Manic Street Preachers - Gold Against The Soul (CD 1996)

Gold Against The Soul makes up in singles (From Despair to Where, La Tristessa Durerra, Roses In The Hospital) what it doesn't in filler ( Drug, Drug, Druggy etc). Ignore any comments that this was a stab at ''commercial'' success, if anything this album is just as heavy as some of the material from Generation Terrorists, but with a more refined range of melodies. Although this is often disregarded as simply a band losing its priorities, it features some really seminal Manic Street Preachers songs, and is simulatenously important in showing the increasingly self-deprecating themes of Richey's lyrics, which would ultimatley climax in the 1994 album 'The Holy Bible'. While The Holy Bible might purvey the core of Richey-era Manics, i'd vouch that musically Gold Against The Soul is a greater triumph, certaintley not 'Generation Terrorists II', but an album which has an almost flawless production when compared to the rougher edges of the debut. If you need anymore persuading, not long after this album was released, Richey stated in an interview that up until that point Roses In The Hospital was they're best song. The album is usually one of the cheapest out of all their catalogue - get it while its hot.