The Man Who
Travis
1999
Album Summary
The Man Who is the second studio album by the Scottish rock band Travis. The album was released on 24 May 1999 through Independiente. It saw a change in musical direction for the band, moving away from the rockier tone of their debut Good Feeling (1997). Four singles were released: "Writing to Reach You", "Driftwood", and the top 10 hits "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" and "Turn". The Man Who initially received mixed reviews and sold slowly. Boosted by the success of "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" and the band's appearance at the 1999 Glastonbury Festival, it eventually spent a total of 11 weeks at number one on the UK Albums Chart and brought the band international recognition. As of 2018, according to Concord Music, The Man Who has sold over 3.5 million copies worldwide. It was among ten albums nominated for the best British album of the previous 30 years by the Brit Awards in 2010, losing to (What's the Story) Morning Glory? by Oasis.
WikipediaListening to this was like eating saltine crackers dipped in skim milk.
The answer to the question, "What if Keane had a Bends-era Radiohead phase and did very little to hide it?"
just kinda soft rock stuff, kinda catchy background music and nowhere near as gay as coldplay. 3/5
This is like if Coldplay or early Radiohead didn’t have a knack for good songwriting.
A weak attempt at a Beatles facsimile, which I found was not uncommon in the 90's. Oasis did similar productions, and I would argue they did it with more passion and balls. Nothing flat offensive about the album, it was just relentlessly forgettable.
Where do I start with this dumpster fire? This is the type of music you listen to when you have no strong opinions about music. It's music for people whose idea of a bad day is that Starbucks got their mochacchino order wrong. Jangly, sad bastard shlock that desperately wants to be Radiohead. I hate that this band exists and if you enjoy this type of music, your taste in music sucks.
Every song on this album is what i hear when i think of riding in the back of the car while my dad drives us home in late October of 2006 and its 4 pm, kinda dark and raining and the car doesn't have a aux so we have to listen to NRJ Radio and they are playing the 11th most played song of the week and i am listening and feeling miserable because i have to do my math-homework when i get home because i have a test tomorrow and all i can think of is that the song thats on the radio is so bland that it makes me anxious even though i don't even really have a music taste yet because i am 9 years old but what i do know is that this aint it
Attractive voice with quiet acoustic guitar motifs. A bit boring, but still enjoyable to listen to.
À mon humble avis, la suite manquante du groupe de mots désignant cet album n'est certainement pas "speaks french". J'en veux pour preuve le morceau The Last Laugh of the Laughter au cours duquel le chanteur croit duper son audience avec un baragouinage qui ne fera plaisir qu'aux non-francophones : "It's the last laugh of the laughter Sur la dernier page do chapitre On the last day of the year Ma vie Tout ma vie When the spotlight fade away" dit-il selon la retranscription qu'en fait Google. Bien évidemment, le chanteur ne fait, dans la chanson, pas une seule de ces fautes à l'oral et prononce d'ailleurs admirablement bien les passages en français. Mais peu importe. En resumé : un projet ni fait ni à faire.
Tasteful, gentle, soporific. I was expecting proto-indie-filler, with completely forgettable tunes, and it was marginally better than that. But I never need to hear this album again in my life. The production is a little bit edgier and interesting than I expected (thanks, Nigel Goodrich), but at best, at its most hard-rockin', this comes across as OK Computer Lite. Actually, I'm just listening to the coda of As You Are, and this is the worst case of Thom Yorke wannabe-ism I have ever heard. I don't hate this, as it is custom made to be un-hatable, but it has no grit at all.
Amazing album all the way through. Tons of great tracks with big sound. "Turn" especially. Sounds of the 90s which were refined from their first album. Secret song is also a surprising but great addition to the album
Perfect in every way. Used to listen to this constantly in the first few months of our marriage.
I liked all of it. Quite solemn, but the production is very bright and clear. Nice!
After listening to this I can confirm that Travis are pretty much the beige, mid-tempo, pop rock band I thought they were. However, what they lack in fun and excitement they make up for with craft - these songs contain really solid melodies and progressions, the format is just a little bit dull for 2022.
Keimzelle eines Gefühls des richtigen Ankommens in Köln, so jung, noch so viel übrig, das danach trachtete, versaut zu werden. This album was the soundtrack on the journey of ‚the man who‘ I was about to become. Forever 5.0
I like the beginning of this one. It has an alternative sound, which is my jam. I really liked this album and would look up more of this band. I’m surprised I didn’t hear more of it when it was new.
Best song is the hidden track "blue flashing light", perhaps because it has not been overplayed; the drumming is unusual at points, but not in a bad way; Fran can really sing, this is especially obvious on "as you are"; not sure why there is a song half in French?!?
I'm surprised I'm not familiar with this band or album, because the sound/style is pretty similar to some of my favorites. Good find.
A deserved classic from the 1990's. Beautiful songs, an album that's worth another listen time and time again
A timeless sombre soft indie collection made for miserable Scots by miserable Scots. Love it. Almost every track is a stand out including miserable secret track.
Best song is the hidden track "blue flashing light", perhaps because it has not been overplayed; the drumming is unusual at points, but not in a bad way; Fran can really sing, this is especially obvious on "as you are"; not sure why there is a song half in French?!? Extra point for being Scottish!
What a gorgeous album. I hadn't heard this album before and really enjoyed it, every single song was beautiful. Will revisit this multiple times in the future.
A classic from the end of the 90s. Sombre and melancholy at times. This is one for a cold winter's night, wrapped up in front of the fire. Such a brilliant album that I listened to a lot, back in 1999.
How in the heck have I never heard of this band? Dude's soothing vocals are calming, and it reminds me of the early 2000s indie rock/folk era that became super popular at the time. This album sounds timeless, though, and I ended up listening to hours of Travis. What a great find. 5/5.
Another great memory from the 90’s. I first heard Travis while watching MTV’s with the “Why does it always rain on me? "video. I loved that kind of music and also loved Driftwood. I don’t think I heard the full album until a few years later but still it has a good place in my youth memories. I knew a girl who was the #1 fan of this guys, and for many years I would only see her at their gigs lol. We got together later but it wasn’t in the cards I guess, we never got to see them live while together neither. I recently learn she saw me with my girlfriend at their last gig here and it broke her hart (her words). I won’t be risking going to their next show (which is next month) because they’re hers. Hope she does go, this band is great and she deserves to be happy. I have my vinyl and my memories nevertheless. This album deserves its place on this list as it is a great time stamp and because it has great timeless songs like Slideshow, that song will always get me.
Some of my favorite hidden tracks on a CD, too bad digital doesn't exactly capture the "magic" of hidden tracks.
Really great album. Just well above average songs from start to finish. Highlights are Writing to Reach You, Why does it always rain..., She's So Strange...could go on. 4.5/5
A thoroughly enjoyable album from front to back. Fran Healy's airy vocals are the perfect complement to the low-key, often acoustic-driven musical arrangements. A great example of what the late 90's/early 2000's 'Britpop' genre had to offer.
I had never heard this one but really like this album. It is like a mix of Wilco and Muse.
Vielleicht die letzte Band der 90er Jahre. Schöne Lieder voller Zweifel und Taumel und Verlorenheit, vielleicht auch wegen der Zeitenwende. Was nun wohl kommen mag? Naja, ich sag mal so: the rain kept raining down on you, und Klimawandel hin oder her, weniger wurde er bestimmt nicht. 3,8. Letzte macht’s Licht a
I never realized how much '90s Travis sounds like a Radiohead / Oasis lovechild. A bit precious, a bit tranquil, more enjoyable than I had expected. Also, do you remember when bands used to hide a bonus track on the final track of their CD just by adding a bunch of empty space in the middle of the track? I was startled when, after a few minutes of silence and thinking the album was over, some music kicked in.
I love this album so much! It has lots of memories of teenaged anxt and a glorious summer. I haven't listened to it for years, but was instantly transported back and knew all the words :)
Veoma zanimljiv album. Nisam baš upoznat sabritanskim bendoviam 90-tih, ali ovo je sjajno. FAV TRACKS: Writing To Reach You The Fear Driftwood Turn Luv Slide show Why does it have to rain on me
Some great tracks on this - front of the album probably slightly stronger than the back, but an enjoyable listen.
A little slow and ballad heavy for my tastes, but there were some really great tracks on this one. Reminded me of Oasis.
One of the better picks so far. Real indie feel to it. Definitely want to give it another listen!
Great band with killer melodies. I've taught Why Does It... for many years, so very familiar with this band. Songwriter Fran Healy has a great way with wordplay, and a knack for a memorable melody. Favourite tracks are Why Does..., Turn, Writing to Reach You, and Driftwood.
I liked this more than I was expecting to. Reminded me of Radiohead, only more accessible, and maybe a little of Rufus Wainwright, but less maudlin. It was mellow but still held my interest. 3.5 stars, rounding to 4.
8/10. Feels quite enjoyable on a first listen, but I am not sure if it is something that will start to bug me if I relisten, or if I'll grow to like it more. Always fun when the 5th song on an album spontaneously decides to be half in French-as-a-second-language. Hidden tracks don't work well on Spotify at all.
J'ai beaucoup apprecié cet album, je regrette cependant deux points que je vais énoncer ci-dessous, mais avant je voudrais vous partager le score de mes trois derniers entrainements au Grand Quiz du Generateur: 11/20 - 9/20 - 13.5/20 Des resultats en dents de scie qu'il va falloir veiller a stabiliser pour esperer une victoire sous les yeux de Jarry et Arnaud Ducret. - le passage en français était une horreur absolue, et je sais de quoi je parle parlant moi-même la langue de Molière avec une aisance toute particulière, propre aux ressortissants français dont je fais partie - y en a marre des artistes qui croient berner leur monde en laissant 2mn de vide avant un son caché, de 1 on s'en branle que tu rajoutes un son ou non, de 2 quand on voit 10mn de bande sur le dernier son et qu'il n'y a plus de bruit après 3mn on se dit que soit tu es completement abruti et tu as oublié de couper l'enregistreur (ce qui est deja arrivé, cf The Doors), soit tu nous a dissimulé un son.
I find this surprisingly enjoyable, a solid sense of millennial doom throughout. Definitely reminiscent of some other sounds around the late 90s, but I think I just liked this particular flavor.
Classic, late 1990s Brit Pop. Will have to give it a deeper listend beyond "why does it always rain on me"
Very much in the Britpop vein from the drum sounds to the chord changes. I can also hear a fair bit of Neil Young and Radiohead influence as well. This album features memorable melodies as would be expected and some interesting instrumental bits. The last song with its period of silence was a bit annoying but overall, a good album and great exploration into the influence of Britpop
wasn't sure about this at first, but eventually, it grew on me, occasional moments of brilliance on this album but plenty of mediocrity as well, overall above average but nothing special
I thought I was going to hate this, "Oh God, not Travis!" Maybe the catalogue of middle of the road 70's whining had lowered my expectations. Maybe Travis have some good riffs, with lovely mellow bits and unexpected angry bits, lyrically sound too.
So this album sits in a box with so many other Uni bought CD's, memories of 4am plays, and melancholic regrets about girlfriends I never had. Musically, hasn't aged that badly, it's full of lovely, well written catchy tunes.
Upon second listen I loved it much more than at first. I went on to listen to a lot of Travis' discography and really loved it. I think the band has better music on other albums, but this one was still great.
Surprised I hadn't heard this before, it sounds like something I would like, and I do like it. Reminds me if bands I was listening to in the mid 00's - Guster, Keane, Radiohead (The Bends specifically). At times it got too sappy for me, at other moments the grooves were just euphoric. Interested in learning more about these fellas.
New addition to my library. Somehow missed them on their original release.
Very nice electric acoustic. "Driftwood" is an excellent song, which is why this is 4 and not a 3
It's not too much my vibe these days but this was an album I listened to a lot growing up, so nostalgia.
Verging on a five but never quiet got there, lots of Radiohead and Bowie influence
Great Album that combines the best elements of early 2000s alternative rock and Brit Pop
Quite a beautiful sound and a few songs definitely stood out. While I would have loved a bit more in dynamics, its a great album with a great production and runtime.
Judging by the cover I thought this would be generic late-90s pop-rock but I enjoyed this album more than I expected.
beautiful album ful of emotional ballads about lost souls in life i suppose
I bought this album in 1999 along with another 3,000,000 folk. I love the melancholy of it all.If you have never listened to this album in entirety then give it a try you may be suprised.There is a heavy gloom that lingers over the songs, which gives the soft melodies and sympathetic performances some real weight. These songs will sink into your heart and find a home in your head.
Pablo Honey, but good, and without "thinking about you", so not that good 4
The vocals sound a lot like Radiohead. I liked it enough to order the album.
Love it. As if Keane discovered guitars, combined forces with Elbow, and channeled the smoothest of early Radiohead. This one grabs me right away - first song, first verse. The melodies are fantastic, love the vocals, and is a excellent mix. Revolutionary? Nah. Doesn't matter - sometimes a group of fairly basic pop-rock songs can just be great on its own. Honestly no dogs on the entire album - "Why Does It Always Rain On Me?" was the hit; "Writing to Reach You" "The Fear" and "Slide Show" are others I love. Well-produced, judicious instrumentation, nothing overplayed. A keeper. 8/10 4 stars.
I really enjoyed this. Very much of its time and era - feels understatedly influential
I enjoy this album more now than when it came out. At the time, it felt like Travis would be another Radiohead but more radio-savvy. It would be a saturated market and overwhelm all music. Instead, the future has been more diverse and this niche has moved out of the mainstream. That left more room for this album. Happy to put it in the usual rotation.
It was a delight to be reintroduced to this little gem. This was on high rotation in a share house I was part of in Galway, Ireland in 2001. Good memories and lots of beautiful melodies from Fran Healy.
Travis are like that band you see on Rage on a lazy Sunday morning and think, that's nice. A hybrid of the Innocence Mission and Radiohead, or something like that. Moments of Damon Albarn drift through the vocals. There is really a lot to like here
Travis walked so Coldplay could fly. Was way into this album and The Invisible Band in middle school. Nothing extraordinary, but solid albums!
Absolute charmer of an album. The singles, in particular, are excellent 👍🏾
i haven't explored the possibilities of what sources call "post-britpop", but this was a very solid introduction. highlights i liked were the fear, driftwood, turn, she's so strange, and the hidden track. this guy's vocals are amazing, i think that these guys definitely have a 5 star potential, but this sticks at 4 for now.
I love the song“Why Does It Always Rain On Me” but never listened to the rest of this album. There was a little surprised in “As You Are” as it sounded almost early Radiohead to me. Very good album!
A basis review being Scottish this is an album everyone I know owned. Personally I love this album but isn’t one I’d tell people they need to listen to before they die.
It’s just a lovely album of lovely songs. I didn’t give them enough love back in the day, but have grown into them!
I was surprised how good this album was. This was a really fanatastic modern rock album. As you are was a great song. I would definitely like to listen to this one again 7/10
A Scottish introverted Oasis - I remember this album from when it was out and I used to like it a lot - it actually still holds up as a pretty collection of songs - however if I had to find it a fault it’s that it suffers from the same 90s album ailment - it could have done with fewer songs and it would have been a classic.
Si je compare à l'album de Coldplay que j'ai écouté récemment, je préfère celui-ci. Je réécouterais avec plaisir.
Actually kind of pleasant. Loses a bit of steam, but eventually won me back with the bonus track.
I didn’t even know that post-Britpop was a thing lol But this isn’t bad, I like the musicianship and there’s solid songwriting abound. I don’t know if it’s a GOAT album, but I think it deserved to do a little better in the states. Man, I feel like I enjoy every Britpop act I’ve heard better than Oasis and Blur. Too bad those were the only ones to really catch on here. C+
Kaunis, miellyttävää kuultavaa. Huippu saavutettiin kuitenkin jo alussa. Mutta mukava yllätys!
Enjoyed the singing, the lyrics and the chords. Solid 4, can’t believe I’ve never heard of them
I thought this wasn't bad. I liked a good amount of songs. I would probably listen to a number of them again.
Almost considered a 5 star, but that was based just because it's been awhile since we had one. Still solid
Surprisingly devastating, and got steadily more so as it played. I'm surprised that reviews seem to focus on the front end of the record as the strong part: My experience is exactly the opposite. Granted, there are hints of more interesting sonics in those first few songs. Between that and the hidden track, it's hard to escape the thought that the band was capable of much more. The end result is fully enjoyable, if not quite satisfying.
One of those pop/post-pop albums that's pleasant enough to listen to, but ten minutes later, you can't really recall anything about it or what it sounds like. A bit generic for this list. Best track: Why Does It Always Rain On Me?
Actually quite good. I like this guy’s vocals better than Rufus Wainwright, but not as much as Tim Booth’s, both of whom he sounds like.
Talented guy but boring record. Don’t quite understand it’s legacy appeal.
Guilty pleasure. Love a bit of Travis. It's nothing groundbreaking though is it Me: "Mum can we listen to some Coldplay" Mum: "No we have Coldplay at home" Coldplay at home:
What if radiohead was mediocre and generally uninteresting? Travis. She's So Strange and Rain On Me are strong, but the album doesn't carry enough passion and interest to raise it into a 4 or 5.
I think I enjoyed this quite a bit, but I didn’t take any notes and I don’t quite remember what I liked. I guess not quite memorable enough for a 4 but deserves a relisten.
The man who what, Travis? The man who what? It's been 22 years and we still don't fucking know, damn it.
This album wasn't great, but not bad either 3/5 decent kind of gloomy brit pop
Melancholische Britpop die mij wel kan bekoren voor een nummertje of 2, maar een heel album is te veel van het goeie.
A very nice album. Good choruses and nice voice, kinda sounds like a memory, if that makes any sense. Longer than it should be - I'll never get the "let's make 4 minutes of this song straight just complete silence" but oh well Saved: Writing To Reach You, Driftwood
Not bad at all, pretty nice background music. A good 3.5 but rounded down because it's completely unmemorable and I already forgot what it sounded like.
Tenía olvidado varias canciones de ellos. A pesar de tener buenas, no es un gran álbum, pero lo disfruté. Nota: 3.5 PD: No seleccione "Why Does Is Always Is Rain On Me?" porque todavía no supero su saturación en las radios.
Glad to be introduced to this band and this album. Some really great stuff on this one. Musically interesting, good lyrics, nice mix of styles. I like that the influences seem to be eclectic (at least they are to my ear). And I LOVED reading this from the Wiki entry on the band: "The band's name comes from the character Travis Henderson (played by Harry Dean Stanton) from the film Paris, Texas (1984)." Great actor creating a great character in a great film. That is wicked cool.
Easy to listen to instrumentals. Was ok on vocals. Listened to an extra cut and liked it better
-I liked when "As You Are" got intense and there was a nice scream. And then there was some nice guitar solo-bridgey stuff. -"Driftwood" was pleasant -Why is "Slideshow" silent for like a huge gap in the middle??? I like the second half but I'm not gonna wait for like 3 minutes mid song??? -Why are the bonus tracks way better so far? "Green Behind The Ears" and "Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah" are actually good -Nice Cover of "Be My Baby" -Idk it was just boring
Chill, James style tunes with lots of ghost strokes and great production. Good music for reading
Interesting sound, but didn't do much to grab me after the first couple of tracks. Need to listen again though
Generic brit-pop with trite lyrics. It had a nice atmosphere and the vocal performance was pretty solid, but overall this was a fairly bland album that probably only british people love. 5/10
Takes me back. Some nice nostalgia, few decent songs I hadn't heard. Haven't really heard of these guys since this album.
The band that paved the way for Coldplay is not exactly a selling point in my book! However, I gave this album a couple of listens to give it a fair shake, and deemed it not bad but also not very exciting. A couple songs are better than the rest such as Writing To Reach You, Driftwood, and Why Does It Always Rain on Me. Not sure I could go above a 3 on this one.
Given my obsession with NME and Q magazine during my Australian high school tenure, I was familiar with a few of the singles from this album so I would have been surprised if I was surprised by the overall tone of this album and… I was not surprised. I enjoyed listening to this album a few times over the past 24 hours and could easily see myself putting it on if we need some chill music in the lounge room. I didn’t make the time to sink my teeth into the history of the album so that my be a bit of my downfall as well. Great songwriting, melodies and overall musicianship.
Production on this is superb. Aiming for a more downtempo and laid-back sound, it is immensely good at utilizing reverb, delay, and mixing to bring out these feelings with the songwriting. You can hear influence from Radiohead especially, which had released the monumental OK Computer just two years earlier. This is for the best, though, as it never fully feels like it's trying to copy or attempt to become Radiohead, but dialing Travis' own sound through this new alt rock lens. It is worth noting that it slightly more pop-y, though more in structure than sound. I quite enjoyed this one overall. Nice and relaxing record with the stylings of the day that I like. Can be compared to Radiohead, Coldplay, and Muse without explicitly being any one of them.
It's a pretty good sadboy album like something from Elliott Smith. I don't particularly like it over a lot of other albums, but I think it is at least worthy of being on this list. I also enjoy the addition of the secret track, even though with streaming services the idea of a secret track is dead. I may come back to this one because the vocalist has a nice voice and a pretty good range as well. The instrumentation is pretty complex and compliments the vocals well. Highlights: 1, and 4.
very alt british sound. kind of an oasis clone but i think a little more nuanced. Luv is a good track.
It's a decent melancholic and harmonious Pop-Rock record, though Fran Healy's vocals are a bit too breathy and dramatic at times. To be honest, I keep thinking of Radiohead when listening to this. They do almost everything better that Travis tries on here. The Man Who does truly shine on "Writing To Reach You", "Driftwoord" and "Why Does It Always Rain On Me". 3/5.
I wouldn't normally listen to these type of songs but it was appropriate yesterday
This is just generic rock. Not really special at all and as average as it comes. 6/10.
Couple nice songs, but many of them are just insipid and interminably overlong
ну прям реально конец 90 по ощущениям музыкальным лично у меня. Почему-то напомнило севедж гарден и такие вот группы расцвета того же периода
It’s… nice. Playing fast and loose with the definition of “essential” here, I think.
Seemed like pretty bog standard light alterna-pop. Competent but too soft to have much impact. A group like Kings of Convenience shows how this kind of thing can be done to better effect.
Redelijk standaard popmuziek. Gewoon erg toegankelijke liedjes, maar ook weer niks bijzonders. De stem van de zanger kan wel gaan vervelen als je een heel album moet luisteren. Mijn favoriet is "Driftwood" en "Why Does It Always Rain On Me?". ***
The last track turned me off, with its language and dead air, but I liked multiple songs on this album, like Driftwood, and it was pretty good ambient music for coloring. It gave me a proto-Muse/Coldplay vibe.
Just a middle of the road good album. Nothing really to complain about. Maybe the last song being 10 minutes long and having to wait for like 4 or 5 minutes of silence? Was kind of annoying to me lol.