Lifeblood #10

[Littlesue]

I'm about the only person who thinks of it as a Summer album, as soon as the nice weather and the light nights arrive its on!

[Routine Builder]

Originally Posted by allisvanity

One of may favourites Glasnost. Who doesn't like it?!

Nicky, I remember saying it's in his bottom five or something to play....

[Scarecrow]

Glasnost is a lovely track. Really wish they'd played it back then, not a chance now.

[tzb]

Originally Posted by allisvanity

One of may favourites Glasnost. Who doesn't like it?!

I guess people who didn't like Savage Garden first time around

[Smiling#Girl]

Originally Posted by Littlesue

I'm about the only person who thinks of it as a Summer album, as soon as the nice weather and the light nights arrive its on!

Tbh I listen to Lifeblood the whole year but probably I associate it with the autumn/winter period because it's when it came out and I listened to for the first times. And I remember Nicky saying(it could have been a tweet) that Glasnost was a great title track but an awful song or something like that. Why they alway have to slag off that album only because it didn't sell well is beyond me. I'm still waitng for the day they will apologize and admit that it was/is a beautiful album. A song for Departure and Solitude Sometimes Is are still two of the most played songs on my iPod

[MoMoney MoJunk]

Originally Posted by tzb

I guess people who didn't like Savage Garden first time around

I'm a bit 'meh' about Glasnost, but (used to) really love Savage Garden!

Lifeblood is fantastic. 1985 and Solitude Sometimes Is are arguably the two best non-single tracks they've done. I know it's been done to death here, but if 1985 had been the first single the album would have been much bigger. Aside from Glasnost and Fragments the rest are lovely, beautiful songs in their own right.

Never heard a Lifeblood track live unfortunately

[Mr.Selfdestruct]

I've warmed a lot to Lifeblood over the years. I didn't like it too much at first, but never hated it either. It'll never be a great album for me because i think the quality of the music dips too much from Glasnost onwards.

I always really liked Nixon, but it was commercial suicide to release it as a lead single at the time. It would have been a good third single maybe.

[Suicide Aldi]

I remember it comming out, but I was only a kind of casual fan at the time. I wasnt keen on Nixon, but I remember seeing them on jools and thinking A song for departure was pretty cool. I finally got the album in 2007 after hearing tigers. I picked it up for £5 in HMV, and its easily one of the best £5 iv ever spent. Its easily one of their best albums. In maney ways I see it as being quite similar to RTF and Futureology, the lyrics are more reflective and its sonically experimental. As maney have already said, the icy quality lends it to being the perfect winter albums. It will always be slightly bitter sweet for me however, as it partly reminds me of the great time i was having properly descovering the manics and all the great records they've made, and partly because it was the album that nursed me through a very broken heart.

[rosetree]

I love the songs on Lifeblood. It's one of my favourite albums and it reminds me of winter time. I like how James sings and I love the lyrics and difference in music. I hope they play from Lifeblood in concert again and perhaps more from Futurology.

[Nature's Discontent]

I have a lot of good memories of first listening to Lifeblood prolifically when I was doing my GCSEs. I didn't actually get it until Xmas 2005 so I was a year behind 'era-wise'. The first few times I heard it I literally couldn't get past the first 3 songs. I remember loving 1985 from the off and already liked the two singles, but from then on I kind of shrank from it, thought it was a very tame effort, very bland and uninspired. I guess I was expecting something of the calibre of Truth, which I was pretty-much obsessed with at the time. But it grew on me and almost 10 years later I can say it's a strong record and stands up with the rest of their output easily.

However, I still do think it tails off in quality near the end, and have never been in love with the album quite enough to like it as I know a lot of people on here do, but I do share the disappointment with others at how the band treat it now.

Just tried ranking the tracks afresh a few minutes ago and was somewhat surprised at the outcome:

Empty Souls
Emily
1985
The Love of Richard Nixon
I Live To Fall Asleep
To Repel Ghosts
Always/Never
Glasnost
A Song For Departure
Fragments
Solitude Sometimes Is
Cardiff Afterlife

[tzb]

Good idea.

1985
I Live To Fall Asleep
To Repel Ghosts
A Song For Departure
Solitude Sometimes Is
Emily
Empty Souls
Glasnost
Fragments
Cardiff Afterlife
The Love of Richard Nixon
Always/Never

[nocultureicons]

I find this album difficult to rank, all the songs are equally brilliant. Shame the same can't be said for its successor.

[Littlesue]

Song For Departure
The Love of Richard Nixon
Always/Never
Emily
I Live to Fall Asleep
To Repel Ghosts
Empty Souls
Fragments
Cardif AfterLife
Glasnost
1985
Solidtude Sometimes Is

[sculptureofabloke]

Oh, bollocks. Off the top of my head:

To Repel Ghosts
Cardiff Afterlife
1985
A Song For Departure
Glasnost
Solitude Sometimes Is
Fragments
Empty Souls
The Love Of Richard Nixon
Emily
I Live To Fall Asleep
Always/Never

[y2kyle16]

Ranking:
Glasnost
1985
Always/Never
Solitude Sometimes Is
To Repel Ghosts
Empty Souls
A Song For A Departure
I Live to Fall Asleep
Cardiff Afterlife
The Love of Richard Nixon
Emily
Fragments