Plain and Fancy: 05/03/25

Saturday, May 3, 2025

Man - Back Into The Future (1973 uk, astonishing jam prog rock, 2008 three disc box set remaster)

Man's 1973 album, Back Into The Future was the follow-up to the highly successful Be Good To Yourself At Least Once A Day and, unsurprisingly, featured a change in line-up with Clive John having left after becoming fed up of life on the road. That left Micky Jones, Phil Ryan, Terry Williams and Will Youatt to write and start recording the new album. However, before recording had been completed Tweke Lewis, a 19-year-old guitar prodigy fresh out of the ranks of Wild Turkey had joined the ranks. After a hectic two-week writing session at Clearwell Castle hampered by a BBC film crew recording a documentary, the band started recording at Rockfield Studios in late May 1973, finishing off at Chipping Norton Studios in July were new boy Lewis added some overdubs. Between the two recording sessions the band hit the road again for the Up For The Day tour, supported by none other than old accomplice Deke Leonard. One of the concerts, at the Roundhouse in London, was recorded and at the last moment the record company decided to supplement the new studio recordings with highlights from the live performance. But more of that later.

The studio side of Back Into The Future displays a somewhat funkier and more playful band than on previous releases. Opener A Night In Dad's Bag featuring a percussive 7/8 beat, was overlaid with a multitude of sound effects, mostly supplied by Ryan's keyboards. Phil Ryan also dominates the opening to Just For You which turns into a veritable funk fest with wah wah guitars and a toe-tapping beat. The title track features a more traditional Man sound with Micky's driving guitar and soaring vocal harmonies. Probably the most instantly likeable Man song in the band's repertoire, it's only drawback is the rather weak ending with rather misplaced synth sounds overlaid until the fade out. Don't Go Away is the album's ballad and a powerful track it turns out to be as well. The piano and acoustic guitar intro blend perfectly morphing into electric guitar and keyboards that play in harmony rather than fighting against each other. Jones playing is perfect and the tight harmonies are perfect for the song, despite wavering slightly!

Ain't Their Fight, the only studio track to feature Lewis, in retrospect sums up the internal conflicts that were plaguing the band at the time with the guitar driven approach of Jones combating with the more jazzier approach of Ryan's keyboards. It stands as a fascinating battle between the two adversaries with Jones emerging slightly ahead, particularly on the close-out where the stereo panned twin guitars dominating the keyboards which are pushed slightly further back in the mix as well. Final track, the bizarrely titled Never Say Nups to Nepalese, is a tour de force instrumental that rounds the studio album off in style. A superb group effort and an essential for any Man fan.

Whilst researching the master tapes for bonus tracks for this reissue, the original 16-track masters for the Roundhouse concert were uncovered and it was decided that they would make a great addition to the re-release. Even though three of the tracks are included on the CD of the original album, they are also included on the bonus discs in their original set positions, so the whole concert can be enjoyed as it was played on the night! The concert opens with the Gwalia Male Voice Choir singing Sopspan Fach, the anthem of Llanelli. The choir had first appeared with Man when they supported Frank Zappa at the Oval the previous year and provided a unique, if somewhat surprising for the audience, introduction to the concert. A Night In Dad's Bag is somewhat tighter and less funky that the studio version while the opening to C'Mon gives Hawkwind a run for their money in the space rock stakes. Lewis, in only his third gig with the band performs admirably and the choir are reintroduced in the middle section which really beefs things up and provides a great version of this classic song. Just For You benefits from an extended jam and some particularly tight drumming by Williams while Jam Up Jelly Tight \ Oh No Not Again (Spunk Rock '73) is exactly what the title says it is, a superior jam based around the classic, and often epic, piece from a few years previous.

The second bonus CD concludes the concert with three more extended numbers, an energetic Bananas with some tasty flourishes from both Ryan and Jones, Life On The Road which is somewhat different from the live version that appeared on the Christmas At The Patti album some months earlier and the encore Ain't Their Fight. This latter track comes into its own live, with the two guitars and the keyboards duelling it out and providing a rousing end to the show. Two further bonus tracks are also included, a putative single recorded in August 1973 that was never released, although it is believed that some acetates were pressed. I'm Dreaming, which was later rewritten and performed as 'Breaking Up Once Again', would have made an unusual choice as a single, particularly as an edited version of Back Into The Future would have been a much more commercial proposition. Having said that, the riff is quite catchy despite the vocals sounding a bit rough around the edges. The whole thing has more of a demo feel than a completed and polished track. On the other hand The Symbol Who Came To Dinner is a great 'lost' song and would have made a great addition to the album if it had been written and recorded a few months earlier.

This reissue of Back Into The Future is a loving testament to the Welsh wizards who seem to have spent most of their career underappreciated. The presentation of the box set is immaculate and is an essential purchase for anyone who has ever heard and enjoyed this album, it even makes a great place to start a Man collection as the uninitiated will get a flavour of what the band are all about both in the studio and on stage. A fine album, a great band and a brilliant reissue.

by Mark Hughes