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TRAVIS - THE MAN WHO
The album that launched Scotland's finest band, and popularly regarded as the best British rock album of 1999. 'Writing To Reach You' puts down their marker, a powerful mix of lilting music and vocals, interspersed with earthy guitar. 'As You Are' is a beautifully crafted song, which changes from a ballad to a more anthemic rock number and back again. The accessible 'Driftwood' is a modern gem, and epitomises the Travis sound - catchy, harmonic guitars, with a balladic/rock crossover. This is followed by 'The Last Laugh Of The Laughter', which sees Fran Healy's voice at its most poignant. Following this is the band's most famous song, and a title we can all identify with at some point in our lives. It is, of course, 'Why Does It Always Rain On Me?' Though, it's surprisingly not as melancholy as the title may suggest. A jaunty, smack in the face for life's vicissitudes, in fact. Next up is 'Luv' - a thick, lush, dreamy track, with a House Of Love feel. 'Slide Show' incorporates a folksy sound, with a snatch of powerful guitar, and slamming car doors at the beginning and end! Let the CD play for 3 or 4 minutes after the final track, and a bonus, unlisted (on my CD at least) track appears - a spikey little number reflecting on people's apathetic reaction to a woman's physical batterings. This is an album with no weak tracks, and is of a surprisingly consistent high quality, for a band which, in 1999, was new to the public at large. - Paul Rance/booksmusicfilmstv.com. |
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