Yeah, he's one of my favourites too. I forgot that they were Richey's lyrics as I haven't listened to the album for quite a while - that'd explain why he sings clearer on later albums. It's kinda funny trying to make sense of the lyrics without the sleeve as well (Faster for example is packed with hilariously nonsensical mishearings).

His range on the album on the album isn't that wide... He's just always singing so ****ing high. He fools you into thinking it's lower because he's so comfortable up there.

Damn you Bradfield!

I thought it was the other way around, ie he wrote music to Richey's lyrics. But it doesnt matter, the outcome is the same. Whenever I read the lyrics I just cant understand how he managed to do anything with them.

Probably a mix, you can't imagine Holy Bible music with his own lyrics, though the new album comes close in some moments.

Manic Street Preachers
 

I love them. "The Love of Richard Nixon" has happily been stuck in my head for two days. Thoughts?

Crap, sorry Mods, forgot to search.
http://www.musicbanter.com/indie-alt...preachers.html

No probs - makes me look busy :D

Threads merged.

'we missed the sex revolution cause we failed the physical... CAUSE WE FAILED THE PHYSICAL!!'

Discuss.

How the **** do you fail a physical? You just need to be able to stand and breathe.

What's the general consensus on Everything Must Go? I ripped my Manics CDs to the com-pue-tar the other day and I'm just giving it a spin now. Pretty good album I'd say. If they'd released the second half of the tracklisting (by which I mean the Girl Who Wanted To Be God onwards) as an EP I'd call it a classic.

Well it was obviously a very big chage for them after the Holy Bible and no Richey and I think it was a big achievement for them to come out with such a successful record after that. There are some really great tracks on it and I dig the hell out of their use of strings in places but I think it lacked a little bit in the sense that some of the tracks just slip away into mediocrity for me. Same with the follow up. I prefer the Manics with more of an aggressive edge yet I think Lifeblood had a precise direction and is actually a very strong record whereas EMG lacked in that sense.

Yeah, you're definitely right about how a few of the songs kinda drift away as they do, Elvis Impersonator etc and Kevin Carter being a couple of culprits in my eyes. Where they go for the more aggressive, rougher-edged kinda songwriting style like on Further Away, All Surface No Feeling and Australia they really do strike gold. The use of string arrangements is a definite strength of the album too - turns songs like the Girl Who Wanted To Be God into superb numbers. The second side is where all the strengths of the album come into affect cohesively in my opinion, which is why it's such a strong half of an album. I wouldn't say there are any bad songs on EMG, just less interesting ones (as you say).

I'm no fan of the two albums which followed. Lifeblood is fantastic though - very underrated album.

There were good tracks on the following two albums, but yes they were pretty poor records! I seem to agree with you with this album for the most part but I have to disagree with Australia. I liked it at the time but I think its one of the poorest parts of the record now. Kevin Carter as well, I like that one but lyrically its bollocks. No Surface, All Feeling however is a proper gem.

Bump to say I'm listening to The Holy Bible for the first time in a long time, and it still sounds wonderful.

What a great great album, the fact it still sounds fresh after all that time. It's even more of an achievement that I still don't understand what the songs are totally about, I usually like to know exactly what they're about. But I still can't totally figure the meanings out. Wonderful album.

Bumping this again for the same reason.

The Holy Bible is something I play from time to time, and although there will be some place on the web that can explain the songs, I don't really have this need to find out (just yet), but instead just let the anger and pain play through. In my opinion, the very best of their first three albums, with an interesting choice of samples.

It may seem an unpopular opinion, although maybe not, but I also got into Gold Against the Soul as a road tape years ago. "Roses in the Hospital" and especially "Life Becoming a Landslide" were excellent choices as singles while "Yourself" was good to drive to as well.

*bump* Hello! I'm new on the forum and a Manic Street Preachers fan. Thought James Dean Bradfields performance alongside Mick Jones etc for the Justice Tonight gigs was excellent. Brilliant performance of Clampdown! :D Sadly, I'm unable to attend the gig at the O2 in London on the 17th which I'm very sad about. I saw them this year at Wolverhampton though and that was an awesome gig. Would say to anyone who is just getting in to the band not to be influenced by by the 'Only with Richey' or 'Only up to EMG' comments. The albums might not all be to your taste but you never know! And there are some proper gems amongst the b-sides as well!

On the contrary to what the popular consensus on here seems to be, they're more modern album, by modern I mean around 2007, Send Away The Tigers was pretty good.

Although it is not possible to say they are the band they were, I don't think it's any reason to neglect anything they've produced post Holy Bible.
Okay, Postcards for a Young Man was pretty ****.

I love Postcards! Fabulous record!

Anyone on here see them at the 02? Sadly I was unable to attend. :( But I asked someone to get a t-shirt for me and it arrived today. SO pretty! :D Two years is gonna be a long wait til their return. Hoping James will at least do something during that in between Dad duties!

I was at the gig at the o2. I loved it. Unfortunately I was rather late getting a ticket so I didnt get standing and I was in the nosebleeds but it was still a great show. Plus I found myself appreciating the sit down considering it was a 3 hour show!

It sounds like it got a bit rough down the front from what I've heard. So probably a good thing I didn't go! No fun being squished to death! lol! Glad you enjoyed the gig! I'm missing them already though. Gonna be a long two years, but hopefully we will get something in between all that!

I just listened to The Holy Bible, and there's not really much there that interested me. It seemed really uninspired, and nothing really appealed to me.

The Holy Bible is not just their best album it it one of the greatest albums ever made. The album equivalent of the film Requiem for a Dream - it stains your consciousness in an uncomfortable but compelling way.

re listen son.

Ive been listening to MSP alot lately, and I think most of their stuff after THB is underrated. Sure, THB is the best, but EMG, TIMTTMY, and Lifeblood are still great! Oh yeah, SATG was really good too. Anyone else think the same?

The lyrics for MSP have been very good throughout their whole career imo

i only really like Generation Terrorists - and that's the double album version, not the US release

You didn't like the Holy Bible or Everything Must Go? How come?

not much

they're OK, I guess

nothing particularly outstanding

Give THB another listen man! cause it really is outstanding! Especially the lyrics and the way James Dean somehow makes great melodies with them. One of the most underrated albums of the 90s!

EMG is like their Britpop album, and it's also damn good, although not as good as THB.

how could it be "underrated" when every single British music mag has it in their top albums list?

if anything, it's "overrated" for me

i only really like the lyrics, i prefer the glam-punk of GT

I should have specified in America. In America, the Manics are underrated as a whole. Did you ever listen to Lifeblood, if so what did you think of it?

THB - The critics rate it highly, but I can see their point - It was the year of Parklife and Definitely Maybe (no dismissal, just to let you know ahead of time...you know who I feel about those albums), and here was an work that was certainly not a party album and not an easy ride, something that was up there (some even say beyond...but I view them equally) with Nirvana's In Utero as something that seriously gave the listener a mind-slap of angry and dark honesty. With THB being released shortly after Cobain's passing, and with the public showing not much interest, it quickly turned into that album Critics rate immediately, and we know how they certainly love to give such albums their words to let listeners know that such a work that was one of the dark sides of 1994 lives up to what most listeners say - maybe a little over rated Critic-wise, but certainly ignored chart/public-wise, and criminally largely still is despite all of the write-up we see on a regular basis.

I can understand those who don't view it as high as Generation Terrorists and (I say) the singles from Gold Against the Soul (Who can forget their TOTP performance of "La Tristesse Durera" once seen?). Overall, The Manics are really at their best when they bring in the listener into their driving Rock, or Glam-driven image and sound of the very early days, and THB certainly is something that can divide the listeners down the line with most being on it's side. Still, to me, it was the classic moment when they decided to throw themselves into a dark space all the way, and I salute that as it turned out to be a great album (possibly their best) - For a Pop Culture comparison see the epic TOTP appearance of the aforementioned with the classic controversial THB-era appearance when they were promoting "Faster".

As for EMG - I don't really see it as their Britpop album, more like THE moment when Post-Britpop was started. EMG was released when the "Death of the Party" was in the air, and with Spice Girls quickly shoving most Britpop nearly off the Smash Hits magazines, EMG pointed a way to the future of Rock in The UK/Wales. Although there were not many musicians who followed quality-wise, it was at least a right move for the band, and an album along with (In '97) Radiohead's OK Computer, Blur's S/T, and (in '98) Pulp's This Is Hardcore to understand why something like Oasis' Be Here Now sounded empty and most of the rest of Britpop hardly mattered to most listeners beyond the few still-listening (I was one, but you know what I mean).

i stopped at "This is My Truth, Now Tell Me Yours"

i like Gold Against the Gold marginally better than THB, at best

they still had that Glam swagger, and the hooks were still

yes the TOTP of "La Tristessa Durera" is good, but have you ever heard and seen it live, when Richey was still around?

i did - it was orgasmic

Did you stop at "This Is My Truth..." because you didn't enjoy it? Too subdued for you?

i was already starting to lose interest by EMG

TIMTNTMY just put the nail into the coffin

P.C.P is one of my favourite songs right now. Just love the plain overdrive on the guitar and the chord progression is satisfying to listen to.

Lifeblood was a change of direction that worked very, very well. I think its a great record. It isnt glam by any means, if thats what you dig, but its a solid record.

Definitely! I also like TIMTTMY alot. The atmosphere and lyrics on Lifeblood are great. In fact, the lyrics of the Manics have been pretty solid throughout their career.

maybe i'll check it out

but at the moment, i have about 2-3,000 albums in the queue waiting to be heard

Wait, do you mean that figuratively or do you mean that as in you've downloaded 2-3000 albums and haven't listened to them yet? :laughing: