I didn't go to my local record shop on Record store Day in 2017. I've written about it before (at length) and you can read that here, but the reasons were basically that I only really wanted a couple of records, and I couldn't bring myself to wait in the cold for 5 hours with the usual strangers who are all excited about records that I have no interest in; I visit record shops routinely and came to the conclusion that RSD isn't about people like me, and that's fine. If it keeps record shops open then I'm all for it. If there are no records I really want, then I will very happily stay in bed for as long as possible.
That said, there were three records I wanted in 2017 - Snapcase, Dirty Three and this Manics 12". My Manics collection hasn't always stayed up-to-date, but I'm back on it and this record had to get bought. As it happens, Send Away the Tigers represented the start of me drifting away from the band so I think I felt the need to over-compensate to make up for it.
In the ten years that followed, Your Love Alone is Not Enough has become something of a classic. I certainly get excited every time I hear them play it live. It wasn't clear that it would go that way when it came out - it's instantly very poppy, which runs the risk of feeling dated quickly. Ten years proved that not to be the case. The speed at which James and Nina begin harmonising still catches me off-guard, but I guess that's part of its charm. The chorus absolutely soars though and Nicky's lines are brilliantly unexpected every time, even though I know they're coming.
The b-sides are three demos, each different to the version that appeared on the reissue of the album. All three show the songs in different states, working backwards in arrangement and complexity to Nicky's very basic version. The first has James vocals dubbed over themselves instead of Nina, which is equally strange. James' demo is nice and simple, and Nicky's is interesting to hear how the song sounds at almost half the speed.
Anyway, I didn't buy a copy that cold April morning. However, my friend Sarah lives very near to Banquet Records and was able to grab a copy for me - they get in huge amounts of stock for RSD and often a good percentage of the stuff I'm after is still available after the queues have gone or in the following days. (I was able to get a copy of the Dirty Three record online a few weeks later too - Sarah wanted a copy for herself so couldn't buy me one of those). I took delivery of the record from her when we went to see Deftones in Alexandra Palace. This is number 1458 out of a few thousand I'm sure. There's not a great deal more to say about the release. It's a nice way to pay appropriate tribute to a enduringly great song though.
Format: 12", numbered #1458
Tracks: 4
Cost: £10 new
Bought: Sarah
When: 05/05/17
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: none
