I was pretty excited when I heard that the Manics were putting out a 20th anniversary boxset of Everything Must Go. I'd been very happy with the boxsets for Generation Terrorists and The Holy Bible. My collection has long been missing a vinyl copy of EMG - it wouldn't have been too difficult to pick one up over the years and there's been a pricey Music On Vinyl reissue knocking around for while now. However, it has avoided me, so this is a nice way to include it.
First off, there was no way I wasn't buying this. At the most basic level, I'm a sucker for a boxset and I love the Manics. On top of that, Everything Must Go is a huge album and full of great songs from a very important era of the band. After all that, there's all the bonus songs, the book, the signatures, the dvds; it's a very strong offering.
On the other hand, I have the 10th anniversary cd/dvd set which overlaps with this release significantly - almost all of the songs from the two cds there match the two cds here. Both contain a dvd with a documentary about the album but this set also contains a classic live show (more on that later) and the LP. On the surface, this is the obvious winner. I enjoyed the dvd documentary here but it made me want to watch the one from 10 years ago again too - in hindsight I dare say that the 10th anniversary dvd is a better documentary, plus it includes a bunch of live videos and the music videos from the album.
It's interesting, because The Holy Bible had a similar affair - both a 10th and 20th anniversary edition and, in that case, the 20th anniversary boxset was far superior. The same can't be said for Everything Must Go. However, that's not to say this isn't a great release just not as great as history has lead me to believe it could be.
With regards to the album, Everything Must Go is, of course, huge. I wrote about how incredible A Design For Life is when I wrote about the 12" single; make no mistake, that is a truly magnificent song and equally defines the album. I could never understand why the album didn't start with that song. I enjoy Elvis Impersonator and in any other setting it would make perfect sense as an opener. Maybe they were hoping to downplay A Design For Life by casually throwing it in as the second track - it doesn't work however, as that song will always dominate. There are so many great songs on Everything Must Go beyond A Design For Life (it's almost a shame they have to be compared relative to that song because it would still be an incredible album without A Design For Life) - all the singles are fantastic and Removables and No Surface All Feeling were always highlights.
Australia has always held a very special place in my heart - when I lived in Australia it was the first song I listened to when I got off the plane and when I left it was the last song I listened to before boarding. It was a strange bookend-ing to the trip - I had all these ideas for how life there would be which were so far away from how it actually was but I had such a great time that it was hard to imagine it any other way; I also realised I hadn't really thought about how I imagined life would turn out for a whole year. I think about those two moments every time I hear the song - sat on the airport shuttle at the start of my time there and then sat by the boarding gate about to leave. I love that music can transport you back to such precise moments in your life.
I was lucky enough to see the Manics play Everything Must Go in its entirety in the Royal Albert Hall earlier this year, which was incredible. If the Roundhouse was the right venue for the Holy Bible shows then The Royal Albert Hall was definitely the right venue for Everything Must Go - suitably grand but I could still be very near the band. The show was fantastic, so much so I toyed with the idea of going back the next night. I've been through many ups and downs with this band, but every time I see them live they reel me back in so easily. It was the tenth time I've seen them live and they always impress.
Which neatly brings me back around to the second dvd in this boxset; the live show from the Nynex Arena in Manchester. Having that show on dvd was certainly a large part of my excitement about this boxset. Nearly 18 years ago I bought a copy of Everything Live on VHS from a music (instrument) shop in Winchester that has long closed and I've forgotten the name of. I'd been listening to TIMTTMY for a year at that point and Generation Terrorists for a couple of months. I would end up buying Gold Against the Soul, The Holy Bible and Everything Must Go all on one day just over a week later; clearly the live show had impressed me. Of course there were a lot of songs that I didn't know and there were elements of Brit-pop to the crowd and the show, but there were these snippets of the classic leopard-print fans that reminded you (or, 18 years ago, educated me) that this band really meant something. Watching it again now (needless to say, I've not been able to watch the VHS for some years now) I still get excited when they play Faster, Roses in the Hospital, Motown Junk and Motorcycle Emptiness.
One of the things I loved the most about that VHS was the instrumental, orchestral version of A Design For Life playing at the start, with the whole crowd singing along. I've long been a sucker for a sing-along and I suspect that this was a key reason; I wished I'd been there singing with thousands of other people. My only real complaint with this release is that the cd reissue comes with a cd version of the Nynex live show, which I feel I need. Back when I was a teenager I dubbed the audio onto a MiniDisc, but my MiniDisc player has long died so I'd love to have the mp3s; I'll inevitably buy the cd release too at some point. I hope the sing-along version of A Design For Life is still at the beginning.
Format: 12", 2cd, 2dvd, booklet, signed, boxset
Tracks: 74
Cost: £58.95 new
Bought: Band website
When: 24/05/16
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: cd
