Not technically the Rolling Stones recording you probably think it did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Verve sampled an orchestral version of the Rolling Stones’ \u201cThe Last Time\u201d recorded by the Andrew Oldham Orchestra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That distinction produced one of the most famous copyright disputes in British music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For more than two decades, Richard Ashcroft’s defining song carried songwriting credits for Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, in 2019, something extraordinary happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They gave the rights back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Andrew Oldham Orchestra’s orchestral version of \u201cThe Last Time\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Andrew Loog Oldham was the Rolling Stones’ early manager and producer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His orchestra project created instrumental interpretations of Stones songs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Verve found a beautiful string section inside that recording.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You know what happened next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those strings essentially became \u201cBitter Sweet Symphony\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is where it gets messy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Permission had been obtained to sample the recording.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But a dispute arose over the underlying composition and the amount of the recording ultimately used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The resulting legal settlement stripped Ashcroft of the song’s publishing income and added Jagger and Richards to the credits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For years, Ashcroft joked that it was the best song Jagger and Richards had written in decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Understandably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because almost nobody hearing \u201cBitter Sweet Symphony\u201d thinks:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rolling Stones cover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ashcroft wrote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the lyrics<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the vocal melody<\/p>\n\n\n\n
and the structure people actually identify with the Verve song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the sample is also fundamental.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remove those strings and the record changes completely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That makes it a fascinating copyright question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How much borrowed music is too much?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards relinquished their claims to the song, allowing Ashcroft to receive the songwriting royalties again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ashcroft publicly thanked them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was an unusually happy ending to a music copyright story. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Life is simultaneously beautiful and miserable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That’s the basic idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ashcroft focuses particularly on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
money<\/p>\n\n\n\n
routine<\/p>\n\n\n\n
work<\/p>\n\n\n\n
and feeling trapped inside the structures of everyday life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People chase money because they need it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then discover their lives are organised around chasing money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hence:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
bitter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sweet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Symphony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hoxton Street in London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ashcroft walks down the pavement without moving out of people’s way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He collides with pedestrians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Daily life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And simply keeps going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The concept perfectly matches the song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Life pushes against you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You continue forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Britpop is the obvious era label.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But The Verve were never a perfect Britpop band.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Their music also incorporates:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
psychedelic rock<\/p>\n\n\n\n
alternative rock<\/p>\n\n\n\n
space rock<\/p>\n\n\n\n
and orchestral pop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBitter Sweet Symphony\u201d arrived in 1997, when Britpop itself was beginning to mutate into something darker and more reflective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Verve \u2013 Lucky Man<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oasis \u2013 Champagne Supernova<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Radiohead \u2013 Karma Police<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Blur \u2013 The Universal<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spiritualized \u2013 Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Massive Attack \u2013 Unfinished Sympathy<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Manic Street Preachers \u2013 A Design for Life<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Embrace \u2013 All You Good Good People<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suede \u2013 The Wild Ones<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Listen in this order:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Verve \u2013 Bitter Sweet Symphony<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Andrew Oldham Orchestra \u2013 The Last Time<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Rolling Stones \u2013 The Last Time<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three recordings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One musical family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And one copyright argument that lasted more than 20 years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Not technically the Rolling Stones recording you probably think it did. The Verve sampled an orchestral version of the Rolling Stones’ \u201cThe Last Time\u201d recorded by the Andrew Oldham Orchestra. That distinction produced one of the most famous copyright disputes in British music. For more than two decades, Richard Ashcroft’s defining song carried songwriting credits for Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Then, in 2019, something extraordinary happened. They gave the rights back. What recording is actually sampled? The Andrew Oldham Orchestra’s orchestral version of \u201cThe Last Time\u201d. Andrew Loog Oldham was the Rolling Stones’ early manager and producer. His orchestra…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4686,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2874,43,1431],"coauthors":[2],"class_list":["post-4685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-bitter-sweet","tag-music","tag-the-verve"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n