Know Your Enemy 20 scheduled for 2021 release

[UEF]

https://www.nme.com/news/music/manic...-enemy-2626009

Manic Street Preachers have revealed that they’re working on a re-release of their divisive 2001 album ‘Know Your Enemy‘, to mark the record’s 20th anniversary next year.

The album, which contained the singles ‘Found That Soul’, ‘So Why So Sad’ and ‘Let Robeson Sing’, split opinion upon release. A sprawling record with a heavily eclectic mix of sounds and some of their most overt political imagery, it alienated much of their new fanbase won on their previous and most successful album ‘This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours’. However, it won a place in hardcore fans’ hearts as well as in the history books – when they played a launch gig in Cuba to an audience that included Fidel Castro.

After the Manics announced plans to reissue their second album ‘Gold Against The Soul‘ last week, we asked bassist and lyricist Nicky Wire if they’d allow ‘Know Your Enemy’ the same privilege.

“Yes, because I think that it’s a really misunderstood record,” Wire told NME. “It’s us at our most overstretched. It’s funny you should ask that because I have so much stuff and demos from then. I have a track from then called ‘Studies In Paralysis’ which I don’t think was ever released. There’s an absolute mountain of stuff.”


Recalling the time of making the album, Wire continued: “We were working non-stop across different studios. ‘Know Your Enemy’ was meant to be two separate albums. One was supposed to be the harder side like ‘Found That Soul’ and the other was meant to be the ‘60s side like ‘So Why Sad’, so I might even separate them again.

“It’s one of those albums where you get a lot of sniffiness, then 20 years down the line it all comes true.”

He added: “It’s really hard to do anything like that any more. It’s a great record within a mess, like The Clash’s ‘Sandinista!’. There’s so much depth to those records and you’ve got to engage with them.”

Reviewing the album at the time of release, NME concluded: “‘Know Your Enemy’ might be riddled with more faults than California, but in an increasingly unambitious world, it allows you to answer with a cautious ‘yes’. Far from divine, but on the side of the angels.”

Recent reissues of the band have celebrated their acclaimed albums ‘The Holy Bible’, ‘Everything Must Go’, ‘This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours’, ‘Generation Terrorists’ and ‘Send Away The Tigers’.

Manic Street Preachers’ deluxe ‘Gold Against The Soul’ reissue will arrive on June 12. Check out Wire discussing the legacy of the album and what to expect from the re-release here – and their plans to headline the Park Stage at Glastonbury this June here.

The band are also working on the follow-up to 2018’s acclaimed ‘Resistance Is Futile‘. Wire told NME that the record was sounding “expansive” and would be due next year, while frontman James Dean Bradfield prepares to release a solo album this summer.

[Glyn]

Really excited for that and fully agree that there is a great album buried away within KYE. Would also fully support Wire messing about with the tracklist and splitting it out as it was originally planned as it's not going to cause any major damage.

The mention of 'demos' is interesting though. I thought one of the key things for the KYE sessions was doing everything in the studio first time around?

[UEF]

Originally Posted by Glyn

The mention of 'demos' is interesting though. I thought one of the key things for the KYE sessions was doing everything in the studio first time around?

Whilst that may well have been marketing bollocks, you'd still demo a song before getting comfy with it and then recording perhaps the first take, which I think is what they were talking about at the time.

[Dancing Kirby]

It was never intended to be split into two separate albums in the way Nicky would like us to believe IMHO.

Even so, it should have always been a double vinyl album, so this is a chance to rectify that.

[Porco]

Cool.

They should call it ‘Get To Know Your Enemy Again’

[Lee]

If there really is a mountain of stuff that hasn’t been released from these sessions then this might end up being the best anniversary release they’ve done.

Loved the album at the time and I still do. Think its diversity keeps it an interesting listen.

[Glyn]

Originally Posted by UEF

Whilst that may well have been marketing bollocks, you'd still demo a song before getting comfy with it and then recording perhaps the first take, which I think is what they were talking about at the time.

Fair point, hopefully then any demos might be less polished than the 'studio' demos we tend to get with the recent albums. Even more exciting if so

[Routine Builder]

What do we think are the chances of getting Intravenous Agnostic onto the setlist?

There's definitely a rock album in KYE but I struggle to think what the other album would be. It's definitely not a 60's album, there's only about three maybe four track that could be generously given that description: SWSS, MEDD, Convalescent, My Guernica.

[Damian]

Yes please. Their most underappreciated album.

[Glyn]

Originally Posted by Routine Builder

There's definitely a rock album in KYE but I struggle to think what the other album would be. It's definitely not a 60's album, there's only about three maybe four track that could be generously given that description: SWSS, MEDD, Convalescent, My Guernica.

Yeah its a lot easier to put the rock/grunge tracks together but I'd say there is a glimmer of a melodic thread running through SWSS, robeson, year of purification, just a kid, baby elian, his last painting, masking tape & royal correspondent. It's tenuous though and there are many songs that don't easily fit into a binary split.

[Son of Stopped]

Aaaaah! This is excellent news! Don't even care about a Lifeblood anniversary.
Everything else is gravy from here on in, as they say.

[IntlDebris]

I've tried the two-album split a few times and, even including the b-sides, it's still hard to put together a convincing mellow / "60s" album, as a number of those songs still have the same scuzzy, lo-fi, claustrophobic production as the rockier ones. So yeah, you have So Why So Sad, Let Robeson Sing, Year of Purification, maybe Epicentre... after that the difference really seems to be how much acoustic guitar there is, rather than the actual sound.

A lot of people have suggested they'll do this with a reissue, so it's not surprising Nicky's mentioned it, although whether it'll actually happen or whether James will tell him to stop titting around remains to be seen.

Which looks like Lifeblood will be the only album without a deluxe edition. Perhaps this new expansive album will allow them to look back more fondly - especially after Solitude Sometimes Is appeared live last year, and James compared Futurology to having the 'sheen' of Lifeblood. It also depends on how much the label would get behind it - it was always a regular in the super-cheap sales at HMV, often going for something like £3... much like Travis's 12 Memories, the label had more faith in its commercial appeal than the public did, and almost certainly had thousands of copies lying around for the longest time.

[Mr Richey]

Can we finally have the album properly mixed and mastered so it doesn’t sound like it’s being played through a potato? And while we’re at it, can we also delete the one-note repetitive piano line from “Found That Soul” please??

[everlasting]

Interesting to hear. I imagine it'd be over quite a few discs like Truth was, as you'll have the album, b-sides, demos, maybe some live stuff, anything else... easily 3 cds there I reckon. Make a in-depth documentary about the period and any behind the scenes footage for a DVD / blu ray. Could be a really cool box set. Hard to believe it's almost 20 years old though, where does time go??

[ForeverDelayed.com]

YES!!!!! My favorite, most listened to, most underrated Manics album.
And the one with the beat memories from that era.