Travis - The Man Who

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Harmonator, Mar 8, 2018.

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  1. Harmonator

    Harmonator Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Glasgow, Scotland
    That will be The Horseshoe bar. The landlord at the time used to let the band use the upstairs area as a rehearsal room when they were just starting out. In fact, I shall be going there today as I do most Fridays with the folks from the office. Might take a photo :winkgrin:
     
  2. When In Rome

    When In Rome It's far from being all over...

    Location:
    UK
    I love the whole album very much, my absolute favourites are 'Driftwood' and 'She's So Strange' (I can't get enough of 'She's So Strange' just love the whole atmosphere, quirky lyrics and great melody!) but for my money there's not a duff track on it. Got the first five Travis albums up to 'The Boy with No Name' all of which are solid albums in my opinion. After that I kind of drifted myself but a few recent tracks of theirs sounded good in the radio, might look into them one day...
     
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  3. mcwlod

    mcwlod Outside Looking In

    Location:
    Sopot, Poland
    Didn't care at all when this album came out, seemed to poppy for me (was still hard on grunge those days) but i really like it now - great songs, catchy but not too obvious. Nice!
     
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  4. Harmonator

    Harmonator Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Glasgow, Scotland
    “She’s so strange... and she wore a black moustache...” :laugh:
     
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  5. aussievinyl

    aussievinyl Appreciator Of Creative Expression

    I’d never heard of them in Australia, but when we went over to Wales for our 2005 honeymoon, the mate I was staying with played the album for us. We really liked it and bought it plus the next album when back home, but they went a bit too ‘music for family car ads’. Have borrowed future albums from the library. Still like to hear the album, which takes us back to a happy time. Some bands are successful and good at what they do, but don’t become legends, though the Scots have a pretty good strike rate with melodic bands, such as Del Amitri and Teenage Fanclub, to name only two.
     
  6. Papa Montgomery

    Papa Montgomery Forum Resident

    Location:
    Helsinki, FIN
    I absolutely love this record. I remember discovering The Man Who at the same time when I discovered Coldplay's debut album...this must've been around 2000 or 2001 when I was about 16-17 years old. Perfectly sad and melancholic stuff for those late teenage years, when you're struggling to meet girls etc etc. :)

    Later on, maybe in 2010, I found an original vinyl copy of The Man Who. I think I paid about 60 EUR for it, which I remember seemed completely crazy but I just had to have it in my collection. I just quickly glanced at Discogs and it's now going for 150-200 EUR, which is even crazier :)
     
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  7. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC

    Trash Can Sinatras are one of my favorite Scottish bands. Their Cake album is one of my favorites by anyone. I suspect fans of Travis would love them.
     
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  8. VatiBobo

    VatiBobo A Scotsman in Canada

    Listened to the album last night and it really took me back. I'd forgotten most of the songs on the album that weren't singles. I think the album holds up pretty well - half really good to great songs, half decent to good songs. Not sure that I'll ever play it as much as I once did as I associate it so strongly with that particular time (Tied To The 90's and Early 00's? :winkgrin:), but it'll be nice to listen to it occasionally.
     
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  9. CaseyJames

    CaseyJames Relaxed Fit Jeans Vibe

    Location:
    Maine
    Saw them tour behind it ('00) when I lived in Montreal at Le Spectrum (RIP) with my girlfriend at the time who was a huge fan. I, on the other hand, wasn't big on these guys but after seeing them live, I was a convert.

    Great album and when it was reissued this year, I jumped. Sadly, I didn't learn about the reissue until after the fact and had to pony up a little bit of a premium to get it, but it was worth it.
     
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  10. slop101

    slop101 Guitar Geek

    Location:
    So. Cal.
    Kinda sucks that the re-release was only a limited box set that's already going for $200.

    Why not re-release just the vinyl in a non-limited manner?
     
  11. CaseyJames

    CaseyJames Relaxed Fit Jeans Vibe

    Location:
    Maine
    I'm in agreement. I wish I had known about it when it was initially announced because I think the price was very reasonable. C'est la vie.
     
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  12. Otis1974

    Otis1974 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Louisburg, NC
    I was working music retail when "The Man Who" came out and was given a promo copy of the album from one of our label reps a few months before it's official release. I fell in love with the album and the band immediately.

    In May of 2000, I was able to see them live at the Cat's Cradle in Carborro, NC for $8.00. It was and still is one of the best shows I saw at the Cat's Cradle. My best memory of the show was near the end when the lead singer Fran Healy sat down at a keyboard and played Joni Mitchell's "River."

    I lost track of Travis after "12 Memories" but I am glad to see that they are still active.
     
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  13. slop101

    slop101 Guitar Geek

    Location:
    So. Cal.
    Yeah, Travis is phenomenal live. I've seen them at least 5 times, and each time they were fantastic. Fran is just one of the best, most feel good front-men working today. Besides having a great voice, he's just a fun, pleasant entertainer.
     
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  14. DorothyV

    DorothyV Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cleveland, Ohio
    Travis are one of my favorite bands of the past 20-odd years - totally underrated in the public sphere (especially the US).

    I love all of their albums (and Fran's solo record). Sadly, they haven't toured the US since LP7 I believe.

    I'd love a b-sides comp (or at least reissues of albums with bonus discs containing b-sides).
     
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  15. VeeDub

    VeeDub Senior Member

    Location:
    Denver, CO
    Love The Man Who and the band in general. Had no idea the vinyl was so rare. That's a shame, as I would imagine it's at least somewhat more dynamic than the CD - or any of the band's CDs, which are moderately to alarmingly squashed.
     
  16. John Adam

    John Adam An Introvert In Paradise

    Location:
    Hawaii
    Same story here. Became on of my favorite bands that most people never heard of.........right up until now. "Why Does It Always Rain On Me" kind of overshadowed them. Truly a classic song, but Travis has had much better songs, but I think the aforementioned is the only one most people from the states would recognize.
     
  17. Harmonator

    Harmonator Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Glasgow, Scotland
  18. Harmonator

    Harmonator Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Glasgow, Scotland


    As good as they are now it’s easy to forget just how brilliant a live band Travis were back between 97 and 2001. Fran’s voice is incredible here. Sure takes me back!
     
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  19. OptimisticGoat

    OptimisticGoat Everybody's escapegoat....

    I was in to The Man Who at the time of release and loved it then. Their later stuff Sing, Slide etc never reall grabbed me so TMW is still the only album I own. Agree it is a classic. Writing To Reach You in particular. I think if they had not tried to piggy back off WhyDoes... they might have had a longer run of success in my little collection! Loved that track but not after more of it!
     
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  20. Cambot

    Cambot Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicagoland, USA
    I loved this album and The Invisible Band after it. I saw them open for Oasis and mee Fran afterwards.

    That was a great night.
     
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  21. Surly

    Surly Bon Viv-oh-no-he-didn't

    Location:
    Sugar Land, TX
    Nice! I wish I had taken pictures when I was there. The bulk of my trip was spent in Edinburgh, but I took a day trip to Glasgow just because I love so much of the music from there. Simple Minds are my all-time favorite band (hence my avatar), and I made sure to walk past Barrowland Ballroom. Also went to the sushi place that Jim Kerr owned (not sure if he still does). Also got to see Killermont St, inspired by the Aztec Camera song!
     
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  22. Harmonator

    Harmonator Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Glasgow, Scotland


    Have to say I hate his video. It’s a great track but Travis had this annoying habit of including a monologue in some of their videos and it really bugged me back in the day (still does). ‘Coming Around’ was the same from memory :realmad:
     
  23. followmehome

    followmehome Forum Resident

    Location:
    England
    The CD release isn't loud - additionally, there wouldn't have been a different original master used for the vinyl, other than that they'd have taken the CD/digital master and added further EQ and compression to compensate for the limitations of the format.
     
  24. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
    My CD is loud.
     
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  25. autumn daze

    autumn daze I really don't belong here

    Location:
    Milton Keynes, UK
    At Glastonbury in 99, my friends and I watched Toploader on the Other Stage in the early afternoon Saturday slot, and they really weren't good. We ended up just staying in our spot, feeling a bit let down, and the next band came on and blew everyone away - that was Travis. None of us had heard of them at the time.

    A year later, we are back at Glastonbury and Travis are now HEADLINING which is pretty insane, that turn around in one year. The Man Who was the biggest pop rock album in the UK at that time.

    Oddly enough, the exact same Saturday afternoon slot on the Other Stage that Travis had been in at the 99 festival was filled by Coldplay at the 2000 festival. Again, saw them tear it up and obviously they've just grown and grown since. Shame for Travis to have fallen away and I agree that Coldplay stole their thunder.
     
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