Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 12:54, 30 December 2014

Everything Must Go is the fourth studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. It was released on 20 May 1996, through Epic Records, and was the first record released by the band following the disappearance of lyricist and rhythm guitarist Richey Edwards.

Released at the height of Britpop in the mid-1990s, the album was a commercial and critical success, eventually selling over two million copies and being voted frequently in lists for one of the best albums ever by many publications such as NME and Q. The album reached its peak in the UK on separate occasions, the album debuted and peaked at number 2 in the UK Album Chart, and earned the band accolades in the Brit Awards in 1997.

Background

The working title of this album was Sounds in the Grass, named after a series of paintings by Jackson Pollock. Everything Must Go takes its name from a play by Patrick Jones, Nicky Wire's brother.

Everything Must Go represents a change of style for the band. Their previous album, The Holy Bible, had been a stark, disturbing album with a minimal amount of instrumentation, whilst this album embraces synths and strings, has a more commercial feel and fits with the Britpop movement that was prevalent at the time.

The lyrical focus of the album is also shifted, due in part to Edwards' departure. Instead of introspective and autobiographical tracks such as "4st 7lb", Wire's predilection for historical and political themes dominates; however, five songs feature Edwards' lyrics; the last time his lyrics would feature in a Manics album until 2009's Journal for Plague Lovers. The album's lyrical themes would continue through their next record, This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours.

Subjects tackled on the album include the tragic life of the photographer Kevin Carter, on the track of the same name, Willem de Kooning and the maltreatment of animals in captivity on "Small Black Flowers That Grow in the Sky" (which is a quote from the film The Best Years of Our Lives). The latter track, with lyrics by Edwards, can also be interpreted as an exploration of his mental state before his disappearance; the line "Here chewing your tail is joy" for instance may be as much about Richey's self-harm as it is the tormented self-injury of zoo animals.

Part of the rhythm guitar on "No Surface All Feeling" was recorded by Edwards before his disappearance, making it only the second time that Edwards' guitar-work was present on a Manic Street Preachers recorded track (the other instance being "La Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh)" on Gold Against the Soul.) Bradfield typically performs all the guitar parts for their recordings.

The album was later referenced by the group as an inspiration for their eighth studio album Send Away the Tigers which was described as a mixture between Everything Must Go and the band's debut Generation Terrorists.

Release

The album was released on 20 May 1996, and debuted on the UK Album Chart at number #2, so far the album has gone Triple Platinum in the UK and is their most successful album to date, spending 82 weeks in the Top 75 albums with the album still in the Top 5 a year after its release. Four singles were released from the album, all of them charted in the Top 10 in the UK Singles Chart.

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry awarded the album with a Platinum certification, for sales above 1.000.000 copies. The album presented the band with a new generation of fans, charting in Europe, Asia and Australia, since May 1996 Everything Must Go has shipped more than two million copies. The album sales would be even higher with their next effort This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours which would be globally successful.

After the release of the album, in the following year, in 1997, the band performed a special gig at the Manchester Arena for more than 20.000 people. Bassist Nicky Wire said that was the moment he knew that the band had "made it".

A 10th anniversary edition of the album was released on 6 November 2006. It included the original album, demos, B-sides, remixes, rehearsals and alternate takes of the album's songs, spread out over two CDs. An additional DVD, featuring music videos, live performances, TV appearances, a 45-minute documentary on the making of the album, and two films by Patrick Jones, completed the three-disc set.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Alternative Press
Entertainment Weekly	(A)
The Guardian	(2006)
The Independent	(favourable)
NME	(8/10)
Q
Rolling Stone	(favourable)
Sputnikmusic
Vox	(9/10)

Being the first album since the departure of Richey, the band at the time was under pressure, but after the release of A Design for Life, which was well received by critics and fans, Everything Must Go was the album that introduced the band to the mainstream public, all the singles were well received and radio friendly, the album was a critical success.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic gave a very positive review to the album, stating : " Above all, Everything Must Go is a cathartic experience -- it is genuinely moving to hear the Manics offering hope without sinking to mawkish sentimentality or collapsing under the weight of their situation." Rolling Stone magazine claimed the album as the "most underrated album of the year", and finished with: " Everything Must Go is a record of painstaking melodic craft and thundering execution, a proclamation of physical and emotional cleansing – up to a point."

Reviewing the 10th anniversary edition, The Guardian said that the album "achieved the zenith of the Welshmen's original ambition: to conquer the mainstream with anger, art and soul.", giving it a positive review, alongside with a score of 4 out of 5 stars.

Writing for Q magazine in June 1996, Tom Doyle thought that Everything Must Go had "little in common" with its predecessor, The Holy Bible, and saw the album as a return to, and improvement upon, the "epic pop-rock" sound of Gold Against the Soul. He noted the band's choice of producer, Mike Hedges, as a possible contributing factor to the overall change in sound, and drew parallels to the lyrics of Kurt Cobain and the "reverb-laden" music of Phil Spector.

Nicholas Barber of The Independent described Everything Must Go as "the most immediate, assured and anthemic British hard-rock album since Oasis's Definitely Maybe". He also thought that the record was more accessible when comparing it to the "crushingly heavy-going" sound of The Holy Bible, especially, he noted, for a band "who once would have spat at the breadhead, corporate-sell-out idea of a hummable ditty. "

Writing for Sputnikmusic Nick Butler gave the album a score of 4 out of 5 stars, concluding with: " Everything Must Go is a stellar album, stuffed with great, anthemic songs, and it's a rewarding listening experience. It loses ground to The Holy Bible simply because it's not as unique, but if Everything Must Go is inferior, it's only slightly so. "

Vox magazine's Mark Sutherland saw Everything Must Go as the group's "most approachable" album, describing it as a "record so superb it might just make intelligence fashionable again", and surmising that the album "proves that, professionally, at least, the Manic Street Preachers don't miss Richey. "

Accolades

The album was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize in 1996 but failed to win it, however the album won the award for Best British Album and the Manic Street Preachers won Best British Group at the 1997 BRIT Awards. In the NME Awards 1996 the album was named Album Of The Year, and the Manic Street Preachers also won the award for Best Live Act and Best Single for A Design for Life.

Legacy

The album remains famous among all the band's fans and music critics, it is considered a classic from the British music in the 90's, being a critical success and an important album in the Manic Street Preachers career, Everything Must Go is frequently cited as one of the best albums of all time.

In 1998, Q readers voted it the 11th greatest album of all time, while in 2000 the same magazine placed it at number 39 in its list of the "100 Greatest British Albums Ever", the album was also placed in number 16 of the best albums in the magazine's lifetime. The album is also part of NME's collection of classic albums and the same magazine placed the album in number 182 on their definitive list of "500 Greatest Albums Of All Time".

Kerrang! placed the album in number 24 on their list of "100 Best British Rock Albums Ever", the same magazine featured the album in their list of "100 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". The album was placed in number 41 on Melody Maker's list of "All Time Top 100 Albums".

In the End Of The Year Critics List, Everything Must Go was placed by NME and Kerrang! in number 2, while Q chose the album as one of the best of 1996. Melody Maker and Vox magazine placed the album at number 1 in their 1996's list.

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Nicky Wire; all music is composed by James Dean Bradfield and Sean Moore, except as noted

Personnel

Charts and Certifications

References

1. "Manic Street Preachers - BRITs Profile". brits.co.uk. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
2. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Everything Must Go - Manic Street Preachers : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic". Allmusic. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
3. "Review: Manic Street Preachers - Everything Must Go". Alternative Press (October 1996). Alternative Press Magazine, Inc.: 93.
4. "Review: Manic Street Preachers - Everything Must Go". NME (18 May 1996). IPC Media: 50.
5. ^ Doyle, Tom. "Review: Manic Street Preachers - Everything Must Go". Q (Q117, June 1996). EMAP Metro Ltd: 116.
6. Simpson, Dave (3 November 2006). "Manic Street Preachers, Everything Must Go (10th Anniversary Edition) (Sony)". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 30 August 2009.
7. ^ Barber, Nicholas (26 May 1996). "RECORDS (Manic Street Preachers: Everything Must Go (Epic, CD/LP/tape))". The Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
8. Fricke, David (11 December 1996). "Everything Must Go : Manic Street Preachers : Review". Rolling Stone. Jann Wenner. Archived from the original on 10 December 2007. Retrieved 30 August 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
9. Flaherty, Mike (23 August 1996). "Everything Must Go Review". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved 30 August 2009.
10. Butler, Nick (16 January 2005). "Manic Street Preachers - Everything Must Go (staff review)". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
11. ^ Sutherland, Mark. "Review: Manic Street Preachers - Everything Must Go (Epic)". Vox (July 1996). IPC Media: 90–91.
12. "Manic Street Preachers Everything Must Go". "Sputnikmusic".
13. "Manic Street Preachers | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
14. "Swedishcharts.com – Manic Street Preachers – Everything Must Go". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
15. "Manic Street Preachers: Everything Must Go" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
16. "Charts.nz – Manic Street Preachers – Everything Must Go". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
17. "Oricon Top 50 Albums: {{{date}}}" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
18. "Austriancharts.at – Manic Street Preachers – Everything Must Go" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
19. "Australiancharts.com – Manic Street Preachers – Everything Must Go". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
20. "Dutchcharts.nl – Manic Street Preachers – Everything Must Go" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
21. id MUST BE PROVIDED for UK CERTIFICATION.
22. "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 1998". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 16 July 2014.

• Use dmy dates from December 2011
• Pages with empty short description
• Manic Street Preachers albums
• 1996 albums
• Columbia Records albums
• Albums produced by Mike Hedges
• Britpop albums