They've played Prologue on and off throughout the years - not sure if it's been back since the Lipstick Traces tour though! I don't believe Comfort Comes has ever been played live, aside from James teasing the riff once at (i think) CDUK?!

More of promising to play the song on tour and then not playing it. Comfort comes was supposed to be played last tour but never made the set list.

In terms of the albums production, I'm not sure I agree with you on this one. You certainly wouldn't listen to it and say "wow this album is sooo 90's!". In fact I would go as far as saying that it is their best album (TIMTTMY) in terms of production. You could argue that it sounds a bit overproduced/saturated on Tsunami/SYMM/NLY but the other tracks I feel are balanced perfectly with some really nice subtleties that can only be heard through listening to it on headphones.

It's also their best album in terms of how good James' voice sounds. I think the only album they have that sounds 90's from that era is EMG.

I'm really excited about the prospect of a reissue for this album. It's really heartening to hear that there is a lot of unheard/unseen content coming our way too. 2018 is going to be a good year to be a Manics fan!

When The Everlasting came out I recall a number of critics cringing at the refugees verse, comparing it to Phil Collins among others. It didn’t overly bother me like so many of their lyrics since have managed to do.

I wonder if time and circumstance will now show it in a different light? It probably fits in with the current political climate more than anything on the new album, even if by chance.

I did play it all the way through yesterday but it starts skipping on My Little Empire.
But despite having to turn the volume up which equals a need for a huge remaster I was reminded what a great album it is. It doesn't sound like anything they did before and even since. Lifeblood included.
James does his best singing agreed.
I want them to make new stuff, but a TIMTTMY20 would be another sale. Going to have to clean desk to accommodate.
Hope you've started listening to it more recently as well.

Probably the biggest joy of TIMT is the soundscaping. Each song has feel if it's own and it's one of the few albums where the music is allowed to breathe and direct the movement of the song rather than be at the whim if the lyrics. There's some masterful stuff on this album for you have to work to get at it.

Perhaps it'll finally appear on this tour - it took years for the calls for 'Sleepflower!' to translate in to the song being played live again!

Who's 'we'. That doesn't really sound like something they tend to make clear this far in advance?

Got to take Wire with a pinch of salt, can be quite the salesman. I'd love for him not to be talking shite but can't say with any real confidence that he isn't. Would love to see Prologue live. If the pattern's owt like recent years, they should chuck a couple of Truth rarities in the tour then hopefully a few dedicated dates at the end of the year. I'd absolutely love to see the album in full. I know they've said about not wanting to be a heritage band, but really this'll be the last anniversary there'll be a commercial demand for. Alright, us lot would go to a Know Your Enemy gig but we're not enough for it to be worthwhile.

They'll do Prologue. Maybe My Little Empire or Ready for Drowning as well.

In terms of rarities, there's a good chance of Black Dog acoustically.

Would love to see Nobody Loved You. And maybe some other b-sides. Socialist Serenade?

The JFPL-in-full gigs were pretty awesome, they could do those again too (as the first time wasn't an anniversary)

Frankly, you don't want to see the whole album played because you don't like the lyrics of ONE song?

I think to really do justice to the album they'd have to either get extra musicians or play to a backing tape. They did a lot of stuff at the time as a three piece plus keyboards, but for a proper performance to show how good the album is, going to need more musicians helping out.

It's my favourite Manics album. I did retreat from it for a while when I was younger due to its reputation, but when I really got back into the band properly a few years ago I was almost astonished at how good it is. The realisation that I'm Not Working is an atmospheric masterpiece was probably the moment I realised how much I love the album.

I've always taken Nicky's interviews with a pinch of salt, and the "we might never make another album" quote three weeks before the next album announcement is the most absurd misdirection to date, but the fact that he's actually acknowledged Lifeblood in a positive light makes me really happy.

So, they could do that.