Manic Street Preachers
Gold Against the Soul - Columbia 1993 Comments:"Gold Against the Soul" from 1993 was the second album from The Manic Street Preachers. The sound is still quite raw, on most tracks, but stylistically the group has become somewhat broader in the approach to their music. Overall, however, it is a solid rock album, on which the lyrics are more introverted than before. Lead singer James Dean Bradfield has a very strong vocal, and he may at times remind you of the legendary Freddie Mercury.
Four very fine singles were taken from the album and they all did well on the British charts; biggest success was "Roses in the Hospital", which is a fairly melodic mid-tempo rocker. "From Despair to Where" is also a melodic rocker featuring both organ and some fine guitar licks.
"La Tristesse Durera" and "Life Becoming a Landslide" are more subdued, and show the group from a musically more sensitive side. "Life Becoming a Landslide" in particular is fantastic and one of my biggest favorite tracks from the group.
There are other fine tracks which, however, may not quite have the same qualities as the four singles; "Sleepflower", though, is a fine opening track that sets the mood for the album nicely.
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