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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Manics are Back!!!, October 3, 2007
This is the best Manic Street Preachers CD in years. When they are on their game, they rock harder than any band around. Tight arrangements, loud guitars, excellent vocals, and lyrics that cut to the bone(as we have come to expect from this bunch of Welsh Rockers)makes this a must CD for fans and newcomers alike. Awesome production by Dave Eringa and tracking knobs by Guy Massey. My favorites are the title cut, "Underdogs", "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough", "Indian Summer", "I'm Not A Patsy", and "Imperial Bodybags." James Dean Bradfield continues to astound on vocals and guitars and Nicky Wire's lyrics and Sean Moore's Moon-esque drumming deliver satisfaction throughout. The secret Bonus Track of Lennon's "Working Class Hero" is a nice touch. If you have never heard the Manics, this could be a great introduction. If you've been a long time fan like I am, this is a welcome return to their rightful place as one of the world's great rock bands.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Progression and Return, September 23, 2007
This is a truly remarkable offering from the Manics. When I heard that this album was to be of the "return to the roots" type, I must be honest and say I had my misgivings. Somehow they have managed to continue to progress and evolve (Lifeblood, despite a few duds, has been among my favorites since it was released), while injecting some of the hard edges and rough surfaces of Everything Must Go and Gold Against the Soul. Above all, the Manics must be given credit for choosing their singles well, Autumnsong has swiftly risen to favorite status, rivaling To Repel Ghosts, If You Tolerate This..., and Roses in the Hospital in my mind. Life performance recordings that are circulating bear out the thought of a re-invigorated band, even older songs come across as more energetic and changed.
One caveat - this is a very well-produced, hi-fi album. If you're preference is low-fi you'd be better off sticking with Generation Terrorists. Nevertheless, I'm not one of those - now if only they would tour the States! Boston isn't too far to the right of Havana... Come on!
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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
another era is not forthcoming / who sees the interiors like young Willem once did, October 14, 2007
Send Away The Tigers is packed with loud, up-tempo guitar songs with riffs and catchy choruses, often backed by grandiose strings. Where the music might lack memorable riffs, it charms with pure energy. Even something like James Dean Bradfield's background chant of "na na na" in "Winterlovers" sounds manly and strong. There are some obvious retreads -- the opening riff in "Autumnsong" is very similar the one in "No Surface All Feeling" -- but overall the music sounds fresh. Songs like "Send Away The Tigers," "I'm Just A Patsy" and "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough" are full of sing-along lines. And each song is short, so the album feels concise and tight.
But alas, the Manics still look old. I don't mean their age. Trent Reznor is over forty, and he just released a creative and original album that differs greatly from the music that made him famous. The Manics are old by choice. Ever since Know Your Enemy, if not Everything Must Go, they've been fixated on their own past. Many times, they've gazed back at their own legacy, re-summarized and re-packaged it. They eulogized Paul Robeson and Emmeline Pankhurst, and sang about the Spanish Civil War, attempting to assert themselves as the rightful successors to their historical heroes. They've returned to Richey Edwards' disappearance on every album except Know Your Enemy, which was scorned by critics. Everyone expects them to live in the past, and they do.
Here, they look back again with a song called "Underdogs" dedicated to their fans. It is so hilariously vain that it's actually very enjoyable. Nicky Wire affectionately describes his loving fans as "freaks" who are "lost and weak," "beaten down and crushed," and "shy and withdrawn." Which means precisely that their favourite band, the Manic Street Preachers, are nothing less than the noble champions of the beaten down and crushed. Wire then explains the Manics' latter-day career as follows: "And like the underdogs we are / Shining bright but now disappeared." The last time the Manics could credibly call themselves underdogs was in 1994. Then they became the biggest band in England. For that matter, U2 are past their peak now also, but that don't make them underdogs, sugar. Wire finishes with some hilarious obscene lines ("People like you need to...") that Manics fans everywhere have doubtless heard many, many times from annoyed friends. Now it's official!
This time, however, Nicky actually makes an honest effort to comment on some of the issues of the day. That puts this album above Lifeblood, where he demonstratively avoided saying anything specific about anything. Unfortunately, the credit is for effort only. "Rendition" sounds like Wire just copied the headlines from the evening news. It has words like "revolution," but these are just stock Manics words with a slight topical veneer, although the line, "Oh, good god, I sound like a liberal," is funny. The music just makes Wire's political commentary sound even more tossed-off and obligatory. There are scary martial drums in the beginning, but then they kick into an upbeat groove fit for a party song. Which basically is what this is. Compare it with the dark, paranoid sound of Year Zero by Nine Inch Nails, or Demon Days by Gorillaz. Or even the longing sound of the Manics' own "Motorcycle Emptiness."
The other topical song is better, since it has the best music on the album (including some great bass playing from Nicky himself). And yet, it feels toothless. Remember, when these issues were at their most pressing, Wire flatly refused to comment on them. Only now, after Green Day, Neil Young, Nine Inch Nails, Gorillaz, Massive Attack and all of their grandmothers have expressed their opinion and that opinion has become more accepted, do the supposedly controversial Manics decide to join in. What could Nicky possibly add to the discourse now?
The only song on the entire album with the same effect that the Manics' best songs used to have, is the single "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough." It's about Richey, the only subject that still truly inspires Nicky. But unlike all of his previous songs about Richey, this one takes a downright condescending, paternal tone. Wire portrays his former bandmate as weak and ineffectual: "Traded all your heroes in for ghosts / They're always the ones who love you most" and then "With no excuses, just fell apart / No, you won't make a mess of me / For you're as blind as a man can be."
This description is very convincing, probably accurate, and thus devastating to Richey's myth. It may be that Wire just got tired of hearing all the praise for the band's best albums showered on Edwards. But even so, his tone is refreshing and honest. And after all, what else could Nicky possibly say about Richey at this point?
The album ends with a hidden track, a cover of John Lennon's "Working Class Hero." Many years ago, the Manics ridiculed Lennon specifically for this song, on the grounds that he was too rich and famous to have any claim to being a working-class hero. I could now make a snide remark about their change in attitude, but I won't -- the cover is the second-best song on the album. Say what you will about Lennon's motives, but this song shows that he was a fine writer. The verses are more observant and incisive than anything Nicky has written on this album. The bass-heavy, rumbling music strongly accentuates the hopeless situation described in the lyrics.
Well, if you need some music to listen to while you're driving to the park, or while your friends are over for a barbecue, then I strongly recommend this album. But if you're one of the old guard who still listens to the first three albums, your idols have left you. Perhaps you should start your own band.
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