Such a distinction has been allocated to few bands over the years, not even The Beatles had such an honour of lasting as long as 18 years. This year it was the turn of Welsh indie band, the Manic Street Preachers with their album 'Postcards From A Young Man'.
Peaking at 3rd in the album charts, it is the bands 5th consecutive album not to make No.1 after 'This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours', but such is the fan base of the Welsh rockers that they only ever have had 2 albums outside the top 10. With 4/5 albums since the turn of the century peaking in the top 3, the Manic Street Preachers show no sign of becoming 'just another 90's band' to the general public.
Normally, when a band reaches such a landmark of 18 years, people don't normally listen to the album as much and just go see them live. But Nicky Wire, the bands bassist, isn't content with just picking up the royalties and playing to a crowd just coming for the old set. He said 'If you’re an ‘artist’ everyone goes to the Royal Festival Hall to see you and thinks it’s marvellous. But no-one listens to your new record. Well, that’s not good enough for us.' He needn't have worried, in fact the album was rated 7/10 by the NME, 4/5 by The Guardian and 4/5 by the Daily Telegraph showing that although the bands legacy may precede them today, they are still making fresh and high quality music and still stands up today.
The album cover is similar, it isn't stuck back in the 90's but is a plain, contemporary design, simply, a shirtless young man taking a picture with a Polaroid camera with a plain white background. It is black and white with black 'militant' text stating the band name and the album title. What does this say about the album or the band? Well, I think it shows that the confidence is still there in the music, the Manic Street Preachers don't need a stand-out picture to try and lure people in to buy the album because they know if the music is good enough, the sales will come. Also, I think there is a slight arrogance with the way the 'young man' is standing, his chest out and his free arm at his side as if to say "Here I am, this is me" this could be the band saying this to the public. That if you didn't like us before, you won't now, but this is us and we are here to stay. As well as how the 'young man' is standing, he is taking the picture of the camera man or, the consumer or even, society. The Manic Street Preachers are well known for politically and socially active lyrics and the picture taking, I believe, is a metaphor for exactly that. That these songs are about today and today's society
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBzBViTPxGE
The first single '(Its Not War) Just The End Of Love' peaked at a disappointing 28th, according to the Official Charts Company. But they can't be faulted for trying to not move with the times, as Nicky Wire said
'this is one last shot at mass communication' and he wasn't exaggerating! Their single and album is available on iTunes, Amazon, Play.com and even then in high street store, HMV. As well as giving a whole host of opportunities to buy or download the album, there were even a 'Deluxe Edition' on Play.com where you could get all the demo's to the new album and an early release preview so that you could 'try before you buy' so to speak.
But, this may be due to the fact that it wasn't played on BBC Radio 1, (one of the most listened to stations in the country) before and during its release. Where it was played on BBC Radio 2, BBC 6 Music, XFM and Absolute Radio, although recognised national stations their target audience is not the same as Radio 1. So, the target audiences of the other stations aren't as likely to buy the single as the younger target audience for Radio 1, which could explain the lack-lustre peaking position. But equally, the target audiences for BBC Radio 2, BBC 6 Music, XFM and Absolute Radio can afford to buy the album rather than just singles and would rather pay more and get more.
But, the music video was premiered on GMTV (one of the most watched breakfast shows in the country) and James Bradfield went on an extensive interviewing schedule all over the country which shows the band had support from their record label, Columbia part of the Sony label. Not only were there grueling interviewing but a huge 23 venue UK tour ranging from way up in Glasgow to all the way down in Truro.
So it could not be said that Columbia don't support the Manic Street Preachers, in fact it seems that they are willing to spend quite a lot of money on them. Which is surprising that there is no sign of them on their official web site's home page, Columbia focusing on Willow Smith as their main attraction or that there isn't even a picture of them on the scroll bar at the bottom, choosing artist such as Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen over the Manic Street Preachers. But yet, if the Manic Street Preachers are still consistently selling albums then surely they don't need to be on the front of the website as Dylan and Springsteen aren't selling the albums and thus need advertising.
It could also be said that Columbia succeeded with their marketing plan, as the album sold in vast quantities and that it reached the Manic Street Preachers target audience. The 25+, 'music lover' who is not adverse to seeking out music further than the Radio 1 play lists, but to explore different stations and acknowledge that sometimes you have to look back to, a 90's band such as the Manic Street Preachers so that one can go forward. Also the timing of the campaign didn't coincide with any other of, who would be seen as, the bands rivals for chart positions during its initial release which would maximise the chance of getting a good charting spot. Clever Columbia!
Overall, 'Postcards From A Young Man' is a resounding success. The album sold in vast quantities, albeit the first single didn't do as well as hoped, but the UK tour is in full swing and going well. Hopefully, the graceful swagger of Cardiff's biggest rock band will grace our stereos for some time yet.
Sources
http://www.manicstreetpreachers.com/global/theband/postcards_from_a_young_man
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRacII5WXpk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBzBViTPxGE
http://www.myspace.com/manics
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manic_street_preachers
http://www.chartstats.com/albuminfo.php?id=11514
http://www.chartstats.com/albuminfo.php?id=11515
http://www.chartstats.com/albuminfo.php?id=11516
http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=24358
http://www.chartstats.com/albuminfo.php?id=6250
http://www.chartstats.com/albuminfo.php?id=5766
http://www.chartstats.com/albuminfo.php?id=183
http://www.chartstats.com/albuminfo.php?id=1010
http://www.chartstats.com/albuminfo.php?id=13979
http://www.chartstats.com/albuminfo.php?id=14923
http://www.columbiarecords.com/
http://www.repeatfanzine.co.uk/Images/Manicspix/postcards1.jpg
http://www.columbia.co.uk/graphics/gallery_images/fullsize/449.jpg
http://www.play.com/Music/CD/4-/15413839/Postcards-From-A-Young-Man/Product.html?P36=RM96MJ&affid=sonybmgdm&awc=buyat&_$ja=tsid:11516|prd:sonybmgdm
No comments:
Post a Comment