“Man Called Sun” by The Verve

When I posted those birthday lists of my favorite songs earlier this year, I knew I was leaving off some obvious choices. Case in point, “Man Called Sun,“ one of The Verve’s earliest tunes. Originally released as a bonus track on the CD and 12” editions of their 1992 debut single “All in the Mind,” it’s just about as blissed out as Richard Ashcroft and Co. ever got. (Which is no real surprise given the band’s frequent LSD usage at the time, as also evidenced by their debut album, 1993’s A Storm in Heaven.)

Simon Jones’s loping bass line immediately settles into the song’s foundation upon emerging from Nick McCabe’s guitar mirage. Peter Salisbury’s light, brushed drumming adds to the song’s airy feel, while Ashcroft practically sighs the lyrics (“He lifts you up, he shines/And then he’s gone/But you know you need him more/When he’s gone”). The song’s laidback feel is further enhanced throughout by McCabe’s guitar. Although he could certainly unleash massive walls of sound, here McCabe remains comfortably in the background, producing chiming cascades and effects-laden riffs that swirl about in a manner that practically ensures a contact high for listeners.

I’ve always preferred this phase of The Verve, when they fully embraced the psychedelic and let their music expand and fill your ears with all kinds of gorgeously trippy tones and atmospherics. As for McCabe, he’s long been one of my favorite guitarists, and “Man Called Sun” provides ample proof of his ability to exercise restraint and still create some mind-altering sounds.