The Verve have released a new single called Love Is Noise. It’s very good, but not half as good as their live performance of it at Glastonbury.
IMHO, that was earth shattering and breathtaking. (See a very poor quality video of it on YouTube or possibly on BBC iPlayer). The relentless power of the band propelling the song along, while Richard Ashcroft’s vocals are so commanding and involving (“I want to thank you - every one of you”, “Let’s go higher, let’s go higher - together”, “Till the next time, love and peace forever”). And then Richard Ashcroft puts his coat on and walks offstage, and you think “Shame, it’s ended”, but it hasn’t. The rest of the band remain on stage, the guitarist and violinist letting their instruments shriek in squalls of feedback, until they too put on their hats and coats and stroll off stage, leaving their instruments still pulsating with noise.
What makes this even more remakable is that this is a new song which most people will never have heard, and that this is being played as the last song of their set, and of the whole festival. I can’t think of any group that has used an untried and untested song as their finale. Brave!