A Storm in Heaven

A Storm in Heaven
Studio album by Verve
Released	21 June 1993
Recorded	1992-1993, Sawmills Studio, Cornwall
Genre	Dream pop, shoegazing, space rock, psychedelic rock
Length	47:04
Label	Vernon Yard, Hut, Virgin
Producer	John Leckie
Verve chronology
Verve EP (1992) A Storm in Heaven (1993) A Northern Soul (1995)
Singles from A Storm in Heaven
"Blue" Released: 10 May 1993 "Slide Away" Released: 20 September 1993

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link
Alternative Press link	(Positive)
Must Hear	link
Nude As The News	link
Head Heritage	link

A Storm in Heaven is the debut studio album by English rock band The Verve (at the time just called Verve), released in June 1993 on the Hut Recordings label. It charted at #27 in the UK.

Overview

Like the band's prior EPs and singles, most of the songs on this album are bathed in heavy layers of delay (echo) and reverb, used on both the guitars and the vocals, in order to give a disorientingly psychedelic overall effect.

Nick McCabe admitted he found work with John Leckie difficult and was ultimately dissatisfied with the album's sound:

I just found it really difficult. I had something in my mind, he had something in his, and I generally ended up doing it somewhere in the middle. It got to the point to where he would come out and start fiddling with my amp. I'd wait for him to turn his back and then I'd put it back. - 1999 interview

"Star Sail" appeared on the soundtrack album for the 1993 movie Sliver.

The lyrics of "Butterfly" [e.g., "You could flap your wings a thousand miles away/ You could take the storm away, forever every day"] pertain directly to the so-called Butterfly effect. (The song "Catching The Butterfly," from the band's 1997 album Urban Hymns, is apparently a continuation of this theme.) McCabe has stated that it was recorded at 3 AM while playing along with a Steely Dan sample ([1]).

The album's closing song is built on a subdued piano motif played by guitarist Nick McCabe.

Like all of the band's releases, A Storm in Heaven features enigmatic artwork. The album's cover photo was shot inside Thor's Cave in Staffordshire, England. The vinyl LP version came in gatefold packaging.

After this album, the band's music moved in a less psychedelic, more structured direction, and their name was officially changed to "The Verve" for legal reasons, so as not to clash with the record label Verve Records.

Track listing

1. "Star Sail" – 3:59
2. "Slide Away" – 4:03
3. "Already There" – 5:38
4. "Beautiful Mind" – 5:27
5. "The Sun, the Sea" – 5:16
6. "Virtual World" – 6:20
7. "Make It 'Til Monday" – 3:05
8. "Blue" – 3:24
9. "Butterfly" – 6:39
10. "See You in the Next One (Have a Good Time)" (Ashcroft) – 3:07

B-Sides

1. "Twilight"
2. "Where The Geese Go"
3. "No Come Down"
4. "6 o'Clock"

Personnel

• Richard Ashcroft – vocals, bass, guitar ("See You in the Next One (Have a Good Time)"), percussion ("Already There", "Beautiful Mind", "The Sun, The Sea", "Virtual World", "Blue")
• Nick McCabe – guitar, piano ("Beautiful Mind", "See You in the Next One (Have a Good Time)"), accordion ("See You in the Next One (Have a Good Time)"), keyboards ("Make It 'til Monday")
• Simon Jones – bass, backing vocals
• Peter Salisbury – drums, percussion
• Simon Clarke – flute ("Virtual World"), horn arrangements
• The Kick Horns (Simon Clarke, Tim Sanders, Roddy Lorimer) – trumpet, saxophone ("Already There", "The Sun, The Sea", "Butterfly")
• Yvette Lacey – flute ("Virtual World")
• Roddy Lorimer – horn arrangements
• John Leckie – production, mixing
• John Cornfield – engineering, programming
• Sleeve concept, design and art direction by Brian Cannon for microdot
• Photography by Michael Spencer Jones ^[1]

External links

1. ^ Verve Universe

• Unofficial Verve site named after this album
• "Unappreciated Album of the Month" Review at DOA
• Ranked # 2 on list of Top 25 Britpop Albums at IGN