Manic Street Preachers, |
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Although they had been together since the mid-1980s, it was not until the publication of Generation Terrorists (Columbia Records, 1992) that we discovered them. And their entry into the scene was somewhat chaotic: punk attitude, glam image and a sound edging heavy metal ... There were a few who saw them as the British answer to Guns'n'Roses, and they were not quite mistaken: if we look at the tempo, the tone and texture of the guitars of "Motorcycle Emptiness", "You Love Us" or "Slash and Burn" the comparisons are justified...
But soon the Manics made it clear that they were not the same...
Surely the history of the band of Blackwood would have been very different if the original trio (James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire, Sean Moore) had not decided to add the figure of Richey James (aka Richey Edwards). He, although musically limited, soon added his literary qualities and his political approach and became the main lyricist of the group, as well as the designer of his image (and sound).
But soon the Manics made it clear that they were not the same...
Surely the history of the band of Blackwood would have been very different if the original trio (James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire, Sean Moore) had not decided to add the figure of Richey James (aka Richey Edwards). He, although musically limited, soon added his literary qualities and his political approach and became the main lyricist of the group, as well as the designer of his image (and sound).
“Culture sucks down words… Each day living out a lie Life sold cheaply forever, ever, ever… All we want from you are the kicks you’re giving us” (Motorcycle Emptiness, MSP) | He was also the protagonist of the anecdote which put them in the mouth of all the media, in a live interview for the New Musical Express, when asked if they were a product or they were authentic, he responded by tattooing in front of the camera the words "For Real" with a razorblade on one of his arms: Sure it was for real! |
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And if his entry into the music scene was shocking, his departure was not less. After trying to deal with his problems in a mental clinic, Richey was required for a promotional trip to the USA in February 1995. He never showed up. His last days (studied over and over again by a crowd of fans of the band) haven’t produced conclusive results: the only certain thing is that he had withdrawn a significant amount of money from the bank and that his car was found near a bridge traditionally used by suicide victims...
In the days following his disappearance -as it often happens - numerous witnesses claim to have seen him in the most varied locations: India, France, Lanzarote .... The Manics, meanwhile, were faithfully keeping their proportional share of royalties until 2005. The truth is that there was no more news about him and he was officially declared missing in 2008.
Another member for "the club of the 27" ..
His influence on the first albums (Generation Terrorists, Gold Against the Soul and The Holy Bible) is not only undeniable, but it has been widely recognized by the rest of the group who, in addition, decided to pay him "tribute" with their 2009 album Journal for Plague Lovers, entirely composed with lyrics Richey had left.
In the days following his disappearance -as it often happens - numerous witnesses claim to have seen him in the most varied locations: India, France, Lanzarote .... The Manics, meanwhile, were faithfully keeping their proportional share of royalties until 2005. The truth is that there was no more news about him and he was officially declared missing in 2008.
Another member for "the club of the 27" ..
His influence on the first albums (Generation Terrorists, Gold Against the Soul and The Holy Bible) is not only undeniable, but it has been widely recognized by the rest of the group who, in addition, decided to pay him "tribute" with their 2009 album Journal for Plague Lovers, entirely composed with lyrics Richey had left.
The future teaches you to be alone The present to be afraid and cold So “if I can shoot rabbits then I can shoot fascists." (If You Tolerate This, then your children can be Next) *Title taken from a British poster to recruit people for Spanish Civil War. | The disappearance of the main lyricist puts the band on hold and, after a period of reflection, they decide to continue with a declaration of intentions: Everything Must Go. There, Nicky Wire, co-author of the lyrics until that moment, has to take a step forward and assume the texts, and he does it with conviction, brilliantly, and there is no noticeable drop in performance. The themes remain the same (class consciousness, reflections about current society mixed with more personal questions) perhaps now with a less literary and more realistic varnish. |
Accompanied by James Dean Bradfield, a guy whose appearance is more that of an official or that of a bus driver than that of a rock star (see this as a compliment), but who had already stood out as an excellent guitar player (the solos of Motorcycle Emptiness had already put him among the best) and solid vocalist; and the excellent work of Sean Moore at the drums, the band probably launches their best works in this period. The two following videos are proof of the quality of both, acoustically as well as electrically.
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Libraries gave us power
Then work came and made us free
What price now for a shallow piece of dignity
(A Design for Life)
*Inscribed on the opening plaque of Cardiff Central Library
Then work came and made us free
What price now for a shallow piece of dignity
(A Design for Life)
*Inscribed on the opening plaque of Cardiff Central Library
Perhaps the fact of being now without the figure of Richey made the band give the best of themselves because their works around this time are amazing, in songs and albums: A Design for Life, Kevin Carter, If You Tolerate This ..., Tsunami, You Stole the Sun from My Heart, The Everlasting ... Both Everything Must Go and This is My Truth, Tell Me Yours are two ALBUMS which deserve capital letters, to listen to from start to finish
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The world is full of refugees They're just like you and just like me But as people we have a choice To end the void with all it's force In the beginning when we were wining when our smiles were genuine But now unforgiven the everlasting… | Since then the Welsh have not stopped their productivity (with more or less fortune) creating 7 albums in 14 years (not bad!) until this current 2018 where they have just presented Resistance is Futile, a record that -in my humble opinion- contains some of the most remarkable songs they have done lately. Besides, the band has not stopped: touring with Guns'n'Roses, concert with The Cure, release of 3 singles (and videos) ... |
Without abandoning their traditional sound, they have found hints that I had not seen before. International Blue and Distant Colours are magnificent examples of this, examples that the Manics still have a lot to say...
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PS .: An outstanding aspect of Manic Street Preachers is their taste for making covers of all kind. Already in their first years they decided to choose a song of a contemporary group, Suede (The Drowners), as B-side to one of their singles (something unusual nowadays), and since then they have kept on with their eclecticism at the time of selecting songs to cover. It is a tough decision to choose only two but we have finally opted for this amazing version of the “contemporary classic” Rihanna’s Umbrella, and for this delicious "Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head" by Davis / Bacharach from "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"
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PS2 .: How are we going to leave you all without all the Manics' greatest hits? Here you have a video with James Dean Bradfield playing (most of) them (in a minute and a half!)
And if you are still asking for more, you can re-watch/listen to all the videos in this article (and more!!!) in our traditional YOUTUBE playlist
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQ584BgeR_mFymM7YxhVzAZdAWf_qcwIm
SPOTIFY
https://open.spotify.com/user/la_con/playlist/4WTG6rdIWEFs9BkqlfJBbo?si=hwhfXhs4QtyNGDoZhhpnGw
And if you are still asking for more, you can re-watch/listen to all the videos in this article (and more!!!) in our traditional YOUTUBE playlist
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQ584BgeR_mFymM7YxhVzAZdAWf_qcwIm
SPOTIFY
https://open.spotify.com/user/la_con/playlist/4WTG6rdIWEFs9BkqlfJBbo?si=hwhfXhs4QtyNGDoZhhpnGw
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