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The first wave of the 90s British wave had come and gone. Oasis, Blur and many others had made names for themselves and we were left with a hangover, wanting more from bands across the pond.
Then came the second release from the band Travis. The Man Who is todays feature for I Own That CD!
Coming off of a rock-oriented debut (Good Feeling) that sounded like a British version of Weezer, the band recruited Nigel Godrich to produce. Godrich was best known for his work with Radiohead on OK Computer and the influence is heard throughout. Lead singer Fran Healy sounds like a “stable” Thom Yorke.
The band slowed things down and allowed for the music and vocals from lead singer Healy to drift throughout the 48 minutes of material. A gorgeous start comes from the first single “Writing to Reach You”, written by Healy, taking inspiration from The Connells “’74-‘75” and borrowing the guitar chords from “Wonderwall” by Oasis (Healy also notes the song in the lyrics “and what’s a wonderwall anyway?”.
The CD wasn’t a huge hit right away in either the US or the UK. However, a month after The Man Who came out, Travis were playing a midday slot at that summer’s Glastonbury Festival. The otherwise sunny afternoon was suddenly interrupted by a downpour as they began playing “Why Does It Always Rain On Me?” The rain then let up as soon as the song was over. That was the tipping point for their latest release. The song went on to be a smash for them and the accompanying video got them noticed around the world.
Other favorites from the CD include “Turn” and “Driftwood” The songs from The Man Who touched on all our favorites from the Brits – The Smiths, Radiohead and yes Oasis. Meanwhile, the songs helped shape the sounds for bands like Keane and Coldplay.
The CD still sounds relatable to today’s music and maybe that’s why the band has lasted beyond others (their latest, 10 Songs, came out in 2020). So maybe take a trip back to 1999 and take a listen (or another listen) to The Man Who and if you want, you can borrow my copy.
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