Customer Reviews

Lifeblood

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

'Lifeblood' is the Manic Street Preachers most "pop" album. The CD has been getting a mixed reception from the UK press and fans alike, and I don't know why. I found this to be an excellent album. Beautiful and introspective, the album displays an overwhelming sense of melancholy. The group is embracing maturity quite gracefully. 'Lifeblood' features a collection of songs that form a sort of mosaic of emotions reflecting the current state of the world right now. One of collective fear and depression. Who better than the Manics to reflect on that?

The opening track '1985' is one of the groups finest songs. A reflection back on a time when the members of the group left behind adolescence and entered adulthood. An incredible song with lyrics that manage to drop references to Morrissey and Nietzsche. 5/5

'The Life of Richard Nixon' is a jarring track on a first listen, because it doesn't sound at all like the Manics. With a dancebeat background, it has a New Order feel to it. After a few listens, it really grows on you. Only vaugely political, some have suggested that the song is really about the band's former guitarist Richey Edwards who disappeared some ten years ago. 4/5

'Empty Souls' is the second strongest track on the album. A beautiful song with some devestating lyrics. It perfectly sums up the themes of this record. The words are at times almost poetic:
" Exposed to a truth we don't know
Collapsing like the Twin Towers
Falling down like April showers
Colossal endless like a marathon"
5/5

'A Song For Departure' Another awesome track that at times becomes emotionally overwhelming. A beautiful interplay of piano and guitar. 5/5

'I Live to Fall Asleep'-This track has some dark lyrics to it. A very haunting song, perhaps another reference to Richey's disappearance? 5/5

'To Repel Ghosts'-Great track w/ some fantastic guitar work courtesy of Mr. James Dean Bradfield. Awesome. 5/5

'Emily'-Song whose lyrics reference Emmeline Pankhurst, the British Socialist who campaigned for women's suffrage in England in the 1800's. The most political song on the record. 4/5

'Glasnost'-Features some more terrific guitar work from Bradfield and lyrics that try to come to terms with growing older and accepting it. The most 'pop' song on the album. 4/5

'Solitude Sometimes Is'-Another track featuring some really great lyrics on it. It displays a much more 'poppier' sound than the group has displayed in the past. Terrific. 5/5

'Fragments'-This track sounds eerily like U2 at times.
Again strong lyrics:
"Two minutes of silence in a century of screams
Tiny massive hands emphatic lonely soul"
5/5

'Cardiff Afterlife'-A superb way to close off the album.
A stunning interplay of guitar work, strings, and harmonica in the background. A dramatic closer. 5/5

I was just stunned by the reaction in the U.K. towards this record. It seems as if it's either love it or hate it. I don't get that. This is a masterful album. Those who want a return to the days of 'The Holy Bible', well, all I can say is that band disappeared long ago when Richey did. The group since has moved on and refined their sound down to what they call "elegaic pop". Accept it for what it is. I will always look forward to a new release from this group. By far my favorite album from 2004.
Overall 5/5

As a follow-up to 2001's unfocused "Know Your Enemy", the Manics released a Greatest hits package, along with a collection of b-sides and mixes. It appeared the band were cleaning out their closet and preparing for a potential hiatus, if not a complete split, from the musical world. News in early 2004 that the band were holed up in a New York studio with ex-David Bowie/Seahorses producer Tony Visconti working on material for a new album was met with widespread speculation among fans.

"Lifeblood", it turns out, is the most immediate, cohesive album the band have recorded. The album is produced with a slickness and sheen that would make any U2 fan stand up and pay attention, yet is thoughtful and well-written enough to stand shoulders above the over-produced top 40 bubble gum pop currently on radio.

Opener "1985" shines with layers of synths and guitars, and harkens back to mid-80s New order and, more recently, the Killers. The lyrics, in typical Manics style, name check everyone from Orwell to Morrissey. When vocalist/guitarist James Dean Bradfield sings "We've realized there's no going back" over the track's uplifting chorus, you realize that the sentiment is both one of sorrow and acceptance--a statement aimed primarily at the band itself (former member Richey Edwards plays a major role in the lyrical imagery of this album.)

First single "The Love of Richard nixon" is electro-pop with a memorable chorus, and lyrics that both condemn and lend a sympathetic ear to the embattled ex-pres. "Empty Souls" features a haunting piano riff straight out of the 'New Years Day" vein, with an atmospheric touch that sends the track more into Coldplay territory. "A Song For Departure" is one of the most melancholic, rising tracks the band have ever done, and is a contender to replace "Design For Life" as the traditional live show closer. "I Live To Fall Asleep" is a gentle, reflective jewell of a track that seems to encapsulate the "elegiac pop" feel the band indicated they were trying to achieve. Other highlights include the rousing U2-esque "To repel Ghosts", and album closer (and lament to former bandmate edwards) "Cardiff Afterlife".

Vocalist Bradfield is in fine fashion here, adding emotion and depth to each track. Principle songwriter Nicky Wire sounds almost world-weary in his lyrical approach on this album. Nearly every tracks deals, on some level, with the sorrow, longing, and pain, as well as joy, in looking back at life, or simply "moving on". He mentioned in interviews prior to the album's release that the album would be a statement of sorrow at the current state of the world--an album of "elegiac pop".

This is not the Manic Street Preachers of the "Generation terrorists" era--there's no spewed political vitriol, no punk-fuelled rants, no songs about depravity, culture, alienation, boredom and despair, no Slash-esque guitar solos. Only thoughtful comments at the state of the world set to a gorgeous backdrop of shimmering guitars and keyboards. The band has never sounded better, the songs have rarely been so personal and touching...if only all pop music could sound like this.

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.

Welcome back, Manics. Wow. What a return to form after the so-so KNOW YOUR ENEMY. Geez. Wasn't ready for this amazing, poignant, blissful album. I'm in the minority on this but of their catalog I always liked TIMTTMY best and this is like a beautiful sequel. Pristine, cryastalline, pure. James Dean Bradfield has just the most incredible voice for pop. It's up there with Josh Groban. No kidding. I could listen to either one of them sing a Chili's menu. Okay, so, yeah, buy this album if you're into remarkable pop music with substance. "Solitude Sometimes" might just be my favorite song of the last year -- f*ckin' gorgeous. Let's stay on this course, guys, really. I like the hard and heavy stuff but, come on, we're all getting older and this is the direction you want to stay. Just beautiful music. If America had a friggin' clue music-wise, these guys would be U2 here. Seriously. God I hate American music culture...sigh...

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...

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.

Lifeblood represents everything a band could ever hope
to achieve within it's career. Everything from the songwriting
to it's intricate production represent a band at it's maturity.
Solid, heartfelt and beautifully crafted music.
The opening track "1985" gives the listener a taste of what's
to come. I'm not certain what the thinking was in choosing
"the Love of Richard Nixon" as it seems to be my least favorite
from an otherwise perfect album. "Empty Souls" however, ranks
as one of the Manic's gems. It grabs you and keeps you in!
The rest of the album is a nice mix of musical tapestry.
Most would say the middle of the album is their favorite, but
it's truely hard to pick an area as all tracks are exceptional.
My personal favorites include "Empty Souls" along with
"To Repel Ghosts", "Emily" and "Cardiff Afterlife". This album is a far introspective exercise then with previous albums.
While the bands lyrical content in some of the earlier work tends
toward more political and social issues, it seems the lyrical team of Nicky Wire/James Bradfield are beginning to embrace love, abandonment, self-doubt, and personal redemption in their lyrical themes.
Since I was not a big Manics fan previous to listening to this
album, I can say that it has wet my appetite for some of their
previous material. I've since purchased "The Holy Bible-Reissue".
"This Is My truth Tell Me Yours" and "Everything Must Go".
Some of the earlier material might not be for all, but it will provide one with a persepective on the beginnings of what I think is a band worth far more recognition then it recieves!
FIVE STARS AND THEN SOME!

Additional Recommedations; It is worth mentioning that the additional tracks on the singles "Love of RN" and "Empty Souls" include (total) six additional bonus tracks that really fit well with the album. "Litany", "All Alone Here", "No Jubilees",
"Askew Road", "Everyone Knows" and "Everything Is Everthing Was".
If you love this album, then ORDER THESE SINGLES! :)

Better than anyone could have expected.

After the disaster of 'This Is My Truth...' and the failed punk bluster of 'Know Your Enemy' it is ironic that the Manics return with a blueprint based on the one true classic moment of 'This Is My Truth...'. 'If You Tolerate This Then Your Children Will Be Next' was a majestic sweeping keyboard-led moment of great importance and that essence, that soul is where the Manics have drawn from on producing this stunning, stunning album.

The two classic tracks, as is right, book-end the album.

'1985' announces the return to form like nothing else. That intro is all New Order bass rumblings and nostalgia made real or scary. But the key is James Dean Bradfield singing on the chorus " We've realised there's no going back...". From any other band that might seem trite. But notice the wording..."We've realised there's no going back" not 'there's no going back'. This is a realisation at a certain age of certain things. And the whole album is shot through with it.

"We used to have answers/Now we have only questions..." could not have any more significance coming from any other band. We're older, we're wiser, we're bruised, we wish he were still here...And we're still 4 Real.

Which brings us to the second classic song.

"Conquer yourself rather than the world" is the quotation on the sleeve this time (Descartes) and again is a key signpost. The young Manics are gone, talk of releasing a million-selling double debut album and then splitting up is long since gone.

But then - crucially - so is their schoolboy friend, 'guitarist', lyricist and certainly conscience of the band. Richey James. If 'Australia' from 'Everything Must Go' was - implicitly - about the hope that Richey had just fled, and an identification with that, then this, the final song, 'Cardiff Afterlife' holds out no such hope that their friend is coming back.

'Cardiff Afterlife' is the obvious goosebumps, fighting back tears moment but it works because of that. Because there is no fake emotion ("If the love between us/Has faded away/Left in the rain/Scratching at the stains...") ,just something far, far better - an attempt to find a true, true moment to remember a true, true friend. With everything that entails: "Evil that no-one saw/And vanity for sure...". I love the surely intentional echoing of Richey's earlier lyric of "I have crawled so far sideways/I recognise dim traces of creation" in the lovely, chilling "The paralysed future/The past sideways crawl...".

So...

There is nothing you'll want to skip. And everything you'll want to return to here. 'Solitude Sometimes Is' is as beautiful and essential as the title, 'Emily' is real politics and real awareness. And so on.

Really.

Better than anyone could ever have dared hoped for.

I had read a lot of lukewarm reviews before buying this album, so I went in with pretty low expectations. After each song ended, I feared that the next one would be a dull disappointment. But it never happened - every single song, to my surprise, was solid.

Of course, if you're still clinging to youthful energy of The Holy Bible and the Manics' other older albums, you might as well ignore this one. There's no raging guitar-rock here. And it's probably the band's least political album as well, so you won't get your righteous indignation fix. What you WILL get is a smooth, slickly-produced pop album that's easily the Manics' most consistent release since Everything Must Go. ...And honestly, if you ask me, this album is actually BETTER than Everything Must Go.

At its best - "I Live to Fall Asleep," "Cardiff Afterlife," or "A Song for Departure" - Lifeblood is ridiculosuly catchy and packed with emotional sincerity. And it's only slightly less so at its worst. So give it a whirl, and hopefully you'll be as pleasantly surprised as I was.

Lifeblood being Manic Street Preachers 7th studio album and their 2004 release is a really good album and the sound is a mix between electronic music and rock. The album featured two singles. These being "The love of Richard Nixon" and "Empty Souls". The booklet has all the lyrics and contains a list of whom plays what on the album. 4/5.