick is in.

I get why folks will place this body of work within the shoegaze box. The guitar walls of sound with heavy reverb is there, but I see no shoe gazing. There's not even shoes to look at! The term Psychedelic rock is put out there too and I absolutely see it and agree. However, with these live versions, I also see a lot of jam band elements. The definition of a jam band (according to Rate Your Music) is:

"They combine elements from diverse styles under the Rock umbrella, and often take influence from genres such as Funk, Jazz, Country and Blues. Jam bands are defined by their approach to live performances, favoring longer setlists, songs with extended improvisational 'jamming', and fluid transitions between songs."

Extended improvisational 'jamming' is the part I want to focus on because I think this was the secret ingredient that made the live sessions of the early 90s Verve so good. It was well known that Nick would improvise lyrics and the songs are longer and more meandering. A good example is the live version of "The Sun, The Sea" (note this link has a part 1 and 2) vs the studio version. I personally found the live version to have more grit and raw emotion- for a lack of better terms - that invoked the nirvana state that some describe with this version of The Verve.

Also, I briefly mentioned the earlier work of The Verve (Voyager 1 EP and the self-titled EP) because it just as good, or arguably better than, A Storm in Heaven and were played in these live sessions that I am talking about. Fun fact: The Verve were originally called just Verve, then had to change the name because a jazz band had it first. I couldn't find a good place to put this fact, so it's shoehorned here.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the rest of The Verve discography, which is also worth your time to listen to. By the time we get to the next album in 1995 (A Northern Soul), which was more polished and rehearsed, another band called Oasis released a little album called Definitely Maybe in 1994. At this time we are into prime Britpop territory and The Verve were starting to be categorized into this genre. Then we get to the breakout album, with the "Bittersweet Sympathy" hit, Urban Hymns that sent the band into the stratosphere of fame, for a time.

I think The Verve get easily categorized as just another Britpop band, chasing that fame and commercial acclaim, but their roots are so much more interesting to dive into (in my opinion). There's a whole B-sides level of music to dive into as well, that I didn't even touch but there is a link below, that is also worth the time if you have any interest of what I have covered thus far. So what are you waiting for? Embark on an adventure into this Britgaze (I made this term up on the spot) band and discover your next favorite song!

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