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It's pleasant, even comforting, which makes Forth as pure a sequel as possible: it's an album that offers more of the same many years too late, which will be enough for the legions of faithful who have waited to hear all the old characters back together again, yet seems a little pointless for those who no longer remain quite so invested in the band.
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Forth not only equals the Verve's best work, but in many cases exceeds it.
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BlenderForth is that rare comeback record--unafraid to show its age, and better for it. [Sep 2008, p.85]
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Forth is a decent reminder of what makes the Verve great.
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For the first four tracks, The Verve dig deep into their chaotic history to conjure the strange, intoxicating mix of stridency, shimmering beauty, pretension and vulnerability that made them so distinctive back in their pomp. And then the plot is suddenly lost, along with the tunes.
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Just how often you'll revisit Forth after the initial flush of interest is debatable, because it hasn't really moved things anywhere for them.
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Entertainment WeeklyThis belated follow-up doesn't have anything as memorable as "Hymns'" 'Bitter Sweet Symphony.' But the soulful single 'Valium Skies' come close. [22/29 Aug 2008, p.125]
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Forth is classic Verve, epic in scope, with layer upon layer of sound.
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Men out of time, The Verve were a neo-psychedelic jam-rock outfit who got fortuitously swept up in the Britpop boom and stumbled upon a timely form of Big Music.
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This comeback album (after eight years apart, the group reunited in 2007, triumphantly claiming the Coachella main stage this spring), is as solid as a dose of Extra Strength Tylenol.
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MojoForth is a good, but not great Verve album, then, its glimmers of brillance all too brief. [Sep 2008, p.98]
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Admittedly, the band's past catalogue sets the bar high, but Forth is an achievement, especially when considered in the context of so many failed attempts by others to return after a period of inactivity.
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This album is probably the most solid foundation this quartet have had in 15 years, and it would be a disaster if it wasn’t a springboard for several more.
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Instead of moving forward with a bold new sound, they seem lost and confused, eventually reverting to the sprawling space rock jams of their early years, which may be their comfort zone.
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Their second reunion carries the listener a good third of the way into this punningly titled fourth album. Trouble is, the second two-thirds are a very long slog indeed.
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The album will satisfy those wondering whether the band can achieve the nosebleed heights of its formidable back catalog, and it’s once again evident that Ashcroft needs guitarist Nick McCabe, bassist Simon Jones and drummer Peter Salisbury to keep his shamanistic flights of fancy tethered to earth.
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In 1997, this kind of thing--crisp, echoing guitars, provincial strings, existential moodiness--actually sounded kind of exciting. Just over a decade later, though, the exact same recipe, prepared exactly the same way, conjures up new dominant aftertastes: false profundity, compositional laziness, and outsized egos.
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Forth may contain a few flaws or forced moments, but it has plenty of soul.
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The tracks on Forth are long and often overproduced. It’s a tough blow to handle when a band you’ve loved for so long comes up so short.
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The songs skirt standard verse-chorus form; the best of them are just chord patterns that swirl and mutate with slow assurance.
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While Forth is certainly flawed and overreaching, there's enough to suggest that the Verve, assuming they're able to keep it together, can use the album as a foundation for something as compelling as their '90s output.
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Are the Verve back? Maybe. Definitely.
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Forth proves that The Verve still has it, and it's all about chemistry.
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Just as Forth shares the strengths of those early albums, it proves that the Verve are yet to grow out of their shortcomings.
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In some ways the Verve feels more familiar now than it did a decade ago.
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Forth certainly makes it seem like they’ve never been away, the stench of those woeful Ashcroft solo albums extinguished.
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Under The RadarForth is the sound of a band shaking off ten years worth of rust. [Fall 2008, p.85]
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Time and place be damned, this is a good record, but it will never be anyone’s favorite.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 42 out of 54
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Mixed: 7 out of 54
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Negative: 5 out of 54
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Jan 23, 2017
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Apr 8, 2014
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Aug 29, 2010