The Drugs Don’t Work

The monumental ‘Urban Hymns’ from 1997 rightfully remains the Verve’s magnum opus, by dint of its incredibly focused songwriting, epically ambitious production values, and some of the Wigan group’s most virtuosic performances ever. While the towering, larger-than-life loser’s invective ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ instantly takes the prize as the album’s most recognisable single, no less noteworthy is the heart-rending, woefully woebegone break-up saga ‘The Drugs Don’t Work’. Adorned with appropriately weepy pedal-steel guitar riffs, a maudlin orchestral arrangement, and a highly affecting vocal from ‘Mad’ Richard Ashcroft, this modern classic torch song justifiably charted at the top spot on the British singles chart. Check out a passionate performance captured on the venerable 'Later With Jools Holland' variety show.