Journal for Plague Lovers

Journal for Plague Lovers
Studio album by Manic Street Preachers
Publication (s)	2009
Label (s)	Epic Records
Format (s)	CD, LP
Genre (s)	Alternative rock
Title (number)	13
running time	42 min 37 s
occupation	Singing / guitar : James Dean Bradfield Bass : Nicky Wire Drums : Sean Moore Texts: Richey James Edwards
production	Steve Albini
chronology Send Away the Tigers (2007) Journal for Plague Lovers Postcards from a Young Man (2010)

Journal for Plague Lovers is the ninth album by the Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers . It was published in the German-speaking area on May 15, 2009 and in Great Britain on May 18. The album exclusively contains lyrics by former guitarist Richey James Edwards , whodisappeared in 1995,and was produced by Steve Albini, who has already worked with Nirvana ( In Utero ), PJ Harvey ( Rid of Me ) and the Pixies ( Surfer Rosa ). The cover waspaintedby Jenny Saville , who also designed the cover for the 1994 LP The Holy Bible .

background

The lyrics from Journal for Plague Lovers come from a folder that Edwards gave to the band's bassist and co-lyricist, Nicky Wire, shortly before his disappearance. This was also decorated with collages , drawings and haikus . Four of the lyrics were already used on the album Everything Must Go (1996), as the songs were rehearsed with Edwards. The songs are Elvis Impersonator: Blackpool Pier , Kevin Carter , Small Black Flowers that Grow in the Sky and Removables . The folder contained around 28 texts, of which about 10 are considered "unrealizable" by Wire. All the lyrics had to be shortened or changed by Wire to fit into a classic song scheme. The band only decided to use the lyrics in 2008 after the international success with Send Away the Tigers , as they were "not ready" beforehand. On November 5, 2008, Nicky Wire wrote on the band's website that the Manics were in the studio with Steve Albini at the time, that only Edwards' lyrics were used and that all songs were recorded in analogue. The band gave Journal for Plague Lovers and I Know I Believe in Nothing But It's My Nothing as working titles . In February 2009 the recordings were finished. On November 24, 2008, Richey James Edwards was pronounced legally dead by his parents.

publication

Reviews

The album was almost consistently praised by the critics. On metacritic.com, it has a metascore of 85 out of 100, the best rating for a Manics album since the site began putting reviews together. Drowned in Sound gave the album 9 out of 10 points and called it "a terrific comeback, which would have made a worthy successor to The Holy Bible had the circumstances been different". The NME gave the CD 8 out of 10 points and called it "outstanding". The German reviews were also largely positive: Journal described Intro as a "journey into one's own past that produced their best album in a long time". CDstarts.de gave the album a rating of 7 out of 10 points and called it "a dignified coming to terms with the past". In a review in the online music database, the album even received 9 out of 10 points. The Musikexpress is one of the few publications that rated the album badly: it gave 2.5 out of 6 points and wrote that the band's "theme, method and system" lay in failure. On rateyourmusic.com, a website where users write reviews, the LP has a rating of 3.50 out of 5 points, making it their best-rated album since This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours .

Chart placements

Journal for Plague Lovers peaked at number 3 on the UK charts , behind new releases from Eminem ( Relapse ) and Green Day ( 21st Century Breakdown ), even though no singles were released. In Germany it reached number 49. In Switzerland, the album came to # 30, the best placement of a Manics album so far.

controversy

Before the CD was released, there was controversy in Great Britain when the four largest supermarket chains announced that they would only be selling the album in a censored form due to the controversial cover. The picture was seen as a portrait of a blood-smeared child, while James Dean Bradfield argued that it was just Saville's "brushstroke". The chains didn't see this as an excuse and only sell the album in a slipcase .

Track list

1. "Peeled Apples" (3:33)
2. "Jackie Collins Existential Question Time" (2:24)
3. "Me and Stephen Hawking" (2:46)
4. "This Joke Sport Severed" (3:04)
5. "Journal for Plague Lovers" (3:45)
6. "She Bathed Herself in a Bath of Bleach" (2:18)
7. "Facing Page: Top Left" (2:40)
8. "Marlon JD" (2:50)
9. "Doors Closing Slowly" (2:52)
10. "All Is Vanity" (3:35)
11. "Pretension / Repulsion" (2:05)
12. "Virginia State Epileptic Colony" (3:25)
13. "William's Last Words" (4:15) / "Bag Lady" ( Hidden Track ) (3:05)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Richey Edwards lyrics on new album (English)
2. ↑ Description of the album by Columbia Records ( memento of the original from April 29, 2012 on WebCite ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)  
3. ↑ Interview with the NME (English)
4. ↑ Message from enjoyfrance.com  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)  
5. ↑ Nicky Wire's blog  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)  
6. ↑ Article on NME.com (English)
7. ↑ Article on NME.com (English)
8. ↑ Metascore and Reviews (english)
9. ↑ Review by Drownedinsound.com (English)
10. ↑ Review of the New Musical Express (English)
11. ↑ Criticism on intro.de ( Memento of the original from May 25, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
12. ↑ Criticism on CDstarts.de
13. ↑ Review in the omdb
14. ↑ Musikexpress 6/09, p. 97
15. ↑ overview of the band's albums (English)
16. ↑ British album charts 30/5/2009 ( Memento of the original from March 1, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)  
17. ^ Report from Visions
18. ↑ Entry at hitparade.ch
19. ↑ Article on BBC.co.uk (English)