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Rating: On July 3, 1995, Hut released A NORTHERN SOUL. Authors: THE VERVE. The album, the second from Richard Ashcroft's former northern soul band, is an important record as it is the true prelude to the masterpiece that would come to fruition two years later, URBAN HYMNS.
The successor to A STORM IN HEAVEN has many meanings for history, for music, and for the English group.
Indeed. In fact, a few months after the release, various issues led the Verve to a first breakup. Problems mostly related to too much drugs, too much stress, and especially the first discord between the leader Ashcroft—who always believed in music by passionately burning his own soul, aiming for and trusting in a fulfilling future—and his rival in perpetual and constant depression, that Nick McCabe who "commanded" the heart of the music and the typical Verve sound, always managing to adapt his guitar to the various changes in trend and styles across their different albums, which represented quite different genres: try for yourself, A STORM IN HEAVEN has little to nothing in common with URBAN HYMNS, even though we are (bad)mouthing about rock.
But the psychedelia of one and the brit-pop (really?) of the other distinguish them. And yet there are only 5 years between the two.
And right in the middle is A NORTHERN SOUL.
This album, which did not find glory among the mass audience (but neither did THE BENDS by RADIOHEAD, an album released around the same time, which if carefully listened to and contemplated could even trouble OK COMPUTER), is undoubtedly simpler than the first but harder than URBAN HYMNS.
The Verve seem to have moved away from pure psychedelia (present mainly in BRAINSTORM INTERLUDE, a track that without a guitar, could peek into the CHEMICAL BROTHERS) preferring the clarity of a harder, more mature rock 'n' roll, rich in a thousand nuances and sounds well supported by Ashcroft's deep voice, which becomes violent and intense in "smashing" tracks like the first single THIS IS MUSIC, or fragile and suffering in the weaker and more melancholic songs, which by the way make up the majority of the 12 tracks present.
This sense of discomfort and depression, always present in the lyrics and music of the Verve, as well as in the life of their frail singer, is tasted with insistence in ON YOUR OWN, the second single accented by a gospel falsetto from Richard at the end; it is felt in HISTORY, the most important song of the album, which, released as the third and last single with the Verve already split, achieved great commercial results; it is also experienced in NO KNOCK ON MY DOOR.
Different sensations and colors are left by each single song: LIFE'S AN OCEAN listened to with eyes closed recalls the color blue; A NEW DECADE the rebirth, the departure, the glory; STORMY CLOUDS feels like a story in slow motion. Life, death, love, and suffering are the themes addressed by an Ashcroft who seems to have abandoned the enigmatic lyrics of the early days, replacing them with philosophical and intimate thoughts. Legend even says that during the recording of this last piece the band from Wigan was under the influence of ecstasy (and to think that once it was the acids that opened the mind. Remember, Jim?).
In conclusion, ANS is an important album in the history of the Verve. It is direct—and describes various experiences of pain, ecstasy, sex... all in one album—as good old Mad Richard said. Not easy listening, but concrete, fragile yet also robust, melodic and substantial, which was probably truly understood particularly after the release of URBAN HYMNS, so much so that many alternative musicians still use it as a reference point.
And even if it didn't sell millions of copies, or didn't fully satisfy the critics, that "Northern Soul," for its part, put all the passion it felt and feels every time it enters a recording studio.
He believed in it...
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 A New Decade (04:11)
A New Decade
The radio plays the sounds we made
And everything seems to feel just right
Coming through your lonely mind
Well I've seen things
That scared and bruised and left me blind
So come on, listen along with me
I think you need a little company
And how long will I run for?
Who am I running from?
And it makes sense
The youth coming up and making you dance
Coz I've got something inside of me
So come on I could use the company
And how long will I run for?
Who am I running from?
But now I've seen my face on a cardboard wall
Nobody comes, nobody calls
And how long will I run for?
Who am I running from?
Teenage tears sting my eyeballs
In a town where I wasn't born
And I will never suffer
So come on, come on, come on
But now I see my face in a cardboard wall
Nobody comes, nobody calls
If your looking for me
I'm there and it's true
If your looking for me out there it's true
02 This Is Music (03:35)
I stand accused
Just like you for being born without a silver spoon
Stood at the top of a hill
Over my town I was found
I've been on the shelf too long
Sitting at home on my bed too long
Got my things and now I'm gone
How's the world gonna take me?
Finding myself used to be hard
But now, I see the light
If love is a drug
Then I don't need it
I've been on the shelf too long
Sitting at home on my bed too long
Now it's time to hear my song
How are you gonna take it?
I've been on the shelf too long
I've been on the shelf too long
I've been on the shelf too long
We've got a lot of living to do
There's a door in my mind that's open wide
Come inside come inside
Jesus never saved me
He'll never save you too, and you know!
I've got a little sticker on the back of my boot
This is music
And now I see the light shining bright in my eyes
If love is the drug then it ain't for me
Well music is my life
And loved by me
I'm gonna move on the floor with my sweet young thing
Down down down we go till we reach the bottom
Of our soul with this is music
03 On Your Own (03:33)
Tell me what you seen
Was it a dream?
Was I in it?
Life seems so obscene
Until it's over
Who knows?
All I want is someone who can fill the hole
In the life I know
In between life and death
When there's nothing left
Do you wanna know?
You come in on your own
And you leave on your own
Forget the lovers you've known
And your friends on your own
Tell me if it's true
That I need you
You are changing
I've seen this road before down on this floor
It is hurting me
All I want is someone
Who can fill the hole
In the life I know
In between life and death
When there's nothing left
Do you want to know?
You come in on your own
And you leave on your own
Forget the lovers you've known
And your friends on your own
You come in on your own
And you leave on your own
Forget the lovers you've known
And your friends you have told
Lies
I've got to get rid of this hole inside
Lies
I've got to get rid of this hole inside
I'm coming in on my own
I'm coming in on my own
I'm coming in on my own
Lies
I've got to get rid of this hole inside
Lies
I've got to get rid of this hole inside
Lies
I've got to get rid of this hole inside...
05 A Northern Soul (06:32)
This is a tale of a Northern Soul
Looking to find his way back home
He's coming from that same old road
You know the one your folds don't know
I want to see if you know me
I was born in a rented room
My mother didn't get no flowers
Dad didn't approve of me, do you?
I'm alive with something inside of me
And I don't think I'm coming back
So come on come in inside of me
Let's spread it all around
Give me your powder and pills
I want to see if they cure my ills
I've no time for love and devotion
No time for old fashioned potion
Take a look into my eyes
I tell you so many lies and then I'll let you go into the night
And I don't think I'm coming down
I'm alive with something inside of me
And I can't seem to get it out
I'm gonna die alone in bed
This is a tale of a northern soul
Looking for his way back home
And my friend said, Come in side of me
And your speakers are telling the truth
Coming through and into your room on a river of sound
This is a tale of a northern soul looking for his way back home
And if he sees it I know I'll know (repeat)
And there's fighting on the street below
I know there's fighting on the street below
But I don't care 'Cause I'm a Northern Soul
And I'm looking for a way back home
Too busy staying alive (repeat)
Too busy living a lie, too busy living my life
Too busy staying alive
06 Brainstorm Interlude (05:11)
Coming in
I'm in my home when you give me a sing
And I tell you to put me in to your mind
And if you want to kiss me don't say goodbye
Cuz I'm on my own to denies
Oh yeah, Oh yeahOh yeah, Oh yeah
08 History (05:26)
I wander lonely streets
Behind where the old Thames does flow
And in every face I meet
Reminds me of what I have run from
In every man, in every hand
In every kiss, you understand
That living is for other men
I hope you two will understand
I've got to tell you my tale
Of how I loved and how I failed
I hope you understand
I've got to tell you my tale
Of how I loved and how I failed
I hope you understand
These feelings should not be in the man
In every child, in every eye
In every sky, above my head
I hope that I know
So come with me in bed
Because it's you and me, we're history
There ain't nothing left to say
When I will get you alone
Maybe we could find a room
Where we could see what we should do
Maybe you know it's true
Living with me is like keeping a fool
In every man, in every hand
In every kiss, you understand
That living is for other men
I hope you know that I am me so come on
I'm thinking about history
And I'm living for history
And I think you know about me
Cause I am
And one and one is two
But three is company
When you're thinking about the things you do
And you're thinking about the things you do
I want to tell you my tale
How I fell in love and jumped out on my bail
I hope you understand there's more in a smile than in a hand
In every sky, in every kiss
There's something that I might have missed
Why am I going to
A place that now belongs to you
But you were weak and so was I
Let's pick it up, let's even try
To live today, so why not smile
Don't dream away your life 'Cause it is mine
Is that a crime (repeat) this life is mine
The bed ain't made but it's filled full of hope
I've got a skin full of dope
09 No Knock on My Door (05:11)
She knew my feelings were jangled and frayed
She took me into a wind blown alley way
She showed me a world a boy should see
I'll thank her 'till the day that I die
So, here we go
No knock on my door
Believe it 'till you see
what living has done to me
And I'm sure that I need holding
I took her to a room and I showed her myself
She made me feel proud that I would stand for
There's nothing that this girl wouldn't do for me
For that I've got to thank her and I mean it
So, here we go
A face in the crowd,
Jump up and jump down
Baby, can you see through me?
Sure, I've been here before
No knock on my door
No love in the
Baby, please be my
Sure, I've seen it before
No knock on my door
Love in the
Can be painful, I know
Cry, I cry every night
I need to hold you tight
Oh, can you see me
knocking down your door?
Sure, there's times I have hoped
There's times I have dreamed
Oh, but it seems that much to me to me, my love
I never seemed to it out, my love
I'm shakin'
Yeah, I'm shakin'
She knew my feelings were jangled and frayed
She took me into a wind blown alley way
She showed me what a boy should see
I'll thank her till the day I die
So, here we go
No knock on my door
Believe it till you see what livin' has done to me
And I'm sure I need some company
I took her to a room and I showed her myself
She made me feel proud and I was thankful
There's nothing that this girl wouldn't do for me
For that I've got to thank her I mean it
So, here we go
A face in the crowd
Jump up and jump down baby
You can see through me
Sure, I've been here before
No knock on my door
No love in the jar baby please be my star
Sure I've seen it before
No knock on my door
Love in the jar has been painful
I know
I know
Cry, I've cried every night
I need to hold you tight, baby
Could you see me knocking down your door
Sure there's times that I've gone and times I have dreamed
Oh, but it seems that I pushed you in my life
Can't seem to get it out my life
Shakin.
Yeah I'm shakin
And I'm shakin
11 Stormy Clouds (05:34)
I wanted to tell you my story
How my life seemed to change in a matter of days
The heavens break I am walking tall
How come change always seems to bring the rain
Stormy clouds, new horizons
Come and get it, if you want to
So hop on the train 'Cause it kills the pain
Blues player going to another town
Believe me this boy here is sinking
Just drinking
These streets, these times
They tie me down through with you
But I feel no pain
Stormy clouds, new horizons
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