Best Albums !: The Verve. Urban Hymns (1997)

Urban Hymns is the highly acclaimed alternative rock/space rock album released on September 29, 1997 by English rock band The Verve. After the release of the band's previous album, A Northern Soul, The Verve broke up due to growing tensions between Richard Ashcroft and Nick McCabe. They reunited in 1996 and recorded Urban Hymns, which earned nearly unanimous critical praise upon its release and went on to become one of the biggest selling albums of the year largely on the strength of the international chart-topper "Bitter Sweet Symphony".

The Verve were known for their music's complex, immersive sonic textures. "Bitter Sweet Symphony" was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, and remains the band's most well known song. "The Drugs Don't Work", the band's only UK #1 to date, has become a concert staple for jam bands and other groups. The rest of the album alternates between wistful ballads like "Sonnet" and "Space And Time", spacey grooves like "Catching The Butterfly" and "The Rolling People", and all-out rockers like the Led Zeppelin-esque, pounding "Come On", which closes the set.

Melody Maker named Urban Hymns as the number-one album of 1997 in its year-end list. In 1998 Q magazine readers voted it the 18th greatest album of all time. In the same year it was also shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize. In 2000 Q placed the album at number 58 its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever, while in 2006 its editors voted it the 16th greatest album of all time.

The Verve were awarded with the first ever "Q Classic Album" award for this album at the 2007 Q Awards.

Since its release, the album has sold more than 5 million copies worldwide.