Journal for Plague Lovers
Occupation
- Vocal / Guitar: James Dean Bradfield
- Bass: Nicky Wire
- Drums: Sean Moore
- Texts: Richey James Edwards
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 15 May 2009, in the UK on May 18. The album contains only texts of the 1995 disappearance of former guitarist Richey James Edwards and was produced by Steve Albini, who already worked with Nirvana ( In Utero ), PJ Harvey ( Rid of Me), and the Pixies ( Surfer Rosa ). The cover was painted by Jenny Saville, which even the cover art for the 1994 soundtrack LP The Holy Bible designed ..
Background
The texts from Journal for Plague Lovers come from a folder that Edwards shortly before his disappearance bassist and co- lyricist of the band, gave Nicky Wire. This was also decorated with collages, drawings and haikus. Four of the texts have been used on the album Everything Must Go (1996 ) because the songs were already 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 about 28 texts, of which about 10 are increasingly recognized by Wire as " unworkable ". All texts had to be shortened or altered by wire to fit into a classic song Scheme .. The band decided only in 2008 after the international success with Send Away the Tigers to use the texts as they previously "not ready" was .. on 5 November 2008 Nicky Wire wrote on the band's website that the Manics at the time were with Steve Albini in the studio that only Edwards ' texts are used and that all the songs were recorded in analog. As a working title of the Journal for Plague Lovers band and I know I gave Believe in Nothing But It's My Nothing on .. In February 2009, the recording is finished .. November 24, 2008 was declared Richey James Edwards from his parents for legally dead ..
Publication
Reviews
The album was highly praised almost continuously from the critics. On metacritic.com has it summarizes a Metascore of 85 out of 100, the highest rating a Manics album since the reviews page. 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, the circumstances were different." The NME gave the CD 8 from 10 points and called it " outstanding". The German reviews were largely positive: Intro Journal described as a "journey into his own past, brings forth 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 with the past ". In a review in the online music database album was awarded with a 9 out of 10. The Music Express is one of the few publications that evaluated the album bad: He gave 2.5 out of 6 points and wrote that the failure lies "theme, method and system " of the band. On rateyourmusic.com, a website on which users can write reviews, the LP has a rating 3.50 from 5 points, making her bestbewertestes album since This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours.
Chart positions
Journal for Plague Lovers reached number 3 in the UK charts, behind new releases from Eminem ( Relapse ) and Green Day ( 21st Century Breakdown ), despite the fact that no singles were released. In Germany it reached # 49 In Switzerland, the album hit # 30, the best placement of a Manics album to date.
Controversy
Before the release of the CD, there was a controversy in the UK when the four largest supermarket chains announced the album to sell due to the controversial Covers only in censored form. The image has been viewed as a portrait of a bloody child, while James Dean Bradfield justified himself that it was just about Saville's " brush stroke ". The chains saw this not as an excuse and sell the album only in a slip ..