Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Found That Soul?, 25 May 2007
It was always going to be difficult to follow up a pair of Brit Award winners and with hindsight, this album was never really destined for commercial success. I wouldn't want to be a Manic Street Preacher though, it seems no matter what direction they choose people will complain - aggressively, about which way they go. I remember on the run up to the album's release and all the talk of a "return to our roots" which would please just about any Manics fan. I don't consider it a return to their roots. There's no Motown Junk or Stay Beautiful on here, the band have matured.
Know Your Enemy has a more political feel than many of the band's other albums. This is documented by songs like Baby Elian, Let Robeson Sing and Freedom Of Speech Won't Feed My Children.
Opener, Found That Soul acts as a fantastic, energetic, rocking start to the album with it's one note keyboard in the background creating a bit of tension in the song.
As an album, we have an eclectic mix of punk rock in Found That Soul, Dead Martyrs and Intravenous Agnostic - we have calm, solemn reflective songs Ocean Spray and Baby Elian and we still have space for a Beach Boys-esque song of miserable lyrics and upbeat music, and a disco song.
This album is a grower and certainly not one that could ever give an accurate representation of who the Manics are, yet it's fresh, it's fun in places and introspective in others. It'll never be a Manics fan's favourite album but it deserves top marks nevertheless.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Definitely Underrated, 21 Nov 2001
Well, I have to say I have been exceptionally dissapointed with the cold reaction to this album. I am not one of these 'The Manics can do no wrong' fans blinded by dellusion. I loved the Manics early albums, they were the perfect mix of angst, intelligence, and darkness, with no small measure of musical ability either. They were without doubt the most exciting British band of the early nineties. However, after Richey's dissapearance, I feel the Manics lost their way a bit with 'Everything Must Go' and 'This is my Truth', although they still produced a healthy number of quality singles from these albums. The problem was, the albums just didn't really suit the Manics. However, this album marks a return to form, albeit in a different way from their early days. This can only be expected, there is nothing worse than a band trying to contrive and relive past glories. The Manics appear to have sat down and said 'Sod it, lets do what WE want'. Hence in this album, variety is the spice of life. The album begins with the 'Motown Junk'esq 'Found that Soul', then moves onto the beautiful 'Ocean Spray' and the power of 'Intravenous Agnostic'. What really hits the listener is the variety of influences pulled in on this album and thta can really only be a good thing. You name it, from the jangly Beach Boys sound on 'So why so sad' to the 70s disco on 'Miss Europa Disco Dancer' to the raw Ramones/Clash vibe on 'Dead Martyrs'. This album also contains the fantastic 'Let Robeson Sing'; a ballad that really does touch the conciousness of the listener. In summary, this album is for anybody. For fans of the early days like myself, to people who want to buy their first Manic Street Preachers album. Buy it. You will not be dissapointed.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
awkward, ambitious, brilliant and terrible, 19 Mar 2001
Well maybe this is the definitive Manics album, I mean the whole of the Manics here...this album seems to be Wire and co panning back over their rollercoaster development and combining elements from all their previous albums along with outside influences to make one of the most intrigueing, at times mesmerising/ at times infuriating records of recent times. Highlights; Well JDB's 1st recorded lyrics on Ocean Spray out-shine a-lot of Wire and even Richies lyrics through their sheer directness, the song is a plea to his mother who died of cancer and the way poignancy is found in such small pleasures as drinking Ocean Spray is truly brilliant. Found That Soul, My Guernica and Intravenous Agnostic bring to mind the disjointed guitar of Six by Seven and show a return to the early Manics live sound. Let Robeson Sing is another great song and though the recorded sample walks along the line between poignancy and kitsch it just stays on the right side! Then theres the disco one! This track, to me, embodies the Manics in their latter years... not afraid to compromise their punk attitudes by writing a glorious pop song, an ABBA-esque disco work-out with a great Huggy Bear funk bassline, with tragic lyrics... then completely shatter it by Wires chanting of "Braindead MotherF~#?ers", this is why we love the Manics...they show us their glitzy pop side then swear all over it, shooting themselves in the foot!! But the highlight to me is the track I hated when i first heard it, the single So Why So Sad... no its not like anything they've ever done before but it is undeniably brilliant, the echo is just right, the repetitive "ba badda ba badda" is mesmerising and yes it is like the Beach Boys!! If your just a casual Manics fan then maybe it wont mean so much to you, but if your a hardcore Richey obsessive I suggest you loosen up a bit and enjoy the re-invigorated, foot-shooting, disco-dancing, Castro-worshiping new, post-millenial Manics!
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