Send Away the Tigers

Untitled

Send Away the Tigers is the eighth studio album from the Welsh rock group Manic Street Preachers. It was released on May 7, 2007 and made it to #2 on the UK album charts, missing the top spot by just 690 copies[1]. The title 'Send Away the Tigers' refers to something comedian Tony Hancock used to say when drinking alcohol to 'chase the demons away'. The title of the album itself was confirmed on stage by James Dean Bradfield at XFM's Winter Wonderland. [2] The album is widely seen as a return to the more harder-edged sound of their earlier releases: the band itself has described it as a mixture of Generation Terrorists and Everything Must Go. The album was mixed by Chris Lord-Alge, whose brother Tom provided the US mix of The Holy Bible.

The photos used on the sleeve are taken from the photography book Monika Monster Future First Woman On Mars by Valerie Phillips.

The album sleeve features a quotation from Wyndham Lewis, here misspelled as 'Wyndam Lewis'.

Nina Persson from The Cardigans shares vocals on "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough", the first proper single from the album. Further details on the album and the origins of selected songs can be found on the Manics' MySpace page [3].

The song "Rendition" concerns the act of extraordinary rendition, which has been described as a global system of human rights violations [4]. The song is partly inspired by the academy award-winning 1982 film Missing starring Jack Lemmon.

"I'm Just a Patsy" is a direct quotation from Lee Harvey Oswald - who is referenced in the song - upon his public denial of the murder of U.S. President John F. Kennedy.

On 5 June 2007, it was announced that Send Away the Tigers would be released in America on 24 July 2007 through the Red Int/Red Ink record label.[5]

The album was BPI certified as achieving gold status (100,000 copies) during week 30 of 2007.

Track listing

1. "Send Away the Tigers" – 3:36
2. "Underdogs" – 2:49
3. "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough" – 3:55
4. "Indian Summer" – 3:54
5. "The Second Great Depression" – 4:09
6. "Rendition" – 2:59
7. "Autumnsong" – 3:40
8. "I'm Just a Patsy" – 3:11
9. "Imperial Bodybags" – 3:30
10. "Winterlovers" – 3:03
    • "Working Class Hero" by John Lennon is also included as a hidden track after Winterlovers has finished in the normal editions of the album, making the 10th track's full length 6:40.
11. "Working Class Hero" (separated to its own track in the Japanese edition of the album)
12. "Love Letter to the Future" (Japanese bonus track) – 3:44
13. "Morning Comrades" (Japanese bonus track) – 3:13
14. "Send Away the Tigers" (acoustic, Japanese bonus track) – 2:31

There is an additional data track on the CD. It seems to be used to unlock access to an exclusive interview on the band's website.

Free download

The song "Underdogs" was made available as a free download and limited edition one sided 7" single on 19 March 2007 as a 'thank you' to the fans who have supported the Manics over the years [6]. The song received its premiere on the Phill Jupitus show on BBC 6 Music on Saint David's Day (1 March 2007).

Personnel

• James Dean Bradfield – lead vocals, backing vocals, guitar
• Sean Moore – drums, percussion
• Nicky Wire – bass, backing vocals
• Nina Persson - second lead vocals on "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough"
• Sean Reed – keyboards on "The Second Great Depression" and "Indian Summer"
• Sally Herbert – violin and string arrangement on "Autumnsong" and "Indian Summer"
• Andrew Waters – first violin and string arrangements on "The Second Great Depression"
• Sonia Slany - violin on "Autumnsong" and "Indian Summer"
• Lucy Morgan - viola on "Autumnsong" and "Indian Summer"
• Howard Scott - violin on "Autumnsong" and "Indian Summer"
• Morgan Goff - viola on "Autumnsong" and "Indian Summer"
• Ian Burdge - cello on "Autumnsong" and "Indian Summer"