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1999. The Brit Pop era has just ended. The Empire of Oasis has collapsed, the Verve has broken up, Blur and Radiohead have abandoned ship just before it sank. Cool Britannia no longer exists. It's time for a change in British music, and the change comes from Glasgow.
The city is buzzing with musical activity, with venues hosting artists who will have much success (Belle And Sebastian, Delgados, Mogwai), but one group above all will leave a short but indelible mark, Travis.
The new movement puts aside the grandeur and electricity of the previous era, here the sound is more intimate, delicate, enveloping, romantic, and the second album of this Scottish quartet led by the charismatic Fran Healy is a perfect example of it.
The album, produced by the great Nigel Godrich (Radiohead, Beck, R.E.M. etc.), is a collection of ten ballads suspended between rock and folk where emotions and atmospheres reign supreme, starting from the first single, the lullaby-like "Writing To Reach You." "The radio is playing all the usual and what's a wonderwall anyway" Healy writes, immediately hinting at their idols and mentors. It was Noel Gallagher who sponsored the band at the time of their first success, the Britpop-flavored "All I Wanna Do Is Rock", and it was Noel again who would later ask Travis to support Oasis for their "Brotherly Love Tour."
But other tracks undoubtedly worth mentioning include the Smiths-like melancholy of "Why Does It Always Rain On Me?" and the seductive "Driftwood." The only electric moment present on the album is the track "Turn."
Travis's career would continue without reaching the heights achieved with this album, although they would still produce good works like "The Invisible Band" (see Sing) and "The Boy With No Name" (see Closer), but the mark left by "The Man Who" on British music is still clear and has inspired many new bands like Coldplay, Starsailor, Keane.
Tracklist Lyrics and Samples
01 Writing to Reach You (03:41)
Every day I wake up and it's Sunday
Whatever's in my eye won't go away
The radio is playing all the usual
And what's a wonderwall anyway?
Because my inside is outside
My right side's on the left side
'Cause I'm writing to reach you now but
I might never reach you
Only want to teach you
About you
But that's not you
It's good to know that you are home for Christmas
It's good to know that you are doing well
It's good to know that you all know I'm hurting
It's good to know I'm feeling not so well
Because my inside is outside
My right side's on the left side
'Cause I'm writing to reach you now but
I might never reach you
Only want to teach you
About you
But that's not you
Do you know it's true?
But that won't do
Maybe then tomorrow will be Monday
And whatever's in my eye should go away
But still the radio keeps playing all the usual
And what's a wonderwall anyway?
Because my inside is outside
My right side's on the left side
'Cause I'm writing to reach you now but
I might never reach you
Only want to teach you
About you
But that's not you
Do you know it's true?
But that won't do
And you know it's you
I'm talking to
02 The Fear (04:12)
All I wanted was a chance to say
I would like to see you in the morning
Rolling over just to have you there
Would make it easy for a little bit longer
But here
Closer every year
So near
The fear is coming clear
My dear
The fear is here
Hottest summer in a hundred years
But summer didn't bother getting up this morning
And so all the trees forgot to wake
They were dropping all their leaves on the ground below them
But here
Closer every year
So near
The fear is coming clear
My dear
The fear is here
All I wanted was the chance to say
I would like to see you in the morning
Rolling over just to have you there
Would make it easy for a little bit longer
Make it easy for a little bit longer
Make it easy for a little bit longer
Make it easy for a little bit longer
Make it easy for a little bit longer
Make it easy for a little bit longer
04 Driftwood (03:33)
Everything is open
Nothing is set in stone
Rivers turn to ocean
Oceans tide you home
Home is where the heart is
But your heart had to roam
Drifting over bridges
Never to return
Watching bridges burn
You're driftwood floating underwater
Breaking into pieces, pieces, pieces
Just driftwood hollow and of no use
Waterfalls will find you, bind you, grind you
Nobody is an island
Everyone has to go
Pillars turn to butter
Butterflying low
Low is where your heart is
But your heart has to grow
Drifting under bridges
Never with the flow
And you really didn't think it would happen
But it really is the end of the line
So I'm sorry that you turned to driftwood
But you've been drifting for a long, long time
Everywhere there's trouble
Nowhere's safe to go
Pushes turn to shovels
Shovelling the snow
Frozen you have chosen
The path you wish to go
Drifting now forever
And forever more
Until you reach your shore
You're driftwood floating underwater
Breaking into pieces, pieces, pieces
Just driftwood hollow and of no use
Waterfalls will find you, bind you, grind you
And you really didn't think it would happen
But it really is the end of the line
So I'm sorry that you turned to driftwood
But you've been drifting for a long, long time
You've been drifting for a long, long time
You've been drifting for a long, long
Drifting for a long, long time
06 Turn (04:23)
I want to see what people saw
I want to feel like I felt before
I'd like to see the kingdom come
I want to feel forever young
I want to sing
To sing my song
I want to live in a world where I belong
I want to live
I will survive
And I believe that it won't be very long
If we turn, turn, turn, turn, turn
Turn, turn, turn
If we turn, turn, turn, turn, turn
Then we might learn
So where's the stars?
Up in the sky
And what's the moon?
A big balloon
We'll never know unless we grow
There's so much world outside the door
I want to sing
To sing my song
I want to live in a world where I'll be strong
I want to live
I will survive
And I believe that it won't be very long
If we turn, turn, turn, turn, turn
Turn, turn, turn
If we turn, turn, turn, turn, turn
Then we might learn, learn
We've got to turn
We've got to turn
If we turn, turn, turn, turn, turn
Turn, turn, turn
If we turn, turn, turn, turn, turn
Then we might learn
Learn to turn
09 She's So Strange (03:15)
She's so strange
And she wore a black moustache
And she pilfered all the petty cash
She went to Birmingham
She'll soon be in the can
She's so cruel
And she knew just what to do
And while the cats were all sniffing glue
They played their silly games
And now they'll take the blame
She's so poor
And only now, well she's looking back
She sees her story on a paperback
What will become of her?
There's not much left for her
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Other reviews
By Francesco
Never before had another band from Glasgow managed to render the idea, the atmosphere, and the air of their city in this way.
Constant rain, mist, and leaden sky characterize the album which remains an absolute peak in their discography.
By ste84
"The music molded with my words, the songs created a sort of plagiarism: it was as if I were writing what they told me to write..."
"For 45 minutes my pen had never stopped, it never hesitated nor made a single mistake... the person who received that letter was 'astonished'."
By GrantNicholas
"The story makes the rounds in newspapers and televisions, the album skyrockets to number one, and Travis explode."
"The Man Who is an absolute masterpiece, an album that will influence countless bands in the years to come."
