If you were to look up in any US reference books or archive data bases about rock bands you are likely to either find no mention of Man at all or see them described variously as "heavy metal," "psychedelic," "hard rock," "West Coast influenced," "progressive rock" and even "pub rock." The truth is, Man is one of those unique bands that, thankfully, defies categorization.

The band actually assimilated all the above (save the heavy metal moniker) and much more into their expansive repertoire and they usually emerged with interesting, inventive and original music.

For the uninitiated Man is a Welsh band that boasts an interesting, if somewhat incestuous 30-year history. They toured the US on a number of occasions, especially in their most fertile period in the mid- '70s, but they never achieved much more than cult status despite their obvious talent. Most of their music is much like today's "jam-bands" in that it isn't overly radio friendly and often quite lengthy in content. Anyone that has been inspired by the today's improvisational music is well advised to search out some of Man's rich musical history. Fans of moe. should especially take note. Man has released a couple of dozen albums, so there are many to investigate and believe me, it is a worthwhile exercise. A large portion of their back catalog is still available (mostly as imports, but easily accessible over the Internet). In fact, the band is still alive and well and playing in Europe. They have recently released a new album, Endangered Species (Evangeline), but first things first.

The origins of the Man band dates back to the mid '60s and the beat and pop group era with roots in the moderately successful The Bystanders playing harmony laden pop-rock. By the late '60s the band had metamorphosed into Man, a more dynamic and experimental outfit. The line-up at the time was Deke Leonard, guitar, keyboards and vocals, Clive John keyboards, vocals and guitars, Micky Jones lead guitar and vocals, Jeff Jones on drums and Ray Williams on bass. This line-up recorded the "concept" album Revelation, which was released in 1969. It was an experimental disc that flitted from scathing boogie to effects-laden interludes to elaborately arranged pieces. Several cuts did show the beginnings of Man's penchant for twin guitar leads and improvisation although the biggest hit in Europe was "Erotica" an exotic instrumental which added the heavy breathing and sighing sounds of a woman faking orgasm, really!

It was with the band's second disc, 2 Ozs of Plastic With A Hole In the Middle, again released in 1969 that had its future sound really beginning to take shape. The album had a rawer sound and looseness that would point to their future improvisational tendencies, due mostly to the fact that it was recorded mostly live in the studio. It opens with the eerie electronics of "Prelude" and "The Storm" which are somewhat like a Grateful Dead "Space" segment before slipping into the tougher "It Is As It Must Be." The album also includes some other memorable cuts such as "Spunk Box" which would eventually evolve into the concert jam favorite "Spunk Rock," which is still as staple of their live shows and often gets a 20-minute treatment.

Around 1970 the band changed its rhythm section with the arrival of bassist Martin Ace and drummer Terry Williams (later to become a noted session player and member of Dire Straits). After this point in time any effort to keep track on the departing and returning of members is quite futile. The band's line-up was as changeable as the British weather. It intertwined with offshoot/related bands such as Help Yourself (worthy of a story of their own) The Flying Aces, Deke Leonard's Iceberg and more. They've also broken up several times only to realize the errors of their ways and reunite in some new configuration. The one constant factor throughout the band's history has been that it has always put out quality music, most of which still stands the test of time today.

The band's live shows were filled with lengthy improvisations and jams with much use of dual guitar interplay, although they also used keyboards extensively. The spontaneity and energy of these shows soon make them concert and festival favorites throughout Europe. Their use of twin guitar leads with a healthy dose of psychedelic influences often led Man to be compared to American West Coast bands such as Quicksilver Messenger Service and the Grateful Dead (to a lesser extent). They in fact, recorded a live album with QMS's John Cipollina, Maximum Darkness in 1975 after Cipollina joined them for a British tour. On this disc they expanded their dual lead guitars to that of a three guitar attack. The results were good, but not as good as one might have hoped for.

Even though Man was a band that was highly into improvisation they still wrote good songs with strong melodies and great vocals (much like moe does today). Rather than go through a long rambling history of the band's recorded works I'm going to recommend a couple of discs from their extensive catalog. These albums are representative of their overall sound and are reasonably attainable through mail order or Website sources and should get you started on route to discovering one of the most underrated bands to have emerged from the British Isles in the last three decades.

My initial recommendation would be their classic 1973 Back into The Future, a once double album that's now available as a single disc. This album actually is a mixture of live and studio material and really is the best place to start in discovering Man's eclectic music. The first six cuts are studio recordings. The most notable are "Just For You" with its twangy guitar leads and propelling percussion. The song changes tempo and rhythms numerous times. Equally impressive is the sophisticated synth-laden boogie of the title cut and the lilting "Don't Go Away" which shows the band's more melodic side and boasts some sweeping melodic slide work over layers of acoustic guitars and lush harmonies that are a cross between CSN and Pink Floyd. They get into some neat rhythmic grooves in the lengthy, mostly instrumental "Never Say Nups To Nepalese" which has spacey guitar figures, flowing melodic keyboard fills and brisk bass work and several signature changes. The artsy improvisations of this cut set the tone perfectly for live material that originally followed on the second album and now constitutes the last three tracks of this disc.

The perennial concert favorite "C'mon" is represented here and is prefaced by the operatic traditional Welsh song "Sospan Fach" which is sung by the Welsh Gwalia Male Choir, the same choir adds it choral support to this 19-minute extravaganza. The closing cut is another epic that's almost totally improvised. The 21 minutes of "Jam Up Jelly Tight/Oh No Not Again (Spunk Rock'73)" represents some truly magic jamming that should leave you wondering why Micky Jones isn't hailed as a true guitar great. More than anything this free-flowing jam highlights just how tight and inventive the entire band was. Keyboardist Phil Ryan adds some meaty textures on Hammond organ and synthesizers while William's drumming pushes the furious guitar exchanges. The piece climaxes with a reprise of their most famous riff from "Spunk Rock."

The band has a slew of live albums available, but the new listener should find the following two discs of much interest, Live/Official Bootleg (Voiceprint) which was culled from their 1994 at the famed Glastonbury Festival. The album opens with a tough seventeen and a half-minute workout of "C'mon" which boasts some superlative guitar work that has dexterity, texture and tenacity. The interplay between Leonard and Jones goes from shimmering subtle tones to infectious grooves and raucous riffs. The version here is very different to the on Back Into The Future, but that's part of Man's magic. At the other end of the disc is another long time favorite "Bananas," the band's ode to the pleasures of marijuana that again is another open-ended jam song.

In between are songs from their '90s album (then the current release) The Twang Dynasty, such as the rocking "Mad On Her," and the eloquent ode to the late John Cipollina "On the Wings Of Mercury." The latter shows many of the band's qualities from the infectious melody to the soaring harmonies and scathing slide guitar work. This is followed by the more psychedelic rock of "The Ride and the View" which is prefaced by a solo nine-minute slide guitar introduction. Also readily available and highly recommended is the BBC Radio 1 In Concert (Windsong) disc that captures both Man and Deke Leonard's Iceberg live in 1973 and 1975. This disc contains lengthy versions of "Romain" "C'Mon" and "Bananas," all of which highlight just how much the band was into improvisation. Iceberg (most of the members were/are in Man at some time) is represented well with the 11-minute "In Search of Sarah and 26 Horses." Yes, like Phish and moe. these guys had strange song titles. <p>

The band's new album Endangered Species is also very good, although it's a tad mellower. Especially of note is the opening "Conflict of Interest" which has percolating keyboard fills that are interspersed with some neat guitar leads. Also notable is the moody blues of "Face to Face" that has a classic Man feel and the muscular "Victim of Love."

If these albums get your interest you have a whole slew of other great gems to discover such as the classic studio albums, Rhinos, Winos and Lunatics, Slow Motion and many more. Happy explorations!

Here are some useful websites that will give you more information:

www.swig-online.co.uk/manband merchandise

www.btinternet.com/~manband.archive

www.evangeline.co.uk