Man

A new album from Man is, and should be, something rather special. They seem to have been around since the dawn of time and the lineups and changes over the years have made their music a constantly evolving and changing feast.

On that basis it is slightly difficult to know what to expect from them – the psychedelic jams and works outs or the country tinged rockers, the West Coast influenced acid numbers or the ‘straight’ rock gems.
In fact there are memories of all of these in the album and some of the best songs being released at the moment – the album is a delight.

Opener ‘The Ballad of Billy Lee’ is one of the country tinged numbers – more than tinged – and it features some sublime pedal steel courtesy of BJ Cole. ‘No Solution’ follows, a reasonably standard rocker but with a brilliant guitar break by Josh Ace – bassist Martin Ace’s son.
‘In Time’ will, I venture to suggest, become as big a live staple as ‘C’Mon’ or ‘Bananas’. Phil Ryan wrote it and his piano playing gives the track its identity and style – almost Floyd-like in parts – but it is quintessential Man.
There are simply loads of fine tracks here. ‘One More Ride On The Waltzer’ is melancholic, heartfelt and lovely, ‘All The Birds’ is almost Beatle-esque in tone while ‘Ordinary Man’ is simply a finely crafted song with a strong melody and a deep story.

Expectations are the biggest problem with this album but if you can set aside your personal Manband loves and hates this album is one of the strongest they have made since the early days and one gets the sense of them growing up (a little) and actually liking where they have found themselves.