The Man Who (20th Anniversary Edition) [LP] Vinyl

Digitally remastered 20th Anniversary edition. First released in May 1999, The Man Who sounds as fresh today as it did then. This iconic album went platinum six times in the UK features the timeless singles, 'Writing To Reach You', 'Driftwood', 'Turn' and possibly the band's most iconic song, 'Why Does It Always Rain On Me.' The album was an astonishingly successful and critically praised follow-up to Travis's inconspicuous 1997 debut, GOOD FEELING. Amidst the upbeat but uninspired post-Britpop guitar scene, the Glaswegian four-piece refined the tender moments from the group's first album to produce a work of unexpected subtlety and confidence. The stunning first single and opening track "Writing to Reach You" sets the mood. The song evokes the fragility and lyrical ache of Radiohead's "High and Dry" and name-checks Oasis's "Wonderwall." From the claustrophobic "The Fear" to the mocking self-pity of "Why Does It Always Rain On Me?" to the somnolent "As You Are" and the mellow resignation of "Driftwood," Fran Healy and company wrest a range of emotions from the simplest of acoustic arrangements. Only the solitary stray into bombast of "Turn" disappoints, but it still serves to demonstrate how far the group has progressed.