ALBUM REVIEW: Manic Street Preachers - Everything Must Go (20th anniversary edition)

Believe it or not, the record which will go down in history as the Manics' finest moment is 20 years old.
Manic Street Preachers - Everything Must Go (20th anniversary edition)Manic Street Preachers - Everything Must Go (20th anniversary edition)
Manic Street Preachers - Everything Must Go (20th anniversary edition)

Recorded 10 years into their career, it marked something of a comeback, coming 15 months after the disappearance of guitarist and lyricist Richey Edwards.

The other three members put the group on hold, and even considered disbanding, but when you hear the result of their reunion, you remain grateful they didn't.

Manic Street Preachers - Everything Must Go 20th anniversary deluxe edition.Manic Street Preachers - Everything Must Go 20th anniversary deluxe edition.
Manic Street Preachers - Everything Must Go 20th anniversary deluxe edition.
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Containing five songs either written or co-written by Edwards, it was the one which catapulted them into the big time, selling more than two million copies.

If you haven't listened to EMG for a while, give it a spin, and you'll quickly remember what a good album it is.

The highlights are many: Enola/Alone, Kevin Carter, Australia and the wonderful No Surface All Feeling are all up there with just about anything they're ever written.

And then there's the euphoric A Design For Life, probably the best four minutes and 16 seconds they committed to tape, and the song which lifted them out of the despair of Edwards' loss.

Manic Street Preachers - Everything Must Go 20th anniversary deluxe edition.Manic Street Preachers - Everything Must Go 20th anniversary deluxe edition.
Manic Street Preachers - Everything Must Go 20th anniversary deluxe edition.
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The 2CD format of this 20th anniversary release includes the original album remastered by singer James Dean Bradfield and Tim Young, plus the complete Nynex Arena show from 1997, previously only available (officially, anyway) as a DVD.

As well as live versions of 11 of the album's 12 tracks, it includes earlier gems such as Faster, Roses In The Hospital, Motown Junk, Motorcycle Emptiness, Stay Beautiful and You Love Us.

True fanatics and those with deeper pockets won't mind shelling out £50+ for the deluxe boxset, which includes the original album on CD and 180g vinyl, the B sides of all the singles from the period, the Live At Nynex DVD, an exclusive new film about the album, and a 40-page book.