The Man Who

Listening to this was like eating saltine crackers dipped in skim milk.

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

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.

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.

The answer to the question, "What if Keane had a Bends-era Radiohead phase and did very little to hide it?"

The man who bored the world

No one’s saying that this album is better than Born in the USA, right? Just that I like it a lot more. I had to rate today based on how much I loved relistening to this album that I had on almost constant rotation for a few months in 1999. I know every word and can still sing along. I still love some of the moments that happen throughout; a moment in Luv when Fran Healy’s voice seems to crack a little with emotion. Or maybe not. Maybe I’m just being 16 again and hopelessly romantic. Either way, I enjoyed this too, too much.

Sounds like every young adult series’ music.

Wild how clearly influenced by Ok Computer this record is. I feel like Travis owes Radiohead a billion dollars just based on the song "As You Are" alone. This isn't bad but it's like that meme where mom tells you we have Radiohead at home. This is the Radiohead at home. Update: Holy shit, even "The Last Laugh of the Laughter" (dumbass title) is literally just ripping off "Paranoid Android." This is egregious!

Attractive voice with quiet acoustic guitar motifs. A bit boring, but still enjoyable to listen to.

No, please remove this album from the list.

The musical equivalent of the colour beige.

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.

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.

The production on this album is incredible. The songwriting... less so. Which is kind of a shame, really. Godrich and Hedges are genius-level producers and I hate to see their talents wasted on such a bland and frankly boring album.

The man who what, Travis? The man who what? It's been 22 years and we still don't fucking know, damn it.

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.

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.

No longer content to mimic Oasis, Britpop bands of the late 90’s turned their eye to aping Bends and OK Computer-era Radiohead. I’m applying The Rule (TM) here: If you haven’t heard anyone talking about an album in 20 years, you don’t need to hear it before you die.

As a Britpop scholar I found this so derivative of everything else. I know this one has its fans but it’s just lifting wholesale riffs from Oasis and Blur songs that were like 3-5 years old. Why Does it Always Rain on Me is great though

As dull as i remember

I liked this one. Best one in a while.

Спокойно, нормально

My first favourite band

Loved this album. Great balance of folk and rock

Strong emotional ties with this one

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?!?

Beautiful album

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.

Kind of melancholic.

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'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.

Before Coldplay came along and knocked them off their perch, Travis were the best post-Britpop tunesmiths around and this here Man Who probably counts as their magnum opus. Going for it is a light, shimmery indie sound inspired by classic Radiohead and a batch of really excellent evergreen singles. Writing To Reach You, Driftwood, Why Does It Always Rain On Me? and Turn all bang in a kinda awesome but wussy way. 3rd track As You Are is also a grower, starting with streaks of I Would Like To Teach The World To Sing and then a bit of added epic Radiohead growl. If there is a downside to the album is that many of its deep cuts are simply too sleepy and relaxed and it judders to a halt actually with closer Slide Show. Bonus Track Blue Flashing Lights the band show all their claws though in a raucous spitting tale of domestic disturbance. 4 stars.

mi è piaciuto molto più di quanto sperassi, mi aspettavo il solito indie brit mugugnato e invece no! un ascolto molto piacevole

I liked all of it. Quite solemn, but the production is very bright and clear. Nice!

Starts off really great and fizzles out a bit at the end. Favorite tracks are "Writing to Reach You", "As You Are", and "Driftwood". 4 stars.

radiohead in a different dimension. has highlights but mostly forgettable

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.

Put simply, this is the kind of music I remember college dorm dudes playing from their lower bunks on acoustic guitars because of the misunderstanding that college girls liked sensitive guys. 'The Man Who' is sensitive guy music, lots of feelings expressed, sad feelings that we hope might make you girls want to hold us guys with our heads resting snugly between your breasts. ‘Everyday I wake up alone,’ singer Fran Healy laments (his go-to emotion) on ‘As You Are,’ ‘because I’m not like the other boys.’ Another song asks the musical question, ‘Why Does It Always Rain on Me?’ giving rise to yet another question: ‘Why don’t you just get out of it, moron?’ Besides, that’s simply your own delusion anyway, no doubt grounded in some repressed fear you’ve not yet successfully dealt with. 'The Man Who' dredges it all up, in all its weary pessimism, both lyrically and it's accompanying music. There was only one instrumental solo on the entire album, when at 2:40 on ‘As You Are’ Travis finally delivered a fairly decent, brief guitar solo that did rock, temporarily. So, it is down there in these boys, they just have to dig for it. Mostly, though, the melodies, overall tunes, instrumental accompaniments, tempo, etc are soft, slow, and sad. The popular 1970’s soft rock band, Bread, sung and played harder than these guys. The one exception was ‘Driftwood,’ a rare uptempo tune, and with some decent, Dylan-esque lyrics to boot: ‘You’re driftwood, hollow and of no use. Waterfalls will find you, bind you, grind you… So, I’m sorry that you turned into driftwood, but you’ve been drifting for a long, long time.’ Following that respite from relentless self pity, though, we returned right back to… well, the next song title says it all: ‘The Last Laugh of the Laughter.’ I must have missed the last laugh, or I guess it happened before the composition of the song. At any rate, no laughter transpired. Not even a grin, until the final and morbidly slow closer, ‘Slide Show,’ and the most restrained castanets performance I believe I’ve ever heard. It found myself whispering ‘Ole’ with the vigor of said college dude after a Valium and a couple of PBRs. This whole alt folk/rock genre often strikes me as contrived ‘cool.’ That’s not accusatory, I’m just tossing it out there for consideration. What I would like to expose for fact, though, is the unfortunate misunderstanding of the sensitive guy, playing these Travis tunes, ever attracting any girl reaction. Consider with whom, generally, are college girls actually having sex? The bad boy, that’s who! They might eventually marry the sensitive guy, but they’re fucking the bad boy. So, to whom this may concern, if you’re genuinely looking to get laid, then stop learning these self-pitying Travis songs, and cover some Van Halen ones instead.

Remembered this as dull, soulless beigery. Listened without prejudice in case it’s aged well. It hasn’t. I’d remembered it correctly. (IMHO)

Whiny the Album Do I hate music?

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.

Brilliant

One of my favourites, Scotland Forever

A classic. Their 2nd album. One of the best modern British albums.

This is my kind of album! Sad indie boy makes good acoustic music. <3

This was really interesting. I liked it.

Travis é adorável.

it comes as absolutely no surprise to me that the cadre of whiny dadrockers at the top of the reviews didn't like this one. sorry that music can occasionally just be simple and beautiful???? it's wild how so many stagnant, stuck-up rock fans consider this kind of music's existence a personal affront and get so upset that they start spluttering and stammering and spitting out the same weirdly homophobic arguments that have been levelled at any genre remotely soft or emotional, from emo to alt rock to electronica. i don't know how to tell you this, but sometimes men have nice voices and sing pretty songs. IT'S GOING TO BE OKAY!!!! that being said - is this worthy of 1001 albums? debatable. but did i personally like it a whole lot? yes ❤️ yes i did!

Very nice album! Almost every track is a hit! I never listen it before. As for, it is even better than Oasis.

Five stars

Loved this!

Hermoso

Very nice album

I loved this album back in the day. Nice mellow rock.

9/10 crazy good, holy shit

Personal favourite

Very Mello perfect for a quiet night in

A deserved classic from the 1990's. Beautiful songs, an album that's worth another listen time and time again

Dit was echt een fijne verrassing. Ik had weer middelmatige Britse jaren 90 rock verwacht, maar dit was echt super goed. Beetje combi tussen Keane en een rustige Oasis ofzo. Ik twijfel tussen 4 en 5 sterren, en dan doen we vaak toch maar het voordeel van de twijfel.

Perfect slice of indie pop

It's odd that a number of people on here give this a crap score due it reminding them of a bad period in their lives at the turn of the century. It reveals their age. Well this reminds me of happy days so there. However listening objectively there are a number of fairly moody anthemic ballads that have a similar structure and were fairly popular at the time. They are well played and sung and are quite enjoyable despite the current trend to slag off anything from this era. It's good, easy listening.

I gave Kanye a 3 so I gotta give these guys a 5, and then reconsider my rating system later. No, really, Travis was good listening.

The album cover reminds me of Bourne Identity that intense ass scene when he goes to stay at that house where he thinks the family is gone but then they come back and he's being hunted around the farm land by that sniper in the trees and they're running at each other in the high weeds. Damn that's an epic movie. I should probably watch it again, that scene is so tense. Anyway, this album was the perfect mood for this dreadful day (11/7/24), it met me exactly where I was at. Jesus Christ republicans are fucking stupid. It seems really unfair that a person with a quarter of a brain cell has a vote that counts equal (actually probably counts way more) than mine. At least the Celtics are good...

Love it, reminds me of why I got this album the first time. Like pulling a warm blanket over yourself on a cold morning.

Definitely belongs on any list of music that defined the 90s. Was everywhere. And it's exquisite on headphones. Very slick.

Fantastic. Need to listen to this more, but it sounds a bit like a slightly folkier version of Radiohead.

Nice and chill

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

one of the best albums of the 90s

Brilliant

travel

Unexpectedly brilliant album.

I've never heard of this band, and they are great! Awesome Scottish rock. I would totally buy this album.

Fuck it, reallygood

Great listen

Surprisingly good. Voice sounds like Radiohead

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.

I really enjoyed everything about this album!

This is a brilliant album from start to finish. The first time I listened to it, it was immediately on my top list. Blue Flashing Lights is one of the best hidden tracks in the history of hidden tracks. The entire album is gold from start to finish.

Some of my favorite hidden tracks on a CD, too bad digital doesn't exactly capture the "magic" of hidden tracks.

Listed

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.

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.

I really enjoyed this. Very much of its time and era - feels understatedly influential

poppy radiohead-ish emo feels

Has an air of less weird radiohead. Enjoyed it

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.

One of my all time favorites

Classic, late 1990s Brit Pop. Will have to give it a deeper listend beyond "why does it always rain on me"

The vocals sound a lot like Radiohead. I liked it enough to order the album.

Wow this sounds like if Oasis and Aqualung had a baby.

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

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

Pablo Honey, but good, and without "thinking about you", so not that good 4