^That's easily the best of the first four but I've never been that keen on 'Angel Easy' or 'Manillo'. What's weird is that those are always the two tracks to represent the album on Man collections.
Revelation is the weakest album of their original run IMHO. I don't think anything from it endured in their set-lists.
Excellent - that's for posting that. Great music for a Sunday morning. Amazon has New copies of the Esoteric releases of a lot (all?) of these albums at great prices, and a couple of the ones I don't have are on their way to me from ImportCDs in the UK.Originally Posted by Scrotum Scissor
There were two of those Original Album Series boxes for Man. Mind you they won't have the live bonus tracks that the Esoteric ones have.
It's very unfortunate that version of 'The Storm' is only on one CD, I listened to it again last night, it's so good.
Spunk Rock that others mentioned is truly amazing, like a gangbang with electric guitars. This is a huge band playing there, no doubt. You get your heavy blues-rock jam alright, with rigorous technique and neck-breaking tension at the same time.
Last edited by Zappathustra; 10-30-2017 at 08:32 AM.
^That first came out on an album called Greasy Truckers Party in the 70s. Again, it was also on the Keep On Crinting anthology.
I think the Padget Rooms album (the venue is actually called the Paget Rooms, not sure why it was misspelt, and it's still there!) was limited edition at the time. The expanded version has another long version of 'Spunk Rock'.
I’ve got a few of them queued up for my next Wayside order.
I want to dynamite your mind with love tonight.
Unbelievable value they are, around $12 per set (plus shipping). However I did find myself buying a few Esoteric reissues for the bonus discs/tracks. Of course, Deke's writing is also including in the liner notes of the Esoteric reissues, but if you don't mind getting a Kindle edition, it's only $8.50... http://amzn.to/2iLTtMu
"Always ready with the ray of sunshine"
The "Spunk" riff eventually developed into something of a theme-head by which they'd round off many jams and improvisations, like Quicksilver had done earlier with "Maiden of the Cancer Moon" and "Who Do You Love". The very logic of the jam-band aesthetic was to somehow disempower the expected necessity of or demand for unity/wholeness in form, as it was all essentially just about keeping the music going. The lengthy "Jam Up Jelly Tight" from Back Into the Future does the very same move, albeit with a different focus and arguably less substance. Of course, the original "Spunk Box" tune (from 2 Ozs of Plastic) was apparently an effort to make an actual song from a mere riff - instead of the oppsite. Man had a a lot of great riffs in time, for instance I remember this one serving as intro-jingle to a weekly program on progressive rock here in Norway's national radio (NRK P2; presented and DJed by Hans Voigt, a onetime member of PE):
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
Yes, the Esoteric Back Into The Future had the full Roundhouse show across an extra two discs.
I'm not sure whether anything else exists from the 1975 Roundhouse show used for Maximum Darkness, as there have not been any further recordings from it (the bonus tracks are from a US show). Indeed there were rumours of the finished product having heavy overdubs, vis a vis John Cipolina...
The original studio version was bizarrely retitled 'Spunk Box' due to Pye (who were the parent label of Dawn) feeling the real title was unsuitable. I believe the same reason was why 'It Is As It Must Be' is called that- the original was 'Shit On The World' or something.
2 Ozs... is clearly where the real Man sound begins and is far, far superior to Revelation, but this is a case where I really do prefer later live versions of its best tracks. I also find 'Parchment And Candles' and 'My Name Is Jesus Smith' to be very minor tracks. But it was then taken as given that bands took a few albums to get going. It's certainly true of some of the bigger 'prog' bands as well, IMHO.
Last edited by JJ88; 10-30-2017 at 09:05 AM.
I was a complete Cipo-fanhead at the time of first hearing Maximum D., and had a hard time believing that thin tone to be his. Later on I learned that many parts were rumoured to be dubbed by Jones, as the authentic recording didn't highlight the volume of Cipollina's input, which apparently kept falling in and out of the soundboard connection. When I listen closely today, I believe much of it to actually be Jones aping Cipollina's. Tha latter could be raw and sloppy at times (especially when drunk, AFAIU), but he was *never* quiet when playing, that stingy vibrato jarring like a saw.
"It Is As It Must Be" is a heartfelt lament of Clive John's on the state of affairs in world politics and such, so an initial title like "Shit On the World" wouldn't shock me at all. It's also a surprisingly heavy rock song for a British band in August 1969, but then again there's the reference from Tony Iommi and the guys in both Wishbone Ash and Budgie that Man directly influenced them.
Revelation suffers in retrospect from not quite fitting in with their erstwhile identity. Polished and studio-tricked, song-based psychedelia didn't really do their scope much justice. There are a couple of fine tracks (like "Empty Room" and the darkly humourous "Love"), but in the end it fails its mission. As concerns "Parchment and Candles" from 2 Ozs, I actually find it a sweet little ditty - although basically it doesn't come across as much other than an excuse to use the cembalo present in the corner of the studio. "Jesus Smith" is ridiculous, but then again they would outdo that one plentyfold with the preposterous "Country Girl" from the next album.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
One thing Deke talks about in his book is how German audiences shaped their music; something to the effect of "In England we were expected to play two hours, whereas in Germany they wanted 5 hours". This must have been around 1970 or so, and you can definitely see the effect it had on the band's output. "Spunk Box" went on forever, just check out the Point release To Live For To Die which documents Hamburg Oct 1970. A lot of those shorter songs were probably just what whomever had in their pocket when they were in the studio...
There's a really great passage I'll post later, where Deke talks about going into the studio.
"Always ready with the ray of sunshine"
In Germany, community spirit still persisted in rock culture - through much of the 70s and to some (albeit minor) extent even nowadays. And often as a token to an "athenticity principle". You can detect that presence and attitude in much 70s krautrock as well; "we do what we do and try what we try here, now, in and for the moment". Even tunes like "Romain" and "Life On the Road" became lengthy workouts, this of course in keeping with the jam-band/free festival ethos. From what I understand, a band like Nektar were able to capitalize on this when moving there, and they indeed bonded with Man. Considering how little-known West-German rock music was in general at the time, even to a large extent in Germany itself, it's pretty astonishing how prolific that scene was. Of course, it would accomodate most of what emanated from both the UK and the US in terms of both market and audience.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
There was also a large degree of "nascent music biz" in Germany well into the mid 70s. In my interviews with German musicians of this era, a few even claim they never went "professional" until as late as 1977 - even though they had been recording since in the earliest 70s. The beauty of this is that they really had to make it up as they went along, which, imho, tends to create the best possible music because everything comes into play - chance, error, adversity, success, etc.
Deke had another story about Berlin... early 1971 or so, when Man, Yes, Family and Soft Machine all played a gig together in Berlin, something like a "Brits come to Germany" bill. His account of the audience was pure suspicion over the British acts. In short, Man succeeded because, well, they tried. This was also their breakthrough gig with the British press.
Anyway, I'm giving too much of the Deke's book away. I can't emphasize enough what a great read it is, from a pure joy of reading to historical perspective.
"Always ready with the ray of sunshine"
Influence almost to the point of rip-off, when you listen to Sabs' Wizard from their debut.
At the risk of stating the obvious..Help Yourself are contemporaries, in the same musical vein, with some overlapping members with Man and would appeal to Man fans..just in case you'd missed them somehow...which you probably didn't. Check 'em out.
Sadly all of the guitar players concerned are now no longer with us. This has always been a murky subject and will continue to be so!
At least one other recording of them playing with Cipolina exists, this was from the US where they had developed something of a cult following for their live act that didn't really translate into record sales. (In particular, the US DJ Ron Sanchez championed them and indeed, later co-produced their OK 90s album Call Down The Moon.)
When they met Cipolina they asked him to do 'the growl' from the song 'The Fool' to prove that it really was him!
As for 'Country Girl', yes, that's dreadful. But the third album (and the first as part of the United Artists stable on Liberty) is another step forward, with a somewhat looser, more relaxed approach.
Yes, he says something like this in the sleevenotes of one of the CDs- the fact they took the trouble to speak German to the crowd was appreciated.
If you're thinking of the mid-section in "Warning" (still today one of my very fave Sab tunes, capturing their bluesy might of early yore, albeit essentially a cover song), it's not really a ripoff but a direct reference - and most likely a homage to Man's "Sudden Life" from Revelation.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
I'll check that too, but Wizard is imo an obvious example: the use of harmonica, the heavy guitars, the drum breaks, it is the same sound.
Go to 4:33 (no pun!) in Sab and check. It's so blunt it's actually kinda cool. And although Sabs did listen to Man, the latter most probably pulled the riff from someone before them. That's how it often worked - and still does. You know, like, when the Troggs feature "Wild Thing" as opener of an album which also contains a cover on "Louie Louie", not mentioning how they'd pick the very same sequence as background for "Any Way That You Want Me".
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
^ lol, this is very funny. It's exactly the same!
If you are looking for a Prog connection with Man check out the two albums by the Neutrons, Black Hole Star and Tales From The Blue Cocoons. One or two Man alumni as well as John Weathers on drums and Stuart Gordon on violin. I have both on vinyl as well as a nice BGO Records CD from 2003 with both on one disc. Love Black Hole Star. Oh yeah, been a ManBand fan since the early 70's, unfortunately never saw them live.
^ John Weathers' long-lasting membership in Man remains a bit undercommunicated, likely because he was usually more associated with one of the truly original and dear 'prog' bands overall, as well as the fact that Man were always mostly seen strictly as a guitarist's act. This basically also implies leaving out the wonderful drumming of Terry Williams, who was as integral to the Man sound as he's later be through many years of leaving his inimitable imprint on the music of Dire Straits. Of course, Weathers too came from Swansea and AFAIK knew the Man men well when he was in Gentle Giant.
Really sad to note how many of the Man men who've left us now; Jones, Leonard, C. John, P. Ryan, K. Whaley... And somehow another Arctic Monkeys aren't really going to fill the gap, kinda.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
^Will Youatt joined that unfortunate list recently.
http://www.manband-archive.com/forum...p?topic=2894.0
Weathers was only in Man after they reformed so I can see why it gets overlooked.
The labyrinthine links between Welsh musicians was illustrated on the map in Be Good To Yourself At Least Once A Day!
Regarding Help Yourself, I can't really get into that band... though the one track, "Reaffirmation" from their second (?) album, is light years from the others by the band; a real psych-y mellotron-y classic. All are available on BGO 2 fer 1 CDs.
Neutrons are quite good, at least the first album, Black Hole Star. The second is quite different IIRC. All are available on BGO 2 fer 1 CDs.
Deke's albums, Iceberg and Kamikaze, are good enough, but more indicative of his style (rock-n-roll). All are available on BGO 2 fer 1 CDs.
"Always ready with the ray of sunshine"
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