Travis
The Man Who

THE REVIEW

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?