The point at which the Manic Street Preachers lost their magical edge is a constant source of debate. Some consider when they sold out and signed to Sony against all they said before was the end, others the moment Richey Edwards left and they decided to carry on as a trio. Others however put the blame squarely on this, their second ever album. Having said that, it really is not such a bad record as it may appear.
‘Gold Against the Soul’ was a big move following the Manics first album ‘Generation Terrorists’. The first was pure punk rock with the aim of being as obnoxious and destructive as possible. And they did it well, with this album being much more of a comedown. It is much more heavily produced with the aim to please the music industry and markets, particularly the American one. An idle promise was the Manic Street Preachers would split up after one album, this shows how much they went back on it. It is a little disappointing effort from them. There are some roaring guitar solos and riffs, but they all sound a little off. Richey Edward’s lyrics are there to put a touch above others on this record that helps a great deal. It is a more an attempt to please than an attempt to make stunning music that they can do. Only a few tracks on the album do stand out, with there
being just ten on the album it is a short trip but the album does manage to find some decent songs amongst all this.
1. Sleepflower The first track on the album does provide one of those moments. Opening with a very distinctive and strong guitar riff with the old power chords adding simplicity. It is a very good song of a loud wall of sound that provides a good backdrop to some stunning lyrics. Some of the images that are created are amazing through the words.
2. From Despair to Where Another track from Richey Edwards about his state of mind. Just looking at the title shows the sombre mood. It is another decent album track with another strong guitar riff in the chorus, but it is more about the poetry of the words instead of the music.
3. La Tristesse Durera Possibly the best the album has to offer, and one of the only songs off this album that does reappear every now and again. One of the only rock songs written about respect for an old age pensioner, it is about a war hero who is subsequently discarded afterwards. The title itself ‘La Tristesse Durera’ literally means the sadness goes on, was taken from Vincent van Gogh suicide note another sign of the Manics political and educated prowess that they like to display.
4. Yourself A weaker track than any of the first three openers, this track just fails to catch on or ignite anything. In a way it moves back to the punk roots of destruction and hating superficial changes, but it is overblown with the screaming vocals and messy guitars. Not a classic, just about able to listen through to the end.
5. Life Becoming a Landslide This song also fails to live up to the opening trio of songs, but remains better than ‘Yourself’. It has a much more relaxed approach with strings and melodies in the vocals, with some great lines. ‘Oh there is no true love/Just a finely tuned jealousy’ is just one such example. Also another haunting view into Richey’s head with detailed sympathy for childbirth and not wanting to grow up. All this is there to be investigated in detail if you want to, but on the surface it is both beautiful and disturbing.
6. Drug Drug Druggy Not a classic, but full of energy that runs along with the track. It picks up the pack with roaring guitars, but also typifies much of the album with an attempt to please with too many solos and loud riffs. The lyrics are, as ever sound, generally looking down on the world of drugs there are some really good single lines that do add a lot to the song.
7. Roses in the Hospital This track is much better than some of the previously poor offerings preceding it. It is a slow grower on you that gives an incentive to keep listening, this track is about as epic as the album gets with a slower and softer song. Some of the best lyrics are found here with the verses lining up against each other, while James Dean Bradfield’s voice is great over the choruses. At the end though there is a pointless name check of The Clash with ‘Rudi gonna fail’ in answer to the song ‘Rudi Can’t Fail’. It’s all a bit silly that takes away from the generally good song.
8. Nostalgic Pushead A brilliant title if you could call it that is the only really stand out moment here. It tries to shock by hitting all the things they hate, especially people from London with their flash looks which they don’t seem to like much. In the end it just gets clumsy with no impact.
9. Symphony of Tourette The Tourette illness where the sufferer has involuntary tick of speech with swear words is an odd topic for a song, trying to take a narrative view of a situation. It would be a better song if there was less interference over the vocals and guitars so you could actually make out the words and the tune, so it does end up a disappointment unless you are willing to take time to read through it slowly.
10. Gold Against the Soul. The title track is last up, with a slower and acoustic trip that serves up a mellow side to the album. Again the political edge to the lyrics add something that most bands could not manage to stir up, but the song lacks any real pace or a stand out moment. It is a fairly bland end to the album. Easy to listen through, but unspectacular which is a bit of a let down.
This album probably does not deserve to be just discarded. There are several decent tracks, along with some sublime lyrics all the way that many other bands simply cannot match. It is a bit of a let down for many, and it is a big change from their first album. Still it remains good and worth a listen at very least.
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This is one of the best Manics albums. Great review. :o) Chris x
Izzy_Lizzy 22.07.2003 19:20
Sounds like I'm in the minority liking all eras of the Manics' music, but the VH is for it being a very well written op anyway ;)
andystrong 04.06.2003 17:48
A good op. I am not, nor have I ever been, a huge fan of The Manics BUT after The Holy Bible (which is a brilliant album) this is the next best thing they've done. I think their post 1996 albums have been dreadful personally. Like you say in your op - they said they'd release 2 singles and 1 album then bugger off back to University...they never did though. Well written and structured piece.
Advantages: A great Album With loads of great styles to choose from Disadvantages: Some of the songs are a bit wearing on you and don't offer much in addiction
Jun 3rd, 2003
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