Manic Street Preachers - Lifeblood
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Free Music Notes for Lifeblood
Free Music Review: "Conquer yourself rather than the world"
Hit: 4 Stars
This Descartes quote in the sleeve says a lot about the album. It's a record of personal, introspective stuff rather than a musical political diatribe.
The title of the lead-off single 'The Love of Richard Nixon' may sound 'political' but it's really not. It seems to be about being remembered for the bad things you do more than for the good things. In interviews Nicky Wire even compares the Manics to Nixon, with Radiohead being JFK. The sample of Nixon's farewell speech at the end of the song is very effective.
The music on this album is melodic, shimmering, graceful, timeless, and self-assured. Much has been made about the famed Tony Visconti producing the album but based on the credits in the sleeve he produced only three or four of the tracks, so more credit should be given to Greg Haver. The tracks sound full and majestic, with lead-off track '1985' an appropriately rousing and classic performance by James Dean Bradfield.
The most striking tracks are 'I live to fall asleep' (showcasing the substantial non-screaming vocal capabilities of JDB, and a subtle but elegant piano track), 'A song for departure' (a fantastic minimalist piece that has classic Manics written all over it), 'Glasnost' (a sentimental but beautiful track with a gorgeously catchy guitar track that even Johnny Marr -who is mentioned in '1985'- couldn't have topped), and the wordy but finally satisfying 'Solitude sometimes is'. I also like 'Empty Souls' a lot, although I got the sense that the song could have been so much more. 'To repel ghosts', the track whose guitar riff many have likened to U2, sounds more like The Church to me, and it is a memorable song as well, supposedly inspired by a Basquiat painting of the same name.
Not a lot of screaming on this album, not even any overtly political songs. Just a collection of brilliant melodies by a veteran band who's done it all, and just wanted to put out a good record without any fuss or hype. 'Elegiac pop', Nicky Wire describes it in interviews. Whatever you want to call it, it's a fantastic record, the best I've heard in 2004.
The album art is also fantastic. There is more than meets the eye on the cover. I first thought it represented only a smear of blood, but...
Free Music Review: Middle of the road, gramps...
Hit: 4 Stars
The Manics are never going to improve on the two-album zenith they created with "The Holy Bible" and "Everything Must Go", and I don't think anybody's expecting them to. But with the hit-and-miss status of 2001's "Know Your Enemy", anything would have been better than utter aimlessness. Did they break out of the funk of that mediocre LP? Yes and no.
The diversity of "Know Your Enemy" seemed more experimental than anything else, and worse than that, the bad tracks were terrible without any truly excellent singles to balance them out. "Lifeblood" sees them at least settling on an overall album sound that connects all the tunes without sounding jarring. The other plus is that they've returned to the more electronic "This Is My Truth..." than the punky (but dated) "Generation Terrorists". And finally, James Dean Bradfield's guitar histrionics might be behind him, but at least he sang his @ss off.
"1985" is a great opener, but "The Love Of Richard Nixon" falls a bit flat, and a big reason for that is the production. It's way too sterile. "A Song For Departure" is one of their best, and "Emily" finds them getting back to their lyrical brilliance.
The album ends with the impeccible "Cardiff Afterlife", but in between, "Glastnost", "Always/Never" and "Solitude Sometimes Is" tend to warrant skipping due to sheer tedium.
Overall, I'd still recommend it to non-fans; it's a smart, well-produced LP with quite a bit of strong material, except that it's not really representative of the band's live prowess, much less their overall sound. My advice would be to pick this one up in conjunction with "This Is My..." and "Everything Must Go" for a more balanced mix.
Free Music Review: Manic Street Preachers- Lifeblood
Hit: 4 Stars
If your looking for the Manic Street Preachers who made 'Generation terrorists', 'The Holy Bible' and 'Know your enemy' you're going to be out of luck, maybe next time (if there is a next time!). But if your favourite Manics' stuff is on 'Everything must go' and 'This is my truth...' then step this way. The attraction (or at least part of the attraction) to me is that in a world that seems dominated by mindless pop or whoever is this years' big new thing, the manics have always managed to stick out like John kerry at a republican convention. Where there is nothing up there with 'Design for life' or 'Motorcycle emptiness', there is '1985' or 'A song for departure', which come pretty damn close. There are sounds, beats and moods that you have never heard the manics pull off quiet like they have here. 'Glasnost' is almost 'Keane' like in someways and on 'Always/never' for a moment you might think the chilli's are in the studio with them. But they always manage to have that way of stamping their mark on each and every song, no matter what track you choose. There's not a power chord to be heard (well, maybe here and there), but that doesn't mean it's downbeat, in fact far from it as 'Empty Souls' proves. It's well worth your hard earned cash. Album of the year, maybe not, but it could be in most people's top ten.Free Music Review: A surprisingly good return to form.
Hit: 4 Stars
I've been a Manic Street Preachers fan for many years but felt tremendously let down by their last release, 2001's Know Your Enemy. Following on from a string of great albums (The Holy Bible, Everything Must Go, This Is My Truth..), Enemy was all the more noticeable for it's sudden drop in quality. Even for a pretty loyal fan like myself, I got the distinct impression that the Manics were artistically spent and now merely topping up their pensions.
In contrast, their new album Lifeblood, is the sound of a band fighting to remain relevant (and doing so successfully), and as a consequence it's a record that crackles with energy, spirit and a renewed sense of purpose.
The singles 'The Love of Richard Nixon', and 'Empty Souls' make for an excellent one-two punch and album tracks like 'A Song For Departure' and 'To Repel Ghosts' are classic Manics tunes. In fact, in it's entirety, this is an album that succeeds in putting the Manic Street Preachers back into the frame as one of the finest British bands of their generation. Form is temporary, class is permanent, as they say.
Free Music Review: From the Clash to New Order
Hit: 4 Stars
That title really describes what the band has turned into over the years. They started out writing chargin politically outraged songs in the vein of the clash, wore makeup, and t shirts bearing uncomprehendable slogans, then started sporting military drag, terrorist blaclavas, and playing music like the joy division meets the clash. then richey disappeared, and it's been different for the band ever since. lifeblood shows a band at the peak of their maturity. trading furious political tirades for luscious pop music, the Manics have become New Order. But that is not a bad thing. This album is very good, and hearing it for the first time was a sigh of relief after know your enemy was somewhat of a bomb. if you live here in the states, you'll have to shell out quite a bit of cash to get this, but it's worth it.