MANIC STREET PREACHERS SEND AWAY THE TIGERS

By Tom Semioli

This feature appeared in Rock Feedback.Com, July 2007

"I can't even begin to imagine what a Richey James lyric would be like now" confesses a rather startled singer/guitarist James Dean Bradfield. "I think he would alienate everybody in the world! I do miss that element sometimes."

Twenty-one years into a career that has seen incredible highs (platinum album sales, stadium filling concert tours), controversy aplenty (provocative haberdashery, unashamedly leftist politics, stinging oratory in the UK rock press and radio) along with inconceivable lows (the self-mutilation and mysterious disappearance of founding guitarist/lyricist Richey James in 1995) Wales' mighty Manic Street Preachers are back to what they consider to be the "basics" on their eighth studio release Send Away The Tigers.

"Nick (Wire, bassist /lyricist) and Richey believed in a lot of the rhetoric they came up with" recalls Bradfield with a wisp of sentimentality. "I didn't buy into some of it. For example, they wanted to be the Sex Pistols - make one great album - burn brightly, then fade away. I always had my eye on 'plan B, which was longevity over legacy. After all, I was playing in a band I loved and I wanted to keep playing with the guys."

With drummer Sean Moore, the self -proclaimed "generation terrorists" now sound comfortable in their own skin, though by no means complacent. Writing sessions for Send Away The Tigers commenced in late 2005. With Dave Eringa once again behind the boards, recording sessions stretched from March to November 2006 in Cardiff and Ireland before the tapes were sent to Chris Lord-Alge to mix in all its sonic glory in California. Named after a common phrase used by comedian Tony Hancock whenever he started drinking, Tigers emerges as a complete statement as opposed to a collection of songs. This redeeming characteristic is not lost on Bradfield, who sees the long-player format as an endangered species.

"There can be something very symbolic about an album" notes Bradfield. "It can sum up a time and a place and a mood. It's a scary thought to realize that the album, which is the benchmark by which you judge a band, will soon disappear. It's like losing a novel and being left with only short stories. Whenever I've connected with people, the one way I managed to define a person was by their favorite album. That's why we have certain acts which we call 'one hit wonder' because they're just defined by one song. An album is integral to a band's identity, if they want an identity."

Tigers succeeds at recapturing the Manics' initial spark, according to Bradfield, thanks to his and Wire’s recent solo albums (The Great Western and I Killed The Zeitgeist respectively) which were nothing less than cathartic. "It's like a bit of self-help therapy," he laughs, "which is really kind of strange because I don't like getting into psycho-babble at all. But those records we made apart from the band did 'de-clutter' our minds. And it helped us become more focused on the past and allowed us to re-frame our future." The band had also re-examined the youthful idealism of their earlier masterstroke Generation Terrorists plus their two biggest inspirations, the Sex Pistols and The Clash.

Fittingly, another idol crops up on a hidden track: John Lennon. During the recording of his solo album Wire submerged himself in Lennon's fiery, self-confessional Plastic Ono Band (Apple, 1970). Rendering a forceful remake of one of the fallen ex-Beatle's most notorious social commentaries –“Working Class Hero” was a natural extension of the Manics' own history. "When we grew up in the 1980s we lived in a period of great turmoil in terms of domestic politics. Our domestic situation was black and white. There was Labour and Conservative. And in our eyes, back in the working class values of Wales, we saw this woman named Margaret Thatcher systematically destroying everything we stood for."

And of interpreting Lennon's initial vitriol for a new generation, Bradfield illuminates, "well, in a bittersweet ironic way we grew up in a glorious period where you defined yourself by what you were angry at. Now it's much more of an international stage in politics. That's harder to write about, say the war in Iraq or democracy verses democracy."

Yet Bradfield feels that the Manics can succeed where even their heroes have failed. "The two greatest albums from the Clash are the first one and London Calling. But when they wrote Sandinista! which I love incidentally, they tried to detail internationalist politics and they missed the target. It's much easier to write about what's going on your own doorstep than to write about things on the international stage."

On a more tempered note, we're warned not to miss Bradfield's duet with The Cardigans' sultry Nina Persson (pictured with the band above) on the album's first single “Your Love Alone” which Wire describes as "Keith Moon drums... Pete Townshend power chords... and sonically similar to Hole's ‘Celebrity Skin!"

LIVING IN THE PRESENT: IAN ANDERSON & MARTIN BARRE OF JETHRO TULL

By Tom Semioli

This feature appeared in Amplifier Magazine, October 2003

Martin Lancelot Barre is a humble man with a self-effacing, affable veneer. Especially when he's assured that materializing five minutes late for an interview is no big deal for a musician of such historic renown. "I forgot I was a rock 'n' roll legend, thank you for reminding me!"  Says his working partner of thirty-four years, the extremely talkative and confident Ian Anderson, "without Martin Barre, there would be no Jethro Tull."  Anderson and Barre need no introduction to classic rock fans, nor to each other. Landmark albums such as Aqualung, Thick As A Brick, and Benefit gave birth to arena rock, air-guitar, and established the importance of FM radio in the 1970s. The band is still filling stadiums worldwide, and a retrospective DVD entitled A New Day Yesterday will stuff many a Christmas stocking.  This year, the prolific duo have unleashed two wildly different solo albums for entirely different reasons.

Barre's effort, Stage Left, is an devil-may-care instrumental excursion into blues, jazz, classical, and heavy metal, save for one vocal track, ironically titled "Don't Say A Word," rendered by a local pub singer and friend, Simon Burrett, from Martin's hometown of Devon, England. "I've never had to live up to anything because I've never been a guitar hero," opines the youthful Barre. "My reputation is of someone who is particularly under-rated. That's fantastic; I can get away with murder." With no specific game plan other than to "get on with what I want to do," the guitarist soars. Among the many stand-up  cuts is a rather noble attempt at traditional blues entitled "As Told By." Barre transforms the rudimentary twelve-bar three chord template into twelve chords and endless melodic tangents. He laughs "that's my problem; I can't leave well enough alone. I find it very hard to be simplistic. Then again, I try not to be a smart ass. My music sounds easy, but has depth to it."

Barre turned his sidemen loose in the studio with minimal instruction. "Nelly Returns" features stellar fretless bass work from current Jethro Tull member Jonathan Noyce, whom Barre drafted fresh out of music school. The swirling effects employed on "Celestial Servings" were borne as a result of Noyce's noodlings with a device which drove Barre "bonkers" every night backstage during a recent Tull trek.  Barre confesses he hated the sounds at first. Then he fell in love with the contraption and made it the basis of a song. "Winter Snowscapes" exudes orchestral ambitions with grandiose, cinematic textures. Recalling the misstep of Jethro Tull's A Classic Case, an album of symphonic greatest-hits, Barre waxes ala Monty Python: "I'd like it done properly." Nudge nudge, wink wink. "Oooooow, aren't I a bitch!"

Modest as he may be, there is one jewel missing from the crown for Martin: the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. "It's a shame, I don't know what's gone wrong" he notes with sadness.

"I used to think that stuff didn't bother me, especially after we won the Grammy. That award means a lot to me now. I'm quite proud of it. I'd be honored to be in the Hall. Jethro Tull has never taken a year off. Somebody there doesn't like us I guess."

As one of rock's premier showmen, Ian Anderson is accustomed to the spotlight. Tull traditionalists will be overly pleased to discover that Rupi's Dance, Ian's fourth solo outing, evokes the warm, acoustic trappings of Songs From The Wood and Heavy Horses. Anderson pontificates "part of being around for a long time is looking back and taking stock of what you've done and not existing in a mindless bubble, chasing the next thing. For me this album is like Cezanne and Monet, who spent their latter years re-examining what they perceived years before."

Relieved from the constraints and responsibilities of writing for a band affords Anderson the freedom he relishes every now and then. Rupi's Dance delves into more personal, intellectual, and emotional areas than do the group efforts. Ruminations from a table in Starbucks ("Calliandra Shade: The Cappuccino Song"), voyeuristic delights ("Photo Shop"), a paean to a famous Italian flautist ("Griminelli's Lament"), confessions of a CNN junkie ("Not Ralista Vasileva"), adolescent insecurity ("Two Short Planks"), artistic rivalries ("A Raft Of Penguins") and fear of failure with the opposite sex ("A Hand of Thumbs") coalesce via English folk motifs, jazz licks, progressive-rock leanings, classical passages, and rich melodies. With a work ethic that forgoes demos, re-tracking, and multiple takes, Anderson's song-cycle is fresh and exuberant.

The album's centerpiece is the title track. Rupi, the object of Ian's desires, is not a woman, in fact, she's a cat. "The song explores the way in which we personify animals. There is a sexy thing that parallels between the way a cat moves, and plays with you emotionally and physically. I don't intend to hoodwink anyone. The emphasis is on the grace and femininity of the feline form…or a sexy, dark haired lady who is trying to get you to go to bed with her."

Rupi's Dance will be represented in Ian's solo ongoing "Rubbing Elbows" tour, an interactive event featuring local guests from television, radio, and print media. "It would be easy to say it's David Letterman with a flute." Intrigued by the masters of the talk show format for their improvisational prowess and quick wit, Anderson looks forward to the mental challenge of blending dialogue and music with a rotating cast. Remembering his numerous stints on Late Night and the Howard Stern Show, Anderson exclaims "I don't really know what I'm going to be talking about until it comes out of my mouth." Intimate concerts have their drawbacks. "I just did two shows in Greece and noticed that most of the men folk have yet to discover a bar of soap. There was this acrid smell in the audience. It was the same in Turkey. The Italians: probably one-in-four had a hygiene problem. The Germans are clean as a whistle, they love showers." Is Anderson willing to go public with his research? "I'm a CNN guy, but I think I'd choose my moments before I talk about stereotypes. Yet it wasn't the women. I went out and sniffed a few, and they were fresh as roses!"

Ian Anderson’s Rupi's Dance and Martin Barre’s Stage Left are out now on Fuel 2000

THE THRILLS DISCOVER THEIR INNER ADOLESCENT

By Tom Semioli

This feature appeared in Amplifier Magazine, October 2007

“Teenager is an album about youth and growing up” declares Thrills singer/songwriter Conor Deasy. As for the two pubescent juveniles in the throes of passion which adorn the Dublin based indie-pop band’s new album cover, Deasy notes “That’s not me on the bed! I just didn’t want the art to be cryptic like our last one…”

No great album goes unplanned. Deasy and his cohorts Daniel Ryan (guitar/bass), Ben Carrigan (drums), Kevin Horan (keyboards) and Padraic McMahon (bass/guitar) set out render a collection that will stand the test of time. Integral to achieving this goal was to bolt the sunny, safe Southern Californian environs of their previous two releases (So Much For The City and Let’s Bottle Bohemia) in favor of a derelict area in the Gastown district of Vancouver BC.

“Sometimes those juxtapositions work” says Deasy, whose vocal character and tone on Teenager could easily be mistaken for Flaming Lips’ mastermind Wayne Coyne. “I like the fact that we didn’t know anyone there.”

The Warehouse Recording Studio, which is owned by Canadian rock super-star Bryan Adams and was recommended to the Thrills by their former tour mates REM, was once a morgue and allegedly inhabited by ghosts. “It was perfect for the big 1980s rock snare sound” enthuses Deasy. “We had to build a makeshift small room within the big room – the last week we were in the haunted basement studio.”

Otherworldly interference aside, producer Tony Hoffer (Beck, Air, Smashing Pumpkins), who also helmed the band’s debut, was an important catalyst. Hoffer and the band chose eleven of the best songs from over the thirty that were recorded. “He’s very loyal, hard- working, and funny. This was our ‘difficult’ album – not a record finished in one breezy session. One of Tony’s rules is that anything recorded after 1 a.m. is unlikely to sound good the next day – though there are exceptions. If we didn’t catch a song quickly, we’d move on to something else, or go get lunch.”

As the title implies Teenager froths with the conflicts most adolescents face: loss of innocence, anxiety, and youthful optimism. Many of the tracks take on an orchestral bent via layered vocal harmonies, mandolins, wailing harmonicas, bravura motifs, swift swinging rhythms, fluttering piano trills, and the occasional anthem – all signature of the range of emotions in an age when hormones rage.

Written mostly in Co Wexford in the South East corner of Ireland, Deasy demoed a few songs at first, and for others, he simply worked on them in the flesh along with the band members. “That’s when the years started disappearing” recalls Deasy.

After sharing the stages in major venues with the likes of the aforementioned R.E.M, U2 and Oasis, The Thrills are primed to make a lasting impression stateside. Reviews of Teenager, which was released in Europe this past summer, have been nothing short of worshipful in all the major rock rags across the pond.

Taking all the accolades in stride, Deasy draws a deep breath. “I was definitely quite hard on myself this time around.” Did he set that new standard for the band and himself? “Yes, we achieved it!”

The Thrills Teenager will be released on October 23, 2007 by Capitol Music Group