Lipstick Traces (A Secret History of Manic Street Preachers)

Title

It is named after the Greil Marcus book Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the 20th Century and shares its title with a bootleg album of Manics rarities (more simply titled Lipstick Traces).

The album consists mainly of previously released material, except for "4 Ever Delayed" (recorded originally for Forever Delayed but unused due to complications), "Judge Yr'self" (a track recorded in 1995 for the Judge Dredd film soundtrack but never used), "Been a Son" (recorded for a BBC Radio One session) and "Last Christmas", which was performed by James Dean Bradfield on the UK TV programme TFI Friday. It also featured a newly re-recorded version of the track "Take the Skinheads Bowling", and not the version that had originally featured on the "Australia" CD single. The reason for the re-recording is still unknown.

Album cover

The sleeve was designed principally by Nicky Wire and contrasted greatly from the simple, graphically precise covers designed by Farrow Design who have done the majority of design work for the band since 1996. Initial copies came in a gatefold sleeve with a basic inlay; further inserts could be downloaded and printed off from the band's official website.

Promotion

As part of the promotion for the album, the band did a signing tour around the UK. At the final signing session in London they also played a short set of tracks from the album. A video for "Judge Yr'self" featuring early self-recorded clips of the band playing live also played on UK music television channels.

Release

Lipstick Traces was released on 14 July 2003. It reached number 11 in the UK Singles Chart. The compilation also charted within the Top 40 in Finland and Ireland and in Japan the album only managed to peak at number 243.

Reception

The compilation album received favourable reviews from critics. Sputnikmusic stated that: "But still, if you are willing to go and wade through a B-Side history of the Manic's- which I doubt many do- there's a genuine albums worth of classics to be found, with the second disc a redundant retread of covers that could have been used to make the collection more expansive and valuable. It's a shame the band couldn't be more convenient in delivering their secret history to you."

Allmusic rated the album a with a 3 out of 5, saying that: "Some of the Manics' peers did deliver consistently on their B-sides -- Suede and Oasis have B-sides collections every bit as good as their proper albums -- but they themselves didn't. And that's fine -- this collection was put out for the sake of completeness, and for completists, it's a good buy. But less dedicated fans can pass it by." Pitchfork Media also reviewed the album with a 6.3/10, and said that: "Manic Street Preachers never conquered the world like they wanted to, but it's been a good enough ride that I don't begrudge them for trying, and this compilation, flawed though it is, is sure to please those who'd always hoped they would succeed."

From fans

The album received a far more positive reception from fans than the Forever Delayed greatest hits album, which was heavily criticised for favouring the band's more commercially successful singles. The only recurring criticism of Lipstick Traces was the exclusion of the infamous fan favourite "Patrick Bateman" from the "La Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh)" single. The band explained that it was excluded mainly because it was almost seven minutes long and simply would not fit on the album. Bradfield has also been very critical of the song in the past, saying that it had great lyrics but the music was "dreadful". Fans also missed "Too Cold Here" from the "Revol" single. The song was very successful in fans' voting on the official site.

Missing Tracks