The Man Who

The Man Who
Studio album by Travis
Released 24 May 1999
Recorded 1998–1999
Studio RAK Studios, London
Genre Post-Britpop, soft rock[1]
Length 47:33
Label Independiente
Producer Nigel Godrich, Ian Grimble, Mike Hedges
Travis chronology
Good Feeling
(1997)		 The Man Who
(1999)		 The Invisible Band
(2001)
Singles from The Man Who
  1. "Writing to Reach You"
    Released: 8 March 1999
  2. "Driftwood"
    Released: 17 May 1999
  3. "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?"
    Released: 2 August 1999
  4. "Turn"
    Released: 8 November 1999

The Man Who is the second studio album by Scottish Post-Britpop 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 album Good Feeling. The Man Who spent a total of 11 weeks at number 1 on the UK Albums Chart and went on to give the band international recognition. As of 2016, it has sold over 2.68 million copies in the United Kingdom.

Four singles were released from the album: "Writing to Reach You", "Driftwood", and the top 10 hits "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" and "Turn".

Background and recording

The Man Who was produced by Nigel Godrich and recorded at producer Mike Hedges' chateau in France. The band continued recording at, among other studios, RAK Studios and Abbey Road Studios in London. The Man Who initially looked as though it would mirror the release of Good Feeling. Although it entered the charts at No. 5, with little radio play of its singles, it quickly slipped down. Worse, many critics who had raved about the rocky Good Feeling rubbished the album for the band's move into more melodic, melancholic material (for example, "Travis will be best when they stop trying to make sad, classic records" - NME). However, when the album slipped as far as number 19, it stopped. Word of mouth and increasing radio play of the single "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" increased awareness of the band and the album began to rise back up the charts. Then, when Travis took the stage to perform this song at the 1999 Glastonbury Festival, after being dry for several hours, it began to rain as soon as the first line was sung.[2] The following day the story was all over the papers and television, and with word of mouth and increased radio play of this and the album's other singles, The Man Who rose to No. 1 on the British charts.[3]

It also eventually took Best Album at the 2000 BRIT Awards, with Travis being named Best Band. Music industry magazine Music Week awarded them the same honours, while at the Ivor Novello Awards, Travis took the Best Songwriter(s) and Best Contemporary Song Awards. Travis followed the release of The Man Who with an extensive 237-gig world tour, including headlining the 2000 Glastonbury, T in the Park and V Festivals, and a US tour leg with Oasis. In Los Angeles, an appearance of the band at an in-store signing forced police to close Sunset Strip.

The title "The Man Who" comes from the book The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by neurologist Oliver Sacks.[4] The majority of songs for this album were written before Good Feeling was even released. "Writing to Reach You", "The Fear" and "Luv" being penned around 1995/96, with "As You Are", "Turn" and "She's So Strange" dating back as far as 1993 and the early Glass Onion EP.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[6]
Entertainment WeeklyA[7]
Los Angeles Times[8]
NME6/10[9]
Pitchfork Media7.8/10[10]
Q[11]
Rolling Stone[12]
USA Today[13]
The Village VoiceB−[14]

The album peaked at #1 in the UK and #8 in Australia. It was later released in the United States in early 2000. The album won two BRIT Awards in 2000 for the categories of "Best Album" and "Best Newcomer". The album was dedicated to Stanley Kubrick. The album became the fourth best-selling album in the UK in 1999,[15] selling more than 2.7 million copies. In 2006, Q rated the album as the 70th greatest album of all time.[16] The album was nominated in 2010 for best album of the last 30 years, but lost to Oasis's (What's the Story) Morning Glory?.[17] The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[18]

As of May 2016, The Man Who has sold 2,687,500 copies in the UK.[19]

Track listing

All tracks written by Fran Healy, except where noted.

Standard Edition
No.TitleLength
1."Writing to Reach You"  3:41
2."The Fear"  4:12
3."As You Are"  4:14
4."Driftwood"  3:33
5."The Last Laugh of the Laughter"  4:20
6."Turn"  4:24
7."Why Does It Always Rain on Me?"  4:25
8."Luv" (Healy, Adam Seymour)4:55
9."She's So Strange"  3:15
10."Slide Show" (includes hidden track "Blue Flashing Light")10:30

Personnel

Travis
Additional personnel[24]

Charts and certifications

Charts

Chart (1999–2000) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[25] 8
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[26] 46
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[27] 40
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[28] 34
Irish Albums (IRMA) 2
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[29] 14
Scottish Albums (OCC)[30] 1
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[31] 85
UK Albums (OCC)[32] 1
US Billboard 200[33] 135

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[34] 9× Platinum 2,687,500[19]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ Collar, Matt. "Travis - Singles". Allmusic. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  2. ↑ Story, Every Record Tells A. (26 June 2016). "View From The Trenches: A Glastonbury Saturday".
  3. ↑ "Travis' The Man Who paved the way for Coldplay's sensitivity". 3 June 2014.
  4. ↑ "BBC Review: A cavalcade of keening, copper-bottomed pop melodies". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-05-16.
  5. ↑ Damas, Jason. "The Man Who – Travis". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  6. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-857-12595-8.
  7. ↑ Browne, David (7 April 2000). "The Man Who". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  8. ↑ Cromelin, Richard (7 April 2000). "Record Rack". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  9. ↑ Bailie, Stuart (18 May 1999). "Travis – The Man Who". NME. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  10. ↑ DiCrescenzo, Brent (4 April 2000). "Travis: The Man Who". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  11. ↑ Eccleston, Danny (July 1999). "Travis: The Man Who". Q (154): 116.
  12. ↑ Sheffield, Rob (27 April 2000). "Travis: The Man Who". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 29 June 2007. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  13. ↑ "Travis, The Man Who". USA Today. Archived from the original on 15 August 2000. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  14. ↑ Christgau, Robert (28 November 2000). "Turkey Shoot: Where the Action Isn't". The Village Voice. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  15. ↑ "Yearly Best Selling Albums" (PDF). bpi.co.uk. BPI Ltd. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  16. ↑ "Xfm's 10th Birthday Documentaries: This Sunday - QOTSA - Xfm". Internet Archive. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  17. ↑ "Vote for Travis at the BRIT Awards". travisonline.com. 2010-01-21. Retrieved 2013-08-04.
  18. ↑ Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (23 March 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
  19. 1 2 Jones, Alan (6 May 2016). "Official Chart Analysis: Drake's Views tops Official Albums chart". Music Week. Intent Media. Retrieved 15 July 2016. (subscription required (help)).
  20. ↑ "Travis (90s) The Man Who Japanese Promo CD album (CDLP) (172062)".
  21. ↑ "Travis (90s) The Man Who US CD album (CDLP) (155126)".
  22. ↑ "Travis (90s) The Man Who - Live Bonus CD UK Promo CD single (CD5 / 5") (347341)".
  23. ↑ "Travis (90s) The Man Who Canadian CD album (CDLP) (195056)".
  24. ↑ Information from the album booklet.
  25. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Travis – The Man Who". Hung Medien.
  26. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Travis – The Man Who" (in German). Hung Medien.
  27. ↑ "Travis – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Travis.
  28. ↑ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH.
  29. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Travis – The Man Who". Hung Medien.
  30. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  31. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Travis – The Man Who". Hung Medien.
  32. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  33. ↑ "Travis – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Travis.
  34. ↑ "British album certifications – Travis – The Man Who". British Phonographic Industry. Enter The Man Who in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
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