This Is My Truth 2018 Boxset and tour(?)

[mrdavidj]

Compared to the Holy Bible and Everything Must Go 20th anniversary releases, this one just doesn't seem worth the cost to me.

I also can't help but feel that there's potentially a larger, more comprehensive boxset to be released further down the line. I would have paid £50-60, maybe more if they had released a similar box to the GT, HB, and EMG reissues. As it is, this reissue feels overpriced.

[sculptureofabloke]

Originally Posted by Porco

Totally disagree - personally I hate it when the stickers are on the actual covers/sleeves, that was the sick thing IMHO! Putting them on the plastic wrap gives you the option to keep it or chuck it. You can even usually peel them off the plastic so you still have the choice to ruin your sleeve if you want to.

Look at the state of those TIMTTMY singles, the stickers on them often went all weird and look awful now.

I usually cut them out still on the plasic put or peel them off and stick them on a small bit of paper and keep them inside the record sleeve/CD case.

Ah I like having the sticker on the sleeve. Before today I’ve actually rebought singles with stickers on when I’ve had one that hasn’t.. sad fuck.

Need to get another Tolerate 2 actually, some plank put the sticker for 1 on it..

Yeah he adhesive when you peel it off is shite though.

[Marat Sar]

A little techical post, geeky yet optimistic in tone for y'all.

The really truly amazing mastering work of this reissue -- especially on the b-sides Prologue, Black Holes and Valley Boy, but also on SYMM and Black Dog -- have me thinking about this one thing Nicky dropped in a recent interview. He said James is energised and has found new ways to make the music more "expansive". Expansive, in technical terms, means better soundstage.

So here's the deal. I know James has been listening to a lot of War on Drugs these past years. When I popped in RIF I was a little surprised (and a disappointed) that none of it has rubbed on the Manics technically. War on Drugs has the widest stereo image I've ever encountered in a mix, anywhere. ("Pain" is the song, btw) and just a generally massive soundstage in their recordings. The new manics were just, you know, a regular manics stereo image.

The Prologue to history remaster however -- ooh boy! Massive! The guitars reach far behind my ears with the mad hi-fi mastering IEM-s I use for listening nowadays. Some of the album tracks, remastered, also have this quality.

Now consider this: Nicky has also said James personally did the mastering of the TIMTTMY anniversary edition. Big if true. Now, it's hard to know if it was actually that -- he may have overseen it and fuzzy journalism misreported Nicky's words. But! Everything I hear on this reissue points to the simple fact that James has found out about modern mastering techniques that result in extreme stereo imaging.

Some (not all but about half) of the remasters here signify the first time the Manics have a stereo image that competes with Radiohead and The National. Not quite War On Drugs yet, but getting there. I imagine that's what James wants to (or should want to) shoot for with his "more expansive" sound.

This has me very, very excited for their future work. Music is such a technical art. And they've been lagging behind. Lifeblood was their last truly good and truly competitive mix and master. This reissue is even better. TITMTTMY has always sounded good but the soundstage (expansiveness) was never quite this good.

For "not technically minded" fans -- soundstage width and depth means a better sound in every possible way. More 3D, you hear instruments better, vocals feel more emotional, sounds better out of shit speakers and hi-fi.

I want the manics' next album to rival War on Drugs technically. There is NO reason they can't do this -- they have all the means, the popularity, the engineering knowledge of the United Kingdom behind them. As James' voice ages, the instrumentation must pick up. Signs show it could.

[FacelessSenseOfVoid]

Originally Posted by Marat Sar

Now consider this: Nicky has also said James personally did the mastering of the TIMTTMY anniversary edition. Big if true. Now, it's hard to know if it was actually that -- he may have overseen it and fuzzy journalism misreported Nicky's words. But! Everything I hear on this reissue points to the simple fact that James has found out about modern mastering techniques that result in extreme stereo imaging.

I thought this too but I had a look at the credits yesterday to verify my curiosity and James wasn't mentioned at all regarding the remaster, some guy called Matt something (Can't remember the surname) from Alchemy Mastering I believe. I guess the band or JDB gave their instructions to the mastering engineer and he did the rest.

[sitdown1985]

How is the dynamic range compression compared to the original?

[Marat Sar]

Originally Posted by sitdown1985

How is the dynamic range compression compared to the original?

I've never understood what people mean by that, to be honest. The b-sides are certainly considerably louder and that's a good thing because not only is the general volume raised, but also clarity, separation and spacial positioning of instruments.

The difference is less noticeable for the album, but there is an -- on the volume pot -- still noticeable +2% loudness. Again very well done. The master beefs up the album's low mids and mid bass making the music seem fuller than the quite thin and trebley original -- guitars are crunchier, kick drums bigger -- yet without sacrificing headspace. The now thicker notes also have more space between them thanks to superior positioning.)It's at once fuller and airier, as an improved master is supposed to be. To my ear TIMTTMY was a little underdcompressed in 1998 (while, say, OK Computer could have used a bit less). They've beefed it up a bit here, a little, but the mix and recording are so clear it's only a virtue if done right. And here it is.

Originally Posted by FacelessSenseOfVoid

I thought this too but I had a look at the credits yesterday to verify my curiosity and James wasn't mentioned at all regarding the remaster, some guy called Matt something (Can't remember the surname) from Alchemy Mastering I believe. I guess the band or JDB gave their instructions to the mastering engineer and he did the rest.

He probably oversaw it then. You can get bad results from great studios and engineers who've mastered your favourite work, if the band makes bad choices. But... still. Something more was at work here I think. They've somehow cracked something, hard to say how? And why not sooner, on other albums? Why is Futurology, for example, not as holographic as this one? A different master certainly would have helped that album, the title track especially is quite underwhelming.

[tiger]

Does anyone know what happened in Montana in the autumn of ‘78?

[Glyn]

Originally Posted by tiger

Does anyone know what happened in Montana in the autumn of ‘78?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kaczynski

'know what you mean ,but not what you do'.

[Dancing Kirby]

Originally Posted by tiger

Does anyone know what happened in Montana in the autumn of ‘78?

From Wiki...

In 1971 Ted Kaczynski moved to a remote cabin without electricity or running water near Lincoln, Montana, where he lived as a recluse while learning survival skills in an attempt to become self-sufficient. After witnessing the destruction of the wilderness surrounding his cabin, he concluded that living in nature was untenable and began his bombing campaign in 1978.

To Nicky:

Luddite lover
Forgiving father
Unhappy forever
Live it to where you can
Those skies must drive you wild
The earth around you
This silence around you
Be with the sky tonight

You've ruined more than you'll gain
Know what you mean - but not what you do
Nature will take care of itself
Your ego will destroy itself
Montana/Autumn/78

[Jayseph]

Have there been any logistical problems delivering albums to stores? Been four days and I still haven’t seen any CD sets in Glasgow.

[almostfamous]

Monday chart has MSP #34 with a bullet! Curse ye "D-Day Darlings"!!

(P.S. For sanity's sake don't look at the No1)...

Top 100 Albums

1 Motion Picture Cast Recording - The Greatest Sh**man (24.0k)
2 Roy Orbison & Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - Unchained Melodies (16.3k)
3 George Ezra - Staying At Tamara's (16.1k)
4 Michael Bublé - love (15.5k)
5 The Carpenters & Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - The Carpenters with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (13.5k) *

6-10
7 Coldplay - A Head Full of Dreams: Live in Buenos Aires *
10 Little Mix - LM5

11-20
13 Olly Murs - You Know I Know
19 Queen - The Platinum Collection
20 Paul Heaton - The Last King of Pop

31-40
31 D-Day Darlings - I'll Remember You
33 Van Morrison - The Prophet Speaks *
34 Manic Street Preachers - This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours ^
38 Barbra Streisand - Walls ^

[IrelandCalling4]

I must say this remaster has been a revelation, and only 4 or 5 listens in. Volume increase but with clarity and depth. TIMT is the one Manics album I'd rarely listened to - 20 years a casual fan but only the last 10 a more dedicated fan. For some reason the album never comnected with me and about half of it I'd only heard once or twice over the years. On listening this weekend I am discovering some absolute gems - Be Natural, I'm Not Working, the brilliant Black Dog, and Ready for Drowning in particular. Wonderful pieces of music but beautiful instrumentation and soundscapes.

Nobody Loved You I feel is essential for flow as its a more racous entry and I've placed it after Prologue to History before SYMM. Why did they almost wipe this one from the release?

I suppose the singles back then underwhelmed a bit following the Bible and EMG, the widescreen melancholia so mentioned didnt resonate with me but this weekend was akin to discovering a new treasure from a favourite band. Following Resistance Is Futile (which I love) its been quite an MSP year.

The remastering simply elevates the collection to something special indeed.

[UEF]

My mp3s (from the Vinyl download) have an annoying bit missing off the front of Tolerate - anyone else?

[Borderliner]

I like whistling solo in You're Tender and You're Tired but guitar solo would've been better.


Metronome ticking in Born a Girl (alternative version) is quite annoying meh

[burnleybassman]

Originally Posted by roi

Possibly they won’t play the album in sequence.

This is a very interesting point as the general consensus is that the track listing for the album is very lop sided with and too front-loaded. They may well mix things up.

If they weren't to play the album in order what order should they play it in? This would possibly be my live preference (assuming they play NLY):

1. The Everlasting
2. Prologue
3. Tsunami
4. You're Tender
5. Be Natural
6. My Little Empire
7. Ready For Drowning
8. I'm Not Working
9. Nobody Loved You
10. SYMM
11. Born A Girl
12. You Stole The Sun
13. Black Dog
14. If You Tolerate This