It’s one of the most iconic freak outs of the pre-gentrified Glastonbury; The Verve’s 1993 set promised much, but had never really lit up until the epic, nine-minute closer Gravity Grave. Only partial video clips remain, but combined with the audio it unfolds magically, a barefoot, shamanic Richard Ashcroft somewhere in a parallel universe, whilst Nick McCabe carves out slabs of FX drenched noise. Transcendent, in that singular moment they were The Doors, they were Fugazi, and they were – however briefly – the best fucking band on earth.
It’s an apex few can even aspire to, but it’s also career ledge to inevitably fall from. Ashcroft chose to mimic the populism of friends Oasis, a move that like adrenaline, only fueled the band for so long. More than three decades on, that Worthy Farm wormhole grows ever more distant. To his credit where many are milking the nostalgia circuit for all it’s worth, Lovin’ You is an eighth solo album, one where the emphasis is mainly comfort with a dash of experimentation.
The latter comes from dabbling with samples on the opening track Lover (which borrows from the less than street Joan Armatrading), the title track’s break heavy meter and most entertainingly of all, the disco stomp of I’m A Rebel. If that probably had the Gallaghers texting him about heresy, the rest is largely a more familiar patchwork of country, soul and balladry, the best of that crop being Out of These Blues. He’s no longer in a field of his own, but Lovin’ You adds a further chapter to Richard Ashcroft’s journey.
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The Voice Of Unreason 