The Verve

The northern English town of Wigan was simply the hub of Northern Soul until, in 1989, it spawned the Verve, who slowly and confidently evolved into challengers for the title of Britain's greatest rock band. Despite a knack for self-destruction, singer Richard Ashcroft and his mates have left us with the untouchable Urban Hymns.

Originally released in 1994, No Come Down (B-Sides & Outtakes) is a die-hard's dream: a collage of the band's soul refracted through the various prisms of live, acoustic, and alternate takes. The wave-like "Where the Geese Go" was among the cuts that didn't make it onto the group's debut, A Storm In Heaven, but it's no less worthy for that.

It's tough to think of a British band closer to the essence of alternative rock 'n' roll than the Verve. The outfit had a protracted gestation period (1989 to '97), until the major breakout album, Urban Hymns, followed by the lifespan of a butterfly, as excess and wrangling forced a frustrating, premature exit in 1998. Drug-induced "holidays", hotel abuse, and lawsuits (mainly from the jazz label, Verve) all played their part in the Verve story, but what remains are glorious tracks like these.