Forth is the fourth and final studio album by English alternative rock band the Verve. It was released internationally on 25 August 2008 on EMI and a day later in North America on the On Your Own label. The band reformed in 2007, having broken up for the second time nearly a decade earlier, in 1999. Forth was their first new studio album since Urban Hymns (1997), and their first since A Northern Soul (1995) to feature the band's original line-up without second guitarist and keyboardist Simon Tong. It is also the second album to feature producer Chris Potter, who by this point also served as Ashcroft's solo album producer. The album's first single, "Love Is Noise", received its first airplay on BBC Radio 1 on 23 June 2008. The song reached number 4 on the UK Singles Chart and became a summer hit in Europe. The band also released a non-album track, "Mover", as a free download a week later. Like The Verve's previous studio album Urban Hymns, Forth peaked on the UK Albums Chart at number one, and at number 23 on the US Billboard 200. Forth was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry. The album sold about 21,000 copies in its first week of release in the US, and has sold about 53,000 copies in the US. The band would break up again sometime after the album's release and the summer of 2009.

Background

The band recorded new songs in Richmond between 2007 and 2008. Most of the backing tracks were done before touring the UK in November and December. Then, recording continued between February and the start of their summer dates in April and some final work was done after the mini US-tour done between April and May before their summer festival appearances in Europe and Japan. Jonathan Cohen of Billboard states that Forth is "[A] bracing blend of the experimentalism of the group's early work and the more structured songwriting of its last two efforts." "Sit and Wonder" and "Love Is Noise" have been played live during the band's festival appearances, including the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April 2008; "Rather Be" also received select live airings throughout the summer, notably as part of the band's headlining set at the V Festival in August 2008. "I See Houses" was played live once, at the Eden Project in Cornwall in August 2008.

Release and reception

Forth received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 71, based on 28 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Forth was named No. 47 in Q's "50 Best Albums of the Year" for 2008 and No.26 in NME 's "Best Albums of 2008" list.

Track listing

All songs written by the Verve, except where noted. Notes

Digital downloads

B-sides

Unofficially released songs

Special edition DVD

Personnel

The Verve Additional personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

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Release history