Manic Street Preachers - Generation Terrorists 20th Anniversary Edition

hi there

i have noticed that on this blog October has rather become Rocktober, has it not? there seems to be a good deal of music news to share all of a sudden. no bad thing, i guess!

the equation Manic Street Preachers + Box Set + Sony Exclusive Store has to date equalled a bit of a mess, or if you will a complete mess. this was the conclusion of one of the biggest wasted opportunites ever, when a shoddy, missing songs set was unleashed at quite a cost to the general fan. that was covered in some detail on this blog last year. if you cannot be bothered to search for the posts relating to it, here's a link to a quick search i did for all the posts i did on the National Treasures Complete Shambles Box Set debacle.

i was a bit disappointed, then, to see that the "super special edition" of the imminent re-release of their debut album, Generation Terrorists, was being handled by the same means. as it turns out, though, it would seem that Sony have learned from the mistakes of last year and have delivered a decent quality item at a  rather reasonable price!

i am not going to repeat the details of what's in the box set here. for that you can either go to the Sony MyPlayDirect Store to have a look and order if you so wish, or for further pictures and an actual track listing you can check out the superb SuperDeluxeEdition site. the chaps at SDE seem to agree with me that this is an excellent price for what you get.

that price would be £45, or if you are a "rest of the world" type you get a USA fee of $75. as for what you get for that money here's a quick look for those of you who simply cannot be bothered to click on either of the links provided in the last paragraph.

is it just me or does that look quite amazing? is it just me, or does that look amazing?

even happier news is that one does not get stung with an insane shipping fee. i cannot speak for the countries that Sony prefer to sell things in, namely the USA and the UK, but the rest of the world courier fee came in at a mere US$5.00 - yes, five!

i know the above as i have ordered it. i never thought i would be granted enough life to live long enough to say this, but it is true - for a change Sony, usually the most anti-fan and anti-consumer organization going, have got this set down spot on perfect. content + cost = very fair, excellent deal for fans, giving them what they want for a not so bad price. well done to them, and one can only hope this is the start of a trend that sees Sony appreciate people who give them money.

as for if the album itself is any good or not, well kind of. big, bloated, bombastic and bold would be the best review. it features some of their greatest ever songs, in particular Motorcycle Emptiness and You Love Us which means it can never, ever be described as bad. hopefully the extras will justify the cost; will comment when i hear them. for now, though, it's big, shiny and pretty and thus it's bought.


be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!