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National Treasures – The Complete Singles

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National Treasures – The Complete Singles is a compilation album by the Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 31 October 2011 by Columbia Records/Sony Music.[1] It is the band's third compilation album, after Forever Delayed: Manic Street Preachers, The Greatest Hits (2002), and the B-sides/rarities collection Lipstick Traces (A Secret History of Manic Street Preachers) (2003). The compilation features one new recording, a cover of The The's "This Is the Day", which was issued as a single on 18 September 2011. The compilation reached number 10 on the UK Album Chart in November 2011.

National Treasures – The Complete Singles
Compilation album by
Manic Street Preachers
Released31 October 2011
Recorded1990–2011
Genre
Length152:47
Label
ProducerVarious
Manic Street Preachers chronology
Postcards from a Young Man
(2010) 		National Treasures – The Complete Singles
(2011) 		Rewind the Film
(2013)
Singles from National Treasures – The Complete Singles
  1. "This Is the Day"
    Released: 18 September 2011

Background

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National Treasures includes most of the band's singles from 1991's "Motown Junk" to 2011's "This Is the Day".[2] Despite the "complete singles" title, National Treasures does not contain every Manic Street Preachers single. Notable omissions are the band's very first single, "Suicide Alley" (1988), "Strip It Down" from the New Art Riot EP (1990), for which the band's first promotional video was made,[3] and "You Love Us (Heavenly Version)" (1991). For singles originally released as double-A sides, only one song is included: therefore from "Love's Sweet Exile/Repeat" (1992) and "Faster/P.C.P." (1994), only "Love's Sweet Exile" and "Faster" are included.

The collection also excludes singles that were not chart-eligible, such as the fanzine-only single "UK Channel Boredom" (1990), singles released in other territories such as the Japanese only singles Further Away (1996) and Nobody Loved You (1998), and singles released only as limited-edition vinyl, CDs and downloads (1991's "Feminine Is Beautiful", 2005's God Save the Manics EP, 2007's "Underdogs" and "The Ghosts of Christmas", and 2008's "Umbrella"). In addition, National Treasures contains nothing from the Manics' ninth studio album, Journal for Plague Lovers (2009) because officially, no singles were released from that album (although the track "Jackie Collins Existential Question Time" did receive airplay). For a feature article in the 4 October 2011 issue of the NME, to promote National Treasures, Manic Street Preachers James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire, and Sean Moore were asked to rank a list of 40 of their singles: the 38 tracks from National Treasures plus "Suicide Alley" and the New Art Riot EP track, "Strip It Down".

Release

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National Treasures was released in three formats: a standard 2CD edition, a deluxe 2CD/1DVD edition, and a Super Deluxe edition. The Super Deluxe edition contains 7" reproductions of each of these singles, as well as New Art Riot.[4] A 14 track "Selected Singles" sampler was also released as a vinyl with Q Magazine containing an exclusive track, a cover of John Cale's "The Endless Plain of Fortune".[5][6]

The album is certified Gold in the UK, it also charted in Ireland, Spain and in Japan. The album was promoted with a show at the O2 Arena.

Reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic95/100[7]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [8]
Uncut     [7]
Q     [7]
Digital Spy     [9]
musicOMH     [7][10]
The Guardian     [11]
BBC Musicfavourable[12]
Sputnikmusicfavourable[13]
Drowned in Sound7/10[14]

The album received a highly favourable response from critics and it was seen as a unique opportunity to hear all the band's singles and see their history. On Metacritic the album has a score of 95 out of 100, based on 8 critics, which indicates "universal acclaim".

AllMusic awarded the album with a rating of 4.5 out of 5, saying that: "Arriving roughly ten years after their first hits compilation, 2002's Forever Delayed, 2011's National Treasures: The Complete Singles has another decade to cover so it's perfectly sensible that the collection spans two discs as it diligently marches through almost every single Manic Street Preachers released during their first 20 years." (...) "but it's the first disc, containing the songs they recorded with Richey Edwards and the music they made immediately after his disappearance, that makes the strongest case for their legacy." Q and Uncut gave the album a rating of 5 out of 5. Digital Spy also gave the album a perfect score and said that: "Against all odds, Manic Street Preachers are British pop's ultimate survivors. Proof that in the long run it's far better to be ridiculed by some than meekly accepted by all. They've been laughed at, battered, bruised, indulged, celebrated, diminished, reborn, accepted, mocked, hated and loved all over again. Iconoclasts become pop superstars. Misfits turned national treasures."

Recognition

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The album was voted by NME magazine as the best re issue of 2011, beating Nirvana's deluxe and super deluxe edition of Nevermind to the top spot.[15]

Live

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On 17 December 2011, the group performed 'A Night of National Treasures' at O2 Arena in London to celebrate the bands 25 years to date, and enter into a period of hiatus where the eleventh album was written. The band performed all the 38 singles in one show, with around 20.000 people attending the show. It featured guests, like Nina Persson from The Cardigans who sings with the band on the single Your Love Alone Is Not Enough and Gruff Rhys from Super Furry Animals who sang with the band that night on the track Let Robeson Sing.[16] The Guardian reviewed the show, giving it a score of 5 out of 5, and stated that: "the Manics can sell out an arena gig at which they perform all 38 of their singles (as compiled on the recent album National Treasures) proves they were right about one thing all along: they really are a stadium band."[17]

A DVD featuring the music videos to the tracks featured on the album is available in the deluxe edition. It also contains extra bonus content including alternate videos for You Love Us and Autumnsong and the video for "Jackie Collins Existential Question Time".

Track listing

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Disc one
No.TitleLength
1."Motown Junk" (from "Motown Junk" single, 1991)3:58
2."Stay Beautiful" (from Generation Terrorists, 1992)3:10
3."Love's Sweet Exile" (single version, originally from Generation Terrorists, 1992)3:05
4."You Love Us" (from Generation Terrorists, 1992)4:17
5."Slash 'n' Burn" (from Generation Terrorists, 1992)3:58
6."Motorcycle Emptiness" (from Generation Terrorists, 1992)6:06
7."Theme from M.A.S.H. (Suicide Is Painless)" (from "Theme from M.A.S.H. (Suicide Is Painless)" single, 1992)3:42
8."Little Baby Nothing" (edit, originally from Generation Terrorists, 1992)4:40
9."From Despair to Where" (from Gold Against the Soul, 1993)3:37
10."La Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh)" (from Gold Against the Soul, 1993)4:14
11."Roses in the Hospital" (from Gold Against the Soul, 1993)5:02
12."Life Becoming a Landslide" (from Gold Against the Soul, 1993)4:14
13."Faster" (from The Holy Bible, 1994)3:55
14."Revol" (from The Holy Bible, 1994)3:04
15."She Is Suffering" (from The Holy Bible, 1994)4:44
16."A Design for Life" (from Everything Must Go, 1996)4:20
17."Everything Must Go" (from Everything Must Go, 1996)3:41
18."Kevin Carter" (from Everything Must Go, 1996)3:25
19."Australia" (from Everything Must Go, 1996)4:04
Disc two
No.TitleLength
1."If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next" (from This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours, 1998)4:51
2."The Everlasting" (from This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours, 1998)6:07
3."You Stole the Sun from My Heart" (from This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours, 1998)4:22
4."Tsunami" (from This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours, 1998)3:49
5."The Masses Against the Classes" (from "The Masses Against the Classes" single, 2000)3:23
6."So Why So Sad" (from Know Your Enemy, 2001)4:02
7."Found That Soul" (from Know Your Enemy, 2001)3:07
8."Ocean Spray" (from Know Your Enemy, 2001)4:13
9."Let Robeson Sing" (from Know Your Enemy, 2001)3:46
10."There by the Grace of God" (from Forever Delayed, 2002)3:48
11."The Love of Richard Nixon" (from Lifeblood, 2004)3:39
12."Empty Souls" (from Lifeblood, 2004)4:05
13."Your Love Alone Is Not Enough" (from Send Away the Tigers, 2007)3:55
14."Autumnsong" (from Send Away the Tigers, 2007)3:41
15."Indian Summer" (from Send Away the Tigers, 2007)3:55
16."(It's Not War) Just the End of Love" (from Postcards from a Young Man, 2010)3:28
17."Some Kind of Nothingness" (from Postcards from a Young Man, 2010)3:48
18."Postcards from a Young Man" (from Postcards from a Young Man, 2010)3:35
19."This Is the Day" (new cover song, 2011)3:38
Japanese bonus track
No.TitleLength
20."Rock 'n' Roll Genius" (new song, 2011)2:40

Charts and certifications

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References

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  1. ^ "iTunes - Music - National Treasures (The Complete Singles) by Manic Street Preachers". iTunes.
  2. ^ "National Treasures - The Complete Singles and 'This is the Day' Release Details". Archived from the original on 30 September 2011.
  3. ^ S. Price, Everything (A Book about Manic Street Preachers), Virgin Books, 1999, p.29
  4. ^ "National Treasures Boxset - What's in the Box". Archived from the original on 7 November 2011.
  5. ^ "Q MAGAZINE 25TH ANNIVERSARY WORLD EXCLUSIVE". Archived from the original on 28 January 2013.
  6. ^ "Manic Street Preachers to release National Treasures vinyl with next Q issue". Archived from the original on 20 January 2012.
  7. ^ a b c d "Critic Reviews for National Treasures: The Complete Singles". Metacritic. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  8. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. National Treasures – The Complete Singles at AllMusic. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  9. ^ Nissim, Mayer (18 October 2011). "Manic Street Preachers: 'National Treasures' - Album review". Digital Spy. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  10. ^ Shpeherd, Sam. "Spotlight: Manic Street Preachers - National Treasures". musicOMH. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  11. ^ Sullivan, Caroline (15 December 2011). "Manic Street Preachers: National Treasures: The Complete Singles - review". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  12. ^ Pia, Camilla (20 October 2011). "Review of Manic Street Preachers - National Treasures - The Complete Singles". BBC Music. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  13. ^ "Manic Street Preachers National Treasures - The Complete Singles". Sputnikmusic.
  14. ^ Ashman, Neil (31 October 2011). "Manic Street Preachers - National Treasures". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  15. ^ "NME Albums of 2011".
  16. ^ "Once in a Lifetime Christmas Party at O2 Arena London 17 December". Archived from the original on 3 April 2012.
  17. ^ "Manic Street Preachers - review". The Guardian.
  18. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Manic Street Preachers". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  19. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  20. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Manic Street Preachers – National Treasures - The Complete Singles". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  21. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  22. ^ "End of Year Chart 2011" (PDF). ChartsPlus. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  23. ^ "British album certifications – Manic Street Preachers – National Treasures - The Complete Singles". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
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