The "Know Your Enemy" Appreciation Thread

[Embla Claymore]

Originally Posted by The Gutless Wonder

Singles means b-sides though!

well, instead of 'greatest hits' albums we could have 'unreleased tracks&outtakes' compilations or something!

Mind you, I'm not *against* singles, but it's not mandatory that each album should produce some!

[mafiamonroe]

Originally Posted by BlackStone

well, instead of 'greatest hits' albums we could have 'unreleased tracks&outtakes' compilations or something!

Mind you, I'm not *against* singles, but it's not mandatory that each album should produce some!

It sort of is or they won't sell any albums! JFPL didn't have any singles but then it didn't really sell many copies because of that.

[Embla Claymore]

Sure, I do understand all the marketing issues. I was just saying from an artistic point of view... I totally respect the concept of JFPL and it's sad that it didn't sell much because of the lack of singles.

[Siouxsie Sway]

Originally Posted by The Gutless Wonder

Singles means b-sides though!

huh? ok, now I feel pretty stupid. I thought we were talking like 45 rpm-vinyls...or something. cause the songs I menationed are not available for purchase on their own if, at all.
sorry for my total missunderstanding!

[Embla Claymore]

no, I just meant that an album doesn't necessarily have to contain a number of potential singles, it can be just as good without - see JFPL for example - even though it doesn't satisfy marketing rules!

As for the B sides, I already threw a suggestions!

[The Real Snow White]

Originally Posted by madcap07

I may just be slapped, banned or else for what I'm about to say but , let's go...:

IMO, Know You Enemy is to be taken a bit like Nicky's Holy Bible. It's full of disgust, hate, delusion, sadness, with himself, the world, society...It's like his vision of life at the time. Maybe that's why this album hasn't been received like the previous ones. Maybe we weren't expecting that. It's just so pessimistic through and through and sometimes obscure.
I personaly think Nicky wasn't feeling very well at this point of his life and needed to speak things out (just like I think he did when making IKTZ).
Most lines are very depressing or full of contained rage.
And musically, maybe they just felt the need to experiment and that brought us the likes of Miss Europa Disco Dancer or Ocean Spray.
Maybe they were simply pissed by being critically acclaimed for EMG and TIMT

I don't know, it's just how I feel about this album. It's not on my top list, but I listen to it regularly. There are some great songs on it...

I love it when you're trying to think of how to say something and someone has already done it for you! I've always thought of this as the "Angry Nicky" album. I think "contained rage" really sums it up. It was the first Manics album I ever listened to and I immediately fell in love with the band. In retrospect I do think it's a strange place to start your Manics journey. It's certainly not the album I would suggest to someone to start them off, but it worked for me, so I'm not going to complain about it. It's not my favorite album, but because it was my first it's always going to hold a special place in my heart. Continue the discussion!

[The Gutless Wonder]

Originally Posted by Siouxsie Sway

huh? ok, now I feel pretty stupid. I thought we were talking like 45 rpm-vinyls...or something. cause the songs I menationed are not available for purchase on their own if, at all.
sorry for my total missunderstanding!

I was just referring to CD singles really. Not that they'll probably be available for much longer anyway!

[A Design For Manic]

I love KYE very much!
Yesterday I heard the opening of the song Found That Soul in a sitcom series promo

[Lowri]

It's my least favourite Manics album fo sho.

[Siouxsie Sway]

Originally Posted by madcap07

I may just be slapped, banned or else for what I'm about to say but , let's go...:

IMO, Know You Enemy is to be taken a bit like Nicky's Holy Bible. It's full of disgust, hate, delusion, sadness, with himself, the world, society...It's like his vision of life at the time. Maybe that's why this album hasn't been received like the previous ones. Maybe we weren't expecting that. It's just so pessimistic through and through and sometimes obscure.
I personaly think Nicky wasn't feeling very well at this point of his life and needed to speak things out (just like I think he did when making IKTZ).
Most lines are very depressing or full of contained rage.
And musically, maybe they just felt the need to experiment and that brought us the likes of Miss Europa Disco Dancer or Ocean Spray.
Maybe they were simply pissed by being critically acclaimed for EMG and TIMT

I don't know, it's just how I feel about this album. It's not on my top list, but I listen to it regularly. There are some great songs on it...

I love this piece of writing! 'Nicky's Holy Bible'.

[UEF]

All brilliant apart from the last few tracks. Can't stand that Freedom of Speech toss.

SWSS was a great song. FTS was a fantastic rocker.

When 4 songs leaked from the album this place (or should I say, Staybeautiful.net) went MENTAL over Ocean Spray. It was the best thing we'd heard for a very long time.

Let Robeson Sing started to make sense to me around the SATT tour, I really had no time for it before then and releasing it as a single did make me question my loyalty. That and the "JDB is flying the kite" remixes really were a low point.

I love the tone of Royal Correspondent - the line "we've been this way since school" is great too (and not in a I <3 Richey way, just the words...)

[Son of Stopped]

Before my internet time... but what four songs leaked from the album?

[tzb]

Originally Posted by UEF

I love the tone of Royal Correspondent - the line "we've been this way since school" is great too (and not in a I <3 Richey way, just the words...)

It's 'You've been this way', ie this character.

[Manicben]

Know Your Enemy will always have a place in my heart, it was the first album I bought as an uber fan. I really like that it's messy and doesn't know what to do with itself.

[UEF]

Originally Posted by tzb

It's 'You've been this way', ie this character.

Oh well