The Bittersweet Symphony.
I just found out today that The Verve did not retain royalty rights to Bittersweet Symphony because they supposedly used more of the instrumental song than the agreement originally specified.
That song was called The Last Time and the instrumental version was by The Andrew Oldham Orchestra.
The instrumental version is actually based on the song The Last Time by The Rolling Stones.
Source: Pixabay.com
It sounds quite a bit different than the Rolling Stones version though.
I think most people here have probably heard of Bittersweet Symphony. It is without a doubt the best song that The Verve have ever produced.
At first I was kind of frustrated because Bittersweet Symphony was one of my favorite songs for a long time.
I used to listen to it with my fiance before we got married as we sat on the bench outside my apartment drinking wine.
I liked it enough that I included in our list of wedding songs for the reception.
I couldn't believe that The Verve would have sampled so much of the original song that they would have got actually gotten sued.
However, yesterday I listened to The Last Time by the Andrew Oldham Orchestra for the first time.
Holy Crap.
Bittersweet Symphony is nearly identical.
It's pretty much a direct rip.
I will not include a link to that song here because I don't want anyone to think that I'm trying to monetize somebody else's work but you should definitely go on YouTube and look up The Last Time by the Andrew Oldham Orchestra.
Every single part of the Bittersweet Symphony that is bittersweet, or beautiful, or even anything like a symphony has been taken from The Last Time by the Andrew Oldham Orchestra.
It's amazing how long I thought that this group had put out this amazing song and I had essentially been fooled by it.
Of course, relationships are the same way and I definitely have to say that my marriage was certainly this same style.
But then, perception is everything. She probably thinks that I was the one that was the Bittersweet Symphony and that she was the one that was the Andrew Oldham Orchestra.
It's easy to convince ourselves that things are backwards. We never see them backwards though, we only see things from our own point of view which is forward facing.
That song was a lie and most the feelings associated with that song now feel kind of like lies as well.
It's a sad thing really.
The name actually rings true too. It's a Bittersweet Symphony.
It's pretty crazy.
Dude, The Verve had a license to sample that Rolling Stones cover right from the start, so they weren't hiding anything.
But they sampled too much, so they had to share credit with the Rolling Stones.
Anyway, Richard Ashcroft's lyrics rock that song!
On another note, I saw "the Verve" in 2007, at the Roundhouse in London, and the lead singer, Richard Ashcroft, and the lead guitarist, Nick McCabe, could barely even look at each other, the vibes between them were so bad!
So I guess The Verve did have something in common with your marriage, after all. I hope you get over the scars.
That said, I got to hear one of my favorite songs live, "Lucky Man," which is a total Ashcroft original. And the key phrase from that song is "All the love I have is in my mind," which I think means as long as you love yourself, then you have your self-respect no matter what anyone else says or does. :)
That's true. They sampled too much and had to share credit with the Rolling Stones but the author of that song David Whittaker did not get a dime's worth of royalties even though he's the one that really created the almost completely original instrumental version.
I definitely like lucky man as well but I really thought of Bittersweet Symphony as the absolutely definitive song by The Verve.....now I have to change my opinion because so much of it was really taken from that instrumental version.
I get you. I expect Whittaker's deal with the Stones restricted his ability to capitalize. After all, they wrote the original song.
But you're right, life isn't fair. :(
Good songs always live in the face of human beings. People can forget their sadness when they hear the news. Provides hope for survival. You can write a lot better. I hope you will give us a better story
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Nice story but I never knew that I'm gonna check it anyways sorry for your experience,it's a pity