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Joined: July 26 2006
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Topic: Man a Really Underrated Group Posted: April 18 2009 at 23:58
This thread refers to the welsh band Man, a very good bab IMO, long forgotten by prog listeners and non prog listeners.
I discover Man via the old repertoire catalogue that used to be attach in the inlay CD case of the early catalogue of this company, i was amazed by the name, i used to think "wow Man? ...what going to sound a band with a very common name " and this company have only the first two albums : Revelation and 2 oz.
Then after a time of searching in old books of rock (this was years before the internet age) i decide to buy the second album 2oz, Why my decision? because i think that the second one would be more advance than the first, and time prove that i was no worng with my though.
After i listenting the first song of that album:
I feel dissapointment at first because i think that is more psychedelic than prog and a very abstract song by those time to me (i started to see other groups apart of the inmortals one as the likes of Genesis, Yes, DP, UH, etc. and now is one of my own high aclaim track!) but the second track:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxJQqAdczKQ
Really prove that my dissapoiment should really dissapear very, very fast furious song that have a very dominant riff and so many changes that really want to take your air guitar and demolish the world by my hand, it's not a casuality that this song first called Sh+t of The World, but the record company in a very high morality thinking, change the title to the known one.
And then the other tracks are really great and have grown on me very much.
http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=10903
Later i bought the first record and at last i did not like very much, as at this time i did not play very much tat record. But maybe i have to change my mind in a while.
Then a friend on mine gave me a cassette of the Live 1975 album with John Cipollina join on guitar to Mick, a great record and then i heard a complete different rendition of Man, Skip practically the 1970-1974 period.
So to catch the "lost" period i have to wait saveral years to have practically one by one of those marvellous albums and now that i have almost all, i latety listen the 1971 effort:
http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=10905
A very underrated record from what i heard of this great record that much define the Man sound with songs like Manillo that is a really well crafted song , We're Only Children that is a evocation of long lost childhood a melancolic track BTW and the punching Many Are Called and Love your Life, with really mean riffs and well constructed harmonies.
I invite to you to discover this band and inf you already know them, give a second listen and apreciation, you really won't be dissapointment.
Joined: August 23 2007
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Posted: April 19 2009 at 10:23
Great band!Awesome twin guitar psychedelia,Maximum Darkness with John Cippollina is a real killer,very funny "Bananas".You're right to say one can't be disappointed listening to this band.
I was born in the land of Mahavishnu,not so far from Kobaia.I'm looking for the world
Joined: August 01 2007
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Posted: April 19 2009 at 13:18
A truly great band and one that deffinitely deserved more success than they ever got. I've written quite a few reviews of their albums for this site, not only because i like them so much but also because none of them have more than a handful of reviews, some none!
My favourite studio albums are Rhinos, Winos and Lunatics, Be Good To Yourself At Least Once A Day, The Welsh Conection and Slow Motion.....as you can see their mid seventies period stuff before the first split.
Of course Man were primarily a band made to play live with as many, if not more live albums than studio. Some of the best are Maximum Darkness, Back Into The Future (partly studio double album) and an overlooked gem is 1994 Official Bootleg which has one of the besy versions of live favourite C,mon.
Sadly Micky Jones has been in poor health for a number of years and is unlikely to ever play again.
Joined: August 23 2007
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Posted: April 20 2009 at 07:36
Nightfly wrote:
A truly great band and one that deffinitely deserved more success than they ever got. I've written quite a few reviews of their albums for this site, not only because i like them so much but also because none of them have more than a handful of reviews, some none!
My favourite studio albums are Rhinos, Winos and Lunatics, Be Good To Yourself At Least Once A Day, The Welsh Conection and Slow Motion.....as you can see their mid seventies period stuff before the first split.
Of course Man were primarily a band made to play live with as many, if not more live albums than studio. Some of the best are Maximum Darkness, Back Into The Future (partly studio double album) and an overlooked gem is 1994 Official Bootleg which has one of the besy versions of live favourite C,mon.
Sadly Micky Jones has been in poor health for a number of years and is unlikely to ever play again.
Too bad he suffers ill health.Padget Rooms Penarth and Greasy Truckers Party are great live performances by Man too.Be good to yourself at least once a day is also one of my favourites.
I was born in the land of Mahavishnu,not so far from Kobaia.I'm looking for the world
Joined: April 12 2008
Location: Denmark
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Posted: April 20 2009 at 11:22
Welsh acid rock? I'll be looking into these guys.
By the way: Is the thread title meant to be a pun?
Edited by Toaster Mantis - April 20 2009 at 11:23
"The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook
Joined: January 04 2007
Location: Grok City
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Points: 17510
Posted: April 20 2009 at 13:43
HI,
I was lucky enough to get to see this band in America ... on their same tour with Hawkwind (Space 1999 Tour) ... and while one was loud, the other was very good ... and it did not have their classic line up ... it was the ManWinos lineup which already is their second generation.
I have all the stuff through Maximum Darkness and love listening to it ... not always mentioned and I need to get it and have a fix of it ... which album is that live version of MONA that they do? It was a killer version!
The albums I play ... ...are you settling in ... be good to yourself ... back to the future ... maximum darkness ...
It's hard not to enjoy the first 2 albums ... not sure they are erotic or neurotic ... but they are good fun.
The classic album, of all is "Be Good to Yourself ..." and believe it or not, besides it being a fabulous album, the even better part of it was the original cover and MAP of their country ... and the locations were marked with musicians names and there were a lot of names in there ... and it was fun chasing people down and see ... dang .. they all slept and went to school with each other!!!!
Do I have a favorite cut?
Never Say Nups to Nepalese - Back into the Future
C'mon - Be Good
C'mon - Back Into the Future
... and of course ... their family of friends and such ... the best of which is a fabulous little band called "Neutrons" ... and the other band that is also special is "Help Yourself" ...
Joined: January 04 2007
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Posted: April 21 2009 at 13:50
Hi,
MAN is not psychedelic per se ... it is "stoned" ... and having fun with it.
I actually think that a lot of it was making fun of that stoned (age) era ... but all in all there is a side of their music that is party fun ... and stony, I find ... not even close to psychedelic.
In general, it is also more rock'n'roll oriented than Hawkwind ... who is definitly trip oriented and the word "rock'n'roll will probably get that person trampled to death by a sonic boom or two.
Hawkwind's excursions into ambient/acid (rock) as I call it, are excellent to my ear ... I can still sit through Space Ritual in its entirety and get totally thrilled and excited over it ... and that is not a tribute to drugs, which I am basically opposed to anyway ... you don't need them ... your body has better stuff to trip with! Use it!
The associations and "electric tepee" thing and eventually the "Bandits" album with that Black Elk speaks song ... is an example of how Hawkwind is just a tribe that is into a spirit form .... and it is electric and electronic ... and that visual to me, is clear and has been alive since their second album ... "In search of space" ... which is funny, it always gave the image of outer space and it is about inner space!
I loved that!
Other than the earlier days of Djam Karet and Amon Duul 2, I have not found any other bands that can sustain the "psychedelia" ... one sometimes thinks that Peter Hammill borders on that area, but one never gets the feeling that he is not honest about himself and what he does and sings. Many bands try to be wierd and this and that ... but the next album ... is not.
I really think that it is about the "concept" itself ... and you can't think of it as this kind of music or that kind of music ... you have to just play what your heart wants ... and the results will survive .... in many ways, I find Hawkwind's transitions amazing ....
Joined: October 08 2008
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Posted: April 23 2009 at 02:28
himtroy wrote:
They have John Cippolina with them, as in from Quicksilver Messenger Service? Which album has him, because I'll definitely get that
Maximum Darkness, the live album from the mid-70s recorded in London.
Actually (I was at one of the two nights, but can't speak for the other) it's rumoured that much of Cippolina's stuff was removed and replaced with a bit of 'doctoring' from one Micky Jones. 7171 551 is actually a Deke Leonard song from his solo project Iceberg.
I'd heartily recommend the live Greasy Truckers Party (the inevitable Spunk Rock, plus Angel Easy) and Live at the Padgett Rooms Penarth. Man were essentially a great live band IMO, their rhythm section being referred to as the "Welsh Stomp" in the UK Press at the time.
Studiowise I'd go for Be Good to Yourself and Back to the Future.
Winos Rhinos is a bit more laid back but just as good, albeit with a different slant.
The Phil Ryan spin-off band The Neutrons released a couple of albums. I've only got one (Black Hole Star) which is IMO pretty good, with keyboiards to the fore and much less emphasis on guitars.
I'll leave with a famous Man quote from around 1973: "We may not be the best band in the world but we sure smoke the most dope."
It's not that I can't find worth in anything, it's just that I can't find worth in enough.
Joined: October 08 2008
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Posted: April 23 2009 at 02:37
Alberto Muņoz wrote:
Thanks to all for you answers.
somebody else wants to opinate, comment
Thanks for starting the thread Alberto - I grew up with Man and still love them today.
Together with Hawkwind, the Pink Fairies and to a lesser extent Nektar, they were perceived as very much a "people's band" and rated very high in the 'cool' stakes, at least here in the UK.
They were always on the "second tier" circuit, meaning they could sell out 500-1000 seaters (OK no-one actually sat) and I think a couple of allbums scraped into the charts, although they always sold consistently well enough for the band to make a reasonably good living. There's some great interviews with Deke Leonard around on the net which say a lot more about the band than I ever could.
It's not that I can't find worth in anything, it's just that I can't find worth in enough.
Joined: August 23 2007
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Posted: April 23 2009 at 04:16
el dingo wrote:
Alberto Muņoz wrote:
Thanks to all for you answers.
somebody else wants to opinate, comment
Thanks for starting the thread Alberto - I grew up with Man and still love them today.
Together with Hawkwind, the Pink Fairies and to a lesser extent Nektar, they were perceived as very much a "people's band" and rated very high in the 'cool' stakes, at least here in the UK.
They were always on the "second tier" circuit, meaning they could sell out 500-1000 seaters (OK no-one actually sat) and I think a couple of allbums scraped into the charts, although they always sold consistently well enough for the band to make a reasonably good living. There's some great interviews with Deke Leonard around on the net which say a lot more about the band than I ever could.
I very much enjoy the "people's band" aspect.I never saw them them live,unfortunately,but I've always thought Man is a bunch of very cool guys who always play cool music,bringing happiness to audiences.Man is always fun to play for me and I also like the fact they are committed,a bit like Hawkwind and The Pink Fairies.
I was born in the land of Mahavishnu,not so far from Kobaia.I'm looking for the world
Joined: October 08 2008
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Posted: April 23 2009 at 08:33
^
A Oui - c'est vrai.
The great thing with Man live was they'd have played till the cows came home if they could. Their live jams seemed to go on for ever and ever - hence the earlier recommendations.Only the licencing regulations stopped them, in my experience. And even then you'd get a few chords as they left the stage.
I'm just sorry to hear Micky Jones has been ill 'cos I didn't know - I'm too old to be a fanboy these days.
It's not that I can't find worth in anything, it's just that I can't find worth in enough.
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Joined: March 22 2006
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Posted: April 23 2009 at 08:42
Great band - don't know how often I saw them on the stage from the early 70's up to now ... this is an interview with Leonard and Ace speaking about Micky
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Posted: April 23 2009 at 08:59
Rivertree wrote:
Great band - don't know how often I saw them on the stage from the early 70's up to now ... this is an interview with Leonard and Ace speaking about Micky
Thank you.
It's not that I can't find worth in anything, it's just that I can't find worth in enough.
Joined: January 04 2007
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Posted: April 23 2009 at 09:10
Hi,
Man and Nektar, I think were actually from the same area ... they say hello to each other in the album covers ...
Neutrons ... 2nd album "Man, we're glad to know you" ... and while I don't think that 2nd album is as good as the first, it's still good.
Help Yourself ... the double album with Ken Whaley and stuff had a long cut that was really nice (don't remember the title) and it also had another one of those "man letters" (as I call it) ... seems that these bands supported the mother band ... Man.
Psychedelic is a sor tof mis-understood term ... I remember that at the time we first heard Gentle Giant, that they were psychedelicized, and ... they weren't at all ... it was just musicianship at its insane level ... I often call it an english Frank Zappa ... the one artist and composer I find has the most to share with GG ... but I don't think that is a discussion that most prog'rs want to get into ...
Man ... to my ears, was not psychedelic ... it was stony. But to categorize good music one type or another, to me (NOW!) ... is kinda sad ... I can't say that this piece is better than the other because it has some grass in it and the other doesn't ... that's just not fair to the musicians and the creativity involved ... not to mention that their ability to travel from point A to point B ,,, is gonna be HELL!!!! and more HELL!!! ... they would be marked and chased down and frisked to no end.
Sometimes I think that Man took their Cippolina/Quicksilver thing a bit too far ... but it got them a really good audience in the Bay area ... and it was music that was appreciated much more so there, than in LA, or London, for example ... kinda sad if you ask me, but it tells you how strange and fickle some fans can be.
Joined: October 08 2008
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Posted: April 23 2009 at 09:34
^
I reckon that Revelation and 2ozs were, OK, psychedelic, but when the lineup changed they got more into the guitar-orientated stuff which I love so much.
No way am I trying to get Brownie Guide points here but I used to work with Ken Whaley's dad (also Ken, a photographer) and I remember when Ken Jr left Help Yourself to join Man Ken Sr was really worried for him 'cos of their "reputation" Any father (like me) would be.
You're dead right about the incestuous music scene - Help Yourself used to tour with a Welsh band called Slapp Happy but the Nektar connection had nothing to do with geography - Roye D'Albrighton (or however he really spells his name) and the rest of Nektar were based in Germany where Man used to play a lot.
There's not (to my knowledge) a Welsh Connection
It's not that I can't find worth in anything, it's just that I can't find worth in enough.
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Man a Really Underrated Group
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) but the second track:
Nightfly wrote:
Any father (like me) would be.