Lipstick Traces comprises two CDs of covers, live, and unreleased tracks spanning their eleven-year career of consistently strong, intellectual rock on release.

It may seem a strange option for the Manics to release a ‘secret history’ directly after their 2002 greatest hits album, but this is an entirely different creature from Forever Delayed, filling in the blanks between the commercial classics and presenting the broad spectrum of the Manics’ mastery of great rock and roll.

There’s a range of different moods in this goodie bag, from such punked up moments as ‘Sculpture Of Man’ (1994) to the tired melancholy of ‘Bored Out Of My Mind’ (1992) and the bittersweet nostalgia of 2001’s ‘Just A Kid’. Other highlights include the magnificent instrumental track, ‘Horses Under Starlight’, and the sad, beautiful wind instruments and sha-na-na’s of ‘Dead Trees’ and ‘Traffic Islands’. As for the general rule of b-grade b-sides, there are plenty of exceptions to be found herein. The first of the 35 tracks, ‘Prologue To History’, with its thundering piano melody and trademark Manicness is a notable corker worthy of classic status.

Lipstick Traces delivers plenty of power punches, with disc 2 featuring impressive covers of Primal Scream’s ‘Velocity Girl’, The Clash nugget, ‘What’s My Name’, and the quirky Camper Van Beethoven song, ‘Take The Skinheads Bowling’. The Manics also give extra special treatment to ‘Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head’ and ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’. Simply marvellous. It would seem they’ve brought some respect back to the covers game, convincingly managing everything from Chuck Berry, Chris Farlowe and Wham to Art Garfunkel, Nirvana and even the odd biblical ditty.