A Northern Soul

A Northern Soul is the second studio album by English rock band the Verve, released on 3 July 1995 through Hut Records. With the tumultuous promotion for their debut studio album, A Storm in Heaven (1993), combined with their friends in Oasis becoming exceptionally popular, relationships between members of the Verve became strained. After connecting with Oasis producer Owen Morris, the Verve went to a rehearsal space in Wigan to write material for the next album, which they recorded at Loco Studios in Wales. The sessions gained notoriety for the stories that emerged from the time, including Ashcroft going missing for five days and him allegedly totalling a car on the studio's lawn. In the first three weeks, they had finished 15 tracks; after this point, the situation soured as guitarist Nick McCabe grew exhausted from dealing with the other members frequently partying and taking ecstasy, in addition to vocalist Richard Ashcroft and Morris shouting and destroying objects. At one point, McCabe began to have a different working schedule from the others, starting at 10–11 a.m. while the rest of the band started at 6 p.m.

Variously described as alternative rock, psychedelic rock, and psychedelic soul, Ashcroft said A Northern Soul revolved around one person experiencing various emotions. He wrote material for it after the end of a six-year relationship, using a portastudio at co-manager John Best's house over several weeks. The Verve started promotion with a UK gig supporting Oasis in April 1995, followed by one in France two days later. After McCabe was injured in an altercation with a bouncer, a month's worth of shows were cancelled. "This Is Music" was released as the lead single from the album in May 1995, followed by the second single, "On Your Own", a month later. The Verve embarked on a UK tour in June 1995, which was followed by appearances at the Glastonbury and Phoenix Festivals. They went on a US tour, which lasted until August 1995, when they returned to the UK to play at T in the Park. At its conclusion, Ashcroft announced his departure from the band, which the press reported as if they were breaking up. "History" was the third and final single from the album, released in September 1995.

A Northern Soul received positive reviews from music critics, many of whom praised the album's musical depth, while others commented on the personal nature of the lyrics. Retrospective reviews and biographies of the Verve were also focused on the music. The album peaked at number 13 on the UK Albums Chart, going on to be certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in 1998. All three of its singles peaked within the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart, with "History" peaking the highest at number 24. Melody Maker, NME, and Select included the album on their lists of the year's best releases; NME also included it on their list of the 500 best albums of all time, while author Colin Larkin featured it in his book All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000). It has appeared on best-of lists for the Britpop genre by Musikexpress, Pitchfork, and Spin.

Background

The Verve released their debut studio album, A Storm in Heaven, in June 1993 through the Virgin imprint Hut Records. Reaching number 27 in the UK Albums Chart, it entered a music scene dominated by grunge, sitting against the emergence of British bands Blur and Suede. Shortly afterwards, frontman Richard Ashcroft said he wanted to record the follow-up as soon as possible. In 1993, the band promoted the album with a UK tour, a European tour with the Smashing Pumpkins – by which point they were writing songs for their next album – a US tour with Acetone, and ending with a UK tour with Acetone and up-and-comers Oasis. The Verve's notoriety as troublemakers was exacerbated by connecting themselves with Oasis. In 1994, the Verve went on a Europe tour, trekked across the US as part of Lollapalooza, and played a series of European festivals, including Reading Festival. In the lead-up to Lollapalooza, the compilation No Come Down (1994) was issued as a stop-gap release. Keith Wood of the Verve's US label, Vernon Yard Recordings, said the band initially planned to record their second album around this time, until they decided to do Lollapalooza instead.

Issues plagued the members during the stint, including drummer Peter Salisbury getting arrested and Ashcroft being taken to the hospital for not drinking enough fluids. The grind of touring the US eventually took its toll on Ashcroft and guitarist Nick McCabe, with the pair not being on friendly terms. Throughout that year, interpersonal relationships between members of the Verve grew apart, spurred on by the ballooning popularity of their friends in Oasis. That band's debut, Definitely Maybe (1994), had performed better on the charts than A Storm in Heaven, which was a commercial failure. Author Trevor Baker, in his book Richard Ashcroft – The Verve, Burning Money & The Human Condition (2008), wrote that following the popularity of Definitely Maybe, sales predictions for indie acts shifted considerably, and the band were seen by some commentators as lucky for not being removed from the Virgin Records roster. He said A Northern Soul could potentially be viewed as a concept album because of these lyrics. On "A New Decade", Ashcroft acknowledges the success the band had achieved up to this point, while on "This Is Music", he details his fascination with music. Clarke said "On Your Own" "repeats the idea of an emotional void", adding that the "cathartic nature of much of the album appeared to have given him new hope ..." Hogwood said on A Storm in Heaven, Ashcroft's voice was lost within the big sound of the album, fighting against the guitar and bass for presence, while on A Northern Soul, this changed, where Ashcroft's lyrics stood out considerably more.|group="nb" Ashcroft was bewildered by the number of opportunities open to him simply because he attended private school. He thought it was akin to someone starting the journey of life ninety metres ahead of everyone else. Ashcroft said the song's narrator was someone who had to fight to get what they wanted in any given situation. He added that he does not despise upper-class individuals, "but they do take the piss." Egan saw the track as the "most profound song the band had recorded to date, it was a story of loss and loneliness on an epic scale; painfully honest lyric set to a sublime melody and backed by swooning strings."

On "No Knock on My Door", Ashcroft imitates the vocal style of Liam Gallagher; Baker said the comparison was so strong that the listener could picture Ashcroft matching Gallagher's typical stance of being "slightly too far from the mic, leaning over it with his hands behind his back, shouting to make himself heard. The machismo that John Best talked about is in full-effect but you can hear him expending his last drop of strength."

Baker noted that for the remainder of the album, the energy of the songs drops. King said that when making this song, Ashcroft was exhausted to the point where he had dreams of being tormented by needing to purchase emotions from vending machines. Baker said the track consisted of multiple minutes where they were jamming, which he thought was proof that the tired Verve appear to "have absolutely no idea how to finish the fantastic work they’d started."

Cannon explained that they had the members wrapped up in black velvet, leaving only their heads visible. Egan said they wanted to depict the vastness and "three-dimensional qualities" that Cannon could hear in the music. Wilding said the back cover of the album sees Jones' face being mirrored in the "chrome facade of the Feelings Machine," Jones is in the process of putting 50 cents into the machine; red levers can be seen below various black-and-white images of faces giving a range of emotions from anger to sorrow. Wilding thought this recalled the artwork of the Who during their concept album phase. The machine was repurposed for the music video for the Verve's "The Drugs Don't Work" (1997). In the period following A Storm in Heaven, 1990s culture shifted with the emergence of new lad and Loaded magazine, as well as the continual evolution of football culture. Ashcroft said he abstained from watching or listening to music on the TV and radio.

thumb|left|alt=Four men on a stage playing musical instruments|The Verve supported Oasis (pictured in 2005) several times when promoting A Northern Soul.

The Verve played their first show in eight months in Southend-on-Sea on 17 April 1995, supporting Oasis, followed by another show with them in Paris, France, two days later. For the former gig, hype was building around the Verve as critics forecasted that they could become hugely popular. This was intended to be the launch pad for a UK tour, but was cancelled due to McCabe getting into an accident. The bouncer manhandled McCabe, pushed him against a foot, hit him in the face, and kicked him down some stairs. The incident resulted in a broken finger, with it needing to be in a plaster for six weeks; it left him unable to play his guitar. The band had to cancel a month's worth of shows because of this, By this point, comparisons were being increasingly made to Oasis by publications, which frustrated Ashcroft. Ashcroft also pointed out the lack of radio support and bemoaning promotion from magazines. While McCabe did not get along with Morris, unlike the rest of the band, he praised the final, finished work. Out of everyone they worked with previously, he said Morris was the closest to closing the gap between the band's live and studio sounds. Members of the Hiss expressed admiration for A Northern Soul; because of Morris' role on that album, they enlisted him for their album Panic Movement (2003).

Track listing

All songs written by the Verve. All tracks produced by Owen Morris and the band.

The Verve

Nick McCabe – guitars, piano (tracks 3 and 11), twelve-string guitar (track 3), acoustic guitar (tracks 4 and 11), Hammond organ (track 4), Moog (track 11)
Richard Ashcroft – vocals, percussion (tracks 2, 4, 8, and 10), acoustic guitar (tracks 3, 4, 8, and 11), electric piano (track 9)
Simon Jones – bass, percussion (track 1), keyboards (track 5), twelve-string acoustic guitar (track 8)
Peter Salisbury – drums, percussion (tracks 1, 2, 4, 8, and 10)

Additional musicians

Owen Morris – Hammond organ (track 6), string arrangement (track 8), synthesized strings (track 8)
Will Malone – string arrangement (track 8)
Gavyn Wright – strings (track 8)
The London Session Orchestra – strings (track 8)
Liam Gallagher – handclaps (track 8)