Manic Street Preachers - Everything Must Go 20 (Album Review)
Tuesday, 31 May 2016
Written by Simon Ramsay
Has it really been two decades since the Manic Street Preachers gatecrashed the back-slapping Britpop party armed with ‘Everything Must Go’? The album, a bombastic and emotionally-charged collection of intelligent anthems, has been reissued to coincide with the landmark, but how does it measure up when removed from both the era of its initial release and the tragic circumstances surrounding its conception?
When any band leaps into the commercial big leagues, the tiresome accusations of selling out inevitably follow. Such was the case for the Manics. But listening to ‘Everything Must Go’ with the benefit of hindsight, those specious criticisms - levelled by a minority of die-hards – are rendered irrelevant by the calibre of the record and its contextual significance.
It remains a superbly crafted effort that boasts some of the most challenging sentiments to trouble mainstream music. Although a huge departure from 1994’s bitter, bleak attack dog masterpiece ‘The Holy Bible’, it’s a triumph of stealthy subversion, alluding to topics as diverse as pop culture, dementia, animal rights and Americanisation in a way that made the band infinitely more literate and cerebral than their live-it-large peers.
The monumental, cinematic drama of A Design For life, for example, delivers a poignant depiction of working class mentalities that belies its radio-friendly grandeur, while Interiors (Song for Willem de Kooning) – which gels three different movements into an accelerating hook-laden thrill ride – was written about the effect Alzheimer’s had on the expressionist painter.
They were smuggling their manifesto in sonic Trojan horses, utilising accessible compositions that referenced everyone from Brian Wilson and Phil Spector to EnnioMorricone. A smorgasbord of strings, horns, violins, harps and keys combined with the band to create a luscious tapestry of textures.
Although hits like Australia dominated the airwaves, The Girl Who Wanted To Be God, Enola/Alone and No Surface All Feeling are the kind of sublime deep cuts that elevate an album into special territory. Their only mistake was failing to cull Removables and Further Away. Both are grungy fillers that feel out of place, probably because that genre’s raw aesthetic is contrary to the epic wall of sound that defines this record.
The disappearance of Richey Edwards also cast a long shadow. The fascinating lyrical contributions he left behind, along with Nicky Wire’s attempts to process his grief, added a heart-wrenching core to the album that still resonates. The off-kilter pop brilliance of Kevin Carter, written about the South African photojournalist who killed himself aged 33 after years documenting death and suffering, is a chilling portal into Edwards’ state of mind.
That ‘Everything Must Go’ arrived on the back of such turbulence is astonishing, especially as what could have been a downbeat affair ended with the band finding solace and the strength to continue through the healing power their music. ‘Everything Must Go’ may not be their best or most consistent record, but for that reason alone, it will always be their most important.
This box set reissue comes with an assortment of b-sides, remixes and DVDs while the deluxe edition includes a complete show at Manchester’s Nynex Arena in ‘97. There, tearing through a tempo-be-damned set list, it’s amazing how many great tunes come thick and fast: La Tristesse Durera...Yes...Faster...Motown Junk. And how many bands could casually hurl in something as magnificent as Motorcycle Emptiness half way through their set? That’s why, as they’re aware, we love ‘em.
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