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Manic Street Preachers - Know Your Enemy Audio CD

A fair review of the Manic Street Preachers "Know Your Enemy" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Manic Street Preachers reviews here, or go back to the Manic Street Preachers tabs.

Manic Street Preachers Band: Manic Street Preachers
Title: Know Your Enemy
Rating:
Release Date: 2001-03-05
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Found That Soul 2: Ocean Spray 3: Intravenous Agnostic 4: So Why So Sad 5: Let Robeson Sing 6: Year of Purification 7: Wattsville Blues 8: Miss Europa Disco Dancer 9: Dead Martyrs 10: His Last Painting 11: My Guernica 12: Convalescent 13: Royal Correspondent 14: Epicentre 15: Baby Elian 16: Freedom of Speech Won't Feed My Children

Know you're the enemy
They've always been a bit too smart for the States, and that might explain why "Know Your Enemy", their most American radio-friendly album to date, won't get much airplay here. The Manic Street Preachers might be the most aptly named band I've ever heard. Well, that, and the theme of the album, which is a wonderfully scathing indictment of the Americanization of the world.

The first two singles, "Found that Soul" and "So why So sad" make a nice introduction to the album - calling up the ghosts of Joe Strummer and Brian Wilson respectively. "Year of Purification" might be the best song REM never wrote.

Although I'd probably get smashed over the head with something if I ever mentioned it in front of the Manics, this album reminds me, above all else, of U2's "Achtung Baby". Not so much as the album sounds like U2, but that it seems like a radical re-working of a band, a new direction, embracing irony, maturity, and technology. Listening to "Miss Europa Disco Dancer" or "Wattsville Blues" makes me think of, well, "Zooropa" and "Numb".

The standouts, though, on the first few listenings of the album are the final two 'proper' tracks - "Baby Elian" and "Freedom of Speech Won't Feed My Children". It's strange to hear a perspective of the Elian debacle that so closely matches my own, considering that I actually live in Florida, and I don't think that these Brits have ever even visited the State that threw the election.

The Manics will probably never live up to the frenzied brilliance of "The Holy Bible", and they might never again capture the earnestness of "Everything Must Go", but "Know Your Enemy" is still better than 99% of the music you'll hear on the radio today.


You can see a complete list of all Manic Street Preachers discography, or go back to the Manic Street Preachers tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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