Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!: Day 141 - Manic Street Preachers

Everything Must Go is the fourth Studio Album from Welsh band Manic Street Preachers and is the follow-up to their highly acclaimed album The Holy Bible (1994) despite its poor sales it regarded as one of their greatest albums. 

It was their first album after the disappearance of guitarist and songwriter Richey Edwards. Richey had gone missing on 1st February 1995 and had been suffering with depression, alcohol abuse and had also been self-harming. He is presumed to have committed suicide. He was officially presumed dead 23rd November 2008.

It's interesting for me because prior to this album I think I had only really owned the debut album and liked a few songs here and there (Motown Junk, You Love Us, Motorcyle Emptiness, Slash and Burn and From Despair to Where being just a small number I can think of off the top of my head). A month prior to release of the album came the first single from the project A Design For Life. That stopped me in my tracks not just the lyrical content of the song and its themes spotlighting class conflict but the actual music itself. The String Section in the song is so beautiful and majestic, it floors me everytime I hear it. It was apparently the first song recorded for the album

The album came out of course at the height of Britpop and many have often roped Everything Must Go into that fold, for me though I think it stands way outside of that and is more musically and lyrically superior to anything that was coming from the likes of Blur and Oasis.

I am hard pressed to find a track on it that I would willingly skip over. It's one of those albums (and there's not many these days) that from start to finish just feels complete.

Today marks the 20th Anniversary of the albums release and a new Anniversary Box set is being released as well as a tour
to celebrate the album with their biggest headline show since 1999, at Liberty Stadium, Swansea on 28 May 2016. Special guests would include Super Furry Animals. The album will be performed in full. Before the final show in Swansea the band would tour the album with a series of UK dates: Liverpool, Echo Arena (May 13), Birmingham, Genting Arena (May 14), London, Royal Albert Hall (May 16-17), Leeds, First Direct Arena (May 20) and Glasgow, The SSE Hydro (May 21).

Everything Must Go - Manic Street Preachers

Epic

Produced by Mike Hedges

Released 20th May 1996

UK Chart #2

Everything Must Go 

10th Anniversary Edition CD1

Tracklist

CD1-1     Elvis Impersonator: Blackpool Pier     3:28
CD1-2     A Design For Life     4:17
CD1-3     Kevin Carter     3:25
CD1-4     Enola/Alone     4:08
CD1-5     Everything Must Go     3:40
CD1-6     Small Black Flowers That Grow In The Sky     3:03
CD1-7     The Girl Who Wanted To Be God     3:36
CD1-8     Removables     3:31
CD1-9     Australia     4:04
CD1-10     Interiors (Song For Willem De Kooning)     4:18
CD1-11     Further Away     3:39
CD1-12     No Surface All Feeling     4:21
CD1-13     Enola/Alone (Live)     3:30
CD1-14     Kevin Carter (Live)     3:07
CD1-15     Interiors (Song For Willem De Kooning) (Live)     3:39
CD1-16     Elvis Impersonator: Blackpool Pier (Live)     2:48
CD1-17     Everything Must Go (Live)     3:30
CD1-18     A Design For Life (Live)     4:32
CD1-19     A Design For Life (Stealth Sonic Orchestra Remix)     4:52

Everything Must Go 

10th Anniversary Edition CD2

Tracklist

CD2-1     Dixie     0:42
CD2-2     No Surface All Feeling (Demo)     3:38
CD2-3     Further Away (Demo)     3:32
CD2-4     Small Black Flowers That Grow In The Sky (Demo)     3:04
CD2-5     No One Knows What It's Like To Be Me (Demo)     2:58
CD2-6     Australia (Acoustic Demo, Nick's House '96)     4:15
CD2-7     No Surface All Feeling (Acoustic Demo, Nick's House '95)     4:02
CD2-8     Interiors (Song For Willem De Kooning) (Acoustic Demo, Nick's House '95)     2:58
CD2-9     The Girl Who Wanted To Be God (Acoustic Demo, Nick's House '95)     3:59
CD2-10     A Design For Life (First Rehearsal, Cardiff '95)     3:56
CD2-11     Kevin Carter (First Rehearsal, Cardiff '95)     3:22
CD2-12     Mr Carbohydrate     4:15
CD2-13     Dead Trees And Traffic Islands     3:44
CD2-14     Dead Passive     3:19
CD2-15     Black Garden     4:01
CD2-16     Hanging On     3:01
CD2-17     No One Knows What It's Like To Be Me     3:04
CD2-18     Horses Under Starlight     3:08
CD2-19     Sepia     3:54
CD2-20     First Republic     3:48
CD2-21     Australia (Stephen Hague Production)     8:08
CD2-22     The Girl Who Wanted To Be God (Stephen Hague Production)     4:09
CD2-23     Glory, Glory     0:36

Singles From Everything Must Go

    01. "A Design for Life"
    Released: 15 April 1996

 UK Chart #2

    02. "Everything Must Go"
    Released: 22 July 1996

 UK Chart #5

    03. "Kevin Carter"
    Released: 30 September 1996

 UK Chart #9

    04. "Further Away"
    Released: 16 October 1996 (Japan only)

    05. "Australia"
    Released: 2 December 1996

UK Chart #7

Manic Street Preachers
    James Dean Bradfield – lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitar and piano
    Sean Moore – drums, percussion, trumpet and backing vocals
    Nicky Wire – bass guitar and backing vocals
    Richey Edwards – rhythm guitar on "No Surface All Feeling"

Additional musicians
    John Green – Hammond organ and keyboards
    Martin Ditchum – percussion
    Julie Aliss – harp
    Gini Ball – violin
    Sally Herbert – violin
    Anne Stephenson – violin
    Chris Pitsillides – viola
    Clare Orsler – viola
    Martin Greene – string arrangements

Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!