Pros: Gorgeous, some hints of the brilliance to come...
Cons: No songs quite as remarkable as what would come in the future...
The Bottom Line: If The Verve appeals to you and you wonder what they'd sound like with a little less pop and more psychedelia, then A Storm in Heaven is well worth examining.
lambchops's Full Review: A Storm In Heaven by The Verve
While Bittersweet Symphony is easily recognized as The Verve’s biggest hit, the Richard Ashcroft fronted British band accomplished much more musically. In fact, prior to the release of the classic 1997 album Urban Hymns, they gave the world two others�’s A Storm in Heaven and 1995’s A Northern Soul.
There is no question that Urban Hymns is the stuff musical dreams are made of. However, what will come as a shock is that The Verve yielded two additional (mostly) excellent albums. The first of those was 1993’s A Storm in Heaven which differed a good deal from later efforts. In fact, epic psychedelic statements are what mark the album. It’s markedly different than what would come in the five years that followed though at the same time it is surprisingly entertaining, smooth, and lovely.
Ashcroft was clearly a star by the time A Storm in Heaven came to be. His voice soars beautifully across the crests of the gently ebbing musical arrangements. He along with mates Simon Jones (bass), Peter Salisbury (percussion), and Nick McCabe (guitar, keys) made this a creatively successful, emotionally free, and rewarding release. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s as wonderful as Urban Hymns but it is a damn spiffy atmospheric piece that will fit beautifully into many alt-pop collections (including those with a long forgotten copy of something else by The Verve).
The tracks here blend together—this is clearly an album that was arranged in the whole rather than in single-ready snippets. As a result you’ll be hard pressed to find anything that would be suitable for radio. That said I am more and more impressed by The Verve’s effort as the album progresses. Opener Star Sail is marked by spacey guitars and begins mildly as it builds toward a rousing crescendo. I love the restraint and subtlety the band exhibits despite their status as relative music virgins. They don’t overdo anything and the resulting product is arresting.
Speaking of striking, Slide Away has a lovely melody and a mid-tempo stomp that makes it stand out in the pack. Continuing on, I adore the languid and melodic feel of Already There which compliments the dramatic sound of Beautiful Mind perfectly. The first song that really jumps in a exhibits some of the pop sensibility The Verve would come to be known for is Sun, the Sea. The guitars and drums are brought to the front of the mix and Ashcroft’s appealing yet uneasy voice is a necessary part to the whole product.
The real meat of A Storm in Heaven comes with the trio of songs Make It Till Monday, Blue, and Butterfly. These three tracks are easily the most immediately entertaining. This isn’t to say they are better; rather they foreshadow the distinct pop slant the band would inject to their future releases. My favorites are Blue and Butterfly. The former is a gorgeous mid-tempo track populated by muted percussion and chunky guitars. The melody is perfect and certainly showcases what the band does best—create golden pop tracks. Butterfly opens with a bluesy guitar and eventually breaks into the sound of a saxophone and trumpet. While the description may seem wild, the truth is that this is a truly magnificent and hypnotic pop gem. The Verve obviously was well on the way to stardom when this album was set loose.
A Storm in Heaven wraps with the emotional piano-driven See You in the Next One (Have a Good Time). I love that it is stripped clean of the layers of production and left with just Ashcroft’s voice and the melody. This is what music is all about. As far as the album on the whole goes, it is only slightly less impressive than A Northern Soul and Urban Hymns. My one, tiny complaint is that it lacks the accessible and radio-ready nature of those later albums. It is certainly outstanding, certainly lovely, and definitely worth having. Fans of British pop and alternative pop tunes should definitely pick this one up even if nothing is as salient as Bittersweet Symphony or Lucky Man.
Rating: 4/5 stars
Track Listing:
01. Star Sail
02. Slide Away
03. Already There
04. Beautiful Mind
05. Sun, the Sea
06. Virtual World
07. Make It Till Monday
08. Blue
09. Butterfly
10. See You in the Next One (Have a Good Time)
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