Lipstick Traces: A Secret History Of [Import]

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Subtitled - A Secret History Of. The Manics follow 2002's greatest hits album 'Forever Delayed' with a B-sides collection. Features 20 B-sides & 15 cover versions, the previously unreleased track '4 Ever Delayed' and live tracks. Digipak. Epic. 2003.

Tracks:

Prologue to History
4 Ever Delayed
Sorrow 16
Judge Yr'self
Socialist Serenade
Donkeys
Comfort Comes
Mr Carbohydrate
Dead Trees and Traffic Islands
Horses Under Starlight
Sepia
Sculpture of Man
Spectators of Suicide
Democracy Coma
Strip It Down [Live]
Bored Out of My Mind
Just a Kid
Close My Eyes
Valley Boy
We Her Majesty's Prisoners

Tracks:

We Are All Bourgeois Now
Rock & Roll Music
It's So Easy [Live]
Take the Skinheads Bowling
Been a Son
Out of Time
Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head
Bright Eyes [Live]
Train in Vain [Live]
Wrote for Luck
What's My Name [Live]
Velocity Girl
Can't Take My Eyes Off You
Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel?
Last Christmas [Live]

Album Description

Subtitled - A Secret History Of. The Manics follow 2002's greatest hits album 'Forever Delayed' with a B-sides collection. Features 20 B-sides & 15 cover versions, the previously unreleased track '4 Ever Delayed' and live tracks. Epic. 2003.

Customer Reviews:

Patchy, but that's what you'd expect.......2005-08-14

The Manics, while producing some great music, have always struggled for quality control, with The Holy Bible being their only truly consistent effort which sustains top-drawer songwriting throughout. So it's pretty unsurprising that their B-sides and rarities album would be somewhat patchy. There's some good stuff here: notably the two 'new' tracks: '4 Ever Delayed' blends driving synths with an Everything Must Go-era anthemic quality to good effect, while 'Judge Yr'self' is simultaneously intense and accessible, like a bubblegum version of The Holy Bible, which is better than it sounds, and makes for an awesomely savage track. Of the B-sides, highlights would be the would-be single 'Prologue To History', a catchy, driving, piano-led rocker and 'Just A Kid', which is gorgeous and aching. Elsewhere 'Comfort Comes', 'Donkeys' and 'Sepia' are reasonable tracks, though they replicate the typical formulas of their respective periods. Beyond this, though, quality dips drastically, from the awful ('Socialist Serenade' - political Manics at their worst) to the simply boring ('Horses Under Starlight', an ill-fated attempt at instrumental chillout).

The covers disc adds very little, consisting mainly of either faithful tribute band performances (their initial idols of Guns and Roses and The Clash: here 'It's So Easy' and 'What's My Name' respectively) or complete murderings (their savage assassination of Chuck Berry's 'Rock and Roll Music'; the sheer inappropriateness of James Dean Bradfield trying to do Paul Robeson on 'Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel'. Ironically, it's only when they drop their desire to choose trendy tracks and cover Wham's 'Last Christmas' that they actually hit upon genius, transforming it into a tear-soaked acoustic ballad that suits Bradfield's tender voice perfectly. In conclusion then, some interesting material for fans, but certainly not for the newcomer, and for all but the totally undiscerning rabid fan, wildly varying in quality.

5 stars for disc one, 2.5 for disc 2.......2005-04-11

This is a b-sides and covers compilation from the Manics. CD 1 contains the self-penned b-sides, and wow, are some of them great. Prologue to History, 4 Ever Delayed, Donkeys, We Her Majesty's Prisoners....the entire disc is as good a Manics album as you'll hear. Fantastic. CD 2 rarely gets played by me...some interesting yet painful-to-listen-to cover, including some uncharacteristic kitsch from the Manics. But this is worth it just for disc 1, so if you can find it, check it out.

A Feast for Manics Fans.......2005-01-31

Disc One gets 5 stars. It's better than a lot of the songs that made the regular studio albums. Certainly better than 95% of Know Your Enemy! It's a MUST for MSP fans!! Disc Two is less impressive - mainly a bunch of cover versions - kind of fun, but by no means necessary. I'd give it 3 1/2 stars, but the first disc makes it worth it, and I figure the second disc is just kind of a bonus disc, so that's why I give the whole set 5 stars.
Most bands don't have enough great B-sides and rarities for even one great disc, so this proves what a truly great band the Manics are! I am VERY pleased with this!

wow, their bsides are better than some a sides.......2004-11-06

it was very surprising to me how good this album was, even though the manics are an amazing band, and they can do no wrong(sarcasm intended, know your enemy was pretty bad)anyways, the manics never really cracked the american market, probably for the better though, so i can have a band that I, and only I like. The songs here stand up much better than some of the tracks put on the albums these rarities were recorded for. donkeys should've been included on gold against the soul, instead of something like symphony of tourettes. same with sorrow 16, bored out of my mind, democracy coma, and strip it down, all of which would've been better on generation terrorists then tracks like damn dog, natwest barclay midlands loids, tennessee, or repeat(US). but then there are songs that would not have gone well on the albums, but stand up good on their own terms, like sculpture of man, would not have fit in well with the holy bible. the 2 best tracks on this disc though, seem to be relatively new:4ever delayed, and judge yr'self, the latter written, lyrically speaking, by the still missing richey edwards. in whole disc one is very good, not great. this album does not deserve the title of great. that is reserved for albums like the holy bible, the third big star album, or jeff buckley's grace. but this is a fantastic listen. the second disc is not even a good album, but just, entertaining. their cover of wrote for luck, by manchesters happy mondays is on par completely. better than the original. but the second disc isn't much. in conclusion, if you're a fan, you either own it already, or are starving to have it. if you're not one of the dedicated yet, buy it. it would be good listening for a beginners ears. this is one of the few pieces of manics music available here in teh states, meaning that getting your grimy paws on the richey era albums is a difficult task. but new fans, search for the holy bible. if you don't seem succesful at that, buy this or everything must go. thank you for your time and attention.

P.S. tracking down the holy bible is worth the time and money.

Truth.......2004-10-15

German, they are not recognised by the "official records industry" because of the topics they talk about in their songs. Specially, a hard critic against imperialism ("Slash and burn" , song that talks on yankee militarism 'from Somalia to Vietnam'). Another song example is "Dead yankee drawl" which title describes the racism and social contradictons in the US. Another one is "IfwhiteAmerica...".

"Let Robeson sing" talks on the gallard black people activist Paul Robeson who suffered Mccarthysm in the 50's.

Of course, I like and have some Oasis and Metallica disks but they have no and will never have the irony, efficacy and political direct songs MSP have.

Indeed, Wales MSP is for me the best english-lyrics group. And it doesn't matter to me if yankees prefer to convert Brittney Spears in idol.

I suggest you LA POLLA RECORDS, a basque rock group.

Average customer rating:

Too Bad You Can't Just Buy Disc One.
well...here it is.

Lipstick Traces: A Secret History Of
Manic Street Preachers
Manufacturer: Sbme Import
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00009ZY0C
Release Date: 2003-09-23

Tracks:

Prologue to History
4 Ever Delayed
Sorrow 16
Judge Yr'self
Socialist Serenade
Donkeys
Comfort Comes
Mr Carbohydrate
Dead Trees and Traffic Islands
Horses Under Starlight
Sepia
Sculpture of Man
Spectators of Suicide
Democracy Coma
Strip It Down [Live]
Bored Out of My Mind
Just a Kid
Close My Eyes
Valley Boy
We Her Majesty's Prisoners

Tracks:

We Are All Bourgeois Now
Rock & Roll Music
It's So Easy [Live]
Take the Skinheads Bowling
Been a Son
Out of Time
Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head
Bright Eyes [Live]
Train in Vain [Live]
Wrote for Luck
What's My Name [Live]
Velocity Girl
Can't Take My Eyes Off You
Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel?
Last Christmas [Live]

Album Description

Customer Reviews:

Too Bad You Can't Just Buy Disc One........2003-07-23

Here's my take on it after a few listens:

Disc 1: 3.5/5
None of the songs are super great (except for Prologue to History maybe), but all in all, they make a very solid album together.
Great Tracks: 1, 4-6, 10, 16-19
Could Have Left Off: 12, 13, 20

Disc 2: 1.5/5
There are only 4-5 good songs on the covers CD. Most of the songs just aren't very good. But I'm sure the Manics play them better than the original bands did.
Good Tracks: 1, 2, 7, 13
Could Have Left Off: All the others. 6 isn't bad.

Total: 5/10
If you're like me, you'll find yourself listening to Disc 1 much more often than Disc 2. But for a B-Sides album, its really quite good.

well...here it is........2003-07-19

We've been clamoring for a b-sides collection lo these many years, and...here we have it. And at thirty-five tracks, a pretty impressive one at that. I was set to give it a lower rating, because it is missing a truly breathtaking assortment of good tracks in favor of, in my opinion lesser material. Honestly, how could they POSSIBLY leave off the likes of 'Black Garden,' 'Too Cold Here,' 'Dead Passive,' 'Black Holes For The Young,' 'Buildings for Dead People,' and of course that all-time classic ode to teenage self-absorption, 'No One Knows What It's Like To Be Me.' Fair enough if ALL the tracks here were also great, but, no--there's also okay but not world-class material like 'Sorrow 16,' 'Democracy Coma,' 'We Her Majesty's Prisoners,' and an entire disc of covers, which, though perhaps conceptually pleasing, is unnecessary--at most a half dozen of these are worth having: 'We Are All Bourgeois Now' (even if it IS a hidden track on Know Your Enemy), Rock and Roll Music (a truly scorching cover), 'Take the Skinheads Bowling,' 'Been a Son,' 'Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel'...and that's all really. Also Alice Cooper's 'Under My Wheels,' which is inexplicably absent. Do we REALLY need the Manics' stylings on 'Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head,' 'Last Chrismas,' and 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You?' No, we do not. Gah.

However, I would like to make an effort to emphasize the positive here: they DID, somewhat to my surprise, include 'Horses Under Starlight,' a totally uncharacteristic but quite lovely wordless little number. Huzzah! Also, 'Mr. Carbohydrate' remains hilarious, 'Dead Trees and Traffic Islands' is one of their best, and, out of all the Know Your Enemy b-sides, they had the presence of mind to choose 'Just a Kid,' by far the best (along with 'Didn't My Lord...,' also present). The new tracks (I'd never heard them before, at any rate) '4 Ever Delayed' and 'Judge Yr'self' aren't bad either.

I can't lie; my ideal track listing for this collection would have been radically different than this. But there's enough quality music here that I can't complain TOO much. It's certainly enough to remind you why the Manics are good...mind you, as unlikely as the prospect seems, I'd still LOVE a companion volume featuring all the great stuff they left out; still, I suppose it's a testament to the band's consistency that they could throw out so much and still have such a consistent product. Hokay.

Lipstick Traces: A Secret History Of
Average customer rating:
Lipstick Traces: A Secret History Of
Manic Street Preachers
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
General | Rock | Alternative Styles | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
General | Rock | Styles | Music
Alternative Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00009ND8F
Release Date: 2003-07-28