The Manics have long been a byword for earnest, no-nonsense, gritty and unapologetically political music. This is intelligent, observational and frequently dark stuff, cloaked in riff-tastic post punk aggression. Intellectualism with power chords and attitude.
The Manics ask hard questions, make awkward observations and score political points – whatever happens, they will make you think, however briefly about what you’re singing. Before you argue that you won’t sing along to it, then that’s the point – so often you are compelled to join in because the quality of the melodies and the “get in there” attack of the execution. Maybe we unwittingly concur with the sentiments, irrespective of our class, political leanings or creed. Maybe we’d sing along to anything if the song is good and the execution uplifting, liberating or just right. (Tom Robinson proved that with Glad To Be Gay when even the straightest bloke simply had to join in with a memorable tune.)
A Design for Life is the most obvious, high profile example – the opening line “Libraries gave us power” captures class status, egalitarianism, thirst for betterment and knowledge and aspiration in just four words. So clever and provocative – yet as the song soars against an unusual backdrop of strings and the familiar hard edged guitar thrashes in at the chorus the song becomes a philosophical polemic. Nicky Wire frequently talks about the class struggle and here is a famous “pop” song questioning what it means to be working class, wearing the credentials of his roots, querying what aspiration means; it’s a meaning-of-life song but best enjoyed when hollering its invigorating chorus “We don’t talk about love/ We only want to get drunk/ And we are not allowed to spend/ As we are told that this is the end”. A blueprint for future behaviour, “A design for life”. We may shout that “we only want to get drunk”, but there’s so much more being said here.
The Manics: the most important band of the 90’s and often beyond? In my limited opinion there is no doubt. Hard edged, real and pointed. 3 fellas making an enormous, guttural racket with poetry at its core which can be shouted from the terraces. Did I say 3? Make that 4.
The first 3 albums made their name. But when Richey Edwards disappeared, seemingly committing suicide near the Severn Bridge, the result was not only to deprive the band of a close friend and songwriter, but also to colour much of its further output. Many of his lyrics became subsequent material, including half of Everything Must Go,the whole of Holy Bible and the lyrics for Journal For Plague Lovers. Suicide and bleakness have become common themes, witness the theme from Mash (Suicide is Painless) and Kevin Carter. Oh, and alienation, politics, social observation and bloody-mindedness. This ain’t no Agadoo!
Which brings us to the matter in hand: Your Love Alone Is Not Enough. Catchy, catchy, catchy – you cannot fail to get carried away by this one. It’s a bit of dumbing down compared to many of the highpoints elsewhere in the Manic’s catalogue. If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next, Motorcycle Emptiness or The Masses Against The Classes have a point to make. This just seems like another great sing-along, an enjoyable piece of pop/ rock. A little strange, eh? Not the normal intensity.
But the Manics don’t do happiness for the sake of it and the title itself is odd. As always there is something below the surface – a back story.
In this case it’s another tragic tale – “Your love alone is not enough” is a sentence taken from a suicide note to a friend of the band. It’s a straightforward call-and-response conversation between James Dean Bradfield and Nina Persson (of the Cardigans). It’s therefore a contrast between his desperate passion and her normality. Her relatively cool delivery is perfect.
Once the back story is apparent and we are reminded once again that this is a group of individuals which have been touched by loss, notably Richey Edwards’ disappearance, the lyrics are transparent and carry more weight. But there’s also further reinforcement by some subtle cross referencing in the lyrics: “Trade all your heroes in for ghosts/ in for ghosts/ in for ghosts/They’re always the one’s who love you most/ love you most/ love you most” directly echoes Pink Floyd’s wonderful Wish You Were Here. Along with Shine of You Crazy Diamond, this is the reflection of another band which has borne witness to a loved colleague’s meltdown. “You stole the sun straight from my heart from my heart from heart/ With no excuses just fell apart fell apart fell apart” refers to the Manics’ own You Stole The Sun From My Heart and its sense of isolation (“But there’s no – no real truce with my fury/You don’t have to believe me /I love you all the same”.)
This could be black as night, but the interplay of the vocals, the nigh glam-rock guitar, changes of pace and refusal to conform to a standard verse-chorus-verse-chorus structure makes this continually interesting. It’s also fabulously energising. On face value this could be a power ballad, triumphant and cathartic, especially as the rising tide of keyboard kicks in. But, as so often with anything from the Manics, the bitterness and emptiness of the lyrics is at odds with the exuberance of the song.
James Dean Bradfield says that “melancholia’s only ever good when it’s added to a good dose of aggression”. The combination of no-nonsense attack, 100% commitment to the bitter, personal lyrics and singalong-able melodies make the best Manics’ work irresistible. Your Love Alone Is Not Enough is at the pop single end of their work. It’s immediate and remains so after hundreds of listens. When I heard it for the first time I could not wait to hear it again, play it again and revel in it. When the ipod shuffles it on again it’s always a song which needs the volume upping and a definite repeat. Once is never enough. It’s a strangely uplifting song, intense and passionate. But now it’s a song with more to say than that first listen revealed. It’s thought provoking of course and the Manics have delivered passion and message once again.
Just want audio? Listen here: http://grooveshark.com/s/Your+Love+Alone+Is+Not+Enough/3LLybx?src=5
Music Noises 