Manic Street Preachers - This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours

Manic Street Preachers have come a long way from the raw Clash-style punky shoutings of their early singles and their later Guns N' Roses infatuation. Both The Holy Bible and Everything Must Go were albums to die for (almost literally: their old guitarist Richey James still hasn't been found since his disappearance a few years back), and this Welsh trio still have the capacity to enrage the most placid of souls. Some find their contradictions far too great to handle, others (this critic included) find them wonderfully inspirational. This Is My Truth is an elegant, epic album full of the huge choruses and direct slogans we've come to know and love. The No. 1 U.K. hit "If You Tolerate This, Your Children Will Be Next" is a deceptively subtle groover with a Motown-style beat--almost Jam's "A Town Called Malice" for the '90s. The windswept "Tsunami" uses sitars to get its message across, while "The Everlasting" is simply beautiful. OK, James Dean Bradfield may have a limited vocal range, but he sure has passion to spare. Four albums after they promised to break up, the Manics are still as impassioned as ever. --Everett True