The Verve - Voyager 1 – New LP – RSD25
Format: New & Sealed LP Label: UMR/VIRGIN Cat. No:7536413 Barcode: 0602475364139 Released: 12/04/2025
*** RECORD STORE DAY 2025 Available in the shop WHILE STOCKS LAST from 8am to 5.30pm on Saturday 12 April then Sunday 13 April 11am to 3pm and Monday 14 April 10am to 3pm Remaining stock will be available to buy here ONLINE from 8pm UK Time on Monday 14 April 2025
*** LIMITED SALE 1 PER CUSTOMER ***
Voyager 1 can reasonably be described as a ‘pseudo-bootleg’ album, in that it was a band-endorsed, official recording designed to look like an unofficial, pirate release (and given the catalogue number Jolly Roger 2 accordingly). Made to introduce the band to the American market via Virgin’s then-newly inaugurated US ‘indie’ label Vernon Yard Recordings, the music it presented was recorded in concert in London and New York during 1992 and, and issued prior to their debut album, A Storm In Heaven, the following year. As a live band, Verve (as they were then-known, before they were forced to change their name by legal action from the US jazz imprint of the same name) were already a significant force. Simon Jones’ bass and Pete Salisbury’s in-the-pocket drums provide a substantial foundation for Nick McCabe’s virtuoso guitar work, which deftly blends feedback, delay and reverb to sound like several instruments at once, while singer Richard Ashcroft rides the groove; swooping, raging and providing ad-libs in compelling manner. The versions of two of their UK indie number one singles, ‘She’s A Superstar’ and ‘Gravity Grave’ are more rugged than their studio counterparts, the dynamics between the changes more intense, while the three cuts that were later included on their debut album - ‘Slide Away’, ‘One Way To Go’ and ‘Already There’ - provide a breathless, psychedelic experience that few of their peers were ever able to match. The sixth track, "South Pacific", is the one song that remained unreleased in studio form for over 20 years (until the ‘A Storm In Heaven’ boxed set in 2015) and is aptly described by Brian Horgea on allmusic.com as, “like an ocean crashing down around your ears.” Limited to 1000 copies in its original form (although legend has it that several hundred were damaged in transit, making it even more scarce), this reissue has been mastered from the original analogue sources and the lacquers cut by Geoff Pesche at Abbey Road Studios. Please note that stock is very limited and is only secured for you once you have completed check out. Full info on how we’re running RECORD STORE DAY 2025 can be found here: https://offthebeatentracks.co.uk/pages/record-store-day