We’ll be the ones who give you soul
“Little Baby Nothing” is a stand-out in great many ways, distils so much of the charm of Generation Terrorists within its verses and choruses and is adored by many. “Your Love Alone Is Not Enough” is what brought them back to commercial spotlight after some years of non-hits and was the starting point for many new MSP fans. The later albums saw great many experiments with guest vocalists. But the greatest Manics duet of them all is this gorgeous swirl hidden into the depths of a single b-side.
Taking with them the indie-cred pop artist Sophie Ellis-Bextor (before her solo fame) and her swooning vocals, the Manic Street Preachers embark on a dreamy pop bliss filled with swirling keyboards, majestic organs, Motown-esquely pounding drums and ethereally layered vocals. Bextor compliments James perfectly, her hushed but commandeering tone standing well up to James’ established soaring. It’s a hypnotic, elegant groove – an indie disco floor-filler that brings to mind the Manics’ collaboration with Kylie Minogue for her Impossible Princess album just a year earlier. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s where the roots of this song lie, and Bextor’s inclusion was a natural progression from designing a song around a female vocalist. Though the lyrics, seemingly criticising the modern urban lifestyle and the young hopefuls losing themselves in it, would be rather at odds on a pop album and are definitely a very Manics-esque take.
The middle section where all the instruments drop down except the endless layers of dreamy keyboards, accompanied by a simple drum beat, is the song’s grand cherry on top. James and Sophie sigh and shout in an echoing ocean of sound, spiraling under the waves until the song pulls through the surface with gusto once more. It’s gorgeous.
It’s incredible just how buried this is despite its supporting star power (especially as Ellis-Bextor has risen in the cultural landscape); it’s really one of the Manics b-side all time greats.
[edited 22/05/2022]
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