Verve fans, settle in for the best treat ever: several incredible unreleased songs recorded during the sessions for Urban Hymns have appeared online.
Last week The Verve's Urban Hymns was reissued in celebration of its upcoming 20th anniversary. The expanded editions include tons of bonus material, however NONE of these unreleased/leaked demos were included on the expanded editions. Shockingly, these genius songs have never been released.
The prevailing theory is that even though some members of The Verve wanted these unreleased gems included on the 20th anniversary edition of Urban Hymns, Richard Ashcroft would not hear of it, possibly because he wants to rework/use the material for another project at some point.
These unreleased full songs (along with a few demo/alt versions) have seen light of day thanks to You Tube user StarSailing (a fan? someone from the Verve's inner circle/member of The Verve?) who began uploading these tracks right after last week's reissue.
It's unclear where StarSailing obtained these recordings, but they are indeed remarkable and underscore the brilliance of The Verve. It is hard to fathom that these songs were considered throwaways or not worthy of release. Imagine what the Verve's next record might have sounded like had they not broken up in 1998. They had songwriting momentum...to think what could have been! Alas...
It's highly possible these tracks could get pulled from You Tube, so enjoy them while you can. Thanks, StarSailing for uploading. Via Dumbing America.
Published September 7th, 2017