well, yes. it has indeed been quite a (comparative) while since the most recent album off of the Manic Street Preachers (The Ultra Vivid Lament, look you see) got released. and somehow i have not gone done one of them 'day of release' posts, or commented on it. as if anyone were all that interested on my musings on such. by the time i got around to considering thinking of what to write, exactly, it was near enough as close enough to going off to see them live. so yes, then, some video here for you. which, from time to time, contains words intended for a mature and sophisticated audience.
going to the start, then, for those (few) of you who haven't simply scrolled down to the video clips to check if they are any good), the album. the best way i can think of to describe my anticipation or expectation of it is that, simply, i wasn't all that ready for a new Manics album. it kind of caught me be surprise when it was announced, what with all that "lockdown" and the invisible war on the new plague last year. James Dean Bradfield going off and doing a solo record, the superb Even In Exile, and Nicky Wire recording one (yet to be released) led to a kind of tacit assumption that it would, maybe, be 2022 or beyond that a new album would come. yet, here we are.
my reaction to the lead single, Orwellian, was not exactly overwhelmed. i was highly dubious of the title, which was direct even by Wire standards. on first hearing it, it kind of felt (to be honest) like someone had fed all Manics songs into one of them proverbial "super computer" things, and then a button got pressed to make some "ai" generic tune from it all. yet on repeat hearing (Radio 2 made it song of the week, and how the Manics became a Radio 2 staple is another story) it sank in, i got to hear the words a bit better, i could get it. no, not the greatest song what they have ever done (and good luck in trying to pick one for that title), but agreeable, and certainly full worthy of borrowing a line off of for, say, a blog post.
the same, or similar, is true of the album entire, then. i am not sure who picks, or what process is followed, for naming albums in the band, but i think, in the sans Richey era, most of us would assume it's Nicky. and The Ultra Vivid Lament is an absolutely perfect title for this album. with me not being so great at articulating things, or writing and that, i shall probably have to go that "well you have to hear the record to get why" line on this.
assuming i can't get away with leaving it at that, i suppose what i draw from the title is that at times this record is "coping" or living with the past in our oh so altered present, and in the same way there are things right now we have that are, in a ultra vivid way, right in our face that we know full well we shall regret, or if you will, lament. for the former, hear album opener (which i accidentally got to be in the audience for to hear the live debut) Still Snowing In Sapporo. as for the latter, very nearly just about all of the rest of the album, with particular emphasis on Don't Let The Night Divide Us.
undoubtedly this shall now go all non non-linear, with random words coming to mind. but, yes, a lot of concert stuff then. like the picture above, which features the road crew getting the gear all nice and ready. from memory these unsung heroes were once called roadies, and that was a term of the highest honour and respect, but in this era of "ist" and "ism" accusations i have no idea if we can clutch to these most beloved terms no more.
realistically, i did not, after the first such instance (ahem, here) ever expect to see the Manics live again. certainly, at the least, not in Newcastle again, and absolutely not ever did i imagine that i would do so without my (formerly) (considerably) better half. but, things change, things fall apart, here we are in a sort of quasi new world which many of us do not understand, and this i would freely admit. so, off i went.
for some reason some of you might, possibly, wish to see footage of the band, and to clarify that yes, the Manic Street Preachers, taking to the stage, followed by the opening or starting bit of the starting or opening song what they gone done. which, in respect of the latter, would be Motorcycle Emptiness. which, oddly, was what they started with the first time we, i saw them. and yes they ended with the same one too, but hold on.
wow. as good as nineteen (19) years between performances i saw, and some three decades since that song got released. not all of that, which we call for convenience, time feels really real. whole loads of life has happened in between, for me, for us fans, for the band. a headline on a recent article on the band, concerning the album, nonchalantly referred to them as "veterans" and for some reason that just did not feel right, yet, started in the 80s, ascension to fame commenced early 90s, here we are in the 20s. it must be true.
i mean, yeah. outside of my own time (just), you had now lawyer friendly (so i shall be careful) John Lydon (when Johnny Rotten) labelling the likes of The Stones and Led Zeppelin "dinosaurs" for having the temerity to be still on the go after 10 or 15 years. at points in the 80s, when their careers had not even reach a 25th anniversary "milestone", there was an assumption that the Stones, former Beatles, and yes, even Bowie, were surely on the verge of retiring. quite a lot of this "modern life" of ours is all concerned with instantly available and immediately disposable. the latter, i think, may not be new.
but still, you know, three decades (give or take) of glorious failure. from what i remember, the intention of the band was to release a debut double album, sell sixteen million copies, then spectacularly split up. phase one done, phase two not quite, phase three just seems impossible to contemplate. i very seldom give much attention to Billy Bragg, but every now and then he says something inspire. once, and i do not recall the context, he said of the Manics "when you look at them you know that they are that band for the rest of their lives". i believe, or would like to think, or shall interpret it, as meant and intended as praise and a very good thing indeed.
contextual chart success fell upon The Ultra Vivid Lament, then, for it came to be the second album what the band has topped the album chart with (first was This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours). by a stroke of fate, fortune or all is as was written by elders in another time, in each instance of them getting to number one they were required to outsell an album off of Steps (whoever they are). due to all singles and all album charts being knacked by "streaming stats", it was so that the number of albums the Manics had to sell was in the twenty thousands to get the title. earlier this century (it is weird to write that) the band sold more copies of one album, Lifeblood, but that "only" charted at 13. the band as a result considered that album a "failure" and a "mistake they shall not repeat". strange what numbers mean something to some, then. and Lifeblood is a f*****g good album, not a mistake.
yes, that was (and i hope you can hear it) final aspect of, or lyrical coda, of If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next, a song which must feature in their top ten, fifteen, twenty or what have you. despite my blog title being a direct lyrical quote from a song off of the band, i really would be hard pressed to select a favourite lyric, or even state which was their best, greatest and most important. but, that said, what this line evokes or provokes has always resonated with me. no, not a clue as to why that may be so. just glad that it does.
go back to the album for a bit? sure. in the build up to the release, a lot was made, or mentioned, or some sort of Abba (the band, not rhyme scheme. although......) influence on the record. nope, no idea, really. outside of the big, well known hits i cannot say i am all that familiar with them, so didn't get it. sure, every now and then a bit of piano here and there on a song sounded a bit like what you might get on an Abba song, but is one, i wonder, not just hearing that for they are told it is there? no matter, for above all, and overall, it is a Manics album, albeit a 21st century one.
more amateur (moi) filmed footage? sure. an unexpected moment at the gig, and dare i say treat. in the sort of one off gigs (including a couple in support of NHS charities and workers) leading up to the tour proper (of this was the first night), James had done his usual solo acoustic spot. for this he had been doing From Despair To Where. the printed set list for this gig (and these are treasured collectors items for those that grab them) reflected it would be this. and yet, after some friendly, good spirited banter with the crowd (titles, and in some instances even chords, such as and from Sleepflower and Faster were to be heard), we got this instead. mindful that the below clip is meant for a mature, well informed, grown up audience.
oh yes, hell yes, we got treated to what you can only assume or presume was an off the cuff, impromptu decision to do Stay Beautiful instead. not that i, or you would think the majority of people in, would have had any quarrel at all with Despair, but here we are. considering that the band had mentioned (to say issued warning would be too much, too strong) that there were some songs they knew were fan favourites that they weren't doing as they "didn't feel like that band at the moment" (or words to that effect), it was quite something we got so many songs off of the debut, Generation Terrorists.
bands, or artists, doing "covers" is something of a contentious issue for some. there are acts what insist on doing their stuff and their stuff alone, likewise a certain clique of musical fans believe that only the person what done a song originally should ever sing it. or perform it. for me, or moi, well, why not, i say. it's not like we stop orchestras and what have you from doing Beethoven, or a Mozart or Bach (or indeed a combined Mach piece) just because him what wrote it isn't there.
it can be quite smart, as i would like to think the video above, and video below show (allowing for the poor quality and shoddy camerawork), when a band you love decides to go full tilt and play a tune off of one of the bands what influenced them to be in a band in the first place.
from what i can recall, this is their second dalliance with Guns n Roses. early on (and i am not expert, they may well have done others) they used to do It's So Easy (i think). one would certainly suggest the melodious sounds of Sweet Child O Mine is much more the pace they presently go, mind.
enough video for now, then. back to the album of the moment, for which this post was always, in a kind of quasi ostensible way, a review of. i have little or no issue with it, just like i have not had with the majority of their records. just about the only Manics albums i don't revisit are Postcards From A Young Man, as i have not been curious to hear it again, and Gold Against The Soul, because i simply don't feel much of a connection with it. for the latter, i know, many more devout fans would say that i should be arrested and stripped of any "proper fan" status. condemn me, history shall love us all.
there's no quarrel i have with any specific song on the record, but every now and then a line or two from each just feels "hmn". for instance, the song Complicated Illusions is, itself, quite brilliant, but the title sounds rather forced and contrived as a lyric. not far from this, Quest For Ancient Colour is one outstanding song, but for some inexplicable reason one early line in it, the main actor was me, just irks me a little and doesn't sound right.
an idling "concern" i have is that across this and the previous three (i think) albums, being Resistance Is Futile, Futurology and Rewind The Film, there's a great big pile of excellent songs they gone done. yet, not just in terms of a setlist for a gig, none of them appear to have any design or ambition for longevity. it is almost like they are of the "classic" mindset that to tour they need an album out, and to some extent they might be seeing aspects of a new record as "product", to be used for a year or so doing gigs, then left on a shelf. but, let me make it clear, if they are doing that to any level, there is absolutely no drop off of quality at all. so, long may it go.
yeah, that's how my deluxe, signed edition CD and tape landed. for the deluxe CD thing, if i were a collector what intended to (for some reason) leave it sealed i might have been annoyed at the sticker somehow being torn in transit, but it is in the bin now anyhow. indeed it is signed off of the band. they really, really, really like signing stuff, and i have simply lost track of how much signed stuff i have off of then. indeed i do worry that their hands must knack after any particular release. not going to lie, it was disappointing to see the tape in a (cheap) cardboard slip cover, rather than the "proper" cassette box like what we got for Resistance Is Futile and indeed Even In Exile, but a pure nostalgia purchase, so no real harm done.
back on the chart performance (which does appear to remain important to Mr Wire, and possibly the rest of the band), after hitting the charts at 1 (one) it did drift to 14 or 15 the week after. and, by the time this gets published (or posted) it may even be all the way out of the top forty (40), with any chart presence maintained by these "streaming" devices or platforms or what have you. not at all sure how many new fans they attract, or how many would be drawn in by this album. hopefully some, you know, and there was a few people younger than me at the gig. but, ultimately, i think they are aware that for the most part, or the bulk, there is a locked in acolyte army of fans who shall support them now and until one of us stops being a thing.
of gig, then, a bit more footage. and yes, if i remember it all correct (i cannot, oddly, preview the video as i write), there are some words here which are intended for a mature, informed audience. should that not be clear enough, this is Nicky giving a nod to his mate James, and then James giving every indication that he and the band were to perform a "proper f*****g 90s" song. which they did.
sorry, yes, i know a few here may well prefer i had recorded (and included) songs in their entirety. but no, that's not me, really. mostly, dominantly, i wished to enjoy the gig, which i very much did. also, though, i was mindful of family, friends and so on (well, family, friends and a special friend) who either wished to be there but could not, or were curious. my ambition and aim was to capture some fragments for them, and i trust they have no objection to such being further shared here.
a brief break in transmission, kind of, to give a shout out (if such is worth anything here) to the support band, Low Hummer. they are a boss six piece (sextuplet?) out of Hull, and (so far as i can recall) the greatest music thing i have heard off of Hull since Mick Ronson, or The Housemartins. i really liked them, and am going to seek out their debut album. sure, true, their best song might have been, in effect, Bowie's Fashion with different words, but what can i say, it worked.
it starts and ends with you, then. as has become custom to close Manics gigs for 20 or so years (give or take), the evening of minstrel festivity is at an end when one hears A Design For Life. it became an anthem of sorts for the "second wave" of Manic existence, the song that many thought would not ever have been, for how were they ever going to recover - mostly personally, but to an extent lyrically - from the disappearance of Richey Edwards. well, they did. the band speak of this song being, when they wrote it, the moment they knew they could continue, the world embraced it, and wanted it to be.
one thing that surprises a few is that A Design For Life, like parent album Everything Must Go, didn't make number one. indeed they have had a couple of number one singles (back when it was actually something and impressive to do so, based on sales), but this resides as one of a greater number of number two hits they have had. yet most would possibly call this their "biggest hit". most iconic is, depending who you ask, likely Motown Junk, which got as high as 94 (ninety four) in the singles chart.
certainly it is so that some have mumbled, moaned and groaned about the chosen set list for this git. it is most decidedly so that many have done such for their set lists for north of twenty years. no complaints from me at all, but then i went perfectly content to hear whatever it was they fancied playing. yes, i do understand and "get" that many wish to hear a Faster or a Motown Junk, either for personal reasons or just because they are great songs. but i rather more get the band when they say they don't particularly see or "feel" themselves to be that band momentarily.
in fairness, as a "gimme" for fans, it wasn't all that long ago that, for Faster and more, they did all of the magnificent Holy Bible album live on a tour. one would struggle to blame them for wishing to leave it alone for a while, and just do what they will instead.
to the end, then, and the closure of A Design For Life, and the band exiting the stage. my very good friend with me was taken a bit by surprise that, as if on cue, when the band did the song and left, we knew to go, that it was the end. as in, no encore. at some stage, some tacit, unspoken agreement was reached between band and fan. they were never ones to wish to p!ss about with the vanity, the ego and the cliche of a stage managed encore for more. sending fans home with this song ringing in their ears just turned into a win-win way to say goodnight.
will it ever be so that i see them for a third time? no idea. i don't rule it out, but absolutely nothing of this second instance of being there seeing them was something i had ever really contemplated. great that it was so, of course. we shall see.
as for where next for the Manics, well, somewhere. perhaps Nicky shall contrive to release his recorded second solo album, then another Manics album in two or three years. in any instance of possibility, so long as they remain (reasonably) fit and well, i expect them to be back, if they ever really go away.
many thanks for reading, and i hope the videos were kind of sort of ok!
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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