And so back they come for a second attempt at climbing to the summit of the chart mountain and to turn critical kudos into consumer cash. Will they succeed? On this evidence, handsomely.
'Urban Hymns' picks the bones of 'A Storm In Heaven' and 'A Northern Soul' and builds a new body, with guitarist Nick McCabe in particular fleshing out the new sound with some inspired guitar work.
This album goes for the jugular right from the off - the massive hit 'Bitter Sweet Symphony', buoyed along on borrowed strings, setting out the agenda superbly. This is an album encapsulating life's dreams and the escaping of the mundanity of the day-to-day through something more spiritual - whether it be love or music or chemicals.
But whereas before the band's chemical excesses took them to a musical plane only they could understand, this album is rooted in the here and now. "My friend and me/Looking through her red box of memories" are the opening lines to 'Sonnet' - this is the audience and the band as equal participants in this thing. 'The Rolling People' is the apex of that community spirit.
And while the album does go on to take in more ethereal subject matter - 'Neon Wilderness', 'Space And Time' - it returns time and again to the theme of making more of your three score years and ten. 'Lucky Man' and, in particular, the closing call-to-arms that is 'Come On' have a fire and a belief that mark The Verve as stadium gods in waiting.
And so, at last, they have delivered on their early promise. Let's hope they keep on rising, and taking us with them.
