I used to control but now I just feel used
The beginning of “Quest for Ancient Colour” is a gentle shock. There’s many Manics songs that feature a piano, sometimes even in a practical lead role, but it’s always been in tandem with the band’s usual instruments. Hearing James accompanied only by a piano is oddly startling in a way that leads you to realise just how abnormal that is. Despite a career spanning several decades with hundreds and hundreds of songs released, the Manics have never had an intimate piano piece like most artists stumble into at least once.
The piano was James’ COVID lockdown project. After having written songs all his lifetime with a guitar and having only ever dabbled in the basics of a piano set, he spent the sudden abundance of free time during the pandemic heydays getting more comfortable with the instrument. A chunk of both his second solo album Even in Exile and the majority of The Ultra Vivid Lament were written on the piano, and “Quest for Ancient Colour” retains those roots most vividly. While the rest of the band does eventually appear and some stylish guitar licks begin to worm their way in – paving the way for a classically Bradfieldian guitar solo – “Quest for Ancient Colour” never drops the emphasis it has for the piano. It’s a simple change in the greater scheme of things, but does have an effect on the song’s overall writing and feel – it’s more graceful and more fluid than Manics usually are, its melodies gently gliding across the surface.
In fact, I sort of think it would work best with a full focus on just what James is doing. The demo for the song found on the deluxe edition of the album is just James and the piano and it’s really beautiful – well worthy of being called a fully fledged alternative version rather than just a rudimentary sketch as one would assume a demo is. It lends the song an additional aura of vulnerability and really emphasises the gentle emotion of it all. It also works superbly with the lyrics, Wire once again looking inwards through a self-deprecating lens, seemingly commenting about a moment’s loss of inspiration – “my scream had lost its source”. Whilst the album version is very good and the guitar solo specifically really lifts the song beautifully, overall the full piano demo might just be my preferred take: maybe it’s the novelty of just James and piano, but its nakedness carries a surprising strength.
As an aside, in respect of the cryptic title which I’m probably not the only person wondering about – it may be taken from a 2018 documentary of the same name which focused on a modern day artist re-discovering how historic Japanese artists created and used colour in their art. I don’t believe Wire has ever confirmed this but given his love for Japan, art and taking titles off works he loves, it’s plausible.
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