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Generation Terrorists [MINIDISC] by: Manic Street Preachers

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Rating: - Generation Terrific

After the Manics' return to Guitar Hero territory with Send Away the Tigers, I felt the need to dig out this rough diamond. And damn, it's fine. If you go back four or five years, you'd be met with fans claiming that Generation Terrorists hadn't aged well, but for some reason it sounds rejuvenated again in 2007. Upon its release in the early 90s it was completely out of sync with the British indie rock scene of stargazers in their 'loose fit' clothing, and it's no different now, the antithesis of all the indie kids with their guitars held as high as possible and their Talking Heads book of songwriting accompanying them through their short-lived careers before the bandwagon collapses.

Looking back, Generation Terrorists was an extraordinarily ambitious debut. A 73 minute double album of glam/punk/metal/softrock, incorporating dance remixes by the Bomb Squad, poetry intros and Meatloaf-style duets with pornstars. I mean, c'mon, you're sold already, right? The many literary and political references in the lyrics and philosophical quotes on the sleeve might not impress NME readers in an age when most of the current NME bands are little more than gap year students, but it was a brave new world after the antipathetic music scene the Manics were born into.

The musical and lyrical ambitions might not always have been met, but Generation Terrorists has its fair share of Manics classics. Motorcycle Emptiness often vies with A Design For Life for the title of the ultimate Manics song, You Love Us is their evergreen calling card and Little Baby Nothing is a slab of twisted melodic pop that deservedly joined the other two on 2002's greatest hits compilation Forever Delayed. Stay Beautiful remains a live favourite with a chorus chant to end all chorus chants, while the grand finale of Condemned to Rock 'N' Roll has a gloriously unashamed RAWK guitar solo that lasts longer than many full songs these days. Even the cover of Damn Dog, which previously sounded like such a mistake and afterthought, has a playfulness to it that's easier to appreciate in an era where the Manics have once again pressed the fun button.

It's not all about pink rose-tinted spectacles. Natwest-Barclays-Midlands-Lloyds is still a duff note so early on in the tracklisting, and some of the lyrics on the album do fall under the dreaded banner of 'Sixth Form', but the flaws add to the charm of this mental collection.

PS. If anyone from Sony is reading, it's time for a remastering.

Rating: - The most awesome debut ever

This is my favourite debut ever, just beating the Stone Roses. The fact is it's a brilliant album. Of course, it contains Motorcycle emptiness. One of the most brilliant anthems of the 90's. But it also has a bundle of other classics as well. Slash n burn is a phenomenal album opener with a brilliant intro that gives way to an explosive riff ridden tune. You love us and love's sweet exile are two fantastic punk singles with James' masterful guitar work, and Richey and Nicky's brilliant lyrics. In fact there isn't a song I don't like, although the second half isn't as good as the first. However, despite it not being perfect, I'm still gonna give it 5 stars because it's such a passionate and vitalising album that demands your attention every time.

Top 5 tracks: Motorcycle emptiness, slash n burn, you love us, stay beautiful, Love's sweet exile

Rating: - Fantastic Debut From A Fantastic Band

As debuts go, this one really has stood the test of time. Originally, the Manics stated that they wanted to shift 16 million copies of this, and everyone laughed. Obviously, they fell far short of that, but did actually shift a quarter of a million copies, which, for a debut band, is extremely impressive.

Anyhow, this album is all Clash-style politic and G'n'R guitar riffery, though not shamelessly so. James Dean Bradfield is one of the best British guitarists of all time, Sean Moore is a technically brilliant drummer and the Edwards/Wire lyric combination is an explosive one.

This album emanates sheer youthful urgency. It is full of brash, loud and deliberately provocative lyrics, in the likes of 'Repeat' and 'Slash n' Burn', the latter being a fierce condemnation of Americanisation, the former being a vicious, foul-mouthed attack on certain British institutions. Give them a listen. They haven't dated (much), and they are an interesting snapshot of the Manics as young men.

'Condemned To Rock And Roll' is probably the best song that Guns 'n' Roses never wrote, a seven minute landslide of aggressive guitars, furious drums and Bradder's rather excellent vocal, culminating in the angsty lyrics: "There's nothing I wanna see, there's no-where I wanna go", hinting at the nihilism which the Manics would hone to perfection on 'The Holy Bible, a mere three years later.

This album is also laden with singles, from the radio-friendly 'Little Baby Nothing' and 'Stay Beautiful' to the anthemic 'You Love Us' and 'Motorcycle Emptiness' and the slightly underwhelming 'Love's Sweet Exile'. Generally though, this album is focused and knows exactly where it's going, despite it's length (18 songs).

Perhaps if a few of the weaker songs, such as 'Born To End' or 'Damn Dog' had been relegated to B-sides, this album would have been more complete, more whole. As it is, it's a perfectly decent, musically and lyrically excellent album, with plenty to say and plenty to offer. It hints gloriously at everything the Manics had to offer, whilst painstakingly setting out the full Manics manifesto.

Rating: - Great debut

MSP are one of those bands who are neither one thing nor the other. Their early (pre-Gen.Terrorists) stuff sounded like The Clash, with their first single, Suicide Alley, even copying the cover from a Clash album.

By the time this debut album was released the band were looking for commercial success and thus the album is not consistent.

The early "punk" sound is represented by Slash N Burn and You Love Us, but a milder side of the Manics is also shown with Spectators Of Suicide and Little Baby Nothing.

The politics are here too (for example: Nat West, Barclays, Midlands, Lloyds), but not in the quantity the early singles might have led one to expect.

Basically, half this album is very good, but it is not easy to listen to from end-to-end due to the varying styles (punk to very soft rock).

There are nice surprises here and there, such as the brilliant Crucifix Kiss near to the end of the album that gave a taster of the style that would later appear on the brilliant third album, The Holy Bible.

Best tracks are:

Slash N Burn
Crucifix Kiss
You Love Us
Stay Beautiful
Natwest, Barclays, Midlands, Lloyds
So Dead
Yourself
Motorcycle Emptiness
Little Baby Nothing

The others, including the single Love's Sweet Exile, are nothing special.

Rating: - Manic Street Preachers - Generation Terrorists

Many people regard this is as the finest Manics album. It's easy to see why. In my experience, this is frequently the favourite album of people who despised the bloated and self-indulgent "This Is My Truth, Tell Me Yours".

This is a mightily impressive album - musically powerful, and lyrically incisive. It is this album that really created the myth of the Manics. The opener, "Slash N' Burn" is a gutsy, and technically brilliant track. James Dean Bradfield's lyrics soar and the guitars crunch and chug. Happily, the rest of the album is as good as the opening track promises. "Born to End", "Motorcycle Emptiness" and "You Love Us" are all satisfyingly anthemic, while "Little Baby Nothing" is moving, and beautiful in a way that you can sometimes forget rock music is capable of being. This is the Manics at their best - eloquent, political and controversial. Thank God for a band that doesn't just do love songs.

How Many Good Tracks? Fifteen, out of 18

Best Track: Motorcycle Emptiness has a rare fragility that is hard to explain or imitate.

Worst Track: Both the Repeat tracks seem to jar a little, as there is none of the brilliant musicianship that there is elsewhere on the album to save it from simply being an antagonistic chant.

With nods to The Cure in some places, and Guns & Roses, The Clash and The Ramones in others, this is a fabulous album full of musical integrity, politics and intelligence. The power of the lyrics is only matched by the power of the music - essential listening for any rock music fans.

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