I just found out today that The Verve did not retain royalty rights to Bittersweet Symphony because they supposedly used more of the instrumental song than the agreement originally specified.
That song was called The Last Time and the instrumental version was by The Andrew Oldham Orchestra.
The instrumental version is actually based on the song The Last Time by The Rolling Stones.
Source: Pixabay.com
It sounds quite a bit different than the Rolling Stones version though.
I think most people here have probably heard of Bittersweet Symphony. It is without a doubt the best song that The Verve have ever produced.
At first I was kind of frustrated because Bittersweet Symphony was one of my favorite songs for a long time.
I used to listen to it with my fiance before we got married as we sat on the bench outside my apartment drinking wine.
I liked it enough that I included in our list of wedding songs for the reception.
I couldn't believe that The Verve would have sampled so much of the original song that they would have got actually gotten sued.
However, yesterday I listened to The Last Time by the Andrew Oldham Orchestra for the first time.
Holy Crap.
Bittersweet Symphony is nearly identical.
It's pretty much a direct rip.
I will not include a link to that song here because I don't want anyone to think that I'm trying to monetize somebody else's work but you should definitely go on YouTube and look up The Last Time by the Andrew Oldham Orchestra.
Every single part of the Bittersweet Symphony that is bittersweet, or beautiful, or even anything like a symphony has been taken from The Last Time by the Andrew Oldham Orchestra.
It's amazing how long I thought that this group had put out this amazing song and I had essentially been fooled by it.
Of course, relationships are the same way and I definitely have to say that my marriage was certainly this same style.
But then, perception is everything. She probably thinks that I was the one that was the Bittersweet Symphony and that she was the one that was the Andrew Oldham Orchestra.
It's easy to convince ourselves that things are backwards. We never see them backwards though, we only see things from our own point of view which is forward facing.
That song was a lie and most the feelings associated with that song now feel kind of like lies as well.
It's a sad thing really.
The name actually rings true too. It's a Bittersweet Symphony.
It's pretty crazy.