Man (Man album)


Man is the third studio album by the Welsh psychedelic/progressive rock band Man and was released March 1971. It was the first album by this line-up, Terry Williams having replaced Jeff Jones on drums, while Martin Ace replaced Ray Williams on bass.
As well as a change in personnel, the album also represented a change in record label from Pye Records to United Artists with whom the band would remain until 1976. Reviews were mixed, particularly regarding the long tracks "Would the Christians...." and "Alchemist" which were an attempt to recreate some of the longer improvised jams that the band performed on stage, but which did not have the same impact on vinyl.
The album contained three shorter tunes: "Country Girl" that showed a clash of direction but showcases some fine Welsh harmonies. "Daughter of the Fireplace", a Leonard-penned rocker, which became a stage favourite while "Romain", a bluesy-shuffle, was written as a reaction to Martin Ace's treatment by a Belgian police officer of the same name when he attempted to intervene in a situation at a music festival; the song remains in the Man live set to the present day.

Track listing

Personnel

The original album was re-issued on CD in 1998
The album was remastered and re-issued on CD in 2007 including two bonus tracks:
  1. "Daughter of the Fireplace"
  2. "Alchemist"