Verve, The - Voyager 1 [12" EP]

Voyager 1 can reasonably be described as a “pseudo-bootleg” album because it was a band-endorsed, official recording designed to look like an unofficial pirate release. This rare and highly prized live album was originally issued on vinyl in small quantity in 1993, with used copies going for upwards of $500! 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 released before the 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) 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 simultaneously. At the same time, singer Richard Ashcroft rides the groove, swooping, raging and compellingly providing ad-libs. The versions of their two UK indie #1 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 it was included on the A Storm In Heaven boxset in 2015. Released exclusively for Record Store Day 2025, this LP has been mastered from the original analog sources with lacquers cut by Geoff Pesche at Abbey Road Studios.