| Postcards from a Young Man | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 20 September 2010 | |||
| Recorded | October 2009 – June 2010 | |||
| Studio | Faster Studio inCardiff,Wales | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 43:48 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer |
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| Manic Street Preachers chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Postcards from a Young Man | ||||
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Postcards from a Young Man is the tenth studio album by Welshalternative rock bandManic Street Preachers, released on 20 September 2010 byColumbia Records.
The band described the album to be "one last shot at mass communication". The album achieved commercial and critical success, reaching the number three spot on the UK charts and was supported by the Manics' most extensive tour of the UK to date.[1]
The Manics began recording the album (provisionally titledIt's Not War – Just the End of Love) in October 2009 at their Faster Studio inCardiff and finished in June 2010.[2] In an interview forNME, Bradfield said "We're going for big radio hits on this one [...] It isn't a follow-up toJournal for Plague Lovers."[3] Nicky Wire has said "We've always been about infiltrating the mainstream. It was a conscious decision this time to want to hear ourselves on the radio. Our mantra at the start was 'If you've got something to say, say it to as many people as possible'."[4] In pre-release interviews Wire also compared the album to theAerosmith albumPump, saying that "it's going to be an amazing album...Send Away the Tigers wasPermanent Vacation; this next one is ourPump."[5]
In July 2009 Wire said that the band's forthcoming album would "beheavy metalTamla Motown.Van Halen playingThe Supremes! I know there's a lot of creativity in us and obviously because I didn't write lyrics on the last record I've got tons of words done."[6] Manics biographerSimon Price reacted to Nicky's announcement with amusement: 'Heavy metal Motown? I’ll believe it when I hear it. That Nicky Wire certainly can talk a good game. The thing is with those three lads is they'll sit around before writing any songs and come up with all these wildly juxtaposing ideas and styles, all of which sound great in theory, but when they actually start working towards them it always comes across sounding very much like a Manics record [...] I remember just before theLifeblood album came out in 2004 Nicky had been telling me it was going to sound likeGoldfrapp-meets-late '70s eraDavid Bowie. And I could see what he meant, but when I actually heard it just reminded me of a more subdued version of their other stuff. In a good way though. A lot of the time Nicky goes public with these bold statements and then it comes down to it, it's up to James to try and back them up. That's a lot of pressure to put one person under and sometimes I’m positive James is at home half the time going "Oh no, what have you said this time?". '[7]
Ex-Guns N' Roses bassistDuff McKagan guests on one of the album's songs, "A Billion Balconies Facing the Sun", and four other tracks on the album feature agospel choir.[4] On their website on 24 June 2010 the Manics posted the message "Magical day in Cardiff:Ian McCulloch singing duet &John Cale playing on a new Manics track in LA."[8] Of the album's lead single, "(It's Not War) Just the End of Love", Nicky Wire claimed "I believe in the tactile nature of rock 'n' roll. There's a generation missing out on what music meant to us... You can only elaborate on the stuff that compels you to. But 'It's Not War' is kind of saying 'Alright, we're not 18, but even at 40 the rage is still there'."[4]
Postcards from a Young Man was recorded with producer and longtime Manics collaboratorDave Eringa and was mixed in America byChris Lord-Alge.[9] The album cover art uses a black and white photograph of British actorTim Roth.[10]
Stylistically, the album is regarded as a foray into Seventies-styleAOR andpower-pop,[11] as well as apop sound.[12]
The album was released on 20 September 2010, going straight into theUK Album Charts at number 3 and spent 9 weeks in the Top 100. It was released in a standard version, two-disc deluxe version and limited edition box set.[13] In January 2011 the album achievedGold status (100,000 copies) in the UK. The album reached an astonishing chart position in Greece, entering at number 8, and it also charted within the Top 20 in Czech Republic, Ireland and in Finland.
The album was promoted by the single "(It's Not War) Just the End of Love", which peaked on number 28 in theUK Singles Chart, their lowest charting single since 1994's "She Is Suffering". The second single of the album, "Some Kind of Nothingness", featuredEcho & the Bunnymen frontmanIan McCulloch and entered the UK singles chart at number 44, making it the first ever Manics single to not make the Top 40 since they signed to Sony in 1991. The third and last single was the title track "Postcards from a Young Man".
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 76/100[14] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [15] |
| Clash | 8/10[16] |
| The Daily Telegraph |  [17] |
| Drowned in Sound | 6/10[11] |
| The Guardian | [18] |
| The Independent | [19] |
| musicOMH | [20] |
| NME | 7/10[21] |
| Pitchfork | 7.5/10[22] |
| Uncut | [23] |
The album was met with positive reviews from critics, holding a score of 76/100 on review aggregator websiteMetacritic based on sixteen mainstream critics reviews.
AllMusic made a very positive review of the album with a rating of 4.5/5, saying that "everything is bigger than usual", finishing with "All this bustle winds up being the rarest of things for the Manics: it is fun. Granted, it is serious-minded fun with ambition, but with Manic Street Preachers you take fun whenever you can get it, and they've never sounded as ebullient as they do here."[15]
The Guardian rated the album with a 4 out of 5 stating: "This is what the Manic Street Preachers do. As it plays, you're struck by the fact that no one else does anything like it: reason enough for the Manic Street Preachers' continued existence."
NME gave a positive review to the album saying: "AmongPostcards from a Young Man's several achievements is that it makes the '90s sound like they weren't an appalling place to be. It was never likely to bestEverything Must Go's bravura passion play, but then again, the Manics' 10th offensive is a more playful beast than that - poignant, joyful and above all really, really loud."
Drowned in Sound gave an average score of 6/10 to the album: "It's an album which is self-aware enough to include, late on, a song called "All We Make Is Entertainment", and to end with another called "Don't Be Evil", an acknowledgement, perhaps, that that's all you can ask of a rock'n'roll band: refrain from actively making life worse. For 20 years, Manic Street Preachers have been making life better. They shouldn't worry. But if they didn't worry, what else would they do?"
Pitchfork rated the album with a 7.5/10 and Joe Tangari gave his opinion about the album, saying that: "While I wouldn't say thatPostcards from a Young Man is quite the late-career masterstrokeJournal for Plague Lovers was, it is still a product of a re-energized band. Whether or not it actually garners them the hits and mass audience they're aiming for (and at least in Britain, it seems inconceivable that it won't), they've managed to make an inviting, populist album that deserves the attention. It's maybe not quite heavy metal Tamla Motown, but it is Manic Street Preachers, and here, that's enough."
All lyrics are written byNicky Wire; all music is composed byJames Dean Bradfield andSean Moore, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "(It's Not War) Just the End of Love" | 3:28 | ||
| 2. | "Postcards from a Young Man" | 3:35 | ||
| 3. | "Some Kind of Nothingness" (featuringIan McCulloch) | Wire | 3:50 | |
| 4. | "The Descent (Pages 1 & 2)" | 3:27 | ||
| 5. | "Hazelton Avenue" | 3:23 | ||
| 6. | "Auto-Intoxication" (featuringJohn Cale) | 3:47 | ||
| 7. | "Golden Platitudes" | 4:23 | ||
| 8. | "I Think I Found It" | Bradfield | 3:06 | |
| 9. | "A Billion Balconies Facing the Sun" (featuringDuff McKagan) | 3:39 | ||
| 10. | "All We Make Is Entertainment" | 4:15 | ||
| 11. | "The Future Has Been Here 4Ever" | 3:38 | ||
| 12. | "Don't Be Evil" | 3:18 | ||
| Total length: | 43:48 | |||
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Red Rubber" | 2:57 |
| 14. | "Evidence Against Myself" | 3:00 |
| Total length: | 49:45 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "(It's Not War) Just the End of Love" (demo) | 3:29 |
| 2. | "Postcards from a Young Man" (demo) | 3:32 |
| 3. | "Some Kind of Nothingness" (demo) | 3:56 |
| 4. | "The Descent (Pages 1 & 2)" (demo) | 3:23 |
| 5. | "Hazelton Avenue" (demo) | 3:04 |
| 6. | "Auto-Intoxication" (demo) | 3:48 |
| 7. | "Golden Platitudes" (demo) | 4:21 |
| 8. | "I Think I Found It" (demo) | 3:06 |
| 9. | "A Billion Balconies Facing the Sun" (demo) | 3:31 |
| 10. | "All We Make Is Entertainment" (demo) | 3:42 |
| 11. | "The Future Has Been Here 4 Ever" (demo) | 3:46 |
| 12. | "Don't Be Evil" (demo) | 3:27 |
| Total length: | 43:10 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 13. | "(It's Not War) Just the End of Love" (Nicky Wire original demo) | 3:29 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Making of Postcards from a Young Man" (documentary) | 30:00 |
Manic Street Preachers
Additional musicians
| Technical personnel
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Weekly charts[edit]
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Certifications[edit]
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