Sadly, Britpop was dead by the time this album was released. There was a void in the world of music that needed to be filled. One of the bands that did so for the time being was the Manic Street Preachers. Based from Wales, they started off as more of a Hard Rock band than an artistic or experimental sort of band to listen to. This album represented the change in sound and style from that earlier phase to the later phase. The result? This album was both a critical and commercial success, like the one before it, but especially so. This was attributed to the fact that Nicky Wire (the group’s bassist) wrote all the songs and thus, the music was more lyrically consistent as a result. This album sold millions of copies across the world, and the album title comes from a UK Labour (Welsh) MP named Aneurin Bevan who served as the Health Minister in Clement Attlee’s 1945-1951 government. Obviously, these guys were politically minded Socialists. In any case, let’s take a listen to this album and we shall hear if it is any good or not.

The Everlasting begins with some simple Roland drum machine beats and launches into a really good piece of guitar-based music. The singer James Dean Bradfield sings very, very well. He sings in a calm and multi-octave vocal part, which sounds really fantastic. Soon enough, string sections enter and this is followed by an anthemic chorus. This song has a sort of Radiohead-style melancholy to it and it isn’t a very happy listen lyrically. Quality wise? Decent. This is a good and tasty piece of music. James Dean Bradfield sounds fantastic on this song in particular. Nonetheless, a pretty and interesting tune with excellent songwriting and music to match. It does run for well over six minutes in length, however. This album has a historical and quintessential Welsh musical basis. In the second half is a strange guitar solo that sounds a lot like an electric guitar played with a slide. Very different, but great to hear. This is followed by another melodramatic chorus that is pretty, powerful and moving. The Manic Street Preachers do have great potential. In any case, this rather lengthy piece wraps up and concludes nicely with the intro beats after six minutes. Excellent.

If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next sounds like an aggressive song title. It begins with some fuzzy electric guitar, and good acoustic guitar and launches into a nice listen throughout. Again, it sounds like Radiohead’s The Bends and OK Computer mixed together, with some particularly noticeable left-wing themes throughout. Still, despite its rather unnecessarily political lyrics, this sounds like a really great song. If you don’t like the lyrics, the music may take you to a better place anyway. Regardless, this is a very good song that showcases the beauty and melodies that sound very amazing. This launches into an excellent guitar solo, and the music is upbeat, captivating and follows the themes of post-Britpop trends. The music present is really worth hearing, as long as you don’t mind hearing some political music matched to post-Cool Brittania music. The outro jam has treated vocals and an interesting conclusion.

You Stole The Sun From My Heart begins with some more cool drum machine beats, some clean and pristine guitars and some good percussion. James Dean Bradfield sings very well on this song. His singing voice sounds simple, pretty and captivating. The chorus sounds interesting, and has a genuinely great mixture of sonic instrumentation and heavy guitars, along with some different singing. All in all, a really fine and sweet tune to listen to. This is a great love song that sounds interesting, fantastic and awesome musically. This no doubt would have influenced Coldplay and Muse some way down the track in their own way. This song also is about being in love with the wrong person. James Dean Bradfield has a fantastic singing voice here and blows the competition away with his unique delivery, for the most part. It ends after four minutes in length, excellent.

Ready For Drowning begins with some strummed acoustic guitars and melancholy melodic melodies throughout. An organ gets loud and clear in the left channel, followed quickly by guitars and drums. In any case, this music is timeless. The whole band reveal their creative artistry, and James Dean Bradfield sings some close-to-the-bone music on this song. Regardless, this is another fairly consistent cut from this memorable album. A really interesting, lovely and pessimistic-sounding piece of music. There are some sweet harmonies in the second half, followed by drum rolls and a dense mixture of sounds to listen to. This is a good mixture of moody, melancholy Rock Music and other intelligent musical approaches. This song wraps up nicely with a lengthy outro that finalises itself after four and a half minutes. Very good.

Tsunami begins with an Electric Sitar and launches into a good-sounding piece of music and musicianship. This has some funny lyrics present and James Dean Bradfield sings super well. A really top-notch, well-delivered and beautiful song. The Electric Sitar throughout is really awesome and deliciously tasty to listen to. It is clear that all members of Manic Street Preachers were uniquely talented and really great musicians on songs such as these. This short sub-four-minute-long tune reveals that, when focused, these guys could definitely deliver. A little repetitive, but otherwise fantastic music to listen to and enjoy. A great and enjoyable listening experience, it ends with the Sitar playing and keyboards. Super cool.

My Little Empire begins with clean Fender Stratocaster-styled riffs in the right channel, before quickly entering into a sweet piece of music with cello in the left channel. James Dean Bradfield sings super nicely, and this is a more mellow, downtempo sort of listening experience. This album flows well, even on the lesser cuts such as this track. There are some interesting political lyrics, which again reflect the band’s own political stance. Be aware that this sort of music is not really for those who aren’t politically motivated. Regardless, in any case, this sounds good. This isn’t as good as what came before it, however. Even so, you can still sit through this tune, it just sounds a little weaker. Having said that, this is a good song with a few uses of the F word here. A good listen about taking comfort in one’s misery.

I’m Not Working begins with a trippy-sounding pastiche, with a piano. Soon enough, guitar riffs enter and this song comes alive. The music throughout is highly enjoyable and listenable. James Dean Bradfield sounds sweetly melodic singing this song. The chorus is sensationally good, and there are wah-wah guitars and sitar to match. A very cool and interesting listening experience about the right not to work. Again, these guys are obviously Socialists, given the album title and the nature of the lyricism. The sounds and play are really very pleasant musically. In the second half is a driven instrumental section that sounds pretty, divine and worth repeat listens. This is followed by vocal harmonies that sound absolutely gorgeous. A really great listening experience, this is a really genuinely good listen, albeit rather a lengthy one. The music is somewhat Psychedelic on this album as well, and it seems that the Manic Street Preachers would have loved their drugs. This ends with a melodic section of fragments of sound looped over during a fade-out. Totally awesome.

You’re Tender and You’re Tired begins with some heavily reverberated piano playing in the left channel, before launching into an acoustic guitar-driven ballad. Again, this is quite wonderful music to listen to. James Dean Bradfield sings in a melodic, soothing way throughout and this is a really glorious song. When the chorus hits, one can be emotionally swayed and one will enjoy the song more in that sense. A piano solo follows before the second set of verses emerges. A very good song, even if this is music is frequently overlooked. A really soothing and awesome listen, this is the sort of music that links both Oasis and Coldplay between their heydays. There is a solo section with whistling and a Mellotron. Nonetheless, a really top-notch and sweet piece of music and songcraft. This gradually wraps up after four minutes in length, a good listening experience. Great to hear.

Born A Girl begins with some clean electric guitar arpeggio parts, keyboard and James Dean Bradfield’s legendary vocals throughout. A really great song about being in distress and despair, this is a strange piece of music lyrically. Musically, it is extremely well done and sweet to listen to. This is a lyrically messed up piece about wishing to be born a lady instead of a man. Weird to the nth degree for many people out there, unless you identify as LGBTQIA+. Still, it is a really beautiful piece of music with layers of instrumentation throughout that sounds very wonderful. This is a song that will appeal to those who aren’t straight and/or are sexually confused. Even if you are completely straight in your sexual orientation, you may find this song a joy to hear. Very weird, however. There is a brief halt towards the end before the instrumentation and vocal harmonies finish this up. Very unusual.

Be Natural begins with some harmonica, and is quickly followed by chiming electric guitar. This quickly launches into a smooth and clear-sounding song. James Dean Bradfield sings nicely and he sounds like a really great singer on this album. A good listen, although the appeal of this album wears thin a little by this point in time. It is about being socially isolated in the modern world, and also about being your own company in this world as a result. The bridge towards the middle is very emotional-sounding. In any case, this is a good song but unlikely a really great song. In any case, the music throughout is very laidback and atmospheric for Rock Music, which is different. Again, the length of these songs is quite long and they could have been edited for the album’s sake. Still, the Manic Street Preachers do deliver good music to hear. A pretty, supercharged and lovely listen, but more of quantity rather than quality on this album. This ends with a vocal-centered conclusion. Good.

Black Dog On My Shoulder begins with some brushed percussion, acoustic guitar and other atmospheric sounds to launch off with. This is a very unusual and weird song about nothing in particular. Again, this is good but not great. The lyrics are very weird, and they really do not match the songcraft present. It also has lyrics asking if Winston Churchill can hear one’s voice. A good song but nothing overly special towards the end of this album. A good sonic adventure is here, even if the lyrics are outright weird. A strange tune, but James Dean Bradfield’s singing is very appealing and consistent throughout. This is more artistry than actual songcraft on this tune, but it is still listenable anyway. A neck pickup Fender guitar solo begins to wrap up this song. A good listen, although again, this could have been edited. Nice to hear anyway, all the way through to the fade out.

Nobody Loved You begins with some roaring drum rolls and guitars, into a song that instantly is not very good. Soon enough, this song turns into a passionate plea to a lover. To be fair, the album needs some editing of the songs. The chorus is really awful, with some poorly mixed guitars and melodies that frankly, aren’t that great. In any case, if you feel like skipping ahead by this point, you can. This is about a lover who has emotional baggage from the past, and the Manic Street Preachers deliver a psychodrama of Rock Music. This sounds very awful in the chorus and the song definitely needs some quality control throughout. The digitally modified vocals and awful guitar solo don’t sound very natural in this song. In any case, a rather dull and a bit of a drag to get through. It wraps up with a good outro, however.

S.Y.M.M. is the last song on this album and runs for six minutes. It begins with some shimmering guitar parts, and James Dean Bradfield sings sweetly here. A good listen, but all the same, this isn’t the most appealing or enjoyable tune. Some reversed drums enter, and this song gets along well. This is a good but not great digital Rock Music tune. In any case, the music here is not overall the best you will hear. The chorus has an intricate melodic section that follows it with some self-conscious lyrics and singing. This makes for a nice and relaxing listen, and this sort of music is great to hear after a long day at work. The reversed drums return and this tune gets back into the chorus. This being the second half, isn’t the most appealing song out there. Still, it is quite listenable. James Dean Bradfield asks: “How can you sleep at night?” to the listener, likely with someone specific in mind, just like John Lennon decades before him. There is a rather ordinary guitar solo to conclude this song, and album with. It ends with sustained guitar chord progressions and a gradual fade out.

This album is a good listen but not a great listen. The strengths of songwriting and singing are let down somewhat by a lack of quality control and editing, which quite frankly, could have and should have been done on the production side of things. It’s still listenable, but you may want to skip a track or two. Should you listen to this album? If you want to hear a band that bridged Radiohead to Coldplay with a political attitude, yes. Otherwise, there are better albums out there.

Political, yet a bit weird.

7/10