Hey! Sorry for being absent for a month there, and thanks for the few emails I had during that time....
Hey! Sorry for being absent for a month there, and thanks for the few emails I had during that time.. I'm back now, and I've been watching a LOT of movies I need to catch up on!! As usual, if there's anything you want to talk about, you can email me, o...
Member since:27.02.2001
Reviews:33
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The Man Who is the second album by the band Travis. I have to admit, I really didn't like their first album, I found it dull and boring, and was reluctant to listen to their second, but wow! They sure have come a long way in my opinion. From soft ballads to upbeat tunes, this album is fantastic!
Travis have been around since 1996, but only recently seem to have truly established themselves, with groovy tunes, a wonderful style, and meaningful lyrics. The Man Who is a melodic and harmonious album, which really touched me.
Here's a breakdown of the tracks:
1. Writing to Reach You - they start the album with a musical masterpiece. The tones and chords they find in this are amazing; it has quite a simple and catchy rhythm, very light guitars and drumming, with quite a complicated and effective base line. The lyrics are quite touching, and I'd say this is a very effective start to a wonderful album.
2. The Fear - This song starts with a fairly simple drumbeat, and comes in with the
kind of soft chords that will stick in your mind all day. I don't know how to describe them - there's a depth to the harmony in this song that I don't get from listening to most music. The lyrics are very poignant, and it's song slowly, Fran Healy (the singer) really captures some strong emotion with his words.
3. As You Are - The song is a soft love ballad, it's very quiet, very soft, it starts off slow and melodic and seems to build up slightly, dramatically. This is not a party song, it's more the song you listen to in your bedroom with your headphones on, when no one's around.
4. Driftwood - This track is fantastic, it has an upbeat tempo, which is really catchy and a great rhythm, there are some great guitar techniques used in this song as well - simple, but effective. The base line is also pretty simple, but it really works for this song. The lyrics are really harmonious, cleverly written so that they flow into each other, for example "Pillars turn to butter, Butterflying low." You don't notice it when first listening to it, but it really makes the song flow.
5. The Last Laugh of the Laughter - This song is great, but very slow, very melodic and seems quite mournful. Some of the lyrics are in French, which gives it quite a romantic touch. I have no idea how Fran manages to sing so high pitched in this song! I'm not going to tell you what mental images I get when I think of how he manages it…
6. Turn - possibly their best selling and most known track, catchy and rhythmic, quite slow paced, but a great track. I'm not sure why it sold so well as his other tracks have a lot more depth to them though.
7. Why Does It Always Rain On Me? - Good question! I wish I knew.. here in Cardiff I often have to ask myself that question. Another great song and well known too, it runs quite nicely after Turn. This guitar is fantastic, some wonderful little bouncy tunes. Listen to this once and you'll be singing it for weeks afterwards.
8. Luv - As an English major I can't help but wrinkle my nose and frown at the name of this song. It's another sad and rather drowsy song. With some great harmonics. The lyrics are once again outstanding and meaningful… however; I do find by this point in the album your starting to get a bit depressed.
9. She's So Strange - This song echoes its title.. but instead of she's so strange.. think of it as he's so strange (Travis that is) because this song has rather weird lyrics. However I find it quite light compared to the previous songs, and it didn't strike me as anything special.
10. Slide Show - quite atmospheric as it has background noises and voices. I do think however they could have had a more up beat song for the ending, especially with lyrics like "today was the day for dancing and singing."
Bonus - Blue Flashing Lights - This is the hidden bonus track, which starts about 6 minutes 30 seconds into track 10 after the end of track 10. I was quite disappointed with the end of the album with this, as his singing is quite low pitched (it doesn't suit him) making him sounds quite gruff and plain. It is however probably the heaviest song of the album, with quite loud and noisy guitars and drums. It also has a fair bit of swearing in this track, which really contrasts with the sweet innocent romantic feel to the rest of the album
Overall I'd say this album starts great, it's a fantastic testimony to British rock and it starts off excellent. It is however quite a short album, and you might be getting bored towards the end. I'd still recommend it to anyone, and is well worth buying!
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Great review. Driftwood is my favourite track off the album. Fran gets so high by going falsetto. Thanks for your comment on my review of the Coldplay album. Did you know that Amazon.co.uk are offering the album at £7.99 at the moment - as it was a Brit Awards winner. But it is only for a limited time.
jefferson 01.03.2001 15:02
Great op!
Excelle 01.03.2001 14:52
Great op! I enjoyed it, I have to say I feel the opposite to you though, I prefer the first album to the second! Each to their own I suppose :) Thanks for the good op!
The ultimate slow-burner, Travis's second album infused its way into the psyche of ... more
post-Radiohead Britain with an endearingly humble grace. It's not quite certain how Travis went from being the happy-clappy Britpop also-rans of their debutGood Feelingt...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
The ultimate slow-burner, Travis's second album infused its way into the psyche of ... more
post-Radiohead Britain with an endearingly humble grace. It's not quite certain how Travis went from being the happy-clappy Britpop also-rans of their debut Good Feeling...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Advantages: Excellent album, that has a very wide appeal. Some excellent singles and superb album tracks Disadvantages: It's perhaps too good that they raised the expectation too high for the rest of their albums
Andy.mack 02.04.2005 ·
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