The Lifeblood Discussion Thread

[hummingbird]

i love lifeblood and it really does sound better in winter. I played for the first time in a few months the other day and it was just lush. B-sides too. The band say they hate it, i assume because the songs get such a poor reception at gigs..its not because they're bad songs but that the album tanked and the majority of the crowd don't know the songs. It would be interesting to see what would happen if they put a couple tracks on an anthology compilation..1985 and to repel ghosts..would be good.

[Slashed&Burnt]

It's probably the album I listen to least, although it has a couple of good songs. My favourites are 1985, Empty Souls and A Song for Departure.

[amay]

I used to think it was boring,but I listened to it a lot really late at night recently and it's perfect for that time of day. It's quite overproduced in some places but I don't think it's a bad thing - it just sounds really smooth. I really like the lyrics even if they don't!

[starstruck]

it's the one album you can play from start to finish and actually just plain enjoy without getting hung up on the lyrics/sentiments, and yet isn't as trivial and poppy as, say, SATT.

i really don't wish to sound patronizing or condescending or anything like that, but whereas there's pretty much across the board love for 1985, it really seems to have hit a special niche in those of us old enough to have been "there" at the time. it really captures and evokes the mood of the mid-80s (for better and worse), and at the same time is clearly deeply personal to the band. the song shows just how well Nicky can write a song when properly inspired, and shows off what total and utter fucking idiots the band and their management/label/advisors are for not putting this out as the lead single. it would have captured a nostalgia market on top of the usual fan base and probably helped the album do a good deal better.

i will agree that the b-sides from this album are well above average, but i wouldn't particularly drop any track from the album itself. The Love Of Richard Nixon is the closest i have to a "problem" with any track - i mean, why Nixon, just so they could fuck about in masks? that said, though, it's still a great tune!

there is a legion of Manics fans who did not fall in love with the band that made Lifeblood, just as there are fans who discovered them through this. the world of Manicdom is big enough to hold us all, even if it doesn't seem like it sometimes.

[foundthatsoul]

Right all this chat of going on about it, I am going to listen to it for the first time in ages. In full! I expect 1985 and To Repel Ghosts to be majestic and A Song For Departure to be very good and Glasnost to be decent. Also Solitude Sometimes Is to be amazing on the "drop your bombs for all the world to see" but not so good the rest of the way through, and Emily to be fucking dreadful as usual

[A boy called Rita]

Worst manics album by a long way. I find it boring, dull, and it just generally irritates me. There are a couple of songs on it I like, but compared to their other albums it's awful.

Ratings:


"1985" – 6
"The Love of Richard Nixon" – 3
"Empty Souls" – 3
"A Song for Departure" – 3
"I Live to Fall Asleep" – 4
"To Repel Ghosts" – 2
"Emily" – 6
"Glasnost" – 1
"Always/Never" – 1
"Solitude Sometimes Is" – 1
"Fragments" – 1
"Cardiff Afterlife" – 4

[Frozendiva]

'Lifeblood' spoke, and I didn't really listen. Still hasn't grabbed me.

[Scout Finch]

Liked it first, then hated it for ages, now I adore it.

[The Gutless Wonder]

Beautiful, gorgeous, magical, stellar! Love it!

[sculptureofabloke]

Not sure if it'd make my top 5. Love it though, gorgeous. Don't really like the "lacking direction" criticisms the band and some fans have made about it. Or was that Know Your Enemy? Ah, I dunno, I'm sure I've read people say that about Lifeblood... Whatever, anyway.

It's a brave album for them to have made. If James were a less distinctive singer, I'd bet some people would have no clue that it's the same band that made Know Your Enemy. If it's directionless, I don't think that's a bad thing at all. I don't believe the "two sides of the band" thing either, it's more like three or four now. It's a gorgeous album, nice and experimental. I wish the band didn't shun it like they do.

[Aestivate]

It follows on from Truth more naturally than KYE. I often wonder if it might have been received better if this had been the case. James guitar work on the album is more inventive and creative than anything he's produced since - it just sort of flows into the landscape and fits the lyrics. It is the outsider that no one talks to and looks at hesitantly. Which is why it is possibly the best Manics album as it doesn't qute fit in.

[The Gutless Wonder]

Yes James, I WANT TO HEAR GLASNOST LIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Elizabeth M]

When have the Manics ever said that they hate this album?

[sculptureofabloke]

Originally Posted by Elizabeth M

When have the Manics ever said that they hate this album?

Never have as far as I know, but James did say it was like Marmite on the SATT winter tour. They do seem to try to pretend it didn't happen, sometimes.

[Mary Chain]

Fragments and Emily aside (DIE) it's a fantastic album. 1985 remains my favourite Manics song.

Originally Posted by Elizabeth M

When have the Manics ever said that they hate this album?

They pretty much declared it every night they played Empty Souls this tour before dropping it. First it was just general apologies for Lifeblood, and then moving onto telling people to go to the bar...

It was quite embarrassing actually. It pissed me off.