| A Storm in Heaven | ||||
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| Studio album by Verve | ||||
| Released | 21 June 1993 | |||
| Recorded | 1992-1993, Sawmills Studio, Cornwall | |||
| Genre | Psychedelic rock Space rock Shoegazing Dream pop |
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| Length | 47:04 | |||
| Label | Vernon Yard, Hut, Virgin | |||
| Producer | John Leckie | |||
| Verve chronology | ||||
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| Singles from A Storm in Heaven | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| 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.
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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.
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