woot, finally got a decent quality mp3 rip of it, 224kbit iirc,, yay!

the wholle thing hasn't reallly sunk in yet, but i''m liking it so far. don't love it yet. only gripe with it is that don't be evil isn't the song about the internet that i'd read so much complaining about. really confirms nicky's ignorance: don't be evil is google's #1 internal rule. seems such a waste to use the title for an unrelated song.

burranyway, woot, and on to listen now on a proper hifi :D

When I heard the four new tracks they previewed at the gig in Hammersmith last month, I thought it was going to be a cracking album.

Initially I was underwhelmed by the record, but a week listening to it and it's a real grower. Not a great album, but a good solid one.

Stand out tracks: SKON, Don't Be Evil, Golden Platitudes, INWJTEOL

Hello people of the Manics forum! The Colonel here with my personal take on the new album, "Postcards From A Young Man". Going to follow the example of my number two son and talk about the album track by track.

1. It's Not War Just The End Of Love: great opening track, classic Manics' big sound with some super orchestration. Excellent guitar riff in the verses. Bradder's vocals still powerful and very clear too (which is not always the case with the Manics). Raised my expectations that this will be as good as "Everything Must Go".

2. Postcards From A Young Man: good strong follow-on from the first track - clear vocals again! Good orchestration, clever nostalgic twist to the lyrics, fab guitar riff (no more than I have come to expect from the Manics). My expectations for the rest of the album were running high at this point. Both these tracks could even feature on The Colonel's future Manics compilation.

3. Some Kind Of Nothingness: I like the addition here of Ian McCulloch's harmonies and alternating vocals, plus the emphasis of the choir. Still hitting the nostalgia button for me; there's a hint of Beatles influence around the 3/4 point of the song, building to a great crescendo and finish. Reminds me a little of "Photograph" by Ringo Starr!!

4. The Descent (Pages 1 & 2): David Bowie influence, simple clear lyrics and another brilliant guitar solo. Good close to the first third of the album. Love the harmonies between James and Sean.

5. Hazelton Avenue: great guitar opening, strong Eastern influences on the orchestration. A strong pop feel to this one (though I like it all the same). Building to a strong end.

6. Auto Intoxication: I like the acoustic guitar opening but this one's a continuity breaker. Touches on the Manics' more aggressive side, contrasting the steady, slower portions of the album. Some fab drumming and fills though. Abrupt finish left me feeling a sense of loss.

7. Golden Platitudes: at first I thought I was listening to the opening of "Angels" by Robbie Williams, but this actually brings a good change of mood. Bringing us back to a more settled rhythm with great use of the choir. An excellent middle track on the album, love the strings.

8. I Think I've Found It: love the mandolin opening, very commercial track that could easily be released as a single. Good simple lyrics and a clear vocal (can't believe I've listened to 8 Manics' tracks without mishearing the words!!) I'm sure 75% of hardcore Manic fans will hate it though as it could be considered to be filler. But it's nice enough.

9. A Billion Balconies Facing The Sun: good strong rock number - typically Manics - with excellent guitar work again. My appreciation of Bradders' guitar skills grows from year to year. A strange finish though. I like the song but the lyrics only really work for the music, very grumpy otherwise.

10. All We Make Is Entertainment: starts off like an eighties rock anthem then slows to something else. Great comment on the state of the nation, a nation which Nicky Wire obviously feels was once the greatest manufacturing and engineering country in the world. Also touches on the breakdown of communites, especially in Wales with the demise of both the coal and steel industries. However, there is a kind of snide swipe at the ordinary working class with the line "Pointless jobs lead to pointless lives". Perhaps the Manics have forgotten their working class roots? But again, great track musically.

11. The Future Has Been Here 4 Ever: what the fuck is this?! The vocal is probably the worst I have had to suffer for the best part of thirty years since Lloyd Cole & The Commotions. Did the three Manics pick up bits of discarded songs from the studio floor and try to piece them together? Nothing works! It sounds like it was recorded on an old tape player with the tape slipping constantly! Absolute crap. This should never have seen the light of day guys.

12. Don't Be Evil: not bad but no much of an album closer is it? Should have followed "Hazelton Avenue". I now know that the previous track must have been filler and, to be frank boys, your fans deserve better. "All We Make Is Entertainment" should have finished the album if you could not come up with another anthem like "A Design For Life" as a closer. Disappointing then, but not a bad song.

Overall my view is another good Manics album which will be added to my collection with several tracks probably making their way onto The Colonel's Manics Compilation! Certainly some room for improvement though boys - 8/10

Welcome to the forum, Colonel!
I didn't read your review yet as I haven't heard it. Why am I in the PFAYM reviews and opinions thread?
Well it's the closest I get to living dangerously these days...

Welcome to the Colonel, you seem like an eloquent chap based on your excellent review.

I'm a big fan of your chicken.

Oh boy...

hehe, no offense but this is terminally wrong, one of the stand out tracks on the album i think, sounds like nothing Wire has sung on before - not sure what you mean about tape slipping, its one of the best produced tracks on the album IMO

Yeah, love it too, the cowbell alone makes it interesting, and Wire holds his own against the gospel choir.

I used to really dislike Its Not War but now having heard the whole album I think it works really well as an opener for the record for some reason.

Golden Platitudes is my favourite currently (followed by ....Entertainment probably). Then there are three or four others I am already tremendously fond of. First time round some choruses sounded tremendously trite and some caught me completely and then second or third listen my opinions seemed to shift around.

For example I now really like the 'I will not give up and I will not give in' section of Postcards but the repetition of the line really irked me the first time I heard it and I expected a rhyme of some sort.

I am unsure if I Think I've Found It is just pretty enjoyable or fucking terrible though.

In a quick phrase: mixed feelings.

In more words: It's not totally unheard of for me to take a while to get to grips with a new Manics record, and I always give each album a good going over before deciding how I feel about it. That said, I've now heard it and I am relatively underwhelmed.

I quite like the single, and I love the track with Mr Bunnymen. Very nice. I think however initially, I can see the album having less longevity than say Journal for Plague Lovers. The general feel is a bit Radio 2 and fairly predictable however, and the overall tone doesn't make me hugely intrigued to investigate. I had the same experience with SATT, while initial listens were pleasant enough, repeated listens show only 4 or so really standout tracks.

I'll have a few more listens and see how it goes. No regrets about missing the tour now however.

Thought I'd post my friend's review of the album, if it hasn't been done so already, for The Music Fix:

http://www.themusicfix.co.uk/content...preachers.html

It was soul-destroying seeing her Facebook status of listening to the album at the time...

Just reading the Wiki page for the album and just saw this for the first time:
All songs: Bradfield, Jones, Moore except: Track 1, which contains elements of Chic's Everybody Dance; Track 5, which contains elements of It Ain't Over 'til It's Over by Lenny Kravitz; Track 10, which contains elements of Badlands by Bruce Springsteen
Can anyone enlighten me by telling me what it means by containing elements of these songs and who said it contains elements? Is it just some fan who thinks they sound alike or something? :S

It's got to be a piss take. If they were crediting a writer, they would credit a writer rather than just say 'contains elements of'.

Is anyone sick of seeing the Tim Roth picture already, in the same way as the girls from Tigers ?! :p