The Need It Still Grows Stronger (Lifeblood - Manic Street Preachers)

Member Name: Andy.mack

Product:	Lifeblood - Manic Street Preachers
Date:	31/01/05 (173 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A more mature, polished sound. Some excellent tracks, should become a classic

Disadvantages: Takes a bit of time to get into but well worth persivering

I’ve been quite a big fan of the Manic’s for years. I first heard of them back in 1996 when I bought Everything Must Go and since then I’ve acquired all of their albums. It’s now been almost 10 years since Richie, the bands guitarist disappeared before they recorded that album in 1996. Since then the Manic’s seemed to have been trapped in a time warp, trying to recreate the sound from their earlier albums and the new material suffered as a result. With Know Your Enemy being the prime example.

It seems almost fitting though that its taken almost 10 years for them to embrace Richie’s absence and move on. I really feel that Lifeblood is the Manic’s best album since 1996 and shows almost a fresh approach to their music. I hadn’t realised until I heard “Love Of Richard Nixon” that they were releasing a new album and although it took a bit of time to grow on me it sounded pretty good. They seem to have kept the good bits from the past and blended them with a slightly different, newer sound.

They still pay tribute to the lost band mate but musically it sounds like it should have been the follow up to EMG, not the third album afterwards. It’s not an instant hit album but it certainly is a grower and the more I listen to it, the more I love it. This still isn’t a classic Manic’s album, at least not yet, however I can see the possibility that it might become one. It also seems to be a sign that they are back to their best and in my opinion that can only be a good thing.

The album is a bit different to what I expected, it’s much better. As usual James, Nicky and Sean have pulled off something rather special musically. The guitar and Bass really play well off each other. It’s almost as if the guitar is providing the direction while the bass keeps the rest of the track together. The drums play there part on each track. In places they take a real back seat and the album on the whole benefits from this in places. The blend of music really shows what the Manic’s can do and this is certainly one of the best examples.

It’s the lyrical content of the tracks that really makes the album hard to get into. As usual they have written a lot about political situations and heartbreak. It’s the usual subjects we have come to expect the Manic’s to cover, only this time they’ve musically moved the album onto a slightly varied sound. Once the tracks grow on you James’s vocals are as amazing as ever. He shows a real depth in his vocal talents with tracks like “Fragments”.

It is a hit and miss album to start with. There are several tracks that don’t sound that great at first but by the third listen you’ll find yourself thinking it’s the best they’ve done in ages. My personal favourite at the moment is “Emily”. It has quite a soothing beat that really makes the track stand out and James’s vocals really suit the tracks style. The song appears to be about a lost love and at the moment is certainly my favourite on the album.

I felt that although James’s vocals were amazing on “Fragments” it is the track that took the longest to grow on me. It’s still an excellent track and will help this album become one of the great Manic albums that have been so lacking in recent years. The album is a slightly different direction for the band granted, but the best bits of the old Manic’s are still there 7 albums after they first appeared.

If you are a fan of the band then I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. It’s a marked improvement on the last album. The album contains a lot more ballads than previous albums but this seems to suit the Manic’s style more than the Punk Indie sound they started out with 7 albums ago. It’s a shame its taken them so long to stop reproducing the sound they achieved with Richie, if they’d managed it sooner who knows what they would have accomplished in the last 10 years. That takes nothing away from the fact they are an amazing band and this is a great album.

Available from CD-wow.com for £8.99

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