Customer Reviews

Send Away the Tigers

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

 

 

It's been only three years since their last release Lifeblood. Lifeblood, in my humble opinion was a decent album brimming with a big, bright sound production and great songs (some serious, fast-paced, and melancholy; others confident and poised). Unfortunately, the album debuted and peaked at #13 on the UK album chart, and fell off the chart two weeks later! This was the album that should've been the big comeback from the somewhat disappointing Know Your Enemy...

Well, now it's 2007. In a nutshell, SATT does remind me of their 1996 masterpiece Everything Must Go, which is not a bad thing at all! This time around, the Manics sound much more optimistic and confident than ever. Loud guitars, a backing string section, and James Dean Bradfield's soaring tenor voice are more than enough to keep my attention. Heck, even Nina Persson (lead singer of the Swedish band The Cardigans) and Nicky Wire contribute greatly to the vocals on "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough". Other highlights include the thumping bass on "The Second Great Depression", the sixteenth notes played in 4/4 time in the intro guitar riff for "Indian Summer", and the Guns N'Roses-like guitar riff for "Autumnsong". And did I forget to mention that the Manics go rockabilly on "Imperial Bodybags"?

It's a darn shame that this fine album is available only on import (for us North American fans anyway). It's a bigger shame that the Manics aren't that well known here in the States. Send Away The Tigers is already one of the best albums of the year!

By the way, in case you're wondering, Tigers recently debuted at #2 on the UK chart...

The Manics are back! Not that they had gone anywhere, they just, faultered, a little bit.

Their last two albums are not favorites of mine. Know your enemy was unfocused and for the first time, their views and oppinions felt like they weren't delivered, as much as rammed down my throat. As for their next effort, lifeblood, it just seemed so wishy washy. Squishy even.

This time they have gotten their house in order. The songs are delivered right away. You hardly get time to relax before one sharp hook is delivered after another. The lyrics are a lot more of everything this time as well. And when things might start to sound a bit too familliar, in comes 'Your Love Alone Is Not Enough'. Bringing in a female voice, the wonderful Nina Persson of The Cardigans, ads another dimension, and lets you sing along to what should be deemed as the pop/rock singel of 2007.

I was a bit worried when I saw the cover. It looks like a Beautiful South album (not that I don't like that band, I do, and they will be sorely missed). I thought perhaps they had gone in some sort of nostalgic pop tune direction.

But, one song in and my worries were laid aside.

This is easily one of my top 5 albums for album of the year, so far, in 2007.

The manics never do things in a half-baked way. If it is good it is excellent and if it is not I am not that interested. After reaching their high point (OK the previous efforts were also great) with Everythinng must go, they had soemehow lost breath but now they seem to have bounced back with new energy. The first song "Send away the tigers"statrs of in their typical instantly recognizable rocking and epic way. there is no doubt that this is their nest record of the last 10 years.

And that's a good thing, unlike some Manics' records that grow a bit tiresome in the latter songs. This is quick stuff - not a single song over 4 minutes. The guitar and vocal hooks leap off the disc. Probably the most immediately accessible thing the Manics have ever done. Bradfield continues the vibe on his solo disc and is absolutely brimming with energy and verve. His vocals and solos soar merrily along, backed by steady Wire and tight Moore. I could have used another 2 or 3 songs, but like one reviewer pointed out - there's no filler here. All the fat has been trimmed off. I have a friend who has a theory that every band has 3 and only 3 really good albums in them. He thinks the Manics' 3 good albums are Holy Bible, Everything Must Go, and This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours. He hasn't heard Send Away the Tigers yet. I can't wait to see which he revises: his list or his theory. Something's gotta give! Hope the boys tour the States this time around. I would love to see them perform some of these songs live.

At last the Manics are back with a near perfect 38 minute gem that lacks all the filler of their past three album releases. This 10 song collection doesn't miss a beat, with some great playing, and it sounds like the lads are having fun for the first time in the post-Richie era. Sean sounds great, maybe his best work since their masterpiece "The Holy Bible", his drumming hard and fast, with able support from Nick on bass, the lots of glorious guitar work from JDB, from nice rhythm work, to his trademark screaching solos. Very much in their best anthemic voice, and certainly produced in a crowd pleasing style, the superb "Your Love Is Not Enough" typifies this, the production is crisp, the use of keyboards appropriate for their sound, overall it's a perfect power pop record that reminds me more of their debut than anything they've recorded since. A great introduction to the best British band of my generation.

Redneck lookin chicks on the cover nonwithstanding (come on- if you're gonna do the clichè of the angel and the devil trampy costume bit, at least get cute girls) this is (was) still is (it's been so long since I bought it, it's back on the shelf, but I remember that I like it). I heard Your Love Alone (I guess that's the title) on one of those music channels in the 9000 range of DirecTV while I was moving in, and on the strength of that single I looked it up on YouTube and Amazon and listened to enough to justify buying the CD. Ya, CDs ftw. I don't do data-only. One good power flux and >pwiff!< I tend to lose data. CDs don't erase themselves in a thunderstorm. Possibly dated by this time in history, it's as enjoyable as The Cardigan's 'Life' - Chickypoo Whatshername even guest sings on that track I mentioned previously, since the Cardigans came up. Do a little research and see. Good solid stuff, lots of energy and major keys, plus a small percentage of fist in the air faux anger to try to lend an air of... I don't know- guts? Those bits aren't MSP's strong points. And what kind of mistranslated glop is "Send Away the Tigers" supposed to be? That's kind of lame. No, it's good solid lame.

A lot of people love this band in their punkier early years. Me, I'm a big fan of the bombastic anthem rock of "Everything Must Go" and "This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours." The last two albums have been spotty, as if the MSPs don't know what they wanted to say, or how they wanted to say it. James Dean Bradfield's solo record was better than either "Know Your Enemy" or "Lifeblood." The Nicky Wire album was just a mess.
That being said, this new album has some wonderful songs. The title track, "Underdogs" and the very poppy first single "Your Love Alone is Not Enough" get the album off to a great start. The rest of the album is good, certainly more thoughtful than most stuff out there, and the version of "Working Class Hero" is neat. The lyrics are as usual funny, touching and exasperating. It's a shame they've never made it big in the USA (much like The Jam before them). Maybe it's the politics (they're very Stalin) or maybe we're just too busy holla-ing back. Anyway, if you have nothing by this band, you should do yourself a very big favor and pick up "This is My Truth, Tell Me Yours," "Everything Must Go," and "THe Holy Bible."

So good to hear another great Manic's album. The last effort deserved an F but this is solidly an A. Political bite, intimate confessions and stadium disintegrating anthems fuse together without any gaps. I put this album on in the morning and then left it on all day - there was nothing else I would rather have been listening to. I think it's a classic. Really.

(BTW - check my review for Holy Bible as I love this band a lot)

ok, so manic's new album is sweeet. if you like them, come join the "lets get physical" campaign. let's get a physical is a campaign to encourage the sales of physical product at independent/tastemaker retailers and maximize the awareness and sales of indie artists and their accounts. pretty much we want you to go get the cd yourself at local ma and pa record shops!

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