The Great Western is better than SATT

[Abstract Unknown Girl]

Originally Posted by Dancing Kirby

TGW and IKTZ are both better than SATT. It's the difference between writing the music they wanted to and writing music that they knew would get them back in the top ten.

I think that's why I have more respect for their solo projects (well more so James' because I will never be a fan of Nicky's voice I'm afraid, but at least he was doing what he wanted) than SATT. SATT just seemed so calculated and like they were seeking validation from the masses/NME etc.

TGW is a much better album than SATT as is IKTZ. I think that TGW is a better summation of their past than SATT could ever be. SATT lapses into self-parody (the attempts to recapture the GT and THB days with "Autumnsong" and "Rendition" respectively) whereas TGW sounds a lot more natural while also drawing influences from EMG and TIMTTMY. It also has a sound of its own whereas SATT doesn't really.

I'd welcome the idea of James writing more lyrics for the band. He's not spectacular or anything but I do admire the simplicity of his words .

[Deets]

Originally Posted by walpolian87

whereas TGW sounds a lot more natural while also drawing influences from EMG and TIMTTMY.

I'd welcome the idea of James writing more lyrics for the band. He's not spectacular or anything but I do admire the simplicity of his words .

THIS.

[Son of Stopped]

I'm going to have to listen to these two again.
At the moment I prefer SATT, although there are some great bits on TGW.
Why, I've even started to love Underdogs!

[Deets]

Originally Posted by Son of Stopped

.
Why, I've even started to love Underdogs!

me too

Originally Posted by Son of Stopped

Why, I've even started to love Underdogs!

Lock yourself in a darkened room and don't leave until you hate it again!

[Mary Chain]

Originally Posted by ditta

me too

I hated it for so long but...me too.

I disagree about TGW being better than SATT, although the albums are so different in music style I find it hard to compare them. It depends on my mood.

I think TGW is brilliant and I love all the songs on it, and I do think it's better than Nicky's however much I love his too. James' album you can love without being a Manics fan, whereas anyone who listened to Nicky's album without having heard of the Manics or being aware of who he is would just think 'Who the fuck is this guy? ' I think you need to appreciate Nicky as a person already, and then his album makes more sense and the whole thing becomes endearing rather than out-there and wierd.

[Elvis Impersonator]

James' album is pretty good, doesn't really sound like the Manics which can only be a good thing when trying to make a solo album. It's alright, it kind of passed over me cos I got very distracted with Nicky's album, but I have listened to it a few times and although it was hit and miss a couple of the tracks were really really good. Wouldn't say it's better than SATT though, not by a long way.

[Donkey]

TGW is better in many ways, but it also suffers from bad production, it would be a great album but Run Romeo Run and Say Hello To The Pope which are musically the most original and moving songs were badly recorded, unfortunately

[Flint]

I was gonna say something but then Kirby danced in and sang words of truth and total agreement as he waltzed.

Originally Posted by Dancing Kirby

TGW and IKTZ are both better than SATT. It's the difference between writing the music they wanted to and writing music that they knew would get them back in the top ten.

If James and Nicky went off to do their own things again and then came back and combined those efforts into one Manics album, it would almost certainly be better than the next official 'it's a bit like The Holy Bible' Manics album is going to be.

[ultramarine]

If I could take only one of them to a desert island it would be a tough choice. What stops me from instantly saying TGW is that I loved the title track of SATT plus the Second Great Depression and YLAINE. The artwork irritates the fuck out of me, some middle aged man's wet dream of girls in short skirts! The backwards 'R' too, the deliberate reference to an album that is far superior. There are times when the songs that I dislike on the album embarass me because of the naff/immature pretentions of the lyric but then the music almost rescues them because even the worst tracks have geat music.

What I particularly loved about TGW was the directness of the lyric, that they communicated and that I understood a lot of the situations and emotions that he wrote about. I don't really connect on that level with Wire's lyrics as often and sometimes he seems, well, just silly.

[Littlesue]

I prerer TGW to SATT, I think Emigre and Say Hello to the Pope are fantastic tracks, better than anything on SATT

[Takk]

I think people are too hard on SATT. It's what they needed career wise, if it wasn't for SATT i doubt there would have been a new album...so maybe you'll get what you want from that.

[The Gutless Wonder]

I like the dumbness or what Rush would call goofyness of SATT. It's relaxed and fun which you can't often say for most Manics stuff! The Great Western is warm and endearing, really paints the pictures of it's themes. I Killed The Zeigeist has more griminess to it but still pretty good!

[Son of Stopped]

Here's the easier way to sort this!
Each track faces off the other.

In the left corner, TGW. In the right corner, SATT.

That's No Way To Tell A Lie vs. Send Away The Tigers
An English Gentleman vs. Underdogs
Bad Boys And Painkillers vs. Your Love Alone Is Not Enough
On Saturday Morning We Will Rule The World vs. Indian Summer
Run Romeo Run vs. The Second Great Depression
Still A Long Way To Go vs. Rendition
Emigre vs. Autumnsong (tough choice this)
To See A Friend In Tears vs. I'm Just A Patsy
Say Hello To The Pope vs. Imperial Bodybags
The Wrong Beginning vs. Winterlovers
Which Way To Kyffin vs. er...Working Class Hero.

So SATT wins 6-5!