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It's 1999 and the United Kingdom is in a post-britpop hangover. The Oasis cyclone has swept away everything and everyone, and with "Be Here Now" and the mega live at Knebworth, the tombstone has been placed on that unique and controversial season.
New bands start to appear on the market, following the trail of that unforgettable three-year period, but they do so with a different awareness, a more reflective and melancholic sound that exactly mirrors the feelings of that particular era. The following year will mark the peak of this new movement with the release of the essential "Parachutes" by Coldplay, but in the meantime, there is room for the then-very-young Scots, Travis.
A quartet led by the reserved Fran Healy, Travis are everything a rock star shouldn't be: not exactly attractive, shy, reserved, and composed. The debut "Good Feeling," a classic britrock record, achieves a decidedly lukewarm success (it enters the top ten but on the fringes, while no single, except the melancholic "More Than Us," enters the top 20). It becomes immediately clear that with the next album, Healy and company cannot afford to fail. And they won't fail, quite the opposite.
At the time of its release, "The Man Who" shares the fate with its predecessor: the reception is lukewarm, the record enters the charts at number five, and the English press is not gentle with the Scottish band, accusing them of having softened too much compared to their debut. One piece in particular, however, and that year's Glastonbury Festival completely change the scenario: the third single "Why Does It Always Rain On Me?," an autumn pop masterpiece that still remains the biggest track released by the band, enters the top ten and starts attracting the right attention. As soon as the band starts playing it on the Glasto stage, the magic happens: it really starts to rain. The story makes the rounds in newspapers and televisions, the album skyrockets to number one, and Travis explode.
And they do so deservedly: "The Man Who" is an absolute masterpiece, an album that will influence countless bands in the years to come (even Chris Martin often candidly admits the enormous influence of Travis on the sound of the earliest Coldplay). Its intrinsic autumn melancholy, the organic and absolutely perfect sound crafted by that genius producer who goes by the name of Nigel Godrich (yes, the trusted collaborator of Radiohead) make it an unrepeatable episode in the career of the four Scots. Travis themselves will never repeat at these levels.
Ironically opened by the electrified chords of Oasis’s "Wonderwall" in the fantastic "Writing To Reach You" ("and what's a Wonderwall, anyway?"), "The Man Who" strings together an impressive series of incredibly inspired ballads: the cover, cold and wintry, perfectly depicts the overall mood of the album. A warm hug in front of the fireplace on a chilly winter’s day. "The Fear," "The Last Laugh Of The Laughter," "She's So Strange," and "Slide Show" are built on a warm acoustic guitar, Healy's gentle voice, and very rare sound effects here and there, mostly a harmonica or a touch of strings. "As You Are" is 100% Godrich (of great class is the sudden guitar slide halfway through the piece, which then retracts as if sucked back into itself), while "Turn" is the only rock-like track on the album, a splendid stadium anthem with the classic shouted chorus and a perfect progression of electric guitars in the bridge. "Driftwood" with its acoustic six-string and classic refrain is yet another astonishing number from a practically perfect album.
With this year's celebratory tour, it is finally time to bring to light a beautiful, seminal, and all too often forgotten album.
Best track: Why Does It Always Rain On Me?
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 definitelyalex
"The album is a collection of ten ballads suspended between rock and folk where emotions and atmospheres reign supreme."
"The mark left by 'The Man Who' on British music is still clear and has inspired many new bands like Coldplay, Starsailor, Keane."
