The Great Western 2: The Buffet Cart
 

Something I've been thinking about recently, is how the James-written songs (i.e. those where he wrote the words) could stylistically fit on The Great Western.

It almost seems as if James has been releasing TGW2 under our noses!

With this in mind I thought it would be a good idea to make a list of all-James songs:

1: The Next Jet to Leave Moscow
2: Anthem for a Lost Cause (?)
3: I Think I Found It
4: Ocean Spray
5: Firefight (thank you Bachelorette)
6: Distant Colours (added 2018)
7: Don't look back (B-side to 'That's no way to tell a lie') (added 2022)
8: Kodachrome Ghosts (B-side to 'That's no way to tell a lie') (added 2022)
9: I never wanted sunshine (B-side to 'That's no way to tell a lie') (added 2022)
10: Lost again (B-side to 'That's no way to tell a lie') (added 2022)
11: Days slip away (B-side to 'An English Gentleman') (added 2022)
12: Victory and defeat on Kendon Hill (B-side to 'An English Gentleman') (added 2022)

Are there any others? (And have I got any of these wrong? :lol: )

There's something different about TGW and these I like - it's a bit more folky and takes on a more bouncey, carefree attitude in its music. These songs are the Foo Fighters to the Manics' Nirvana. Discuss?

Firefight

The others are all correct as far as i know. Oh, and let's start the rumour-mill. I say The Last time I Saw Paris. Because:
a) Wire dislikes France too much.
b) James is the one in the band truly influenced by Satre.
c) as proven by covering Jacques Brel, he has at least heard of French musicians who aren't Serge Gainsbourg.
d) It's in all likelihood his missus who sings the song, judging by level of silly secrecy, the unusual accent, and the fact the woman does not sound like a "professional" singer.

Ooh... maybe you're right and it's a coupley song they did together.

Like John and Yoko doing "two Virgins", only dressed. :p

But I think you're on to something musically. I think James' songs have a distinct sound to them, and they sound good together as an ep. It really does James a lot of good to write his own lyrics and music, I think, there is a great quality to the songs which are "his".
Oh, and of course there's also "It Takes More Than A Grave", the song for Senghennydd with Patrick Jones' lyrics. That's obviously very different as well, but shows just how different James writes for lyricists who aren't Wire.

Willing to bet he wrote Little Girl Lost.

lots of lovely comments about The Great Western being retweeted by Manicstreetmania today :)

6: Distant Colours

Hazleton avenue is his isn't it?

Last Time I Saw Paris could definitely be a JDB lyric. Good point.

Nah, not with all the stuff about going to sleep

I’m not convinced

I wish the songs had broken down credits, but I guess it's a legal thing to make sure they're on equal royalties? Know they've confirmed in their own way about certain songs being so-and-so's in interviews and at gigs etc, but course they haven't done that about every song... Just been flicking through the Know Your Enemy booklet and either I'm blind or it's not there, can't see owt in there about James writing the lyrics for Ocean Spray. The singles say he did and they give Nicky credit for writing music, bet the lad never wrote a note.

Fuck it, gonna clutch at straws partly cos I'm bored... Back to the Know Your Enemy booklet with all the handwritten lyrics in it. I'm looking at the page for Freedom of Speech Won't Feed My Children and there are a few chunks in there that don't look like Wire's writing. Yeah, there are bits of his trademark random capitalisation but there's a fair bit of lower case too... and when the fuck does Wire write in lower case? Course, the Ocean Spray page has a bit of James' writing and a bit of Nicky's, so wondering if Freedom of Speech was more of a collaborative effort?

The more I think about it, the less I'm convinced that 30 Year War was Nicky too, don't think he's been that angry for a while...

“I never wanted sunshine” is such a great James rocker. Love the stutter in the chorus and the solo.

It is just an absolutely perfect track. Lovely cadence on how he sings the lyrics too.

Were any Even in Exile songs James lyrics or were they all Patrick Jones?

1: The Next Jet to Leave Moscow
2: Anthem for a Lost Cause (?)
3: I Think I Found It
4: Ocean Spray
5: Firefight (thank you Bachelorette)
6: Distant Colours (added 2018)
7: Don't look back (B-side to 'That's no way to tell a lie') (added 2022)
8: Kodachrome Ghosts (B-side to 'That's no way to tell a lie') (added 2022)
9: I never wanted sunshine (B-side to 'That's no way to tell a lie') (added 2022)
10: Lost again (B-side to 'That's no way to tell a lie') (added 2022)
11: Days slip away (B-side to 'An English Gentleman') (added 2022)
12: Victory and defeat on Kendon Hill (B-side to 'An English Gentleman') (added 2022)