James Arden checks out the garage rockers latest album.
The Christian rock band from Brighton bring religion to the masses.
Recipe for modern R'n'B album: liberal helpings of guest rappers and an overdose of sexual euphemisms.
Most people know a Manic Street Preachers song or two, whether it’s the anthemic tones of 'A Design for Life' or the more aggressive stylings of 'Faster'. What most people don’t appreciate is that, although they have never quite reached the superstardom of some of their contemporaries, Manic Street Preachers were, alongside Radiohead, possibly the finest British rock band of the nineties. National Treasures, unsurprisingly, focuses most on this nineties heyday…a decade in which they went from wannabe hard rock heroes to widescreen alt-rock legends via one of the darkest records of an era and the disappearance of original lyricist Richey Edwards.
Both discs of this comprehensive collection are, for the most part, an absolute joy. Although singles albums are often hit and miss, there is little room for complaint as the singles collated here offer a superb overview of the band’s career. Beginning with tracks from 1992’s debut record Generation Terrorists new and old Manics fans alike will find that the first CD passes by in double quick time. The likes of 'You Love Us' and the gorgeous 'Motorcycle Emptiness' are still as thrilling today as when they were first issued nineteen years ago. The three singles from The Holy Bible obviously stand out for their unbridled nihilism but, lest one forget, they are also brilliant songs and testament to Richey Edwards’ unique lyricism as well as James Dean Bradfield’s superb guitar work. 1996’s Everything Must Go marked the band’s commercial peak and so the four tracks rounding off this first disc provide more highlights.
Although some would argue that the late nineties saw the Manics begin to slide into mediocrity, the tracks kicking off the second disc included here from 1998’s This is My Truth Tell Me Yours beg to differ. 'If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next' stands up against the other classic tracks here as potentially the best song the band has ever written and, looking back, “'he Masses Against the Classes' marked a pretty great way to burst the band into the new century. Of course it has to be said that the likes of 'Ocean Spray' and 'Indian Summer' are not amongst the best Manics songs of all but they would be more than good enough to get on to the greatest hits of most artists and they still show that after all these years the Manics have always been able to write good tunes.
In fact, what James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire, Sean Moore and the lost Richey deserve to be remembered for most of all is for being part of a band that almost always delivered at least one or two decent singles per album, even when at their supposed weakest point. If listeners take one thing away from this album it should be that…and a burning desire to go and listen to The Holy Bible and Everything Must Go at a really loud volume.
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