Tune of the Day - "Tell me what you see..."

I've got a bit of an obsession, so to speak, with Wigan's finest band at the minute. Having recently discovered the Verve or Verve's (as they were then known) second album A Northern Soul, I have been struggling to turn it off or get any of its majestically rousing songs out of my head.

Having been previously grabbed by the epic "History", it is now "On Your Own" drawing my gaze. What both tunes have in common is that they lack the chaotically brilliant guitars found on most of the album's tracks, yet this is compensated by an achingly reflective tone to the songs – a tone which is enhanced by the simple acoustic guitarplay of Nick McCabe. Ashcroft's intimate vocals later descend into a high pitched falsetto which sympolises his yearning for an end to the loneliness portrayed in the song.

It's an undisputed masterpiece.