Notcast Ep 248 : Today I talk about Manic Street Preachers 2002 Greatest Hits compilation "Forever Delayed", and 2004's "Lifeblood".. this period was when the band and I grew apart. The Greatest Hits felt like an apologetic reminder after the bloated "Know Your Enemy" (where really, the band could have released two separate LP's instead), wasted some great songs on B-sides, and drifted into careerist repetition, with the mediocre "Lifeblood" album that had very little to say and communicated less, alongside some truly, shockingly bad B-sides and the worst tour programme I have ever had the misfortune to buy - so much so, I always check the inside of tour programmes before I buy them to this day. It really doesn't feel like 20 years ago already! 09 November 2022