As a live band, they have had few equals. Unlike their docile shoegazing brethern, the Verve sounded dangerous live -- more like Sonic Youth than the Cocteau Twins. This bootleg, with its six cuts from New York and London, features the Verve in their pre-A Storm in Heaven days, presenting an energetic and tight band. The mix is good and one can easily imagine their light show and Richard Ashcroft standing at the edge of the stage screaming at the audience. Simon Jones' bass rumbles across the low end, his looping basslines forming the melodic foundation off of which the other band members play. Nick McCabe's guitar work is edgy, even on a mellower number like "One Way to Go"; he often makes his playing sound like two or three guitars, as he does during the rave-up in "Already There," deftly using feedback, reverb, and echo. The versions of "Gravity Grave" and "She's a Superstar" are heavier, the dynamics between the changes more intense here than on the studio versions. Ashcroft rages through the songs, ad libbing lyrics and rolling with the music. Included is a cut of the never released "South Pacific," an early Verve song that sounds like ocean crashing down around your ears. A must-own for any serious Verve fan. ~ Brian Horgea, All Music Guide
Only 1000 clear blue vinyl copies were pressed, making the ownership of this album a collectors item. However, 300 of the copies were ruined in transit from Britain to the States, making this even rarer. Black vinyl copies do exist, however the amount of copies is unknown.
Tracks that were never released as singles
"One Way to Go"
"One Way to Go" was featured as a B-side to "All in the Mind", The Verve's first ever single release, in 1992. The song remained in the band's playlist for only a short period, being dropped before the Gravity Grave Tour of October 1992.
"South Pacific"
"South Pacific" was another song never recorded in the studio. The song received favourable reviews, akin to "an ocean crashing down about your ears" [1]. The song remained in their live set for a long while, still being performed at the start of the Paris tour. It was also performed live at Camden Town Hall [2].
"Already There"
"Already There" was recorded in the studio in 1993 for the album A Storm in Heaven. The song is very "hazy" and psychedelic, with Richard Ashcroft's voice synthetically altered and the guitars on high distortion.
