826. Manic Street Preachers - Everything Must Go (1996)

Track Listing

1. Elvis Impersonator: Blackpool Pier
2. A Design For Life
3. Kevin Carter
4. Enola/Alone
5. Everything Must Go
6. Small Black Flowers That Grow In the Sky
7. The Girl Who Wanted To Be God
8. Removables
9. Australia
10. Interiors (Song For Willem De Kooning)
11. Further Away
12. No Surface All Feeling

Review

The Manics return with a considerably lighter album than The Holy Bible, although considerably lighter is a moot point with the Manics, it is never light. In this album, however, there is more of a pop sensibility shining through the immensely depressing songs.

This means that a lot of the songs are more memorable than in that previous album, this is not however a better album all told. In fact I preferred The Holy bible which had a much more cohesive content, and was more original than this one.

Still, in the time of so much derivative Britpop the Manics have the merit of being one of the few bands that actually puts a lot of effort in their songs, this isn't derivative, half-baked or annoying, this is an album of well thought out tracks which stand proud 13 years after the fact.

Track Highlights

1. A Design For Life
2. Kevin Carter
3. Australia
4. The Girl Who Wanted to Be God

Final Grade

8/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

Everything Must Go represents a change of style for the Manics. Their previous album, The Holy Bible, had been a stark, disturbing album with a minimal amount of instrumentation whilst this album embraces synths and strings, has a more commercial feel and fits with the Britpop movement that was prevalent at the time. The lyrical focus of the album is also shifted, due in part to Edwards' departure. Instead of introspective and autobiographical tracks such as 4st 7lbs, Wire's predilection for grandiose, historical and political themes dominates. These themes would continue through their next album, This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours.

Subjects tackled on the album include the tragic life of the photographer Kevin Carter, on the track of the same name, Willem de Kooning, and the maltreatment of animals in captivity on "Small Black Flowers That Grow in the Sky". The latter track, with lyrics by Richey James Edwards, can also be interpreted as an exploration of his mental state before his disappearance; the line "Here chewing your tail is joy" for instance may be as much about Richey's self harm as it is the tormented self injury of zoo animals.

A Design For Life: