Everything Must Go

Fine. If I heard this on the radio back in the day on the college station or whatnot I’d probably like it enough to keep listening but not enough to seek out the album and buy it. I read the story behind the song Kevin Carter. Heavy.

Given the backstory of this album, I wish I was more into this, but it just didn’t grab me at all. Pretty bland alt rock with nothing interesting to set it apart from the rest. Meh.

After the first couple of songs came on, I was like “Oh, ok. I’m not going to love this, but it’s fine. Probably a 3.” Half an hour later, I realized that my earbuds were still in and it was still playing. Not a great sign. I listened to the last few songs more actively, despite the album apparently not deserving my attention. Are they just watered down Green Day? Anyway, it was a pretty nothing of an album, and I can’t justify putting it in the same tier as other albums I’ve given threes to, even CrazySexyCool.

Excellent and mature album with brilliant songs, though different to their earlier material.

meh

A very strong 4.

Really good album. Probably 4.5. A design for life is an amazing song.

Nothing spectacular but an alright album

Horrible voice, sadly

Definitely not the Manics strongest work, but still worthy of a generous 4 - I am a particular fan of Kevin Carter and Enola/Alone.

A Design for Life // Enola / Alone //

En av deras bästa album, men Manics har inte åldrats så väl. Mkt stadiumriffande, men också mästerverk som a design to life

Too much pop for my taste

My late father in law was a huge fan of Manic Street Preachers. We lost him recently and unexpectedly so this was really hard to listen to for me. Great nonetheless and he would've definitely given it 5 stars

Everything Must Go isn’t a great album, but it’s not unlistenable either. It just feels like Steely Dan running on cruise control—clean, polished, but kind of forgettable. The jazz-rock fusion is still there, but the spark is a little dimmer than on their classic albums. “Everything Must Go” as a concept sounds promising, but most of the tracks blur together. The one that stood out to me was “Australia”—catchier and with a bit more energy. Overall, it’s fine background music, but not one I’ll be coming back to often. Favorite song: Australia

Forgettable

Thanks for reintroducing this album to me, I had forgotten how good it was.

Well, this is one of the not-so-bad Britpop albums. It's always just a little bit below being overly pretentious.

Too soon! I’m still trying to figure out how I feel about the MSP album I got five days ago! 1) Each album has two or three songs I really quite like, while the rest make me wonder if there’s something wrong with me for liking the ones I do. 2) Is this My Chemical Romance’s favorite band?

can't tell if I just got used to his voice or it actually got better throughout, but either way its great. I love the heavier guitars on most songs. not much else to say just good, some vocals are a bit weird, not sure how to explain it. Favourite songs: Elvis impersonator : Blackpool pier, Kevin Carter, Enola/alone, removables, Australia, Interiors (song for Willem de kooning), Further away, no surface all feeling. Overall around 8/10

1. elviz - 1 2. life - 1.5 3. kevin - 1 4. enola - 1 5. go - 0 6. zky - 1.5 7. girl - 1 8. removablez - 1 9. auztralia - 1 10. interiorz - 0 11. auuay - 1 12. feeling - 1.5

Never heard of them, but I listened ... Now I don't have to do that again.

Väldigt till intetsägande, inget jag kommer lägga på minnet

297/1001 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑

2.4 1x catchup 2/24

I am starting to see why the reviews complain about how much Britpop is on this list. This is yet another Britpop album but honestly it falls into the same category as every other one so far; Meh. Enola/alone was pretty good, but everything else was just average, nothing really stood out.

Very bland but like somehow sounds like it’s trying to sound like more? Does that make sense? Every song sounds like the singer is trying to make it sound like emotion is there but there somehow isn’t. Like when you see someone smile but it doesn’t reach their eyes.

Good lord, no thank you. This is an awful album. 1/5

Groupe inconnu. Les premiers morceaux sont intéressants : instrumentation originale parfois (entendre de la harpe était une bonne surprise), harmonie un peu peu plus recherchée que d'habitude pour du rock. J'ai apprécié "A Design for Life", "Kevin Carter". Mais l'album ne tient pas la distance, je me suis un peu ennuyé vers la fin. Découverte intéressante donc, mais qui ne rejoindra pas ma collection. =>3/5

I value my time too much to listen to every song on this album. Design for Life is a fantastic song, otherwise it was largely dull and irritating 2/5

This felt like an AI generated britpop album. Middle of the road guff, snuck a 3

Upbeat Brit-rock, catchy enough and fairly pleasant to listen to. Some of this feels like 'you had to be there' music. I'm just wondering now if I don't really like 90s British music all that much, outside of Oasis and some odd singles (Blur, etc).

not very appealling to me

As a fan of most things Brit Rock I felt absolutely nothing listening to this. Maybe it was having the most generic singer in the world.

I guess I’m revising my stance on Britpop. Who knows what it really is? I thought Oasis and Blur were emblematic of the scene at large, and it turns out that may not be the case. Whatever. I LOVED this album. It has elements of U2, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Radiohead. It’s a wonderful blend of rock sounds from all across the spectrum. The lyrics are downers even when the songs are anthems. The guitars are loud and interesting. The singer freakin’ wails. This was my introduction to the Manics and I may be in for a long process of discovering their discography. So good. Five stars. Must-listen #82.

I think this has some really strong tracks so I definitely will listen again. But other songs fell flat.

A good pick. Definitely enjoyed this better than The Holy Bible which turned up about 45 albums ago for me. Always liked the songs I've heard from the Manics so it's nice to have the opportunity to give them a listen. Would spin this again

New to me. Solid. Sounded like early Train. Was unremarkable and fine.

and now that ive listened to this album, im prepared for a lifetime of never listening to it again

This very much reminded me of Spilt Milk by Jellyfish. Some high quality power pop here. There might be too much Britpop on the list, but it allows me to find new ones I like such as this so I can’t always complain. Favorite songs were Elvis Impersonator: Blackpool Pier, Kevin Carter, Ebola / Alone, Everything Must Go, and Australia.

This is great! An excellent argument for this project is introducing me to great music I MISSED ON PURPOSE. Growing up in the 90's, for me, was only Alternative. And I missed so much! Hooks everywhere! Really not much wasted space. The songs feel big, but never bloated. The hooks land, the words hit, and it moves fast. Nothing fancy—just solid. Playlist Additions: - A Design for Life - Kevin Carter - Enola/Alone - Australia

Average 90s pop rock. nothing that really sticks for me but it's well written and don't make me skip any songs halfway through.

Great singles, rest of the album felt long and unfocused in places

Not quite my tempo.

yep... everything must go... including this album

I remember turning around on this one. Was not impressed at the beginning but started enjoying it halfway through.

I'm not sure I like 90's brit-rock. Oh well. (12 known/20 new)

Seems like an unpolished recording at a club. The Brits must’ve been hurting for good music that year.

This is the most generic brit pop. Who put it in this list? WHO!?

Another head scratcher... I remember them being pushed on me at the record stores and on compilation discs of up and commer's at the time. They never struck a chord with me, generic 90's pop rock. I am not familiar with this album at all, but 47M people have listened to "A Design For Life" so I thought I must know it from the radio or a party, nope. If that's the best song on the disc... Vocals are weak and strained. Music is average and overly busy. No hooks. No hits. The strings they added didn't enhance the music, only muddied it further. No influence, zero radio play. I didn't make it fully through any of the songs, no compelling reason to waste a full 45 minutes. Two stars, it was just so average from top to bottom. I can think of 20 other albums from 1996 with more to offer.

This album should not have been on this list and instead they should have put on an album by a WOMAN!! does the author of this list know what that is???? I miss LADIES people saying this sounds like oasis?? I'm taking offense on Stirling's behalf This isn't probably as bad as i'm about to rate it but i'm just annoyed. Also i didn't like it lmao

This album proves the marketing principle that if you want to make something popular, make it bland. I've always found the Preachers very boring but (as a result) never listened to an entire album. I did now and won't do it again. This sounds like a local teenage band - alright with a pint of Guinness in the Rose and Crown on Friday evenings. I find is musically very weak, it's just a bunch of 1990's clichés (OK then, dated now) with samey (and unpleasantly shouty) vocals. But hey, they call themselves preachers after all. Bumped a point because some songs are catchy (A Design for Life, Kevin Carter).

Not my fav pero mola

3.5 Fav tracks: Everything Must Go, Australia

Ei itseä varten tämä lätty.

I even went to the 2016 remastered version hoping that would help. Apparently I'm averse to britpop along with most all **** Pop.

About on par with Steely Dan's identically named Everything Must Go album – another pleasant but relatively forgettable 3-star hitter. The music in the Manics' version is good, inoffensive, passable – but not much beyond that. The guitar sound is a little on-the-nose for 90s alt-rock. Its distortion is so darn overdone for that musical era that you pretty much tune it out as a listener in search of something more unique. A Design for Life reminds me of a better version of Sulk (off Radiohead's The Bends, released a year earlier). The "group" singing is a musical trend that I feel really picked up in the early 2000s, so in that sense the Manics were ahead of their time. The Girl Who Wanted to Be God is another standout track. It sounds very much like something the Smiths would've released. The tambourine and spacious production is a big part of that. Morrissey's undeniable stage presence is missing though, replaced by a fairly generic youthful quasi-rock vocal. The singing does sound pretty good when it's self-harmonising though (as it does in many choruses throughout the album). The album closer, No Surface All Feeling is the rare track that actually has a riff, and a good one at that – though it's overpowered by the avalanche of distortion on the rhythm guitar when it appears. I like the juxtaposition between high and low sections of the song. There are a few tracks that do pretty much nothing for me, which is another factor bringing this down from 4 or 5 stars. 3/5 Key tracks: A Design for Life, The Girl Who Wanted to Be God, No Surface All Feeling

I liked the sound. Good musicality but only one song kind of caught me.

Holy shit, how many more milk toast Britpop albums do we need to listen to before we die? Is the goal here to prove to us how awful life can be? Is THAT why we listen to these albums? I'd rather listen to a real manic street preacher going on about the end of the world.

Nearly every one of these dozen tracks sounds like rip offs of nearly as many bands that are far better and far more successful.

По мнению А: 4/5 По мнению С: 5/5 ИТОГОВАЯ ОЦЕНКА: 4/5 (25.01.2025)

It’s alright

So just listening on the surface and not getting too deep, it was good. Lots of good beats, rhythms and hooks (except maybe Kevin Carter, just a little repetitive). But then I read a little more into the lyrics and they are really poetic and deep, but ALL over the place. We are mad about British culture being overtaken American culture, mental health related to being overwhelmed by world atrocities, please like our new songwriter and more commercial songs, I wish I hadn't forgotten my working class roots...just really all over the place. As one off songs it would make sense, but as an album it was just a lot of different things to focus on.

Here's what I really like about this music... Big fuzzy layered guitars lots of sweeping builds and drops. Anthem rock songs. Driving bass lines. Great melodies. I wanna sing along but here's where it falls a little short for me. I'm having trouble making out the lyrics and have no idea what we are singing about. I am the girl who wanted to be God? okay then. Our removables are transitory? ... that's deep, man. (I guess) is this song about prosthetics? Australia. Great song. Never been. I have no reason to get that excited about Australia but apparently the country moved them enough to write a song. Interiors... something about Peter Pan but he could be singing about peanut butter for all I know. It gets a little samesy by the end. My favorites were Design for Life, Everything Must Go, Australia, No Surface All Feeling.

Musically this is ok. It is mundane 90’s alt-rock but does have some nice orchestral touches here and there. His voice is awful. It sounds so overly earnest and lives in that space between nails and chalkboard.

This album is rockin! Loved the emotion and the songs are super catchy and make me want to dance. Just really fun Welsh rock and roll.

i really enjoyed the album, such a unique lyrics and i love the voice of the vocalist here

A bit dated.

nem volt rossz de annyira jo se, kicsit erdektelen lettem ezzel az albummal kapcsolatban es kinda hosszu is volt xdd

Kedvenc/Favourite: The Girl Who Wanted to Be God Nem fogott meg, nagyon tipikus ilyen 90-es évek zene, ami annyira nincs közel a szívemhez. Biztos van, akinek nagyon tetszik, látom benne a potenciált, de én nem ilyen vagyok valamiért. It didn't resonate with me, it's very typical 90's music that's not really close to my heart. I'm sure some people like it a lot, I can see the potential in it, but I'm not like that for some reason.

Woof, not good. Self righteous, no risks - might as well be AI

Ok

British Weezer in my book.

Didn’t care much for this, nothing special, could have gone my life without hearing it for sure

The best!

Hello, and welcome to another edition of George's Over Emotional and Never Ending Reviews. First, a bit of context: I think this was the first ever album I can remember having a release date. I was 12 when this came out, and had a friend who was two years older than me, who was terribly excited. So I remember its arrival as an event. I think I remember the first time we listened to it, on tape of course. The opener starts so weirdly, and is a generally slightly surprising first 30-45 seconds until the brilliant chorus comes in. Then you get smashed in the face with Design for Life and all bets are off for the next 40 minutes. A tiny dip for tracks 3 to 5, despite the brilliance of Enola/Alone, until Small Black Flowers cuts you off at the knees with its perfection. It feels like a final brilliant coda of Richey's lyrics. Australia sees you through another slightly less good section (although I've warmed to Removables a lot) and the whole thing is finished with No Surface, the best of the lot and a very, very meaningful song for me. It's not actually perfect, and it loses some points for the presence of Further Away. It's not a bad song in and of itself, but it's a love song, and I'm afraid that's broken the Manics' constitution, and Richey would be spinning in his grave/Vietnamese beachside hut.

Australia was a banger

Didn't age that well

Loads of energy and great songs but this is rather a collection of songs than an album. As a listening experience it gets a bit boring after a while. There is also something about the harmonic choices that I can't fall completely in love with but I will revisit this.

Wasn't expecting much from this group, as I did a bit of research and saw it was yet ANOTHER UK rock band from the 90's who the author of this list seems to love and forces them on us. I listened all the way through and actually didn't think it was all that awful. Nothing spectacular, but I found a couple of songs that worked. 3/5

voice is a bit jarring ...like instrumentals bit struggle with voice

Decent sound, wasn’t too memorable for me.

Я себе добавила, надеюсь, приживется

To me, this is the kind of music you might hear from the speakers in a parking garage or at a small town mall. Completely unremarkable.

stuff that's not great: - sounding a lot like early Radiohead - also sounding a bit like Muse or whatever that band I don't like is stuff that's cool: - some of the guitar parts - managing to use lyrics written by a disappeared band member (known to be almost certainly dead already at this point) and sound not like a tribute, or exploitation, or gloomy memorial - continuing to split band money equally with said disappeared guy indefinitely and it's the last couple that have me round up to 3. music: hated. (⌐■_■)

[pulling out a dusty file that says “Bands I Never Thought About Before But Now I Think They Are At Least Kind Of Ok” and adding a new page to it, never to be revisited again]

Excellent Brit pop that overstays its welcome a bit toward the end.

Excellent. I'm stunned I've never heard this before. Great mid-90s rock that feels slightly ahead of it's time. Exists perfectly alongside Oasis and predating some of the more poppy Foo Fighters efforts. Loved it.

Eigentlich ganz gut. Angenehm anzuhören, nicht zu lang oder langweilig.

To basic

81% Best: A Design for Life; Enola/Alone; Everything Must Go; Removables; All Surface No Feeling Must-Hear? Almost

I really enjoyed Generation Terrorists when it came out and was a big Manic's fan even though they were bellends in their early years. As they matured I liked them less and less - a bit too portentous and lacking fun. Quite enjoyed "Everything must go" - but found it a bit flat and washed over me without sparking much joy. Singles are okay - but thats probably as have heard them so much. Was hoping to like the album more and that my younger self would be proved wrong for dismissing them but still found it all a bit meh.. 2/5 is probably harsh - its more a 2.5.

Everything Must Go I remember I was quite late to this, for some reason it was only when Australia was released that I bought it. In fact I think I bought it in HMV in Oxford Street in December ‘96, and subsequently I do associate it with Christmas, probably playing it a lot on my Sony midi hi-fi system I got for Christmas that year. I haven’t listened in a while but it’s so familiar from so many listens; the windswept loneliness of Elvis Impersonator, the imperious A Design for Life, the new-wave-ish scratchiness of Kevin Carter, the anthemic rockness of Enola/Alone and Interiors, the emotionally triumphant title track, the bleakness of Small Black Flowers, the almost disco funk of I Am the Girl, the expansive escapism of Australia, and the slight callback sound of No Surface. Those are all great, great songs. Removables and Further Away are decent album tracks but not at the level of those tracks. It is interesting how classic rock and Britpop adjacent this sounds with its grand symphonic arrangements and generally slower tempos than The Holy Bible. You can almost sense the relief of going with such a large, monumental sound after the claustrophobia of that record and everything with Richie, a real sense of freeing themselves from the legacy of all that. It’s a great album, I should listen more often, but its an easy 5. 🌏🌏🌏🌏🌏 Playlist submission: Australia

Incredible that this album rode the wave of Britpop. They are one of those bands that truly sat above Britpop and carved a very particular path. But I guess this is their Britpop album - anthems, melodies, guitars, walls of noise, overlaid with strings. There are lyrical remnants of the morbid Holy Bible album, but with infectious melodies. Name another top 10 anthem that comes close anything like "I wish I had a bottle, right here in my dirty face". And the lyrics, whilst sometimes like a teenage socialist's notebook, are at other times startling ('vulture-stalked, white-piped lie forever'). The other Manics trait is interesting chord progressions. You get it on Elvis, a great opening track. You get it on the Design for Life verses. And you get it on Kevin Carter which is classic Manics - inventive chords, a political/biographical subject matter, some cracking lyrics. Love the break of vocal harmonies in this too recalling the Beach Boys, after a sweet trumpet solo. Really is something else. It pretty much continues with banger after banger. So much quality here. But not compromising their essence. Stereophonics can suck a fat one. The Manics fly the dragon as far as I'm concerned.

More tolerable than other Brit rock albums. Still nothing special to my ears though.

At first I didn’t like it, but it was grown on me

Great horns on Kevin Carter! But the vocals are hard to hear. Something about the quality of the voice doesn't work. Blind Melon pulls it off, but MSP don't on this album even though the quality is somewhat comparable. Generally dislike the album-- and the band finding it lacks interest and appeal.

The love I have for the Holy Bible exists because of what it was, an extremely dark broken album for dark painful days... The follow up to that album was this, only one year later and without a key member of the band. This is much more poppy, upbeat and fits perfectly into the alterna-pop echelon of the mid 90's, but it is no Holy Bible... Perhaps, it should be noted that creating anything upbeat after the wild disappearance of a bandmate is an achievement in itself, but it's hard to find the relevancy of this album in 2024.

A very quintessential ⭐️⭐️⭐️ album. Nothing objectionable, nothing memorable. But gotta give them credit for moving on after Richey Edwards’ disappearance. Actually, the back half picks up a little bit. I particularly like “Interiors (Song for Willem De Kooning).” But coming back to nothing memorable to take away, it wasn’t the music, but actually the subject of “Kevin Carter” that will stick with me the most. So many people know Carter’s famous Pulitzer Prize winning picture, “The Vulture and the Little Girl,” but I didn’t know his story or that of the Bang Bang Club.

I had to go back and listen to Holy Bible to figure out why I didn't like this one as much when I remember really liking Holy Bible. Holy Bible lyrics are dark but the quick pace and driving beat makes it a little harder than pop punk, early emo. Everything Must Go has lost some of the edge with a slightly slower tempo and the inclusion of the orchestral and synth sounds. I prefer the earlier work.

I liked discovering The Holy Bible, the last album before Richey Edward’s disappearance. In contrast, Everything Must Go feels uninspired. Edward’s absence must have affected these guys. How could it not. Richey was a major contributor to The Holy Bible lyrics. Strangely, the aspects of Everything Must Go that feel lacking are the music and the vocals, both of which were written and performed by the same members for both albums.

not bad. I like this stuff

Not bad, but just middle of the road Brit Pop

Generally I'll play what I'm told, but this is a rare "oh god no". Will forever be totally baffling to me that they became as big as they did.

This got me reading the story of the disappearance of the former member, a wild story. Never heard of this band before, a nice sound. 3* Highlights: a design for life, no surface all feeling

Ok

The Good: who doesn’t like an “everything must go” event? The Bad: the fact that even the band knows things must go… The Ugly: me getting snubbed while I was offering to help make things go a little faster… Can somebody explain to me why a band would call themselves “Manic Street Preachers”? Isn’t that just an open invitation for people to run away and not listen? Also, though I can understand that there is a segment of society who appreciates this kind of music, I do fear they should all be kept far away from sharp objects… The songs all sound the same to me, the singer’s voice is annoying as fuck, and overall I felt vindicated in my disdain for the band… but at least it’s not crappy rap. 2* just barily

A few standout tracks

3.5/5

A little repetitive at times, but I found the album to be rather enjoyable.

I've felt like I should like Manics for a long time, and always wanted to get into them. I just don't for some reason. Standout song - Kevin Carter

Personally found this much less enjoyable than Holy Bible. Just kinda boring.

More shitty britpop

Kind of a lighter Foo Fighters? Fine.

Enjoyable, but not memorable.

I don't mind it, but there's not enough there to bring it out of the background hum of 90s music. Which is kind of how I felt about the band at the time

Best Song: Everything Must Go. Always like when the title track is tops. This song had the best pop-punk vocals of the lot. Worst Song: Small Black Flowers That Grow In The Sky. From the title to the lyrics to the delivery, it feels like they really think they're doing something deep and emotional here, and I just don't think they're pulling it off. Overall: Inoffensive and normal pop-ish, rock-ish, punk. The kind of music that it feels difficult to have a strong opinion on, because nothing here really warrants that great of a response.

I enjoy power-pop and britpop, I honestly do, but this album is just no good. The vocals are grating, the lyrics are cringy and the production is somehow both over done and bloated while also being thin and cheap sounding. Hard pass for me

Refreshing! 3.9

My only complaint is that a lot of the songs sound pretty similar. Otherwise what a hell of an album.

some ok 90s pop-rock. Not really memorable. 2.5 rounding up

Pretty mundane Rock

This was really good. Can see this a real grower. It’s heavy but has almost rock pop element. As a huge Britpop fan and this is up my avenue. Really can’t go wrong with 90s British rock 4/5

classic 3 star contender

New album to me and truly nothing grabbed me. Meh version of standard 90s pop rock IMO 2.5⭐️

Love love love, still have the CD in my car. Great tunes and uplifting

Really enjoyed

Dunno what exactly it is about this album but really enjoyed it. I think it’s their unique brand of Britpop that mixes in a bit of punk and grunge but also string sections. I especially enjoyed the last song. Another band I had heard of but never knew what their music was like until now.

Decent listen

Surprised how much I liked this

Sounds like the 90's

18v minä, Provinssi Rock 2001, Manic Street Preachers soittaa lavalla A Design for Life ja festari-ihastus heiluttaa persettä keimailevasti edessä. Voi juma, tapahtuma löi muistijäljen joka on alitajunnassa silottanut ko. orkesterista pitämistä ehkä yli ansaitun. Hieno muisto ja kokemus. Itse levyltä löytyi enää vuosia myöhemmin ko. kipale tartuntapintana ja kyllähän tätä kuuntelee ja bändin soundi on kyllä omanlaisensa.

Perusjeekkis.

I remember hearing about this band from the English music magazines I read as a teenager, asking for the CD for Christmas and being incredibly disappointed. I get why this band never broke in the US. What I don't understand is why they did in the UK. His voice is grating and the music is incredibly boring mid-tempo over-orchestrated alt rock. It's not even dull enough to ignore, it's like having a persistent whine and high-pitched buzz in your ear.

This is the best album I've had so far from this project that was never on my radar before. Never heard of the band or any of its members, didn't know anything about them, none of the songs were familiar to me at all. And I loved it. Singer reminded me of Jim Ward of Sparta. Songs took interesting detours. Just great.

More mediocre Brit pop-rock very few people outside of the UK have ever heard of. So very tired of this trend on this list.

Nothing worth a relisten

I'm getting tired of britpop boss

Nah. Ok. But nothing grabs me.

More Brit pop dogshit yippee!

This is in fact, music. Maybe 2.5 There are some parts that pop off, mainly in the choruses when the vocals and instruments actually harmonize, although the rest of it sounds very cacophonous. It's like The Stone Roses, except the vocals get drowned out and aren't clear. It's also like Cocteau Twins, except it's like chunky peanut butter instead of smooth. (although chunky peanut butter is better so this analogy doesn't work)

This is, in fact, music. Maybe 1.5

This was very 90s. Crunchy guitars and a guy yelling lyrics. It was okay. Not great or bad. I probably won't listen to it again.

Design for life is a great song the rest of it is very strong too.

As one half of iconic 90s duo Houmous & Chutney, I know a thing or two about holding a grudge. I’ll never forgive Manic Street Preachers for what they did to us. 2.7

Enjoyed it a lot, it had a contemporary feel

Pretty good stuff. Didn't mind it. Felt really fresh and experimental.

Not my favourite manics album. The singles are all good.

Really enjoyed this album! Great composure and chill kinda 90s rock. One of my favorite discoveries

the holy bible better be on this list if this one is…

That voice gets grating pretty fast.

Better than I expected. Good melodies and a few real rockers.

Not a good day for me to give a fair review of anything but I liked what I heard. Reminded me of Oasis and “Australia” sounded like “Rain” by the Beatles. “No Surface But All Feeling” was a good one. I’ll give them benefit of the doubt with a 4.

I had not heard of Manic Street Preachers before. Songs were upbeat and enjoyable. Will listen to it again.

Närmre 2.5

Like many other similar albums on this list it is fine but doesn't feel special, groundbreaking, unique, superlative, or otherwise deserving to be on this list. The most I can say is I wouldn't be desperate to change it if someone else was playing it in their car or at a party. I feel that's the right level of faint praise to offer.

Since I had heard of these guys before I thought there would be something to them more than what I heard on that album. There is a lack of vocal range and power on these tracks that gives the album an unfinished feel. It doesn’t fully take praise from the songs but it hinders listening to the album in full. It’s mid

I love the Manics. I like their 2007 album 'Send Away The Tigers' better but this is also solid. You can argue that this is just like any other britpop record (although alt-rock is probably more reasonable), and maybe you're right, but I loved this record anyway.

Surprisingly pretty good

Some cool stuff I’d never heard before but man this fucking list

Never heard them but heard of them, and for some reason I assumed these guys were in the same vein as Pet Shop Boys. I thought the first minute of the first song was a joke. Yuck.

I was pissed when I saw this bc I thought it would be some random tedious rock album, but I was pleasantly surprised. I found all of the songs really really catchy, and although they weren't anything special I enjoyed them very much. Reading about the history of the band was very interesting, I wouldn't know this album was lacking some perfect frontman. No offense but I get tired of the dude's voice, still very fine though. YAY Fav Songs: A Design for Life, Further Away hmmmdsammdafsmmadfs idk whether to give it a 3 or 4 have a 4 bc of further away

Good but not great. I prefer Holy Bible over this one. Some decent tracks but it is inconsistent overall. Still, a decent listen.

Very basic britpop, easily forgettable

Vocals are not great. A couple of the songs are decent but overall, not something I'd want to listen to.

I think I had this album back in the day, I remember the Manic's being everywhere in the 90's in the UK. Very distinctive vocals, interesting backstory in regards of the guitarist going missing and never to be found. I always found them ok nothing to special for me but nice to go back an hear it again now, its been a while. Stand out tracks: - A Design for Life - Kevin Carter - Small black flowers that grow in the sky - Removables - No surface all feeling

2 stars at 8:30am but 4 stars after a full workday a little overwrought and eventually it's like "alright that's enough of that" but good lyrics and love the guitarwork

I get one day of something different and then it's back to late 90s/early 2000s British alt-rock. Of course. Oh well, at least this album's good. I mean, the two I got before yesterday's album were good as well, but you get the point. I had only vaguely heard of Manic Street Preachers before today, so I really didn't know what to expect. Fortunately, what I got was something quite good. I like this album quite a bit. The sound is probably my favorite part. It's not super complex, but everything comes together to form a sound that appeals to me. The singing and writing are also solid. There's some pretty good songs in here. The songs have a good enough variety to them. There's not much to say about this album. It is a pretty good alt-rock album. It's nothing spectacular, but it still appeals to me. Light 4/5.

2/5. It feels like a directionless album. Like the songs are good but I don't really feel connected to them. It kind of feels like that similar brit pop feel but just not as engaging as the many other albums that fall in the same genre. I enjoy the general vibe but it is also produced terribly. I really wanted to like this one, and it's not terrible, but it just didn't catch me despite it's popularity with critics and critical success. Like they were learning how to write songs for the first time but were still musically inclined. Best Song: A Design For Life, The Girl Who Wanted To Be God, No Surface All Feeling

...sometimes there songs seem random

Solid.

Nice music but the lyrics sound like they picked random words out of a hat

the cheese is big in this one

Some really enjoyable tracks, but fades as it goes on.

Nothing to dislike but didn't feel too interested either but Kevin Carter did intrigue me

Superb. Spawned a couple of huge hits, and the rest of the album holds up well too. Excellent stuff!

Primer acercamiento a Manic Street Preachers como banda. El año 1996 la escena britpop recibiría la llegada de este destacado trabajo, considerado un clásico dentro del Reino Unido y un punto de inflexión para la banda, ello debido a la ausencia de uno de sus miembros originales Richey Edwards, quien falleció bajo extrañas circunstancias. Entonces, ¿Qué nos ofrece este LP? A decir verdad, mucho y poco. El trabajo del actual trio contiene una importante mezcla de rock alternativo y britpop, la cual lleva consigo algunos fastuosos arreglos instrumentales y letras. No obstante, en lo personal me costó mucho conectar con este álbum, y la mayoría del tiempo estuve mirando la hora para que acabara. Ello puede deberse a que sentí que la voz del cantante nunca acababa de encajar en las canciones o también que las composiciones carecían de color y originalidad, haciendo que hubiese poca diversidad de sonido dentro del álbum. En síntesis: no me veo volviendo a escuchar este trabajo, pero respeto el esfuerzo de la banda al realizar este álbum pese a los hechos ocurridos. FAVTRAXS: Enola/Alone, Further Away, No Surface All Feeling LEASTFAV: Kevin Carter 2.5/5

Sounds like generic 90’s alternative. Given this was released in 96, it’s hardly ground breaking. I suppose it’s someone’s favorite but a big “meh” here

I honestly don’t get it. It feels like a high school band with nonsensical lyrics basically got to be on Spotify.

The album sometimes has this surreal soundtrack feeling interwoven with the rock genre. I don't think I really understood what the album was going for until Enola/Alone. That track turned around my perception of the album, and the rest of it kind of clicked. I don't know that this is necessarily an elite album, though. I'll give the first couple tracks another listen, after I finish my first listen through. It is a complete album, and there isn't any large variation in song quality throughout, but it never is really good. I liked it, but it's not a great album. Favorite Song(s): Enola/Alone, No Surface All Feeling

noniin ja unohdin että edes kuuntelin tämän... ollaan oltu hiljaisuudessa kymmenen minuuttia... aha se loppui jo... britpop.... en aktiivisesti vihannut vaan passiivisesti .. mitä olin sanomassa? en tiedä,... albumi on kuin monet muutkin albumit: albumimainen... albumissa on erilaisia biisejä.... tai samanlaisia biisejä... niitä on kuitenkin muutama... jotka luovat kokonaisuuden... noin 45 minuutin pitkän kuuntelukokemuksen... sanotaan nyt sen verran... jooh... voisi olla vähän maanisempaa vähän klickbäittiä tuo bändin nimi vois olla vähän street preaching is soull.... soulful act... this is not.... ööh... kevin carter? idk

Really decent album. Very unusual song structures, but still entertaining. I liked two singles from the record: "Kevin Carter", whose story is quite fascinating on its own, and "Everything Must Go". They story of Richey Edwards' disappearance gave me few hours of reading material, which I guess adds to the album's fame. Wales has some pretty good bands in there.

Haven't listened to a manics album all the way through since the holy bible,boy have I missed out ,this is a stone cold classic,don't know what he's singing about half the time but whatever it is it sounds good, loved every bit of this record.

Pleasant, middle-of-the-road ‘90s Britpop. I think this album has pretensions of wanting to rise above the common fare of the time, but the resulting problem is that, as the band has not fully succeeded in creating something expressive or poignant, they have also lost any sense of fun. Nonetheless, it is an enjoyable listen, even if a bit repetitive and not particularly memorable.

Not a band I remember at all, but a fun, highly listenable LP.

Not my style really

I've always found the Manics' lyrics and willingness to speak out on political issues more interesting than their actual music, which has a tendency towards middle of the road dad rock. There's a couple of songs that I enjoyed on this album, although, as it came out when I was 15, there's a degree of nostalgia colouring my thoughts. Really, the only truly good Manics' songs are Motorcycle Emptiness and a couple of tunes from the Holy Bible.

Did not do it for me. I suspect you had to be there...

I didn't really expect another Manic Street Preachers album (beyond "The Holy Bible"), given that their lyricist committed suicide not long after that album was released, but here you go. Definitely less hard-edged than "The Holy Bible", and I guess more commercially successful, but kind of disappointing for being a bit more generic-sounding without Richey Edwards exploring down the spiral. My favorites on this album are probably "Kevin Carter" and "Interiors" (in part for how both of them get into tragic human conditions), but nothing really grabbed me, to be honest. Too bad, too, because some of the songs have some interesting titles and accompanying perspectives (and some inspired by or written by Edwards), but I couldn't go beyond comparing this album to "The Holy Bible", mainly unfavorably; I wish they hadn't jumped so hard on the Britpop train.

Never heard this before--well done songs with some interesting subjects, sort of punk political bent.

Meh. Nothing special here. Made it through without skipping or turning it off, but not a single track was impressive either.

I did not care for this

Pass

Manic Street Preachers are very recognizable as a 90s staple, but for the most part this is not the rock music for me.

Very mid, very tame rock pop tunes 3/5

Middling rock, even for the 90s, that was only made notable by a member of the band seeing the film Eddie and the Cruisers one too many times.

Definitely an album that I warmed up to as it went on. I actually found the most popular songs to be a bit repetitive and uninteresting, but a lot of the lesser known songs have a lot of charm and catchy brit-pop to keep me listening even if they didn't always connect. A pleasant surprise. Top tracks: Enola/Alone, Small Black Flowers That Grow In The Sky, No Surface All Feeling

eh

Unexpectedly good listen!

Pretty good

Back to back britpop albums! Giving a lot of these albums just a listen or two before moving on really doesn't do them the service they deserve. But with daily albums and 1001 to get through there's not a lot of room, especially considering I listen to a lot of albums outside of this list. I feel that this album may be one of the victims of the persistent nature of a list like this. There's something here. Some stand out songs like the title track, as well as the closing. If I had more time I could see the whole thing growing on me, but alas I must continue on. Maybe I'll come back at a later time.

I don't know, this didn't do a whole lot for me. Aside from a few of the more bombastic tracks, this album felt like some kind of guitarish sludge. I did enjoy a few of the songs, though, such as "Australia."

Just fine, kinda done with britpop. Will I listen to again: 1%

Do I listen to this again? Meh probably not. Didn't do anything for me, so much mid-90s Brit Pop. Makes sense as Oasis just announced a big reunion tour next year (2025) in the UK

A brilliant album with some songs that are so dear to me. Angry and doesn’t try to hide it. I wish the album tracks were stronger though. I love the singles

Harp

Kind of like an early prototype of Radiohead. But not as good.

2 stars for me. not my speed really, kind of catchy 90's brit-pop but nothing I'm coming back to really.

Everything...sucks? Favorite Track: "Everything Must Go"(I guess. It still kinda sucked).

Not sounding great out of the gate. That 90s Brit pop-rock sound of super flat mixing with boosted vocals is among my least favorite trends. However, the inclusion of harp does win some favors here. Yeah this one just sort of washed over me without making any lasting impression. The flatness of the mix doesn't help, but in general Brit pop-rock rarely moves the needle for me. Normally would be a 2 / 5, but there were a few brighter moments that I actually enjoyed. The stretch from Removables to Interiors and Small Black Flowers among them. So with this in mind its a pretty low 3 / 5.

Pretty blah album to me. Boring listen. Dude looks like a combo of Bono and Brad Cooper combined. 2 stars

Feels like pretty standard early 00's alternative rock. Seeing as this is from 1996 I can see why its on this list. They used a fair amount of effects and let the guitarist do his thing a number of times which was neat, but ultimately this is just an album that I listened to and that's about the extent of my feelings toward it.

Pretty typical 90s rock. No highs or lows for me, just completely average

Halfway through and there is something so incredibly cheesy about this. Of course as I'm typing this I really like Removables. Can definitely hear some early Radiohead in some of this. Overall pretty run of the road brit-pop. Low 3

I never understood what all the fuss was about this band back in the day, and I still don't. Mediocre at best.

Never really listened to Manic Street Preachers before, but I will listen to more after this

One of those bands where I like about three songs and appear to dislike the rest. Design for Life was the only enjoyable one on here and the rest did nothing for me. Simpsons: No

This album bored me.

Ok, easy listen but wouldn't really come back for anything on here

I can see why people would like this but it did very little for me. Just a bit middle of the road although it's well produced.

Gear: Fostex TH610 Artwork: 🟦🧑🏻🧑🏻🧑🏻 Mix: 🔪👂🩸 Musik: 🇬🇧🎸🎺🤷‍♂️ Wertung: 🟦(🟦)/5

Not so much

It's a pretty solid album, but at the end of the day, this is simply Britpop that doesn't really offer anything new. Middle of the road 3 stars from me.

As well as the songs that I already knew , I liked "The Girl Who Wanted To Be God" a lot. Bombastic as the Manics always are, of course, but enjoyable nonetheless.

Surprise! More britpop!! This album is pretty catchy although maybe two songs too long. A couple of notable songs (not sure if they were hits or not) are "The Girl Who Wants To Be God" and 'Everything Must Go".

i think i spent years and years assuming this was a punk band HFJFHS theyve got the attitude at least! caught a lot of neat lyrics, but obviously the main appeal is just the unstoppable melodicism and moments of surprise in the arrangements. honestly a lot of big juicy catharsis by the end. whenever i return to this to chew on it more besides a cursory listen, theres lots of colors im excited to parse as to what the Overall Vibe of this thing is, but just being great great poppy rock music has me more then satisfied enough for now!

Heard of them but never really listened to their music. It's OK but not fantastic.

Maybe I’m not in the right mood, but I don’t really like it.

I’ve actually hear this album played in full live. Always thought it was decent at best

Better than I thought. Had never heard of them but would like to listen more

Bog standard really 2.5 out of 5

jangly-ass british pop-rock that i don't really need more of in my life

I'm only familiar with Manic Street Preachers through this project. If I'm honest, I didn't get into them from the last listen (The Holy Bible album) and was disappointed to see them again. But the more I listen to Everything Must Go the more I can appreciate them. I had written a ramshackle review of this record and have erased it all since the above is the better summary of the experience — and all that needs to be known of "my take" on it. For the truly curious, it ultimately boiled down to two things: First, while all of the songs are tunefully delivered, I prefer the ones that are louder and more bombastic in general (no surprise) and I noted that those don't necessarily correlate to what appear to be the more popular tracks on the record. Second, I made a Ted Leo comparison, speculated if he was a fan, and playfully asked if he should he be paying royalties on Further Away? Nothing novel and very little added but there you go.

Some good songs

This album didn't capture the feeling of the previous album I listened to on this list. I respect the band for trying to keep going after missing their lead singer, but, without him it's just standard brit pop.

This is a mess. I can't for the life of me understand how something that sounds like this would have ever resonated with enough people at any time to now be considered anywhere close to essential listening. The vocals are so grating, it makes me physically tense. Get this out of here.

3.75

This album is worse than boring. This album is a piece of garbage that throws grenades down your ear while masquerading as an art exhibit. To start, the vocals are straight up not good at all. The voice is annoying, tacky, and frankly gets on my nerves. In addition, the instrumentals are far too loud and chaotic, and not in a good way. There were points in the record where I genuinely found myself wincing and having to pause the song to keep my ears from bleeding. I imagine looking at the audio file for most of these songs would just be like looking at a wall. Oh, but maybe the lyrics make up for the beyond terrible vocals and instrumentals, right? Almost, if you’ve never listened to words before. They might appear to be deep and full of wisdom and whatnot, but half of the lines do not seem to form a coherent theme and the other half are the most basic, overused lines in the history of music. Basically, this album can be summed up as everything people say is bad about Imagine Dragons but scaled up to 11. I will say, I do seem to notice some resemblance to the Foo Fighters. That is, if all the instrumentals were being destroyed in a Nirvana set and Dave Grohl actually did drugs. Speaking of Nirvana, some of the songs that aren’t absolutely garbage just sound like they’re pulled straight from a Nirvana record. The riffs, the instrumentals, everything. So basically, when they’re not making the worst “music” you’ve ever listened to, they’re copying Nirvana. Absolutely terrible execution on what seemed initially to me like an interesting album concept.

I love their sound. Great singer. Catchy melodies. Great guitar sound. I don't think I've ever heard a bad song by Manic Street Preachers. I should buy more of their albums, including this one.

The instrumental aspects are pretty decent. They’re dated for sure, but I mostly liked the sound fine. I didn’t like the vocals and lyrics though. I couldn’t understand a lot of what he was saying - his pronunciation was so odd, which could be contributed to the Welshness. But mainly, the way the lyrics fit with the melody often felt clumsy. The melody seemed like an afterthought. 2.6

I'm surprised I haven't heard of this before, if it was as popular as the wiki says. It has some of the rock/pop sound of that era but a little more ambitious. The production is good and the songs are okay, although not very sticky on one listen. I think it accomplishes what it was trying to do. 3.5

Can't stand them for a full album length

Ok now I'm less surprised that this is my aunt's favourite band, I quite enjoyed it to be fair though

Really great album. Full of classics High 4 lad

Forgettable

Nothing stood out for me as being particularly great. 2.5

Another album I already own, so no surprises on here. I hadn't listened to it for a few years and was struck by how contemporary it sounds, it could have been released in 2024! Aside from a couple of weaker tracks, it's an absolute cracker.

This was pretty good! I've heard of the band but had never listened to them. I'll seek out more!

I had a couple of listens and this grew on me. Plus I went away and did a bit of reading on Kevin Carter. Never as radical as they were painted, maybe that aspect went with Richey. Can totally see the Phil Spector influence

Favorite Tracks: Interiors (Song For William De Kooning) Kevin Carter

Pop melodrama Reeks of nineties rom com vibes Sad world blah blah blah

I'm genuinely bewildered how I've lived most of my life with alternative/indie rock as my self-proclaimed favorite genre and never encountered these guys on the radio, Spotify, YouTube, etc. The algorithm let me down.

OK, good at the time but seems a little dated now Some good tunes

I liked this when it came out, and it still sounds good. Excellent return after the loss of Richie. 3 well-known songs, and the rest do not disappoint.

Mid, the instrumentals were sooo good but as soon as they starting singing whatever nonsense they were singing I hated it

I'm sure it was a very challenging record to make

Mag die MSP aber dies ist für mich eines ihrer schwächerer Alben ***

I had never heard this album until this set of listens. I applaud their efforts as a 1990’s post-grunge band, but for me it felt like a relic of the ‘90s offering little that I hadn’t heard before from other bands (eg, Pablo Honey-era Radiohead; the Verve; Gin Blossoms; etc). Key tracks Everything Must Go and Girl Who Wanted to be God.

Sounds so 90s. Can't really put my finger on the specifics but maybe the guitars and production. I was into the first track and third track but kind of lost my attention after that.

It alright - but production hasn’t dated well!

Top 5 Britpop albums ever...

I appreciate this a bit more than most Brit pop of it’s time. It felt like there was some serious thought given to the composition and instrumentation, especially on the title track. I got a sense of weight and movement that id normally hear in a Zedd song 🤌 Hard-earned 3, could come back to it and bump it up to a 4

If a comeback from adversity has ever been as epic and successful as this, I'm unaware of it. The record that catapulted the Manics into a Brit Award winning, platinum selling, mainstream band and established the sound that they are best known for and have returned to intermittently ever since. Most of this album comprises huge anthems characterised by sweeping strings, soaring choruses and concise, personal, sad lyrics written by Nicky Wire. Notably it includes themes of moving on, getting away from things and apologising for letting go of previous ideals ('Everything Must Go' and 'Australia'). However, there is also a part of the album that shares DNA with the Holy Bible. 'Removables' in particular wouldn't be out of place on the previous record ("Killed God blood soiled unclean again, Killed God blood soiled skin dead again"), 'Kevin Carter' and 'Interiors' are jagged edged numbers and 'Small Black Flowers that Grow in the Sky' could be read as a song about the Holocaust. It's no surprise that these are lyrics written by Richey Edwards. Both sides of the album deliver the Manics' favourite trick of disguising smart, sad, politically and socially conscious lyrics in an anthemic, accessible package. For example its singles crashed the top 10 with songs about the misperception of working class characteristics, and the dilemma of being a journalist observing a disaster area. The combination of sad lyrics as soaring anthems and the underrated amount of variety and weirdness are a big part of what makes the MSP my favourite band. Long live the Manics. Rating: 5/5 Playlist track: A Design for Life Date listened: 04/07/24

I really see the influence that this could have had and the people they were influenced by. The song that stuck out to me was Further Away and I really enjoyed it. I feel as though I could listen to it in all scenarios and any time.

Revelatory. Their previous album ("The Holy Bible") was a mix of good and ... not good ... but this blew me away - the music is so vastly different from their previous release - obvious reason being a tribute to their bandmate who tragically went missing. Massively anthemic yet subtly complex - I always see it classified as Britpop but it's more than a little wrong to lump this in with Pulp/Oasis/Blur - no offence whatsoever - this is rock with grandiosity yet lacking any cliche. The musical head-turns on this album - e.g. in the chorus of "Kevin Carter" that 3rd guitar chord is just so goddamn cool and unexpected - are what propels it throughout. The vocals were much more palatable this time around, and I weirdly hear echoes of Jellyfish in some of the higher-register vocals of James Dean Bradfield. I love the guitar work with the aforementioned unexpected and/or unusual chords, the strings add a ton to these soaring songs that upon closer listen (i'm not that observant apparently) are way more dark than they sound. Love that dichotomy. There are distant echoes of The Bends - maybe that's a simple reach being a pair of UK bands - I'm a big Radiohead fan but this is the better album. A band I'm sorry I missed the first time around and no idea how I did - I've been wavering between 4 and 5 on this but the perfect runtime, virtually every song of quality (might except "Removables" here - everyone's allowed a slight hiccup), and the story behind the tragic creation of this album easily push it to the top for me. 10/10 5 stars.

everything must go manic street preachers 1996 1. elvis impresonator: blackpool pier: 5.5/10 2. a design for life: 8.5/10 3. kevin carter: 6/10 4. enola/alone: 6.5/10 5. everything must go: 6/10 6. small black flowers that grow in the sky: 5/10 7. the girl who wanted to be god: 7/10 8. removables: 7.5/10 9. australia: 7/10 10. interiors (song for willem de kooning): 6/10 11. further away: 8/10 12. no surface all feeling: 7.5/10 overall rating: 6.7/10

It's an interesting album. Seems very innovative 90's style. I'm not a huge fan of it but I'm sure I would listen again under the right circumstances. 3/5 for innovation.

I liked the album, it reminded me of different bands at times, and the singer sometimes sounded a bit like Kurt Cobain. But they didn't stand out with a particularly unique sound that made them memorable to me.

Brilliant. Everything Must Go will always have a special place in my heart as it reminds me of a childhood friend that died too young. It is perhaps the only song that I will make me stop whatever I am doing and listen to it in full. If anything interrupts me while listening, I will immediately restart from the beginning. It might be silly, but it's my way of honouring and remembering my friend, Dave "Beans" Jackson. RIP

Very many blues but pretty damn good

Ho hum. Not offensive, but not impressive or memorable in any way.

Banda particular, que muestra la variedad musical de los '90, más allá de la movida grunge. Sonidos del estilo de Weezer y con una estética más sobria, por fuera del reviente de esos años. Hoy, reseña sintética.

Pretty decent 90s rock but nothing amazing

Basically the same song 12 times in a row.

It’s not bad at all, but it’s just a bit… meh. Baroque Pop instrumentation with hard rock style vocals on top. Ok.

Read about them ...but this was the 1st time I heard them.

Fantastic Album !!

give me a string of songs that are better than the first 5 on this album. this one is an absolute beast. top two in the book, easy.

Better than the Holy Bible, more overtly popish, but the songs still sounnd like cinderblocks to me I wish they gave a bit more space to their sound .

Post-Richey Edwards so more mainstream sounding, but still solid alt-rock. None of the tracks are major standouts but no duds either and it is still a good listen.

Line a heavier fountains of Wayne. I like it!

More of this, please. This is a group I have never heard of from an era that is not represented much in this list that had me engaged the whole time. These are thoughtful songs that have unique instrumentations and poetic lyrics. My favorite here has to be A Design for Life, though Small Black Flowers That Grow In The Sky isn't far behind. I was thinking about this album a couple days after my first listening, which is impressive given the nature of this 1001 album task.

Not terrible at all, found it quite good, recognised some songs and will be coming back to it

These guys are really something else. The lyrics are so dense that you need to do some light research to understand what they are talking about. The musical part doesn't do much for me though. Still it's hard to reach that level of intelligence without being pretentious or patronizing. 5 stars for the lyrics, 3 for the instruments

unremarkable

short album. interesting. Not great.

Pretty much 'meh' for my taste. Not great, not bad, just OK.

Overdue another listen to this. Some decent songs on here.

Notable tracks: A Design for Life, Kevin Carter, Everything Must Go, The Girl Who Wanted to Be God, Australia, Interiors (Song for Willem de Kooning), No Surface All Feeling

As someone who is normally a fan of britpop/alternative rock, this one was rather disappointing. There wasn’t a single song that really stood out to me, and the album’s mediocrity makes me feel like it is undeserving of being an essential album to hear before you die. For that reason, I can’t give it more than 2 stars. Maybe I should give it another chance at a later date.

When I read some of the other reviews, I thought, "Oh, Brit-pop, I'm sure I'll like this". Well, it was ok. I wasn't particularly impressed by the album. There wasn't a song on it that stuck in my mind. I probably won't listen to the album again. 3/5

I enjoyed this, but I don't see what's so exceptional about it that it deserves a place on this list.

I see why this is on the list, but it doesn't really do much for me. I've never really gotten the hype for these guys, and listening to a full album hasn't changed my mind. There's 2 or 3 songs that stand out, but the rest are very MOR, with exactly the same shouts vocal delivery in each one. Not much unique about this to my ears, probably another one where you had to be there at the time.

It's not that Manic Street Preachers' songs are bad; they are just ordinary. I couldn't find a hook that I liked on this album ... the songs seemed like less interesting versions of the Brit pop that dominated the airwaves in the mid 90s.

Not good

Not too much into this

Вторая половина меня качнула. поэтому ставлю трояк. Хотя хотел изначально ругаться

NO MORE BRITPOP! completely unessential!

Niin stadion, niin pateettista, vähän emoa. Karvan verran tylsää, että nousisi suursuosikikseni, mutta voiko esim. A design for lifea olla vähän laulamatta tai elehtimättä mukana?!

Tämä bändi osaa käsitellä melodiaa - rytmiä ei niinkään. Arvostan heidän pyrkimystään rakentaa kappaleita, mutta lopputuloksesta puuttuu iskevyyttä: levyn tahtiin on liian helppo vajota omiin ajatuksiinsa. Missähän määrin terävyys ihan vain hukkuu vuoren kokoiseen tuotantomassaan? 2,5