THIS IS MY TRUTH

Manic Street Preachers: James Dean Bradfield (vocals, acoustic, electric & 12-string guitars, sitar, melody horn, omnichord); Nicky Wire (vocals, bass); Sean Moore (drums, programming). Additional personnel includes: Craig Pruess (sitar, tampura); Sally Herbert, Gini Ball, Anne Stephenson (violin); Jos Pook, Claire Orsler (viola); Dinah Beamish (cello); Nick Naysmith (accordion, piano, Wurlitzer piano, Hammond B-3 organ, Mellotron, keyboards, yang-ching); Martin Ditchum, Andy Duncan (percussion). Engineers: Ian Grimble, Dave Eringa, Greg Haver. Recorded at Chateau De La Rouge, Motte, France; Rockfield Studios, Big Noise Recorders and Mono Valley Studios, Wales, United Kingdom. At the time of its release in 1998, THIS IS MY TRUTH TELL ME YOURS was the Manics' most commercially successful album to date. It included the singles "Tsunami," the brilliantly unwieldy "If You Tolerate This Then Your Children Will Be Next," and the soaring "You Stole the Sun From My Heart." Despite its success, this album remains true to the anarcho-punk socialist ethic, as the song titles "If You Tolerate?" and "I'm Not Working" indicate. Combining trademark social critique and despair with an equally typical high quality of songwriting, there is plenty here to occupy the discerning listener, and though "mature" can often denote a kind of mixed praise, this album could be described as such, in only the most positive way. Songs are more varied and melodic than those of previous albums, making THIS IS MY TRUTH TELL ME YOURS more accessible, but without sacrificing any of the band's searing intelligence and passion. One can only be thankful that the Manics did not keep their promise to do just one album and then disappear.