There by the Grace of God

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After the lacklustre Know your Enemy, There By the Grace of God sees the Manics firmly getting back on track. It's in a similar rousing vein to the classic A Design for Life b...  Read full review »

Keep trying

Well, so it may not be the best Manics single ever, or even one of their better ones in these post richey years, but I for one am glad the manics arent giving up just yet. theyve had their ups and downs and to produce a single like this has taken some guts, seeing as they arent stupid enough not to imagine some of the responses it might get. its a good song, the music is interesting and the lyrics defy criticism, simply through their lac...  Read full review »

New filler for Best of.

It's been a fad for a few years, chuck a couple of new tracks onto a best of/greatest hits and you'll get devoted fans to buy something that possess mostly already. There By the Grace of God is one of the two new tracks found on the upcoming Forvever Delayed package (one a conventional cd; the limited version with remixes- because the Manics are a pulsing dance band!).

Here the remainders of Mike & the M(ech)anics cobble together what uninspiring material that has been the state of play since the dire This is My Truth Tell Me Yours. Basically this sounds like contemporary Rolling Stones (Don't Stop) attempting to sound like The Cure. It's meant to sound all...  Read full review »

My greatest fears... realised.

I can't put into words how disappointed I am in this song. Picture the scene: obsessive Manics fan sits listening to Radio One for an hour waiting for this new song, gets excited when Nicky Wire is interviewed live on the show, and then it starts. And keeps going. And ends. It was like being lost in a world where the greatest rock band Wales has ever produced became the ultimate victim of commercialism, churning out the sort of bland, middle-of-the-road music you'd expect from a Travis B-side. I waited to wake up, but the nightmare was real.

I hate this song, it has a hint of all the bad things from songs that I've heard from them before that I didn't...  Read full review »

Manics playing it safe again

A mix between "The Everlasting" and "A Design For Life".
Anyone who can remember the early classic singles, such as the brilliant "New Art Riot", or anyone who has a copy of "The Holy Bible" album will find the lack of lyrics on "There By The Grace Of God" to be disappointing.
Since the loss of Richey, the band members have tended to take less chances and their lyrics have been reducing in complexity and meaning. It was, of course, Richey who wrote most of the "Holy Bible" lyrics.
"There By The Grace Of God" returns to the commercial style that proved so successful on the "Everything Must Go" and "This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours" albums. Probably more blan...  Read full review »