I guess it's time to feel the sun on our skin.

"A Northern Soul" week, part 4/4: "History"

Although A Northern Soul was released in July 1995 and found its way into the UK Top 20 based on the strength (if not the underrated success) of the two singles that trailed it and also the benefit of the Oasis Midas Touch (Noel Gallagher was a vocal supporter of the band and Liam showed up to offer his musical skills -- read: handclaps -- on "History"), the lack of dominating success on any chart front combined with excessive drug intake and a Herculean clash of egos between Richard Ashcroft and Nick McCabe led Ashcroft to disband the Verve within mere weeks of the album's release.

As Oasis' star rose to (for wont of a better term) supernova heights in the weeks thereafter, however, Ashcroft suddenly realized he might've made a bit of a mistake. Noel had written "Cast No Shadow" on the new Oasis album for Richard, and interest was returning to the lanky Wigan frontman in a big way. He had an album out, but now he didn't have the band to go out and cash in accolades or notoriety with. Whoops.

Ashcroft called the boys back together, and while Simon Jones and Pete Salisbury quickly returned to the fold, the quiet and introverted McCabe told his frontman in so many words where he could stick it. Offended by the snub, but determined not to let it rain on his parade, the Verve quickly enlisted the services of cast off Suede guitarist Bernard Butler to fill the hole, but after a few rehearsals, that experiment ended and so did the opportunity to cash in on the (relative) successes of A Northern Soul.

Broken but undeterred, Ashcroft called in Simon Tong to do some guitar work and the new Verve ducked away to write the material that would eventually come to comprise Urban Hymns. Eventually enough time passed for McCabe to swallow his anger (and maybe a bit of his pride) and return to make the Verve a five-piece, and when "Bitter Sweet Symphony" found its way onto radio and MTV in the summer of 1997, it sounded not only like a call to arms, but the perfect epitaph to Britpop and the backlash it was now bracing itself for. While the likes of Oasis, Blur and Pulp were sent reeling, the Verve and Radiohead took the rights to continue waving the Union Jack for popular music.

Then Ashcroft and McCabe fell out again after the ensuing promotional blitzes and touring.

Some things never change, which is why maybe we should ALL PAY ATTENTION if and when the new Verve album hits your friendly music dealer's shelves this year.

Anyway, back to the first breakup.

"History" was slated to be the first single released in the wake of A Northern Soul, but with the sudden breakup, and an obvious prospect of no promotion to push this or any subsequent singles further up the charts, the label duly issued a two-part single to empty the B-side vaults and cobbled together a video comprised mainly of castoff footage from their early videos to meet the music television needs. Commendably, but still rather perplexingly, they chose not to cash in on the aforementioned Oasis Midas Touch by crediting that Liam was on board clapping along. Sure, it's not really a credit worthy bit of tracking, but to ignore any Oasis connection in August 1995 was as independently prideful as it was marketing... er... ly stupid.

Appropriately, if only coincidentally, the sleeve for part one did carry a more-than-a-propos marquee:

The Verve - Back On My Feet Again
Along with "I See the Door," the finest B-side from the era. In the vein of "Drive You Home," it meanders for close to six minutes, but it keeps you locked in the whole time and makes the time seem to move by more quickly than it actually is. It also builds and builds to a triumphant climax and shows that when they wanted, the Verve could make you feel religion in their music. From the weary and defeated sounding verses to the backing calls of "Shine on!," this song still amazes 13 years on. To quote Liam Gallagher: "And it's a f*cking B-side. How top is that?"

The Verve - On Your Own (acoustic)
The slower, more mournful version that Ashcroft tends to play if he's on his own (not entirely like how Ocean Colour Scene's Simon Fowler always turns "The Circle" into a near-sleepy ballad at every opportunity). It doesn't skip along as nicely as the single version, but the piano accompaniment and Dickie's pained vocal give this version of a pretty wonderful feeling of its own.

The Verve - Monkey Magic (Brainstorm Mix)
A long, though I refuse to say "pointless" jam that I think Ashcroft, in spite of his own ego, felt inclined to allow McCabe every now and again, even if it only meant the last B-side on a four-track single. Nothing overly amazing, but then again, I'm not one for long and windy jams. Those of you who are, you're probably better suited to rate this.

The Verve - Grey Skies
A slower song, but instead of anchoring itself on an acoustic center, Ashcroft lets McCabe take the musical paintbrush, and though given an electric backing, this song sounds stunningly gorgeous. Johnny Marr once commented how he likes to see colors when he's listening to good music, and some bands are able to create vivid, multicolored pieces while others (like Oasis) tend to remain in a monochromed realm (namely, by Marr, "brown"). He didn't mention the Verve, but I'm always reminded when I listen to McCabe what sized palette this guy was working with. The great Verve songs can make you daydream. This is one of the great ones.

The Verve - Life's Not a Rehearsal
Rather jokingly titled as this sounds like a formative jam on what would eventually grow into one of A Northern Soul's funkiest moments, "Life's An Ocean." The final product is still a bit better (and was done to amazing effect by the reunited Verve 2 years later on Jools Holland), but this version's still cool and gives Simon's bass playing a bit more of a spotlight.


As mentioned before, the video isn't much, but... what are you gonna do? Get a split up band to spend a day sitting around together miming and pretending to like each other? Nah...