The Holy Bible [LP]

by Manic Street Preachers

Overview

Only in that brief moment in the '90s, when the record industry was grappling with the impact of alternative rock going mainstream and just as Brit-pop was hitting its stride, could the Manics release such a dark, difficult album on a major label, get it played on such pop-oriented programs as Top of the Pops and MTV's Most Wanted, and make appearances at the Glastonbury and Reading festivals. And then, in a flash, it was over. Richey James went missing on February 1, 1995, and after that The Holy Bible was frozen in amber, forever seen as his last will and testament, just like how In Utero seemed like a suicide note in the wake of Kurt Cobain's suicide in April 1994. After James' disappearance, plans for an American release of the LP were shelved, but in retrospect, it's likely that The Holy Bible -- like some latter-day Manics albums -- would never have had an American release at all. To those who know the album -- and it's a small, dedicated group of partisans who do, since not only didn't it see American shores for a decade, but it didn't sell as well as previous or subsequent Manics albums in the U.K. -- it can comfortably be compared to the Clash's London Calling, but that's not quite accurate, no matter how much inspiration the Manics drew from the Clash. London Calling is a sprawling, exuberant celebration, so generous and big-hearted it can't be contained by a single album, whereas The Holy Bible is a bleak, introspective, insular album that's bracing in its darkness. It's not that The Holy Bible deliberately alienates listeners, but that it wears its pain too openly and presents it too vividly to be an easy listen. It can be a cathartic experience, but it's the kind of experience that doesn't lend itself to everyday listening: not only was it too dark, it was too English for a mass American audience, but years later, those things don't seem to matter as much, and in its tenth anniversary edition it can finally be seen -- and easily heard by American audiences -- as a singular, bracing rock album, quite unlike any LP before or since. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	12/18/2015
Label:	Sony Music
UPC:	0888751406612

Tracks

1. Yes
2. Ifwhiteamericatoldthetruthforonedayit'sworldwouldfallapart
3. Of Walking Abortion
4. She Is Suffering
5. Archives of Pain
6. Revol
7. 4st 7lb
8. Mausoleum
9. Faster
10. This Is Yesterday
11. Die in the Summertime
12. The Intense Humming of Evil
13. P.C.P.

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Manic Street Preachers   Primary Artist
Bernard Butler   Featured Artist
Richey James   Guitar
Sean Moore   Drums
James Dean Bradfield   Guitar,Vocals,Guitar (Rhythm)
Dave Eringa   Piano,Organ (Hammond)
Nicky Wire   Bass,Guitar (Bass)

Technical Credits

Silva   Mixing,Engineer
Bernard Butler   Composer
Richey James   Design,Composer
Sean Moore   Composer
James Dean Bradfield   Composer
The Dust Brothers   Remixing,Additional Production
George Harrison   Composer
Mark Freegard   Mixing
Rod Stewart   Composer
Ron Wood   Composer
Tom Lord-Alge   Mixing
Brett Anderson   Composer
Dave Eringa   Mixing
Steve Brown   Producer
Nicky Wire   Composer
Neil Cooper   Photography
Andrea Juno   Editing,Quotes Researched & Compiled
Jenny Saville   Artwork,Cover Art
Barry Kamen   Paintings