Travis
Singles

THE REVIEW

The Travis are not just a (great) band, they are a unique four-headed entity. And the incident that almost confined drummer Neil Primrose to a wheelchair could have marked the end of a band that has been producing high-level pop for years, never banal, nor predictable, nor particularly commercial.

A band that, after releasing a good debut album like “Good Feeling,” produced an authentic masterpiece like the massive “The Man Who,” an absolute qualitative peak that stood high amidst the sea of British pop from a bygone era. A band that offered the world pop pieces (in the noblest sense of the term) of rare beauty like “Turn” (one of the most beautiful choruses in the history of British pop in the last 15 years), “Why Does It Always Rain On Me?,” “Writing To Reach You” (a natural evolution of “Wonderwall,” also mentioned in the lyrics).

But let's go in order: this “Singles” is, of course, a collection of their greatest hits enriched by two excellent unreleased tracks (the concluding and quite upbeat - by the band’s standards - “The Distance,” but especially the gem-like single “Walking In The Sun,” marking the definitive? exit from the darkness of the previous “12 Memories”). There’s everything: the quintessential Travis hit, “Sing,” used here as an opener, the stratospheric and melancholic “Driftwood” (again from “The Man Who”), but also “primitive” and more dynamic pieces like the overwhelming “Happy,” “Tied To The 90’s,” and “U16 Girls,” or the now-classic “All I Want To Do Is Rock” (a playful nod to early Radiohead), along with the other two international hits “Side” and “Flowers In The Window,” both from the bestseller “The Invisible Band.” In some pieces in particular, like the Beatles-esque “The Beautiful Occupation” and the heart-wrenching “Re-Offender” (both from “12 Memories”), the lyrics stand out, evoking very deep and contemporary sensations; the former, in fact, was written after the September 11 attacks, while the latter speaks with incredible effectiveness of daily domestic violence (“Cause you say you love me/ And then you do it again, you do it again”).

In short, for once, a greatest hits, besides being a mere commercial operation, manages to be an excellent compendium to understand the quality and evolutions of a great contemporary pop group, as well as allowing us to appreciate a splendid voice like that of frontman Francis Healy. The Travis are a band that has amazed, amazes, and will continue to amaze in the future. Highly recommended for those who have not yet known and/or appreciated them.

If you love quality pop, don't miss them.