The (Taylor's Version) effect: British musician Richard Ashcroft has announced a new album reworking material — including the Verve's 1997 mega-hit "Bittersweet Symphony," which originally appeared on their Classic Hymns album.
Ashcroft's Acoustic Hymns Vol. 1 is due October 29 via RPA/BMG. It was produced by Ashcroft and Chris Potter, and features an appearance from Liam Gallagher on "C'mon People (We're Making It Now)." The album also includes a reworked version of "This Thing Called Life," which originally featured on the 2010 debut of Ashcroft's side project band RPA & The United Nations of Sound.
Much like Swift, the catalyst for the album was the infamous rights dispute over the anthemic "Bitter Sweet Symphony." The landmark case began in 1997 with all rights and royalties for the song being awarded to the Rolling Stones — its instrumental samples a five-note sequence from a symphonic cover of "The Last Time" — and ended in 2019 with Ashcroft finally getting credit and being granted the publishing rights.
Today, Ashcroft told The Chris Moyles Show: "What stimulated [the album] was when the Stones and other people owned the publishing to the song. Early days when I would play it live, I'd go 'OK I'm going to strip it right back now with the acoustic, just on my own, and show people that there is a real heart to this song.'"
"So what we did was we got in touch with the Stones' people and said, 'If Rich does this other version and there's no sample in it, can we have a discussion?'" the musician explained. "The great thing was that just seemed to accelerate from there into Mick [Jagger] and Keith [Richards] signing over the whole lot for all of it," he said, adding that the new version of the song is, ironically, more Stones-y than the original.
Listen to the new version of "Bittersweet Symphony" and see the full album tracklist details below.
Acoustic Hymns Vol. 1:
1. Bittersweet Symphony
2. A Song for the Lovers
3. Sonnet
4. C'mon People (We're Making it Now)
5. Weeping Willow
6. Lucky Man
7. This Thing Called Life
8. Space & Time
9. Velvet Morning
10. Break the Night with Colour
11. One Day
12. The Drugs Don't Work
Pre-order Acoustic Hymns Vol. 1.
Ashcroft's Acoustic Hymns Vol. 1 is due October 29 via RPA/BMG. It was produced by Ashcroft and Chris Potter, and features an appearance from Liam Gallagher on "C'mon People (We're Making It Now)." The album also includes a reworked version of "This Thing Called Life," which originally featured on the 2010 debut of Ashcroft's side project band RPA & The United Nations of Sound.
Much like Swift, the catalyst for the album was the infamous rights dispute over the anthemic "Bitter Sweet Symphony." The landmark case began in 1997 with all rights and royalties for the song being awarded to the Rolling Stones — its instrumental samples a five-note sequence from a symphonic cover of "The Last Time" — and ended in 2019 with Ashcroft finally getting credit and being granted the publishing rights.
Today, Ashcroft told The Chris Moyles Show: "What stimulated [the album] was when the Stones and other people owned the publishing to the song. Early days when I would play it live, I'd go 'OK I'm going to strip it right back now with the acoustic, just on my own, and show people that there is a real heart to this song.'"
"So what we did was we got in touch with the Stones' people and said, 'If Rich does this other version and there's no sample in it, can we have a discussion?'" the musician explained. "The great thing was that just seemed to accelerate from there into Mick [Jagger] and Keith [Richards] signing over the whole lot for all of it," he said, adding that the new version of the song is, ironically, more Stones-y than the original.
Listen to the new version of "Bittersweet Symphony" and see the full album tracklist details below.
Acoustic Hymns Vol. 1:
1. Bittersweet Symphony
2. A Song for the Lovers
3. Sonnet
4. C'mon People (We're Making it Now)
5. Weeping Willow
6. Lucky Man
7. This Thing Called Life
8. Space & Time
9. Velvet Morning
10. Break the Night with Colour
11. One Day
12. The Drugs Don't Work
Pre-order Acoustic Hymns Vol. 1.
