There are 3 songs from Urban Hymns, two b-sides from that album, 3 tracks that a few years later would appear on Ashcroft’s debut solo album, and eight unreleased tracks. Verve drummer Peter Salisbury plays drums on most tracks, and most likely Simon Tong plays as well although no one is sure of the lineup other than Ashcroft and Salisbury.

They are from an analog source, but the quality is very listenable, all the instruments and vocals are present and clear. These are the legendary Urban Hymns demos recorded by Richard Ashcroft during 1996. The information that came with these when I sleuthed them out on a dare reads: In related listening, these are the demos from the Urban Hymns sessions at West London’s Olympic Studios in 1996 & 1997. Here’s to hoping there’s some amazing music waiting to come out from their reunion. Richard Ashcroft, Nick McCabe, Simon Jones, and Pete Salisbury were back in the recording studio in London last week, and tickets to a handful of UK shows go on sale July 6th. Even though they’ve all slagged off on each other with vitriol in the intervening years, saying that a complete Beatles reunion was more likely than a Verve one, the statement released today says that they are “getting back together for the joy of the music.” Isn’t that sweet. The Verve just announced some big news today - they are reuniting after eight years apart for a new album at the end of the summer and several shows this fall.

The verve urban hymns zip