Saturday, July 30, 2016

July 30 - Bittersweet Symphony

This weekend is a time for symphonies. The first one is a symphony in name only - but it is still one of my favorite songs from the britpop era of the 90s. The Verve got huge with their third album, Urban Hymns, which in addition to Bittersweet Symphony included the great hits Sonnet and The Drugs Don't Work. In keeping with most other britpop band, there was a clear frontman in Richard Ashcroft (like Blur's Damon Albarn and Pulp's Jarvis Cocker - but contrary to Oasis' Gallagher brothers), who also was the lead singer. They got in some serious trouble with this song, as they sampled Andrew Loog Oldham Orchestra's The Last Time (same name as the Stones song, but sounding very differently) - but I would have to say that I prefer The Verve's use of it to the original. You can easily find the Andrew Loog Oldham Orchestra's tune on YouTube - but here is The Verve with Bittersweet Symphony.


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