by Mark Nobes, chief editor
This studio album was the British band's most successful by a
mile, and achieved 8x Platinum in their home country and also achieved
Platinum or multi-platinum in many other countries. The album was
extremely well-received by the critics, with reviewer Helen Marquis
describing Richard Ashcroft and Nick McCabe as "one of Britain's
greatest songwriting partnerships since Lennon and McCartney".
The Singles
Bitter Sweet Symphony #2
The Drugs Don't Work #1
Lucky Man #7
Sonnet #74
All of these tracks can be found in our video playlist above.
The follow-up to Bitter Sweet Symphony topped the UK charts in 1997. Written by The Verve's front-man
Richard Ashcroft, this was the alternative rock band's most successful
single. The song was actually written during 1995 and the lyrics explain
how taking drugs as an escape just makes you worse. They also refer to
the death of the singer's Father and his relationship with his Mum.
As well as the 7 inch, 12 inch, cassette and promo versions, the single
was also released on two CD's, which also contained a demo of The Drugs Don't Work, along with the tracks Three Steps, The Crab, Stamped and a remix of Bitter Sweet Symphony by James Lavelle