relation to what ended up on A Storm in Heaven." Two versions of "Virtual World" were recorded, one featuring Yvette Lacey on flute (who had previously contributed to "Gravity Grave") and the other with slide guitar from McCabe. "Already There" is notable for being the only song by the Verve on which Richard Ashcroft and McCabe collaborated on the lyrics. While recording, Ashcroft would often improvise lyrics on the spot – the vocal take for "Blue" was only completed at six a.m. on the day that the band's record label were scheduled to receive the album's master tapes. Album sleeve and artwork As with all of the band's releases, A Storm in Heaven features artwork shot by Michael Spencer Jones and designed by Brian Cannon. According to Cannon, the sleeve was done "in the days when we had loads of time to do the job. In the end, this image of a journey of life almost seemed to create itself. It's four scenes - birth, youth, middle age and old age. The front cover is Thor's Cave near Leek in northern Staffordshire, the burning car scene is in Billinge, the cellar is in Upholland and the old man in Ashcroft's clothes is Birkdale cemetery. The 'youth' part is the car on fire, and the band just playing chess to give off a 'we-don't-give-a-shit' vibe." Reception A Storm in Heaven was met with mixed reviews upon its release in 1993. Writing in Select, Andrew Collins said, "It's self-consciously rockier and more macho... the guitar often an aggressor and the voice a self-styled exotic mystery. On occasion, it actually sounds like The House of Love on valium." Lorraine Ali of the Los Angeles Times said, "this debut album makes its mark regardless. Singer Richard Ashcroft's whimsical, occasionally soul-wrenching vocals breeze in and out of delicate guitar interludes and hallucinatory washes of tumbling melody. Verve's "Storm" is a warm, inviting chill-out." Q was less enthusiastic, awarding the album two out of five upon release. Vox magazine awarded the album six out of ten, noting that "song structure and silly things like choruses are subservient to atmosphere and vibes." Legacy The album has gone on to accumulate further praise in the years since its release and has been described by one publication as The Verve's "masterpiece" and a landmark in psychedelic rock. Rudi Abdallah, writing for Drowned in Sound, declared that the "sounds explored