Love's Sweet Exile

"Love's Sweet Exile" is a song by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. It was released on 28 October 1991 by record label Columbia as the second single from their debut album, Generation Terrorists (1992). The B-side, "Repeat (UK)", appears on the same album.

"Love's Sweet Exile / Repeat (UK)"
Single by Manic Street Preachers
from the album Generation Terrorists
B-side
  • "Repeat (UK)"
  • "Democracy Coma"
  • "Stay Beautiful" (live)
Released28 October 1991 (1991-10-28)
Genre
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Steve Brown
Manic Street Preachers singles chronology
"Stay Beautiful"
(1991)		 "Love's Sweet Exile / Repeat (UK)"
(1991)		 "You Love Us"
(1992)

Content

The track "Love's Sweet Exile" was originally called "Faceless Sense of Void". The principal difference between the two is that the original version does not have the chorus of the recorded version. The melody for the chorus was taken from another unreleased Manic Street Preachers song, "Just Can't Be Happy Without You". The band – James Dean Bradfield in particular – have said that they dislike the version recorded for Generation Terrorists.[4]

Marc Burrows of Drowned in Sound proclaimed the song "easily the most metal Generation Terrorists gets",[2] illustrating it to be a "trad-metal monster" embellished by "Bradfield's most over-the-top solo".[2] Sam Shepard of MusicOHM alluded to the track's "glam metal stylings",[1] while Martin Power drew comparisons to "the work of a prog metal band".[3]

Release

"Love's Sweet Exile" was released on 28 October 1991 by record label Columbia.[5] The single reached number 26 in the UK Singles Chart on 9 November 1991,[6] making it the band's highest charting single at that point.

The CD and standard 12-inch included "Democracy Coma" (which was an album track on the U.S. version of the debut album). There was also a limited gatefold 12-inch with a bonus live version of "Stay Beautiful".

Re-release

The track was re-worked and re-released as 'Love's Sweet Exile (Acoustic Blue Version)' on 10th Oct 2011 as announced via the band's website.[7] The song is available as a digital download from Amazon.

Music video

The video for the song directed by W.I.Z. is notable for its homoerotic imagery.[8] Nicky Wire and Richey James Edwards are apparently naked while in close contact with each other, while Bradfield is also apparently naked, with an archery target drawn on his chest. The clip was also the first of many by the band to feature a favoured literary quote on screen. In this case, a piece of text credited to Albert Camus heralds the song; "And then came human beings. They wanted to cling, but there was nothing to cling to".

Track listings

7-inch

All lyrics are written by Richey Edwards and Nicky Wire; all music is composed by James Dean Bradfield and Sean Moore

Side A
No.TitleLength
1."Love's Sweet Exile"3:12
Side B
No.TitleLength
1."Repeat (UK)"3:08

CD and 12-inch

No.TitleLength
1."Love's Sweet Exile"3:12
2."Repeat (UK)"3:08
3."Democracy Coma"3:44

Limited edition gatefold 12-inch

No.TitleLength
1."Repeat"3:12
2."Democracy Coma"3:08
3."Love's Sweet Exile"3:44
4."Stay Beautiful" (live)2:52

Charts
Chart (1991) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[6] 26

References
  1. Shepard, Sam (29 October 2011). "Manic Street Preachers – National Treasures". musicOMH. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  2. Burrows, Marc (5 November 2012). "Manics Monday: Rain Down Alienation – Generation Terrorists' Key Tracks. / In Depth // Drowned in Sound". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 6 January 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  3. Power, Martin (2018). Nailed to History: The Story of Manic Street Preachers. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857127761. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  4. Power, Martin (17 October 2010). Manic Street Preachers. Omnibus Press.
  5. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 26 October 1991. p. 25.
  6. "Manic Street Preachers". Official Charts. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  7. https://www.manicstreetpreachers.com/cat-news/free-download-love-sweet-exile-acoustic-blue-version/
  8. Price 1999.

Sources
  • Price, Simon (1999). Everything (A Book About Manic Street Preachers). London: Virgin Books. ISBN 0-7535-0139-2.
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