4 Essential Richard Ashcroft Moments Without The Verve

It’s tough business leaving a great rock band. Going it alone. The unrelenting comparisons to the great work cast a giant shadow over solo efforts.

Richard Ashcroft’s lone plight against the greatness of his former band The Verve is nothing new to rock history. Critics blasted Paul McCartney’s post-Beatles output and his first solo album contained the undeniably brilliant “Maybe I’m Amazed.”

But the ’90s ended with The Verve breaking up again, and Ashcroft needed a rebirth. Here’s a look at four essential moments of Ashcroft without The Verve.

“Lonely Soul” by UNKLE from Psyence Fiction (1998)

James Lavelle and DJ Shadow, working together as UNKLE, released their debut Psyence Fiction in 1998. The trip-hop collection featured Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, Beastie Boys’ Mike D, and Badly Drawn Boy, among others. But the album’s standout track is the nine-minute orchestral epic “Lonely Soul,” featuring Richard Ashcroft. Wil Malone, who arranged the strings on “Bitter Sweet Symphony,” joins Ashcroft on the track. “Lonely Soul” has the underdog spirit that drove Ashcroft with the manic self-possession first heard on songs like “This Is Music” and “Butterfly.” Psyence Fiction arrived three months after The Verve’s triumphant hometown gig at England’s Haigh Hall.

“A Song for the Lovers” from Alone With Everybody (2000)

Ashcroft recorded a demo version of “A Song for the Lovers” for The Verve’s masterpiece Urban Hymns. It didn’t make the album and was later released as his first solo single. His post-Verve album features key players from the Urban Hymns sessions, including drummer Peter Salisbury, producer Chris Potter, and arranger Wil Malone. Session ace bassist Pino Palladino and legendary pianist Chuck Leavell buoy Ashcroft’s ode to his wife, Kate Radley. Though Simon Jones and Nick McCabe are certainly missed here, “A Song for the Lovers” shows Ashcroft was on the best writing streak of his life. The song follows one “on the verge of a love affair.” The realization of the affair’s two potential outcomes: the love of your life or “a complete disaster.”

“Are You Ready?” from United Nations of Sound (2010)

If you had access to a Richard Ashcroft album title generator, United Nations of Sound might be one of its first offerings. When Ashcroft and The Verve emerged from Wigan in the early ’90s, the singer’s Muhammad Ali swagger and on-stage barefoot prowling led people to call him “Mad Richard.” For Ashcroft’s side project, he teamed with legendary hip-hop producer No ID. “Are You Ready?” is like a mantra for Ashcroft. He and No ID built the electro-soul anthem on a sample from the Bee Gees’ “On Time.” Ashcroft eschews tribal labels in a kind of borderless, peace-and-love tune for the next generation’s “Imagine”—built for a sports stadium. (Albeit one with the second-coming-of-Christ vibes.) The original music video featured Ashcroft training for a soccer (football) match, but the U.S. version shows him performing live with the band he called RPA & the United Nations of Sound.

“C’mon People (We’re Making It Now)” from Alone With Everybody (2000)

Another leftover from the fruitful Urban Hymns era. You can hear Ashcroft playing electric guitar, attempting to mimic Nick McCabe’s ghostly magic. It’s not the same, but it’s enough to tease what might have been if Alone With Everybody had been recorded by The Verve. Still, it’s a worthy track, driven not by his guitar but by Ashcroft banging out a relentless piano riff. Also, no rock and roll singer gets more mileage from “c’mon” and “yeah yeah” than Ashcroft. Its post-Britpop populism hints at the bombast that both created and destroyed The Verve. A newly recorded version featuring Liam Gallagher appears on Ashcroft’s rework collection Acoustic Hymns Vol. 1.

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Photo by C Brandon/Redferns