Ranking The Manics Songs – Lifeblood

Perhaps more than any other album the band recorded, Lifeblood has been unfairly criticized. It seemed like critics and fans both agreed that it was a little bland, lacking both the political conviction, the rage, the creativity, and the tunes of anything else they’d done before. I’d argue each of those points, though I’d agree that the rage has been muted or transformed and concede that while the lyrical creativity was decreased, the musical inspiration was high. It’s an album I like a lot, though the funny thing is that most of the tracks which the detractors agree upon liking, are the ones I’d cut. Here’s my ranking:

1. Glasnost
2. Cardiff Afterlife
3. To Repel Ghosts
4. I Live To Fall Asleep
5. Emily
6. A Song For Departure
7. Empty Souls
8. Solitude Sometimes Is
9. The Love Of Richard Nixon
10. 1985
11. Fragments
12. Always/Never

Luckily, the band had been going through a particularly productive period of novelty releases – Greatest Hits, B-Sides, EPs etc, so there are plenty of songs from this time which I would much rather have on the album instead. The good thing is, most of them fit the tone and musical landscape of the album. Like these:

1. Happy Ending
2. A Song For Departure
3. I Live To Fall Asleep
4. There By The Grace Of God
5. Automatik Teknicolour
6. To Repel Ghosts
7. Everything Will Be
8. No Jubilees
9. Emily
10. Door To The River
11. 4 Ever Delayed
12. Everything Will Be
13. Glasnost
14. All Alone Here
15. Cardiff Afterlife

Fifteen songs is likely still too many – I could cut it down to 12, say drop All Alone Here, Automatik, and one of your choice and we would have a damn near perfect album. Let us know your picks in the comments!