Rank the Albums: 2021 edition

[Marat Sar]

Very interesting lists here. Glad to see people are so iconoclast with their tops, I thought I was a weirdo putting lifeblood before THB but seems there's a lot of fans who don't go with the bog standard music journalist EMG -- THB thing.

This in particular was very intriguing to me.

Originally Posted by blackflower

I freely admit this is very much influenced by the fact that I haven't loved a new Manics album this much for ages, and I may always not rank TUVL so high, but here goes:

1. Lifeblood
2. The Ultra Vivid Lament
3. Send Away The Tigers

I wish I could get that much enjoyment out of SATT. I also wish I could like JFPL as much as peopel around here. It's a damn great and 100% weird album, weirder than anything I've listened to, but I just don't enjoy it a lot.

Originally Posted by ron the little seal

]

Can't believe you leave out cd 2 of satt, it's the better satt album!

Is there a good list of SATT B-Sides somewhere? I feel there should be an album of SATT / PFAYM b-sides. That for me would beat both albums. Also the b-sides from those albums are sorta similar.

[blackflower]

Originally Posted by Marat Sar

Very interesting lists here. Glad to see people are so iconoclast with their tops, I thought I was a weirdo putting lifeblood before THB but seems there's a lot of fans who don't go with the bog standard music journalist EMG -- THB thing.

This in particular was very intriguing to me.

I wish I could get that much enjoyment out of SATT.

I feel like I have a different connection with SATT than a lot of people on this forum, who lump it in with PFAYM as a kind of overly polished, commercial album. I always think of SATT as a continuation of Lifeblood - not sonically for the most part, but in its mood of reflection and memory, in songs like "Indian Summer" and "The Second Great Depression" and yes even "Autumnsong"! I just find it hugely enjoyable from start to finish (apart from YLA which remains my least favourite MSP single). Even on the less reflective songs like "Rendition" or "Imperial Bodybags", the melodies are strong and eminently singalongable, way stronger than anything on PFAYM apart from maybe "Golden Platitudes".

I also have a personal connection to it - I was going through something a bit stressful at the time and my diary at the time is littered with quotes from SATT like "tiger's claws still in my back", "despite it all you made it worse", "inevitable like scars and dust". "I Am Just A Patsy" was my song of that year, it perfectly summed up how I was feeling at the time - a scapegoat for other people's mistakes. So in many ways it was just the right Manics album for me at the right time - even though it was the start of my decline in fandom for the band and I only saw them live twice that year, that was more to do with my personal circumstances than the album itself.

In a sense, Lifeblood, SATT and TUVL have that in common for me - they are or were exactly the Manics album I needed at the time of release, and that's why they're my top 3.

[FacelessSenseOfVoid]

Originally Posted by blackflower

I feel like I have a different connection with SATT than a lot of people on this forum, who lump it in with PFAYM as a kind of overly polished, commercial album. I always think of SATT as a continuation of Lifeblood - not sonically for the most part, but in its mood of reflection and memory, in songs like "Indian Summer" and "The Second Great Depression" and yes even "Autumnsong"! I just find it hugely enjoyable from start to finish (apart from YLA which remains my least favourite MSP single). Even on the less reflective songs like "Rendition" or "Imperial Bodybags", the melodies are strong and eminently singalongable, way stronger than anything on PFAYM apart from maybe "Golden Platitudes".

I also have a personal connection to it - I was going through something a bit stressful at the time and my diary at the time is littered with quotes from SATT like "tiger's claws still in my back", "despite it all you made it worse", "inevitable like scars and dust". "I Am Just A Patsy" was my song of that year, it perfectly summed up how I was feeling at the time - a scapegoat for other people's mistakes. So in many ways it was just the right Manics album for me at the right time - even though it was the start of my decline in fandom for the band and I only saw them live twice that year, that was more to do with my personal circumstances than the album itself.

In a sense, Lifeblood, SATT and TUVL have that in common for me - they are or were exactly the Manics album I needed at the time of release, and that's why they're my top 3.

Lifeblood, SATT and JFPL were the three Manics albums that were around at, I guess you could call it my peak fandom and therefore the albums have an extremely special place in my heart for the memories and feelings they give me. I didn't become a fan until 2001 so all the preceeding albums like THB, EMG etc don't give me any chills like the other ones do. That's why I've scored EMG and THB quite low on my list.

Even though for me SATT doesn't have a single duff track, the quality of Lifeblood is pure gold throughout (apart from Glasnost). I found an old thread on here last night where this activity carried out in 2014 and 2018 and the onlt thing I could conclude was that TIMTTMY has always been around 5th favourite for me! One list actually had THB right at the bottom.... oops.

[Porco]

Glasnost is really 2004’s version of Don’t Let The Night Divide Us (or DLTNDU is 2021’s version of Glasnost), discuss.

[Mr Richey]

Originally Posted by Marat Sar

Is there a good list of SATT B-Sides somewhere? I feel there should be an album of SATT / PFAYM b-sides. That for me would beat both albums. Also the b-sides from those albums are sorta similar.

I’ve been pushing this as the superior album to SATT for donkeys years. There’s even a thread on here if you search for it. So as soon as the anniversary edition got released, with everything remastered, I was finally able to have it on Spotify instead of relying on an old CD-RW copy I made years ago.

So here you go; the album the Manics should’ve released instead of SATT.

Welcome To The Dead Zone

[Flint]

The GOAT
1.This Is Is My Truth Tell Me Yours*
2.Lifeblood
The classics
3.Know Your Enemy
4.The Holy Bible
5.Futurology
The greats
6.Everything Must Go
7.Generation Terrorists
8.Journal for Plague Lovers
9.Gold Against the Soul
The goods
10.Rewind the Film
11.Postcards from a Young Man
The alrights
12.Resistance Is Futile
The SATTs
13.Send Away the Tigers

*yes, after years of insisting Lifeblood is the greatest Manics album that some oldheads here might remember, I've done some soulsearching and now we are here. Still one of my favourite albums of all time though.

TUVL is too new, give me uhhh six months to a year and I'll place it somewhere.

[NeverWantAgain]

Holy Bible
Everything Must Go
[Lipstick Traces]
Futurology
Journal For Plague Lovers
Ultra Vivid Lament
This is My Truth Tell me Yours
Know Your Enemy (would be higher if there wasn’t so much filler)
Generation Terrorists
Gold Against the Soul
Rewind the Film
Lifeblood
Send Away the Tigers
Resistance is Futile
Postcards from a Young Man

[Routine Builder]

Originally Posted by Porco

Glasnost is really 2004’s version of Don’t Let The Night Divide Us (or DLTNDU is 2021’s version of Glasnost), discuss.

I think the guitar work on glasnost would take grave offence to that!

[FacelessSenseOfVoid]

Originally Posted by Routine Builder

I think the guitar work on glasnost would take grave offence to that!

I think I heard a bum note in the solo in 2004 (the widdly bit right at the end of it) and it destroyed the song for me there and then. Also someone said it sounded like Mmmbop by Hanson, which it does and I haven't unheard it since.

I think there are a lot of parallels between DLTNDU and Glasnost, the music on both is probably a bit too happy and poppy sounding for my liking for the lyrical content.

Lifeblood would be the best album of all time if Everyone Knows/Nobody Cares was on there instead of Glass Snot.

[Routine Builder]

Put Askew Road instead of Cardiff Afterlife and we have a deal!

[ron the little seal]

Originally Posted by Routine Builder

Put Askew Road instead of Cardiff Afterlife and we have a deal!

Jesus that is sophie's choice, both exceptional songs and amazing endings for an album

[Routine Builder]

I think the band overhyped Cardiff Afterlife during the promotion tour, touting it as being like a sequel to Design for Life. The instrumentation is great but I don't think the melody really hooks but to each their own. Askew Road is special though, on a drunk night that song still reduces me to tears. That Richey sample at the end is a killer.

Edit: after another listen, I'm struggling to fathom why this song was left off the album. It's damn god damn singular in their discography as well as being deeply personal. Fell in love in my first listen and probably in my top 3 b-sides. I need answers dammit!

[fadeout38]

Originally Posted by fadeout38

In truth 2,3 and 4 are all equally good with Journal just behind. I'm finding the new album baffling. Can't decide whether its utterly bland or pretty good. At least its not RIF or PFAYM.

The Holy Bible
Everything Must Go
Futurology
Even In Exile
Journal For Plague Lovers

This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours
Rewind The Film

Gold Against The Soul
Send Away The Tigers

Generation Terrorists
Know Your Enemy
The Ultra Vivid Lament
Lifeblood

The Great Western
I Killed The Zeitgeist
Resistance Is Futile
Postcards From a Young Man

Ok, TUVL is definitely growing on me. I didn't think it would. It may take a few months to really decide. But I think I'll move it up at least 2 places, maybe 3.

[tzb]

^ Agree with this. It really is a grower.

[Marwood]

Lifeblood
The Holy Bible
Futurology
Journal For Plague Lovers
This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours
Rewind The Film
Send Away The Tigers
I Killed The Zeitgeist
The Great Western
Even In Exile
Gold Against The Soul
Everything Must Go
Generation Terrorists
Know Your Enemy
The Ultra Vivid Lament
Postcards From A Young Man
Resistance Is Futile

Worth saying that just because an album ranks lower down the list doesn't mean I actually dislike it, I love them all (with the exception of the bottom two). My top six are pretty stable (Truth and Rewind constantly switch), The bottom two are set in stone, everything else is fairly fluid and shuffles about a lot (I'm surprised Tigers is so far up the list and KYE is so low, but that's the mood I'm in today). I'm still getting a grip on TUVL so it feels a bit unfair to put it on the list at all, but there you go.