Gold Against the Soul (Parental Advisory) [PA] - Manic Street Preachers > Reviews (18)

Manic Street Preachers - Gold Against the Soul

"Gold Against the Soul" is the 2nd studio album by Welsh rock artists, Manic Street Preachers. It was released in 1993 on Columbia Records and produced by Dave Eringa. The line-up for the album was James Dean Bradfield (vocals/guitar), Richey Edwards (guitar), Nicky Wire (bass) and Sean Moore (drums).

Introduction

The Manic Street Preachers needed something special as the follow-up album to 1992's "Generation Terrorists" but what transpired was something with mixed reviews. Some fans liked "Gold Against the Soul", some didn't. The band certainly didn't like the album as the record company pressured them into writing songs that could guarantee more air time which changed their genre completely. The hard-edged punk/pop sound was gone, and in its place was pop/rock. This was the first Manics album produced by Dave Eringa but it wouldn't be the last time the band worked with him as he would go on to produce another five of the band's albums up to 2010.

"Gold Against the Soul" reached No.8 in the UK album charts and the three singles that were released off the album all charted. "From Despair to Where" hit No.25, "La Tristessa Durera (Scream to a Sigh)" peaked at No.22 and "Roses in the Hospital" was the biggest hit out of the three, crashing in at No.15.

Sleepflower

The album starts out with "Sleepflower" and a lightly-picked riff sets the tone before the power chords make their appearance. Bradfield still has his sharper vocals and Nicky Wire's bass has a great sound to it. It's also good to hear Richey Edwards on guitar for the first time (all guitar parts for the band's first album were recorded by Bradfield). The bridge on this song is my favourite part with some really good hard rocking guitar playing that's backed up expertly by the rhythm section. The lyrics are about insomnia caused by stress - how the mind keeps you awake worrying about those things in life that you just can't escape from. It's a really good album opener and we're in for a good roller coaster of a ride if this is anything to go by.

From Despair to Where

This is a writing masterclass from the often troubled Richey James Edwards, who was a manic depressive and it completely sums up his life when he once said "It gets to a point where you really can't operate any more as a human being - you can't get out of bed, you can't...make yourself a cup of coffee without something going badly wrong or your body's too weak to walk." - in the song he's saying that growing up becomes more of a chore than an enjoyment because all the fun disappears the older you get, no matter how much you try to convince yourself it's all going to be okay. I love the guitar playing on this song during the chorus which is a steady and solid riff that holds emotion as it's played. The organ being played in the background also stays to the mood of the song that keeps hold of you.

La Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh)

The title for "La Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh)" was taken from the last words spoken by 19th century post-Impressionist, Vincent van Gogh, who shot himself.

His last words were reputed to translate as "The sadness lasts forever". It's a sort of play on words, though, because the song's lyrics are sung through the eyes of a war veteran that is left to rot by the system year after year, by not being able to pay his bills because of a lack of a proper pension. The soldier has to sell the medals he won for defending his country and this is the respect he gets. Musically, I think it's some of the best work the Manic Street Preachers have ever recorded. It starts off slow and keeps the same tempo but yet in the same tone, completely changes the mood of the song from sombre to upbeat. The solo in the bridge is wonderful and although it's difficult to deconstruct, the emotion is definitely there. This is my favourite song on the album because of its meaning.

Yourself

Here is a song that deals with the subject of acceptance within society. It's told through the eyes of a man who lives his life willing to serve just to please others but in reality he doesn't like the person he sees in the mirror every morning when he wakes up, brushes his teeth and shaves. He's disgusted at the man staring back at him but just doesn't have enough fight left to do something about it. The music in the song is intricate yet simple enough to grasp with a punchy delivery of chugging guitars in the verses, leading to a catchy chorus with indie-style drumming that continues into the bridge and a rocking solo that then brings you back to another verse. Bradfield's vocals are reminiscent of the band's first album and that's what I like the most about this song.

Life Becoming a Landslide

This is a carefully orchestrated song that begins slowly, but once it gets going it actually rocks. It's a song about the differences between youth and maturity - things you see as a child that you're not supposed to see and the mental scarring that these things may have on you. Richey said "It's about the fact that if you go into newsagents and see pornography on the shelves at an early age, it becomes very difficult to reconcile that with the idea of 'love' that you're presented with later." The chorus is a joy to listen to and the riffs are delivered with a good deal of ferocity, which hadn't really been heard much on the album.

Drug Drug Druggy

This is a punchy rock song that is about the designer drug culture within the youth of society around the time it was written. The band is saying that ecstasy, which was killing people back then, is not the be all end all and there's better things you could be doing with your life than taking something that could sign your death warrant. While the song has harder guitars than some tracks on the album, it's Bradfield's vocals that steal the show but that's largely because the guitar sound is somewhat complex and it's hard to work out if that works or not.

Roses in the Hospital

The song was written by Richey Edwards and regards his tormented life as a self-harmer, telling the story of someone who hurts himself so that he can begin the healing process and get better again.

Edwards often cut himself with knives and burnt himself with lit cigarettes and he once said "When I cut myself I feel so much better. All the little things that might have been annoying me suddenly seem so trivial because I'm concentrating on the pain. I'm not a person who can scream and shout so this is my only outlet. It's all done very logically."

Nostalgic Pushead

This is a song that, no matter how hard I try, I just cannot get into - and the weird thing is, it sounds good! The sound is a throwback to the band's first album and everything about it should make me like it but I have no explanation of why I don't. Part of me thinks that it was a song left over from "Generation Terrorists" and put on this album for a filler but that's something we'll probably never know. It's probably the weakest song on the album but many people would likely say it's the strongest.

Symphony of Tourette

This is a hard-rocking song with meaningful lyrics dealing with the subject of Tourette's Syndrome. It's done from the point of view of a child that has the disorder, with him saying that he tries really hard not to swear or twitch or stutter, but there's nothing he can do about it. Unfortunately, the music doesn't match the lyrics and it drones on in the background, largely unnoticed. If only the band had taken a little more time in writing the guitar parts, it may have sounded a lot better and could potentially have been the best song on the album.

Gold Against the Soul

We finish the album off with a song that is about the miners' strike in the UK during 1984-85. The title goes down the lines of the fat cats getting richer for sitting in their offices all day while the miners toiled away down the pits. Ten people lost their lives during the strike as tensions ran high during the picketers and the workers. That's only one theme of the song, though, as many issues are brought to the listener's attention, ranging from cigarette manufacturers that are only interested in profit to slavery.

Summary

While this is a solid Manic Street Preachers album, I couldn't help but feel it went down the wrong tracks and made the band turn the corner into commercialisation. The songs got that extra bit softer after this album and that didn't sit well with me as I was expecting a punk-fused rock band for the majority of songs. That said, it's still a good album but I'm just fortunate that I saw the band in 1991, before they changed their genre.

Track Listing

1. Sleepflower
2. From Despair to Where
3. La Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh)
4. Yourself
5. Life Becoming a Landslide
6. Drug Drug Druggy
7. Roses in the Hospital
8. Nostalgic Pushead
9. Symphony of Tourette
10. Gold Against the Soul

My rating: 7/10