How exactly did it get to be December already!? But at least my computer is working again - yay! :)
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How exactly did it get to be December already!? But at least my computer is working again - yay! :)
Member since:01.08.2001
Reviews:112
Members who trust:175
Oops – I made the mistake of writing this before looking at just how many opinions there are already for this album, hence the title. Still, overcrowded or not, I've written so I'm posting!! :)
It seems to me that a decent album should have an appeal that lasts beyond the appeal of the singles. In fact, I tend to find the well-known singles from an album, while making it easier to get into it to start with, can get quite grating through over-familiarity. So I tend to judge a lot of albums by the quality of the non-single tracks. The Man Who combines both – excellent singles, which are still listenable after all this time, but with a quality that means the non-single tracks are never just 'fillers'.
I find myself making a comparison – and I apologise profusely: it seems everyone these days is compared with Radiohead, but as someone pointed out, Radiohead are so diverse and complex, that just about anything you listen to will have something in common. With this, I think the acoustic guitars remind me of a few quieter Bends-era Radiohead tracks, and also the occasional moment in Fran Healy's singing. Partly the clean, high-ish pitch, I suppose, but there are also a few occasions on here where his voice becomes less
a vocal and more just another instrument. Coincidently, this album was mixed by Nigel Godrich, who also works on Radiohead's albums (from The Bends onward). Also, I see a correlation between the both bands' first to second albums moving from an almost harsh rock sound, to something far more mellow and cohesive. And of course, they’re both favourite albums of mine!
Anyway, enough of my babbling about other bands – on to the tracks (number in brackets is highest chart positions):
(1) Writing to Reach You (#14) First single to be release from The Man Who, after almost a year of silence since the band's previous album. It got them on Top of the Pops for the first time!
(2) The Fear A definite favourite of mine. It's almost a surprise to find this is a love song, but a refreshingly un-saccarine one.
(3) As You Are I could imagine Thom Yorke (Radiohead) singing this – there's just such a beautiful snarl as Fran sings the line 'As You Are'. One of my favourites of this album.
(4) Driftwood (#13) Interesting fact: there's a line in the second verse "Pillars turn to butter". It's not really as cryptic as you might think. Fran Healy, looking for a match for the first verse's "Rivers turn to ocean" thought of caterpillars turning into butterflies – of course, that wouldn't scan, so he just lopped off a few syllabils and voila - pillars and butter! Second single to be release from the album.
(5) Last Laugh of the Laughter Just in case anyone doesn't know, the French in the song ("Sur la dernier page du chapitre") means "On the last page of the chapter". A very gentle little track.
(6) Turn (#8) Contains the worst line of the album – "And what's the moon? A big balloon" – a rhyme that still makes me cringe every time I hear it! Mind you, the rest of the song's not that much better lyrically – fairly good tune, though, so despite my lyrical misgivings I still like it! The last single release from the album.
(7) Why Does It Always Rain On Me? (#10) Because you live in Scotland, Francis. It rains on all of us here most of the time. Stop asking such silly questions!! Only kidding. However, this song is notorious for 'causing' the heavens to open when it was played at the Glastonbury festival. The third single from the album, this has attained something of an ‘anthem’ status, not undeservingly.
(8) Luv I think this song is absolutely lovely. A nice, gentle love song, with a harmonica thrown in for good measure.
(9) She's So Strange A rather whimsical song. If there's has to be a weakest track on the album, I think I'd pick this – which just goes to show the overall quality, as this is still a good song.
(10) Slide Show Another interesting thing: there are mentions in this track of three other songs – 'Devil's Haircut' by Beck, 'Wonderwall' by Oasis, and 'Design for Life' by the Manic Street Preachers. I've heard Fran Healy defend himself on this: it's not meant as a dig at any of those songs or bands, but means the way hearing a particular song can instantly conjure up memories of a period of your life. Now you know! Very slow, not quite sombre track, which I always feel gives something of a sleepy finish to the main part of the album.
(10+) Hidden track Hmm... wouldn't it be funny if a band ever actually called a song 'Hidden track'? Actually, I bet someone already has. Answers on a postcard, please. Anyway, this is a gem of a track, very dark. Kicks in about 6:50 on track 10. With the line, "Call me a name and I'll slap you again - You're a slut, you're a bitch, you're a whore", you might want to stop the CD before now if your granny is in the room. Ahem. This is sometimes known as 'Blue Flashing Light'.
Overall, this is quite a gentle, all-round 'nice' album. There's a good consistency in quality and content, meaning no song jumps out as outstandingly good or really bad. There's a very definite change in style from Good Feeling, the band's first album, to a more introspective, less harsh rock sound. It seems almost a pity that this album was SO successful, as a lot of people have since dismissed it - purely for being too popular, I think. In my opinion, this absolutely deserved to be the album of 1999, and will continue to hold a high place in my CD collection.
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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...
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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...
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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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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
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