In 2022 Manic Road Preachers frontman James Dean Bradfield instructed Prog he’d come late to the progressive music celebration – however after exploring Rush, Pink Floyd and Russian Circles, he found Man’s eleventh album The Welsh Connection, and have become a fan after having beforehand dismissed the band.
“For me prog begins with Rush, after I was about 17. [Manics bassist] Nicky Wire and his brother had been already gigantic followers, and – like lots of people coming late to them – my in was The Spirit Of Radio, the album Shifting Photos and songs like Limelight, the place they had been virtually at an interface with The Police.
Pink Floyd’s Meddle had somewhat affect on our 1998 album This Is My Reality Inform Me Yours. I’m an enormous fan of Russian Circles, Chicago Transit Authority and John McLaughlin – particularly on Mahavishnu Orchestra’s The Internal Mounting Flame.
After which there’s Man. I used to be working as a barman within the Newbridge Miners Institute within the 80s, and a model of Man performed there. I keep in mind it being an enormous deal. I’d purchased Rhinos, Winos And Lunatics [1974] and preferred a number of the songs, however I wasn’t certain.
Then a few years later I used to be flicking by way of the racks at HMV and noticed the quilt of The Welsh Connection [1976]. I assumed it was perhaps a compilation of obscure Welsh bands; then realised it was by Man, so I assumed I’d give them one other go. I took it house, put it on, and bam!
Man by no means fairly hit the heights; they had been virtually too versatile
This album’s positively a slam-dunk misplaced traditional. It was their eleventh, in order that they had been manner down the road – they had been by no means going to get any larger at this level in historic phrases, they usually’d began steering away from the extra blues-based stuff.
It was the primary report for a brand new label so there was change within the air. They’d John McKenzie on bass, and he and drummer Terry Williams locked into one thing nimble, nuanced and completely attractive.
The title monitor and Love Can Discover A Manner had a lot of Steely Dan in it, large time, however The Welsh Connection got here out a yr earlier than Aja, in order that’s a little bit of a coup for Man! The Journey And The View has extra of a cool, trippy, Little Feat vibe. And One thing Is
Happening is so stunning: at one level it’s like Herbie Hancock, so articulate and dextrous. The entire album was a departure for them. Man by no means fairly hit the heights; I suppose they had been virtually too versatile. I like quite a lot of tracks from their different albums, however that is the one I placed on and don’t take off.”
