1994 OFFICIAL BOOTLEG

Somehow by accident I found myself at a Man reunion gig in Pontardawe around 1994. I'd never heard of them at the time, though guy I went with was in raptures that they'd reformed. I can't remember much about the gig, except its only recently that my relationship with Man (and not a man has been renewed.

Of the albums I have, the Official Bootleg of 1994 is the one that has had the most airtime. It is indeed an interesting mix of the space rock sound of the early 1970's and their new studio material, from the Twang Dynasty. The older material is the prog stuff and the evergreen opener C'Mon and closer Banana's are the standout tracks. There is no doubt that Mickey Jones and Deke Leonard have an awesome presence in the live environment.

Man are a band best live to some extent and although the pub rock tunes from the Twang Dynastry cant be classified as prog, Feather on the Scales of Justice is excellent. The 9 minute slide guitar opener to The Ride and the View is excellent.

The Greasy Truckers live tracks and Maximum Darkness are more prog orientated live albums pre the 1977 split, but I really like this set. Which I'd see more of Man; they toured enough !