Man - Rhinos Winos Lunatics (1974) {2CD Remaster Bonus Tracks}
Rhinos Winos and Lunatics ~ Remastered plus bonus disc-deluxe edition [Deluxe Edition]
Disc: 1
1. Taking The Easy Way Out Again
2. Thunder And Lightning Kid
3. California Silks And Satins
4. Four Day Louise
5. Intro
6. Kerosene
7. Scotch Corner
8. Exit
9. Taking The Easy Way Out Again
Disc: 2
1. American Mother
2. 7171 551
3. Hard Way To Live
4. Romain
5. Bananas
This fine album saw Man largely abandon (at least in the studio) their West Coast/prog rock/space rock tendencies in favour of a bunch of (for them) short and snappy songs. It's also one of their most "produced" records, with Queen producer Roy Thomas Baker doing an excellent job.
The stronger songwriting largely stemmed from the considerable personnel upheaval that preceded the album - lead guitarist Micky Jones and drummer Terry Williams parted company with the rest of the previous line-up and recruited Man's first non-Welsh members, bassist Ken Whaley and keyboard player Malcolm Morley, both late of fellow United Artists act Help Yourself and, most importantly, reunited with founder member Deke Leonard on guitar and vocals.
The album kicks off with Taking The Easy Way Out Again, a typical Deke Leonard rocker and one of his better ones; The Thunder & Lightning Kid is by Morley and Leonard and is another good tune. California Silks And Satins is a bit of a departure for Man - a lushly produced acoustic number with gorgeous harmony vocals, redolent of the likes of Crosby, Stills & Nash. Four Day Louise brings Micky Jones's clear, high tenor to the fore over an epic riff.
The second half of the album contains two longer songs bracketed by Intro and Exit. Personally I think these guitar fanfares spoil the album slightly as they aren't musically strong enough to compliment the two excellent songs between them. Kerosene is is a steamy meander through erotic undergrowth, and fairly untypical of the band, and then Scotch Corner details the band's chance meeting with a suicidal man at a motorway service station. It's a quality tune and features a spectacular guitar duet between Jones and Leonard. Shame they couldn't have replaced Intro and Exit with another song up to the overall standards of the album but for a band whose forte was always on stage (check out the number of live albums they've made) this is probably their most successful studio album, certainly in terms of production and song quality. For the uninitiated this is a really good place to start, though it gives little indication of what they sounded like live (they rarely played any of these songs on stage) or on their earlier and more exploratory studio albums. It's just a really good mid-70s mainstream rock album
Man recorded a few exellent albums between 1969 - 1975, but this one has always been my favorite. Deke Leonard is back after a short solo venture, and this is an important step for the band since he is the best songwriter in the ever changing lineup. But one schould not discredit Mickey Jones songwriting either, and on the second side of the original album his skills comes through!! If you only want to invest in one Man album, let this one be your choice.
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