The Best Manics Album?

notnumber

Given the bit o chat about alt favourites Manic Street Preachers here recently I wondered could we come to a consenus about what is their best album.
Have to admit I stopping listening to them after everything must go which I thought was too poppy and too different from the holy bible which I assume is seen by many as their masterpiece ( or maybe not?).
Wonder did I miss anything great on the subsequent releases,if anyone has heard any of the later releases give us your 2 cents?

My top three:

1)Holy Bible
2)Generation Terrorists
3)Gold Against the Soul

Fav Song: little baby nothing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wM3N54avEQc

Generation Terrorists (1992)
Gold Against the Soul (1993)
The Holy Bible (1994)
Everything Must Go (1996)
This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours (1998)
Know Your Enemy (2001)
Forever Delayed (2002)
Lipstick Traces (A Secret History of Manic Street Preachers) (2003)
Lifeblood (2004)
Send Away the Tigers (2007)
Journal for Plague Lovers (2009)
Postcards from a Young Man (2010)
National Treasures – The Complete Singles (2011)

Robbo

For me, it's The Holy Bible every time, both in terms of sound and lyrics. It's an album I can listen in it's entirety every time. Even on the songs where Bradfield is straining to crowbar in the lyric into some semblance of a song structure (Ifwhiteamerica... in particular), it's an album by a band who've hit upon their proper sound.

Second place is Everything Must Go and what makes these two albums for me the period it represents. It's the sound of Richey teetering on the edge, trying to hold it together through defiance on THB followed by the band trying to come to terms with his disappearance on EMG.

I always felt that Generation Terrorists would have been much better served if 4-5 tracks were culled.

As an aside, for the Manics dodgiest moment: Miss Europa Disco Dancer, anyone?

Temaz

The Holy Bible is a stone cold masterpiece. I find Gold Against The Soul to be terribly underrated.

RikkFlair

Robbo wrote: »

As an aside, for the Manics dodgiest moment: Miss Europa Disco Dancer, anyone?

"Braindead mother****ers, braindead mother****ers, braindead mother****ers"....I actually like Know Your Enemy even though its looked down on by Manics fans.

The Holy Bible is a classic, Journal for Plague Lovers aint bad either IMO.

seachto7

Everything Must Go
This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours

Really like these. I'd take songs from the other albums. Motorcycle Emptiness being one of their best songs of all their stuff I think...

notnumber

seachto7 wrote: »

Everything Must Go
This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours

Really like these. I'd take songs from the other albums. Motorcycle Emptiness being one of their best songs of all their stuff I think...

That was the song that made me check em out years ago !! haven't really listened to these albums for many a year..of all the songs on the neon bible? I would rate Mausoleum to be the standout...its one songs you dont understand and have to keep googling. and learn alot of stuff you didn't know before..

RightHalfBack

hard to choose on both

Album - The Holy Bible
Song - Let Robeson Sing

Rothko

It has to be The Holy Bible. One of the greatest albums ever recorded.

I have to say though, Journal For Plague Lovers is a fantastic album too and I think it's very underrated.

BornToRun88

This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours for me. Then Everything Must Go. Journal For Plague Lovers gets an honourable mention.

I was never that gone on The Holy Bible. I wasn't that keen on Manic's first three albums bar the singles and an odd album track.

mark renton

Forever Delayed
This is my truth tell me yours - fav song, youre tender and your tired

Cavehill Red

Gold Against The Soul.
And their best song is Tsunami.

trashcan

I'd pick Everything Must Go as their best album. Holy Bible is intense but EMG is more tuneful.
Favourite song is a toss up between Design for Life and Motorcycle Emptiness. Haven't bought a Manics album since Know Your Enemy.

homerun_homer

The Holy Bible all the way. Followed but Everything Must Go for a band that could triumph in the face of despair and loss and come out bigger than they had been to that point.

Generation Terrorists is great but it's too long and needs quite a trim to be a favourite of mine. But when you think of the songs they had on it, some bands would kill to have 2 albums with 3 singles each that are as great as the 6 the album spawned.

Gold Against the Soul is a bit too MOR rock but has a quality first half and some great moments in 2nd half.

I'm going to admit it, I really like Lifeblood. As a Manics album I understand their own embarrassment and many fans hatred but the songs are quite a change from other albums and some sound as beautiful as any James Dean Bradfield and Sean Moore have ever crafted. I Live To Fall Aleep and Solitude Sometimes Is and 1985 for example.

Finally, Journal For Plague Lovers could potentially be my 3rd pick album wise. Mainly because after all the radio friendly albums the Manics can always come back guns blazing and sounding as relevant as ever. Even if it is using old Richie lyrics.

Xavi6

This Is My Truth... because it's when I got into them properly after only really knowing A Design For Life before that, and I love almost all of the songs on the record.

Everything Must Go and The Holy Bible would be neck and neck in second.

I also quite like Know Your Enemy and Journal For Plague Lovers was a definite return to form.

CDM001

Looks amazing

notnumber

CDM001 wrote: »

Looks amazing

Johnny Hooker

GT is as mentioned, 6 tracks too long.

The 4 singles and Sleepflower are the only decent things on GATS

The Holy Bible IS the masterpiece

EMG is a f*cking good 8/10 album

TIMTTMY is probably my 2nd favourite Manics album, just love the mood

KYE is dog**** with no direction, again, would have helped by being cut by 4 or 5 songs

Lifeblood was MEH

SATT was a cracking return to form, the band sounded re-invigorated

JFPL was INCREDIBLE. From the moment I first heard Peeled Apples, I knew something special was about to happen. A fitting tribute to Richey

PFAYM was a solid album but sounded like the end of the road in terms of them needing a new direction


Fave song of the Manics is probably PCP or Jackie Collins

Sepia my favourite b-side

homerun_homer

This is one of my absolute favourite B-sides.

SilverScreen

Even though I only listen to them occasionally I have to go with The Holy Bible. It still has it's fair share of filler tracks but I think it was their strongest studio album. I also have to mention Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of Manic Street Preachers, an excellent compilation of b-sides, rarities and covers and contains some of their best material.

BornToRun88

mark renton wrote: »

Forever Delayed
This is my truth tell me yours - fav song, youre tender and your tired

I love the whistling in the middle of that song.

flogging a dead horse

Everything pre 'Holy Bible' is crap and everything post 'Everything Must Go' is crap. Both album covers of Holy Bible and E M Go convey the mood of the band at time of the photos for the album covers. THe darkness and nihilism mixed with a certain glamour of Holy Bible. Whilst the cover of 'everything must go' show the pessimism of the absence of Ritchie Edwards.

Dozen Wicked Words

My favourite album is Gold Against the Soul, but I can't say there is any album I dislike.

Favourite single Empty Souls from Lifeblood, think I was swayed by the video for it too, which I thought was fantastic.

I still look forward to whenever they release new material and buying a physical copy of it.

Bit off topic but I loved the Death of a Polaroid book, a thing of beauty!

JFPL is the most under rated Manics album.

Shutter Island

I concur with the JFPL sentiments.

Fantastic album, it really is.

johntommy

Dont have a favourite album, just wanted to say they're the best British rock band of the last 20 years.

Shutter Island

johntommy wrote: »

Dont have a favourite album, just wanted to say they're the best British rock band of the last 20 years.

Well I would say the best band ever, but that's just a personal opinion

Technocentral

Not only is "Everything Must Go" their best album its one of the best rock albums EVER! Though its live where they really shine, they even manage to make the really dirgey stuff like "Journey For Plague Lovers" sound great. I really miss their live shows over here, I've been to all of them since 97 or 98.

Shutter Island wrote: »

Well I would say the best band ever, but that's just a personal opinion

I'd say them or Joy Division personally.

Shutter Island

Technocentral wrote: »

Not only is "Everything Must Go" their best album its one of the best rock albums EVER! Though its live where they really shine, they even manage to make the really dirgey stuff like "Journey For Plague Lovers" sound great. I really miss their live shows over here, I've been to all of them since 97 or 98.



I'd say them or Joy Division personally.

You lost me at this

nlgbbbblth

The Holy Bible is their most consistent LP.

For sheer intoxicating energy (on record and live) I nominate the 1991/1992 period.

i.e.
Motown Junk 12" [Sorrow 16 / We Her Majesty's Prisoners]
You Love Us 12" [Spectators / Suicide and Starlover]
Stay Beautiful 45

The live show in the Mansion House, Waterford. 26 April 1991.
25 minutes of brilliance. This took place the night before Morrissey's crazy National Stadium gig.

Generation Terrorists build-up. The thrill of debuting with a double LP. All the NME press.

Good times.

Shutter Island

Think I'll dig out my old Manics books and re-live my youth, starting with Simon Price's 'Everything - A Book about the Manic Street Preachers'