They sounded and looked amazing during The Holy Bible period and the lyrics on that album are untouchable. No matter what they have released since I will always love them because of that album.
"in these plagued streets of pity you can buy anything,
for $200 anyone can conceive a God on video,
he's a boy, you want a girl so tear off his cock,
tie his hair in bunches, fuck him, call him Rita if you want, if you want"
I prefer the innocent days of Motown Junk/Generation Terrorists and Gold Against The Soul. The Holy Bible is a humourless piece of work masquerading as high art. it ain't.
it's a hermetically-sealed work of art - like Bowie in his prime, it just looks and sounds like it fell from another planet. James Dean Bradfield's voice is barely human, the lyrics are beyond belief, they looked incredible, they were possibly the greatest live band in the World at that time, AND there was THAT TOTP appearance... Astonishing, in every sense.
The Holy Bible is like everything that The Manics(or Richey specifically?) ever represented, thought of, dreamt of or explored has been multiplied gigantically and forced into a song, it's like pages of prose crammed into a 4 minute song.
It conveys a sense of urgency, a need to say everything before it's too late, to get a point across before it's forgotten? Lyrically brilliant, though the music sometimes doesn't suit the song and at first listen without paying attention to the lyrics it would be hard to guess what mood the song was portraying.
Many people I've heard describe it as a more frantic, horrfiying even, Closer. It's a pretty apt description.
on the US mix, on one hand it's the 'bible only bigger, and on the other it is a little overblown in places - especially the intro for She Is Suffering and there's an outro i can't bring to mind right now - these can either distract or add to the original. i can never decide!
Anyone who has expressed an opinion that this is not the best Manic Street Preachers album, has hereby rendered their musical opinion null and void and will not be taken seriously by me in any further threads.
In my top 5 albums
I used to live on this album when I was younger. It was a real shot in the arm at the time. A Masterpiece both lyrically and musically
this
gospel
ba boom tsch.
landmark record. and defo in my top 5. possibly my #1.
Its
kind of one of those albums that i thought i'd outgrow, but it really is still amazing to listen to.
i really like it!
yes!
though i grew out of my cult of richey phase, i still love the holy bible. the lyrics are just incredibly raw.
Yes!
One of those albums where pretty much every track is a winner.
TOday - 'Archives of pain'. That bass is awesome.
bass
it's great but it is a gang of four rip off..
absolutely relentlessly brilliant
and not just because its the sound of a man falling apart from the inside out.
it's simply the entire bands' finest hour; never been so intelligent, vital and visionary, before or since.
I prefer Generation Terrorists
Been listening to it again recently...
I really like it a lot more than I realised.
Particularly ifwhiteamericatoldthetruthforoneday...
Fopp
has the special 10 year edition on sale for a 5 spot.. worth it for the dvd of that TOTP's performance of Faster with the balaclava's on..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hMqpR9AogI
I love this performance too
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_Hkq2_r9-w
count the bum notes
ouch! fucking fast tho.
It doesn't really matter about missing a few notes
I love the energy of this performance, its really in your face.
One of the heaviest albums ever.
The end of 'Mausoleum' still sends shivers down my spine.
2 incredible songs
bunch of very good ones
I LIKE
which ones do you think are incredible?
i do
i really do love it, not much more can be said.
It was from that point on....
..that the Manics jumped the shark.
(anyone who doesn't know what that means check out jumptheshark.com)
Faster - the most bitter angry incredible thing that the Manics released.
I don't think that's intrinsically true...
How could they ever go back to that after all that happened?
Everyone
should think this album is good. I mean, it's objectively good.
Hands down my favourite album ever.
They sounded and looked amazing during The Holy Bible period and the lyrics on that album are untouchable. No matter what they have released since I will always love them because of that album.
"in these plagued streets of pity you can buy anything,
for $200 anyone can conceive a God on video,
he's a boy, you want a girl so tear off his cock,
tie his hair in bunches, fuck him, call him Rita if you want, if you want"
vastly overrated i'm afraid...
I prefer the innocent days of Motown Junk/Generation Terrorists and Gold Against The Soul. The Holy Bible is a humourless piece of work masquerading as high art. it ain't.
^ 5
aren't those just
kind of like bad Guns'n'Roses covers though? Motorcycle Emptiness has to be one of the worst songs they've ever done.
I physically don't understand how they got from those two records to The Holy Bible and then straight to a pleasant AOR sound. It's such an anomaly!
lifting of a great weight
sadly.
the disappearance of Richey meant James was free to explore the side of his musicicanship he had never explored before.
There are still some incredibly stark moments on EMG though. Small Black Flowers for instance.
Mike Hedges did a great job on production too which helped with their much bigger, more polished sound.
Brilliant stuff
You've inspired me to put it on RIGHT NOW
Yeah
I'd forgotten what a great record that is...
:D
Love it.
Best opening line to an album ever.
Ifwhiteamerica... is my favourite Manics track ever.
This Is Yesterday, Faster, Die In The Summertime... God, it's good.
Life-changingly brilliant,
it's a hermetically-sealed work of art - like Bowie in his prime, it just looks and sounds like it fell from another planet. James Dean Bradfield's voice is barely human, the lyrics are beyond belief, they looked incredible, they were possibly the greatest live band in the World at that time, AND there was THAT TOTP appearance... Astonishing, in every sense.
This is Yesterday
Awful, awful song. I can leave Faster as well, but the rest of the album is all pretty much awesome, I've always loved PCP
Universal praise from me too
One of the best 1990's albums, hands down.
The Holy Bible is like everything that The Manics(or Richey specifically?) ever represented, thought of, dreamt of or explored has been multiplied gigantically and forced into a song, it's like pages of prose crammed into a 4 minute song.
It conveys a sense of urgency, a need to say everything before it's too late, to get a point across before it's forgotten? Lyrically brilliant, though the music sometimes doesn't suit the song and at first listen without paying attention to the lyrics it would be hard to guess what mood the song was portraying.
Many people I've heard describe it as a more frantic, horrfiying even, Closer. It's a pretty apt description.
I'm off to listen to mausoleum....
Was reading about the recent reissue
What's the US mix of the album like?
There is more bombast in the US version
The drums are louder, the guitars are more 'traditional' in terms of sound. It's a bit more classic rock, really.
This sounds fucking horrible
Is it, like, listenable? I'm quite intrigued now...
Does anyone here genuinely prefer the US mix?
i have mixed feelings
on the US mix, on one hand it's the 'bible only bigger, and on the other it is a little overblown in places - especially the intro for She Is Suffering and there's an outro i can't bring to mind right now - these can either distract or add to the original. i can never decide!
it's listenable
but there's really no point next to the original mix
I prefer the 'traditional' mix
with the exception of 'Yes'.
The more anunciated vocals and adjusted guitar line at the end work well, I think.
i can't listen to it..
..reminds me of too many bad times.
^what they said
AMAZING album, probably one of the best ever. I dont think there's anything more that can be said that hasn't already been.
In my top 5 albums of all time
It came out when I was at uni and i saw them twice on that tour. Just mind blowingly good then and stands up today.
the US mix
mixed results, some songs are ok, some, not so much
I like the new 4st7lbs, it sounds much better
anyone who has said anything other than
"this album is brilliant" is silly.
Anyone who has expressed an opinion that this is not the best Manic Street Preachers album, has hereby rendered their musical opinion null and void and will not be taken seriously by me in any further threads.
Just so you know.
Agreed
.