Just over a year ago, I received an email from the Manics' webstore wishing me a happy birthday (I assume I filled out a form some time ago with my date of birth, and there's not some deeper level of web stalking going on). Anyway, that email entitled to 10% off anything in the store. I hadn't had a look in a while so figured I'd see if there was anything I fancied and, to my surprise, there was a 20th anniversary reissue of Generation Terrorists coming out in various formats. I had no idea about this beforehand, so it was all very well-timed. Best of all, the limited edition boxset hadn't sold out yet (it would shortly after I bought it) and the £4.50 off made it a perfectly reasonable £40.50.
As boxset/reissues go, this one is pretty lovely. Most pleasingly, there's a 10" of Radio One sessions included (meaning I get to write about it on here). Reissue boxsets tend to totally neglect vinyl with the cd version being the one with all the extra music, so I was very excited with this. On top of that, there's a cd featuring demos of all the album songs (something the Manics have been favouring on the deluxe versions of their recent albums) although no demo of Damn Dog was to be found, and Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll is missing. Even more interesting is cd3 collecting the b-sides and a bunch of early songs that I'm pretty sure have never heard the light of day before (more on them to come). There's also a dvd of old footage and new interviews, a 28 page book, a photograph and replica tour pass (which I didn't really need, but some people might enjoy that). Someone dropped the ball on the measurements because the inside of the box is marginally too small causing the photo and book to a bit curled up, but no damage and no harm. I'm still very happy with it all.
I've written about Generation Terrorists before (see here), so not much needs be said about cd1. For some reason they tacked on Theme from M.A.S.H. (Suicide is Painless) to the end of the album, when Motown Junk would have been the more obvious choice (I also have a copy of the Japanese cd which has A Vision of Dead Desire as track 19). I guess it was also a single from the era, so why not. The demos on disc 2 are much more exciting; the extra lyrics "We love you" at the start of Love's Sweet Exile follow on brilliantly from the end of the Heavenly Records version of You Love Us and it's fascinating hearing early versions of Little Baby Nothing (nearly acoustic) and Methadone Pretty. Also included are demos of the three early singles Suicide Alley, New Art Riot (more on both of those another time) and Motown Junk.
I barely even know where to start with disc 3, because there are so many treats crammed in. It starts with a demo of Motorcycle Emptiness that sounds so far from the original that you'd barely recognise it - the riff is there, and towards the end it turns into the song we all know and love but in the meantime we are treated to a strange chorus of "Go buzz baby" (or something to that extent). The title-track Generation Terrorists is what Stay Beautiful was originally called (along with the unedited chorus) and Faceless Sense of Void later became Love's Sweet Exile. More interestingly, the song UK Channel Boredom became A Vision of Dead Desire, one of the b-sides from that era. I think there are two holy grails for any Manics collector and they're those two early 7"s: Suicide Alley and UK Channel Boredom. I've heard about these records for countless years, but had no idea that the latter was a song I already knew. The main difference comes in the chorus (although both mainly consist of the title of the song). Colt 45 went on to become Spectators of Suicide but starts off further removed than some of the other songs here.
There are three songs that appear nowhere else in any form on disc 3: Poleaxed, Spent All Summer and Behave Yourself Baby. They're great to hear and pretty good songs too. I once read something that claimed Australia was the Manics' first love song, but Spent All Summer takes that place now surely. Behave Yourself Baby even contains some lyrics that would find their way into Motorcycle Emptiness. The way that all these songs contain elements of each other and show how the songs became what they ended up being is truly fascinating, especially when they're songs I've been listening to for nearly half my life. The b-sides aren't comprehensive, but I have the majority of them in some format somewhere (more on these another time too). I always thought I had a copy of all the early b-sides on at least one format, but it turns out that Starlover had passed me by - it was one of the b-sides on the 12" Heavenly version of You Love Us and I hadn't noticed that I was missing it. Made for a very pleasant surprise when working through the b-sides. Bored Out of My Mind always deserves a special mention, for reasons you can read about (at length) here. I watched the dvd once last Christmas, which also made for interesting viewing.
Finally, on to the vinyl! On the 10" record we're treated a 1992 Radio One session featuring You Love Us, Alice Cooper cover Under My Wheels, Slash 'n' Burn and Natwest-Barclays-Midlands-Lloyds. They make for good listening and sound excellent (especially after some of the dubious renditions on discs 2 and 3). I can't imagine the Manics covering Alice Cooper these days, but I'd love to see it!
All in all, I'm very pleased indeed with this boxset. Musically and historically there's so much in there and there's no denying that those first few years were some of the most fascinating the Manics have had. I still love them now, but those first three albums were so exciting and I have so much time for that era. I heard James pass comment about the possibility of a 20th anniversary boxset of The Holy Bible in the future (despite it already having a 10th anniversary version) which would be very cool, but does make me wonder if I'm the only person holding out for an equally impressive Gold Against the Soul reissue too?
Format: 10", 3cd, dvd, 28 page booklet, photograph, tour pass, boxset
Tracks: 66
Cost: £40.50 new
Bought: Website
When: 03/11/12
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no
