Peeled Apples
"Peeled Apples" | |
---|---|
Song by Manic Street Preachers | |
from the album Journal for Plague Lovers | |
Released | 18 May 2009 |
Recorded | October 2008 – February 2009 at Rockfield Studios, Monmouth, Monmouthshire, Wales |
Genre | Alternative rock, post-punk |
Label | Columbia |
Songwriter(s) | Richey Edwards, James Dean Bradfield, Sean Moore, Nicky Wire |
Producer(s) | Steve Albini |
"Peeled Apples" is a song by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. It is the opening track of the band's ninth studio album, Journal for Plague Lovers. Produced by Steve Albini, the song, along with the other tracks of the album, features posthumous lyrics by Richey Edwards, who disappeared on 1 February 1995, and was declared legally dead in 2008.
The song debuted on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 program on 25 March 2009.[1]
Background
The lyrics of the song are taken from the notebooks and the artwork which Richey Edwards left to the band members just before his disappearance.[2] The song also features an audio sample from the 2004 movie, The Machinist.[2]
In an interview with NME in 2009, the band's lead vocalist and lead guitarist James Dean Bradfield stated that the band's bassist Nicky Wire wrote the music to half of the song.[2] In a subsequent interview, Wire stated that he wrote the chorus of the song.[3]
Critical reception
The song received generally positive reviews from music critics. Lee White of This Is Fake DIY stated that "the song delivered with confidence and feels more considered than the onrush of fury and emotion that trademarked The Holy Bible."[4] Mike Diver of Clash argued that "the song is among the most aggressive pieces the Manics have penned since the days of ‘Faster’, the thundering drumbeats propelling it to juddering climax, while Wire’s bass work has rarely sounded so pant-wettingly threatening."[5] Dom Gourlay of Drowned in Sound also compared the song to the track "Faster", also describing songs' verses as "simply one of the most compelling vignettes the Manic Street Preachers have ever recorded."[6] David Smith of Popmatters praised Steve Albini's "refreshingly raw" production work on the song.[7] Joe Tangari of Pitchfork stated that the song "opens the album with a colossal kick to the head as a queasy bassline is joined by pounding drums and sandpaper guitar to back Bradfield's righteous shout."[8]
Sam Richards of Uncut stated that the song features "an oil-boring bass rumble, a searing post-punk guitar line and a slew of unmistakable Richey aphorisms." He also described it as a pulsating opener, also inferring that "the band have recaptured that taut urgency, accommodating both their punk instincts and their stadium rock flourishes."[9] In his separate track review, Jonathan Garrett of Pitchfork wrote: "No question that "Apples" is firmly rooted in the past, splitting the difference between the near-pathologically hook-laden Generation Terrorists and the more deliberately caustic The Holy Bible, and there will undoubtedly be some who dismiss it solely on those grounds-- chalking up "Apples" as nothing more than an overly cynical, calculated attempt to cash in on the Edwards era from a band straining not to show its age."[10]
Remix
The song was remixed by English DJ and record producer Andrew Weatherall, who performed on the band's two London Astoria shows, which were Richey Edwards' final live appearances before his disappearance.[11] The remix was included in the Journal For Plague Lovers Remixes EP, which was released on 15 June 2009.[11][12]
Personnel
- Manic Street Preachers
- James Dean Bradfield – lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitar
- Sean Moore – drums, percussion
- Nicky Wire – bass guitar
- Richey Edwards - lyrics
- Technical personnel
- Steve Albini – recording, production
- Dave Eringa – mixing
- Loz Williams – recording
- Greg Norman – engineering
- Ben Cunningham – engineering assistance
References
- ^ Lowe, Zane (25 March 2009). "Hottest Record - Manic Street Preachers - Peeled Apples". BBC. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
- ^ a b c Mackay, Emily (13 May 2009). "Manic Street Preachers Interview Part One – 'In a Movie About Us, Christian Bale Would Play Richey". NME. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
- ^ "Manics Q&A #3 / Features / Music News from The Fly – The UK's Most Popular Music Magazine". The Fly. 1 June 2009. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
- ^ White, Lee. "Manic Street Preachers – Journal For Plague Lovers". This Is Fake DIY. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
- ^ Diver, Mike (15 May 2009). "Manic Street Preachers - Journal For Plague Lovers". Clash. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
- ^ Gourlay, Dom (16 December 2009). "Manic Street Preachers - Journal For Plague Lovers". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
- ^ Smith, David (17 May 2009). "Manic Street Preachers: Journal for Plague Lovers". Popmatters. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
- ^ Tangari, Joe (1 June 2009). "Manic Street Preachers - Journal For Plague Lovers". Pitchfork. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
- ^ "Manic Street Preachers - Journal For Plague Lovers". Uncut. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
- ^ Garrett, Jonathan (30 March 2009). "Manic Street Preachers - "Peeled Apples"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
- ^ a b Poladian, Charles (22 May 2009). "Manic Street Preachers get a little help from their friends, aka they made a remix album!". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
- ^ "Manic Street Preachers: Journal For Plague Lovers remixed!". Uncut. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
External links
- Official website
- v
- t
- e
- James Dean Bradfield
- Sean Moore
- Nicky Wire
- Generation Terrorists
- Gold Against the Soul
- The Holy Bible
- Everything Must Go
- This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours
- Know Your Enemy
- Lifeblood
- Send Away the Tigers
- Journal for Plague Lovers
- Postcards from a Young Man
- Rewind the Film
- Futurology
- Resistance Is Futile
- The Ultra Vivid Lament
- Forever Delayed
- Lipstick Traces
- National Treasures – The Complete Singles
- "Suicide Alley"
- "Motown Junk"
- "You Love Us (Heavenly Version)"
- "Stay Beautiful"
- "Love's Sweet Exile"/"Repeat"
- "You Love Us"
- "Slash 'n' Burn"
- "Motorcycle Emptiness"
- "Theme from M.A.S.H. (Suicide Is Painless)"
- "Little Baby Nothing"
- "From Despair to Where"
- "La Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh)"
- "Roses in the Hospital"
- "Faster"
- "Revol"
- "She Is Suffering"
- "A Design for Life"
- "Everything Must Go"
- "Kevin Carter"
- "Australia"
- "If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next"
- "The Everlasting"
- "You Stole the Sun from My Heart"
- "Tsunami"
- "The Masses Against the Classes"
- "So Why So Sad"
- "Found That Soul"
- "Ocean Spray"
- "Let Robeson Sing"
- "There by the Grace of God"
- "The Love of Richard Nixon"
- "Empty Souls"
- "Underdogs"
- "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough"
- "Autumnsong"
- "Indian Summer"
- "(It's Not War) Just the End of Love"
- "Some Kind of Nothingness"
- "Postcards from a Young Man"
- "This Is the Day"
- "Show Me the Wonder"
- "Anthem for a Lost Cause"
- "Walk Me to the Bridge"
- "Futurology"
- "Together Stronger (C'mon Wales)"
- "International Blue"
- "Distant Colours"
- "Dylan & Caitlin"
- "Liverpool Revisited"
- "Hold Me Like a Heaven"
- "People Give In"
- "Orwellian"
- "The Secret He Had Missed"
- "Rosebud"
- "4st 7lb"
- "Peeled Apples"
- Everything Live
- Leaving the 20th Century
- Louder Than War
- Forever Delayed