The manic street preachers recent download-only EP God save the Manics is great!! it consists of three quite diverse tracks, unlike any on the recent album Lifeblood. The first track Secret Society, is an up-tempo number with a raw, pounding chorus, made even more punchier by the quieter verses. it also contains a JDB solo which i know many will enjoy and some dubious backing vocals from bassist nicky wire!
The second track, Firefight, quite honestly, made me cry. its up there, i feel, with the greatest anthems of all time and why this wasn't a single i'll never know. the lyrics were penned by lead singer James Dean Bradfield. those of you who enjoy this kind of melodic effort will be hooked from the first 4 bars. its a song jam packed with emotion, and shows the threesome at their best
'' wake up the past and tell it to stay away, bad times are here to stay''
the 3rd song, picturesque is another melodic track containing haunting synths and another crunchy solo from james.
this is the kind of EP that i think proves that the threesome still have it. unfortunately it is a bad reflection on todays music business that it's only available as a download and not on general release, as i'm sure it would succeed in the charts.