Forth probably isn't a bad record, but it's certainly not one that needs to be exist. That sounds bad, but it's proving to be the case for most new-albums-from-reformed-bands. I listen to the first three Verve albums a lot still, each with it's own charms; I almost never play Forth. 2008, when it came out, was eleven years after I'd got Urban Hymns and eight years after I'd got A Storm in Heaven and A Northern Soul; moreover, I was 24 rather than a teenager, listening to punk-rock and had just been to my first All Tomorrow's Parties - The Verve weren't a cool band in the same way the other bands I was listening to were.
That said, 2008 was also the only time I'd ever see The Verve, and I was so fucking excited. It was Glastonbury and we were working on the bar in exchange for free tickets. I was pretty gutted that our Sunday shift was when they were playing, but our bar faced the main stage, so I got to watch from behind the bar, and took my break in the middle of their set. I sang along to Bittersweet Symphony with a bunch of drunk people I'd just sold beer to. I don't want to understate the impact that song had on my life - it was the first song that made me genuinely feel anything about music and I wouldn't be sat here writing about my records had I not heard it. Watching The Verve that day was purely about satisfying teenage-me, and it more than did the job.
If The Verve making a new album is the price we had to pay for them to reform and play shows, then this album is worth it. I got to the see The Verve, which is something I never thought I would do. I remember watching their Haigh Hall set live on the BBC and hearing that they were breaking up and feeling so annoyed that I came to them slightly too late. I'm very pleased I was there the second time around.
Is it a bad album? I mean, maybe. There's no way to hear it without the context of the three albums that came before it, the three albums that had already been played more times than this album could ever expect to be heard. Richard Ashcroft had started his dubious solo career and that would taint the enjoyment here - Rather Be is crazy-catchy but feels like a step further away from the direction they'd gone on Urban Hymns, and sounds more like a Richard Ashcroft solo song than a Verve song, which isn't that surprising when you see that he has the sole credit on it. Love is Noise is somehow both really annoying and one of the best songs on the album. Not sure how they managed that. Valium Skies was also a highlight, and the song I find in my head after playing the album. The closer, Appalachian Springs finally sees them letting loose, which is a long time coming. A whole album of songs like that would have worked for me.
Side B is entirely underwhelming - there are hints of the spaciness of the earlier albums, but executed in the most unexciting way. It's early for the album to start dragging. I See Houses has a chorus that has some bite, but musically is still too restrained; if they'd let themselves go for it, it could have been one of the best songs on the album. Noise Epic has one of those titles that you just know isn't going to deliver - it was a big promise and the six songs that proceed it suggest that they're never going to get as noisy or epic as they used to. It gets going eventually, but in the context of the rest of the album feels a bit out of place. There are two bonus tracks that aren't on the cd album: Ma Ma Soul and Muhammad Ali. The first sounds like a mid-career b-side, that is to say, I actually quite like it. The second has a bit more power than a lot of the album tracks, but isn't particularly memorable.
Partly to appease teenage-me, but also because I had genuinely loved seeing the band play that summer, I bought Forth on the day it came out as my Tuesday-record-from-Spillers that week. I knew it was never going to be the "classic" that the hype sticker (quoting the NME) claimed. Nearly a year later, the Virgin Megastore in Cardiff was closing down and everything was dirt cheap, so I bought a lot of cds. One such album was the cd and dvd edition of Forth for £6. The LP hadn't come with a download code so it felt worth it to get the mp3s, plus I wanted to watch the dvd to see the band play live again (the reissues of the original albums would provide much better live shows on dvd, but I wasn't to know that back then). I remember seeing the ridiculous boxset version of the album quite cheap a few times as well, but given that it just contained this double LP and the cd and dvd, I had no need for it.
Format: Double 12", gatefold sleeve, picture sleeves
Tracks: 12
Cost: £19 new
Bought: Spillers Records, Cardiff
When: 27/08/08
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: none
