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 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 screaming and destroying objects. Eventually, McCabe had a different working schedule from the others, starting at 10–11 a.m. while the rest of the band started at 6 p.m.
For the Sheridan Smith album, see A Northern Soul (Sheridan Smith album). For similar uses, see Northern soul (disambiguation).A Northern Soul
Variously described as alternative rock, Britpop, 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[edit]
The Verve released their debut studio album, A Storm in Heaven, in June 1993 through the Virgin imprint Hut Records.[1] Reaching number 27 in the UK Albums Chart,[2] it entered a music scene dominated by grunge, sitting against the emergence of British bands Blur and Suede.[3] Shortly afterwards, frontman Richard Ashcroft said he wanted to record the follow-up as soon as possible.[4] 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.[5] The Verve's notoriety as troublemakers was exacerbated by connecting themselves with Oasis.[6] 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.[7] 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.[8]
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.[9] The grind of touring the US eventually took its toll on Ashcroft and guitarist Nick McCabe, with the pair not being on friendly terms.[10] 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.[11] 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.[nb 1] Brian Cannon of the design company Microdot, who created art for both Oasis and the Verve, attributed the frequent support of Hut Records boss Dave Boyd as a factor.[12]
Writing and Morris' involvement[edit]
Since the recording of their debut album, Ashcroft had some life-changing experiences that would fuel his songwriting. Towards the end of 1994, Ashcroft and his girlfriend Sarah Carpenter ended their six-year relationship when the latter became infatuated with one of the band's roadies, Andy Burke, who was also one of Ashcroft's best friends.[13][nb 2] As Ashcroft was dealing with this, Jones was also going through mental struggles.[15] The latter found it difficult to acclimatise at home in Wigan after Lollapalooza and the US in general. McCabe was also breaking up with his pregnant girlfriend Monica; he was growing weary of others around him.[16] Ashcroft fled to London and, subsequently, the countryside without informing anyone.[17] Ashcroft attempted to reconcile with her in London over a period of three months.[18] For two of those three, he was mentally and physically exhausted. When he reconvened with the rest of the band, they were performing the music that he felt conveyed the emotions he was experiencing, allowing the two aspects to go together with relative ease.[19] Ashcroft stayed with Best, who was dating Lush frontwoman Miki Berenyi, for a period of six-to-eight weeks. Best had a portastudio in his frontroom that Berenyi used for making songs, which Ashcroft used when borrowing her acoustic guitar to write for himself.[20]
When the band wanted a different producer for their second album, Noel Gallagher of Oasis proposed Owen Morris, who had co-produced Definitely Maybe.[16][nb 3] Morris himself shared a similar perspective on the rock and roll lifestyle as the Verve.[21] Ashcroft said they went with him as he was around their age and equally as intense as the rest of the band in "everything we do, lifestyle, music, everything ..."[22] As the members wanted to avoid repeating mistakes that they had made on A Storm in Heaven, they set about writing prior to entering a studio. The band holed up in their former rehearsal space in Wigan, which Ashcroft dubbed a "black hole, a claustrophobic pit."[18] The space was located in a dark industrial warehouse, which they felt was inspirational to the point that Ashcroft and McCabe put aside their personal issues.[22] The members drove around during the night on occasion, seeking further inspiration.[18] Ashcroft learned of a tale from Keith Richards where he talked about the Rolling Stones being mocked by Dean Martin, which he connected to and used as an influence: "That's what happened to us ... we just thought, 'Fuck you all, we're gonna delve into our black hole in Wigan and make the greatest music you've heard in your life.'"[23] Morris, whose visibility as a producer increased after Definitely Maybe, visited the band during one of their rehearsals, feeling enthusiastic about what he was hearing.[19] It was a fruitful period, with them having two albums' worth of songs in time for recording, contrasting with creating the bulk of A Storm in Heaven as they were recording it.[22]
Composition and lyrics[edit]
Title and music[edit]
Discussing the album, Ashcroft said the "doors have opened for me personally with my writing. We've been liberated. Touring, you get lost on a rock and roll adventure. You're on the Stardust trip. You're in the mansion in your head with the white robes on doing rock operas called 'Woman'. But then you come home and it's time to get twenty Regal and a pastie and assess who you are. That's why the new album's got more soul to it. It's modern Northern blues."[35] Egan said a possibility for the album's title was how the Verve viewed their sound as the "result of a fundamental sincerity."[41] musicOMH's Ben Hogwood suggested that the title was a confident declaration of their Wigan lineage, which he said was a "proud statement indeed, if ultimately a doomed one."[42] He added that it was taken from the 1960s Northern soul movement, where it focuses its "impact on the whole body and mind rather than just the feet, shaking it from the very core."[42] Ashcroft said the album revolved around one person experiencing various emotions: "pretty painted, then elated, then arrogant. All facets of that personality are a northern soul."[41] Egan said this character was Ashcroft incognito, writing that a few critics were sceptical about how an individual "'soul' could have gone through such torment as to inspire such desolate songwords ..."[41]
Gigwise writer AP Childs considered A Northern Soul an alternative rock album that surpasses the "stargazer dreaminess of the previous offering with its tortured glamour of industrial-sized proportions."[43] He said that, beside "Brainstorm Interlude", there was little psychedelic music to be found on it.[43] Nick Southall of Stylus Magazine dubbed it "[m]odern, urban, tortured psychedelic soul",[44] while Spin's Alex Pappademas saw it as psychedelic rock and Britpop.[45] Clarke was dismissive of the Britpop tag, adamant that the Verve had nothing to do with that genre musically or visually.[46] Kayley Kravitz of Vanyaland reaffirmed Britpop, saying the Verve did what Blur and Lush had done before them, moving away from shoegaze and into Britpop.[47] Best said the album had two different sides at odds with one another: "You've got songs that are traditional Verve psychedelic work-outs and then you've got songs like 'History' that I heard and thought, Wow! This is a very interesting new development."[31] McCabe felt that his playing ability had also improved, owing to the two years promoting A Storm in Heaven.[35]
Jones explained that it was not literal soul music but rather soul music in the manner that they were "expressing ourselves and playing from our heart. A lot of the songs on this album are first takes, just us going in and playing from a feeling."[41] PopMatters writer Ian King wrote that McCabe's guitar playing informed the sound of A Northern Soul and noted that it was an important point in their history where Ashcroft's skill as a songwriter began to take hold of the band, highlighting "On Your Own" and "History" as prime examples.[48] Both are stylistically different – "On Your Own" being a slow-tempo acoustic ballad and "History" serving as a symphonic track – and both feature less guitarwork. King said that McCabe's guitar playing originally helped them stand out from their contemporaries more than Ashcroft did. A Northern Soul marked the point where Ashcroft became the leader of the Verve.[48] In addition to their usual roles in the band, the members provided extra instrumentations to the songs: Ashcroft with percusion on "This Is Music", "So It Goes", "History", and "Life's an Ocean", acoustic guitar on "On Your Own", "So It Goes", "History", and "Stormy Clouds", and electric piano on "No Knock on My Door"; Jones with percussion on "A New Decade", keyboards on "A Northern Soul", twelve-string acoustic guitar on "History"; McCabe with piano on "On Your Own" and "Stormy Clouds", twelve-string guitar on "On Your Own", acoustic guitar on "So It Goes" and "Stormy Clouds", Hammond organ on "So It Goes", and a Moog synthesizer on "Stormy Clouds"; and Salisbury with percussion on "A New Decade", "This Is Music", "So It Goes", "History", and "Life's an Ocean".[27]
Themes[edit]
On the album's lyrics, Ashcroft said that, as a whole, it was him "asking myself: 'Who the fuck am I?' Am I the guy in 'This Is Music' standing tall in the world with these huge guitars around him like the king of rock 'n' roll, or am I the guy in 'A Northern Soul' who's wasted and desperate, or am I the guy in 'On Your Own', who's in between life and death, or am I the guy in 'Life's an Ocean' imagining the future and buying feelings from a vending machine, am I this future shock guy? But I'm all of them, you see. It’s dangerous to fracture your personality too much, but that’s what it was."[49] Egan noted that there were allusions to a "broken love affair", which prompted questions as Ashcroft's emotional turmoil was not public knowledge until mid-1995.[17] During an interview with journalist Dave Simpson for Melody Maker, Ashcroft talked about the subject matter with Jones, which nearly resulted in a heated argument between the members.[50] Egan said the love triangle of Ashcroft–Carpenter–Burke resulted in an album with lyrics that were "far more literal and which had far more emotional impact" than anything Ashcroft previously wrote,[14] a change from A Storm in Heaven, where he had no desire to compose lyrics with a political tone or discuss romance.[13][nb 4] He said A Northern Soul could potentially be viewed as a concept album because of these lyrics.[35] Describing the changing lyrical tone, Egan wrote that A Storm in Heaven was centred around "slogans and wordplay," which were the product of listening to other albums and watching films, compared to A Northern Soul, where the lyrics were a result of Ashcroft having first-hand experiences.[35] Ashcroft said the first album's lyrics were highly vague as he thought he had not gone through enough events in his life to conceive upping the quality of his lyrics, but in the two years since their debut album, he has witnessed various "things, I realise that when I listen to music I want to hear people who have been there, and if they've not been there I'm not interested, and I've been there now."[35]
Ashcroft thought that if someone is direct about what they say, then other individuals will relate to how accessible it is.[53] Clarke said he was influenced by poems by William Blake, dating to the late 1800s and early 1900s, especially his collection Songs of Innocence and Experience. Blake's writing led him to discover Aldous Huxley, who had admiration for Blake.[53] One instance saw Ashcroft borrow some of the lines from Blake's London, which he thought was poignant after the split from Carpenter. Ashcroft spent several hours walking directionless around London prior to making a demo of "History" with a Spanish guitar that belonged to his mother. He admitted to intentionally lifting the lines from the poem until his own lyrics came about through a stream of consciousness.[54] NME writer Simon Williams was highly critical of this borrowing, saying, "Forsooth! Fetch this good fellow a flagon of your finest ale."[55] 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 ..."[56] 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.[42] Clarke thought it was ironic that within the band's "apparent spiritual and mystical imagery, much of this album was actually rooted in quite mundane issues ..."[53]
Songs[edit]
Tracks 1–5[edit]
Baker remarked that the first 10 seconds of opener "A New Decade" came across as akin to the sound of A Storm in Heaven, with Ashcroft's voice fading in, "woo-woohing gently somewhere far off in the distance. Then, suddenly, the guitars kick the metaphorical doors in and Richard bellow the title like he's announcing the start of a whole new era." Baker noted that the most prominent change compared to past material is Ashcroft's vocals being placed higher in the mix while the guitars sounded aggressive, writing that it remained space rock, "but it's Star Wars rather than 2001: A Space Odyssey."[57] King said the lyrics appeared to be positive, at least until "you get to the state of mind. Amid the maelstrom of "A New Decade" runs a sound like a stretched out emergency siren. The astronauts are crashing back through the ionosphere. For the first time, the Verve sound angry and wounded."[48] With it and the following track, King wrote that Ashcroft discusses having anxiety with regards to an uncertain direction, the future generation, fear of isolation, class systems, "inaction, and Jesus not saving any of us. All the while, the band lash out more concisely and determined than ever."[48]
Baker thought that "This Is Music" had a "belligerent spirit [that] was immediately very apparent. Instead of singing vague platitudes about the sky and the sun, as he had in the past, Richard was suddenly addressing the real world."[37] It was Ashcroft's first political song, originating after he met an Eton alumni.[nb 5] 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."[59][nb 6] Baker said alongside discussing class, the track talks about Ashcroft being single since the end of his last relationship, adding that his self-doubt was noticeable in the album's lyrics, and "yet by the time they were recorded, a drug-fuelled bravado has entered the mix."[61] He attributed the vocals being discernible to the influence of Oasis, sounding fully "confident, bordering on arrogant," as Ashcroft steps into the band leader role.[37] When Ashcroft heard the song for the first time, he said it lasted for 35 minutes and was similar to the sound of Funkadelic and Jimi Hendrix. McCabe's guitar sound is the result of playing a cast aluminium guitar that dates to the early 1980s that featured three strings and was out of tune, which Baker said gave the guitar riff a "harsh, metallic sound which fitted perfectly with the brutal music."[57]
"On Your Own" marks the band's first ballad track,[61] which Clarke wrote "left a disturbingly uneasy feeling about the ultimate solitude of life."[62] Baker said it was a rarity in their music at this period, though it signalled the direction their later music went in,[61] while Clarke said it was closer to their older songs.[63] It marked the first time Ashcroft purposely sat down with a guitar, pen, and paper like typical songwriters. This was in contrast to his prior method of standing in front of the rest of the band as they jammed.[54] He wrote it with little input from the rest of his bandmates; Baker described his voice as "uncharacteristically shaky," most prominently when he uses a falsetto during the chorus section, where he earns a comparison to soul singers, in particular Al Green.[61] The song sees Ashcroft lamenting his love life and the eventual prospect of dying alone.[64] Baker noted that there was not much space for McCabe's typical pedal-enhanced guitar experimentation in the song, with the remainder of the band serving only as a background to Ashcroft's voice. He said the vocals were "suddenly demanding all the space that Nick used to occupy and the most distinctive 'effect' is the tinkling piano", which appears in the song's conclusion.[61] "So It Goes" harkens back to the sound of A Storm in Heaven.[64] In the song, Hogwood said Ashcroft divulges self-doubt amongst the frequent guitar theatrics, with him trying to place distance between the rest of the Verve and himself.[42] Baker said the song was not up to par, though he attributed this to the tracks that were placed on either side of it.[64]
Danny Eccleston of Q thought that "A Northern Soul" evoked the sound of Funkadelic.[65] Baker thought it contained the most peculiar guitar parts McCabe had created up to that point, and that with Jones' contribution, the song came across as "utterly rock 'n' roll without having any recognisably rock 'n' roll riffs, structure or melody."[64] He proposed that it could be the work of the Chemical Brothers, albeit "slowed down to a mighty crawl. By the end, as the guitar morphs into seagull noises, you can almost hear the euphoria of the initially recording sessions changing into a disturbing psychosis, but it still carries an incredible charge."[64] The song was influenced by Ashcroft learning about Gallagher disappearing when Oasis were on tour in the US the previous year,[41][62] which Egan said explained the allusions to a Northern soul trying to return home.[41] He added that Gallagher was not the sole inspiration for the track,[41] saying that it also referred to a lot of working class Englishmen, in particular those in Northern England.[54] Ashcroft said the song's narrator was considerably "more messed up than Eddie Vedder's ever been. But at the end of the song he looks around and says, 'I'm too busy staying alive. Too busy living.' There's got to be a blue horizon."[54]
Tracks 6–12[edit]
Baker thought that "Brainstorm Interlude" was the Verve "boiling over and freaking out. There are great moments but they’re bobbing in a sea of frantic noodling. It sounds like they were jamming to try and find a song, one didn’t appear but the resulting chaos was too good to ignore."[64] "Drive You Home" is a country ballad in the vein of A Storm in Heaven's closing track, "See You in the Next One (Have a Good Time)",[66] which Jonathan Cohen of Cleveland Scene found to be reminiscent of the work of Chris Isaak.[67] Baker saw it as a slow-tempo track that he felt lasted longer than it needed to, "perhaps suggesting to some that they might be running out of ideas."[68]
Baker thought that "History" did not fit on the album, suggesting that it would have been more beneficial on the band's third studio album, Urban Hymns (1997).[68] Baker said it was an important track in their career, marking the first occasion where strings served as one of the defining characteristics of their recordings. The strings were arranged by Wil Malone, known at the time for contributing to "Unfinished Sympathy" (1991) by Massive Attack.[69][nb 7] 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."[54] Ashcroft said when he entered the studio, he had part of a melody that would eventually evolve into "History". When they attempted to record it at 3 a.m., the "whole six and a half minutes came out [of me] as one big flood," adding that he did not need to change any of it. By 6 a.m., he noticed a gardener outside the building shaking a matchbox and had him perform on it.[69] Clarke said it was lyrically about the demise of his long-term relationship, proposing that it was "perhaps the most lyrically direct Richard had ever been."[62] Ashcroft explained that it was composed by a person who "sat down and thought about things. Who's gone through the classic stage of a few weeks gettin' pissed up and goin' down to those pits, listening to Big Star at six in the morning. I think [...] I hadn't given up on love."[53]
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."[68] Williams, meanwhile, thought that Ashcroft was doing a satisfactory "impression of Shaun Ryder in a launderette as raw riffs lurch and destroy around him."[70]
Baker noted that for the remainder of the album, the energy of the songs drops.[68] "Life's an Ocean" sees a man with a soul living in a soulless society; as Egan wrote, the chacarter's humanity is taken from him via constant commercialism. One of its verses was influenced by the band touring across the US. Ashcroft said that following six weeks in the country, he was unable to look at any advertisements as he could not work out who they were selling to, remarking that it was alarming.[58] He added that the song served as a Stanley Kubrick-esque vision into the future with a man who is "at the end of this emotional tether."[53] 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.[48] Cohen said it starts with a "funky, Luscious Jackson-esque rhythm" that is followed by McCabe's wah-wah-effected guitar parts partway into the song.[67]
Baker felt that "Stormy Clouds" continues the same theme as "Life's an Ocean", though conveying it in a better way: "drifting in a dreamlike fashion before the rhythm section subtly accelerates, pulling the song forward like a tractor dragging a sports car off a muddy field."[68] King wrote that the album nears its end on a "note of weary relief, spotting the ‘new horizons’ behind the “Stormy Clouds” and its winding down instrumental reprise, where McCabe unfurls a soul-searching" guitar solo for six minutes, reminiscent of "May This Be Love" (1967) by Hendrix.[48] For the album's closer, "(Reprise)", Wilding was surprised by McCabe's guitar playing as it took over the rest of the music, "turning the language of its discourse upside down ..."[71] Baker said the track consisted of multiple minutes where they were jamming, which he thought was proof that the "shattered band seemed to have absolutely no idea how to finish the fantastic work they’d started."[68]
Artwork[edit]
Cannon handled the sleeve concept, design, and art direction of the album, while Michael Spencer Jones did the photography. In addition to this, two additional photographs were taken by Scarlet Page and Mary Scanlon, who took images dubbed "The Verve on the bus" and "The Verve in the café", respectively.[27] Baker thought the front cover image was indicative of the Verve's new direction, with the four heads placed in front of a black background serving as a reference to the cover for With the Beatles (1963) by the Beatles. A small door can be seen in the corner, which Baker said "perhaps represent[ed] the door into their minds."[68] Cannon said he was a huge fan of the Beatles, despite others thinking it was a homage to the video for "Bohemian Rhapsody" (1975) by Queen,[72] such as Egan.[65] They took the image inside of a warehouse, located near the Tower Bridge in London, and projected the photograph of the band, blown up to sixteen metres in height, on a wall. They had Salisbury come in through the doorway.[73]
Cannon explained that they had the members wrapped up in black velvet, leaving only their heads visible.[72] Egan said they wanted to depict the vastness and "three-dimensional qualities" that Cannon could hear in the music.[65] The image of the members was shot on their previous US tour, which Clarke said showed "how ravaged they had become, with all of them looking exhausted and mad-eyed."[56] Journalist Mark Beaumont, in a review for NME, wrote that the shot of a person walking through a door with the image of the band on top "emphasised the hugeness of the more traditional rock music they were making within."[74] Wilding said the back cover of the album sees Jones' face being mirrored in the "chrome facade of the Feelings Machine,"[71] a reference to the vending machine lyric found in "Life's an Ocean".[65] 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).[71]
Commercial performance and accolades[edit]
A Northern Soul peaked at number 13 in the UK Albums Chart, selling more in its first month of release than A Storm in Heaven had done in the two years since its release. Despite this, it fell under the band's expectations.[79] Its 2016 reissue re-entered the chart at number 80.[2] The album was certified silver and gold in the UK by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in 1997 and 1998, respectively.[139] "This Is Music" peaked at number 35 in the UK.[2] "On Your Own" peaked at number 28 in the UK.[2] "History" peaked at number 24 in the UK.[2]
Melody Maker, NME, and Select all included the album on their 1995 best of the year lists.[140] Noel Gallagher and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin praised A Northern Soul, with the former calling it the third-best album of the year.[141] It was ranked by author Colin Larkin at number 289 in the All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000)[142] and by NME at number 390 on their 2013 list of the 500 best albums of all time.[143] PopMatters ranked the 2016 expanded edition of the album, with a similar reissue of A Storm in Heaven, at number 10 on their list of the best 25 re-releases from the year,[144] while Rolling Stone included the two sets on their unranked list.[145] Pappademas considered A Northern Soul one of 10 essential Britpop albums,[45] while Musikexpress and Pitchfork included the album in the top 30 of their best Britpop album lists.[146][147]
Legacy[edit]
Baker said for the majority of listeners, the album was remembered for a single track, "History", which was the "moment The Verve took a giant step towards popular acclaim but it was also symbolic – in more ways than one – of a band that were falling apart. Richard was starting to discover himself as a songwriter and the rest of the band could have been forgiven for thinking they were now almost surplus to requirements as he came up with the initial germ of the idea."[69] Baker found it astonishing how the album was disregarded by music press outlets and BBC Radio One, yet listeners that did not understand the "power and fury of ‘This Is Music’ or ‘A New Decade’ couldn’t help but respond to ‘History’. Unfortunately, though, most mainstream music fans never got to hear it or even read about it."[79][nb 11] Ashcroft also pointed out the lack of radio support and bemoaning promotion from magazines.[148] 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.[40]
The Verve returned to the sound of A Northern Soul on "Neon Wilderness" from Urban Hymns, which acted as a counterpart to "Brainstorm Interlude".[149] Luke Haines of labelmates the Auteurs said the success of A Northern Soul prompted higher-ups at Virgin to push him to release a commercial-sounding album with hit singles on it, resulting in How I Learned to Love the Bootboys (1999).[150] 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).[151]