NO-MAN

Underrated falls short; considering so many virtues. This Masterpiece has been going around since 1994. Featuring an *All-Star lineup, which actually works out as such. No gaps or expendable cuts. You will be turned on from start to finish. (Remastered version adds up some uneditted outtakes) I certainly will not describe a track by track review, but rest assure that each composition fits perfectly one before, an after the other, the feeling in general as most of No Man works is conceptual (unrequited and lost loves in this one), but this concept is so well threaded, that I was caught by far by the astounding variety of musical languages and last but not least: Composition; what really makes any kind of music go beyond the limits of an audience. This work has encountered somewhat of a rejection among die-hard progheads, because its blatant use off Pop-Music; but well explained by Tim himself: "Timeless Pop music". But well; thank the Gods this guys have a very deep and odd understanding of what Pop is. An timeless oh yesss!!! very much. Don´t miss this work!!

*Lisa Gerrard´s involvement is reduced to some loops,but she was so thrilled by the result that she allowed her name to appear in the guest-list.

A Masterpiece. 5 stars without blinking.

EP release from 2003 by No-Man. Contains just about 20 minutes of music and features Stephen Wilson of Porcupine Tree and Tim Bowness. Unfortunately, this does not excite me in the same way as Porcupine Tree or even Blackfield. I am more of a fan of the harder Steven Wilson tracks and when he gets mellow I tend to tune out too easy, with few exceptions. This is a good release but not a great release. It will not be often played in my house, I am sad to say. Having heard it once or twice I need it no more. 3 stars.

It's one of my favorite album of the band, the 5.1 mix is great. The highlights: True north 5/5, Song of the surf 4.5/5 solid songs: All sweet things, Pigeon drummer and wherever ther is light 4/5 medium: beautiful song and mixtaped(chich could have been a good song if there would have been more energy or a solo guitar in the first bridge where clearly nothing happens, a good sond live though) 3/5 letdown: streaming 1/5 (the music is ok but the way bowens sings and the lyrics doesn't fit with the rest of the album, and well I would not like that song on its own anyway)

So I'll give a final rating of 4/5 to this album.

Mix Taped is a 2 dvd box wich contains a 2008 concert in the 1st dvd and a docmentary + extras on the second. I will start withafew words about the second dvd first: the video clips are quite interesting, and funny in the eighties style plus you can see a very long haired wilson with a long curlly haired bowness, it has dated a lot but that's pretty much what makes these videos special now, There 's also 2 animation clip, the first is one of their oldest song and the other one is a video of when you were beautiful, both nice. The documentary is also very interesting, and complete. And you can also notice the weird wilson of the early eighties who looked almost like like Boy Georges lol my rate: 4/5

Now the concert: Well Ii have mixed feelings about it, there 's some good stuff: coleman and wilson, good arrangements on songs and great moments as with lighthouse, but I would not have chosen those songs with these musicians. I mean that on songs like truenorth i excpected wind instruments for exemple, and on Things Change I expected a good drummer, lol I'm mean because it also comes from the mix which cruelly lacks of dynamics on drums, the synthetiser in not great either. It' s a quite good performance overall, but not a great one. I also found Tim Bowness sometimes ahem how to say that...painful to see, He is a good singer even if I think he is sometimes too much melo, but I definatetly don't like his style on stage, he looks somewhat snobbish. There 's also bonus song with the photo gallery. my rate for dvd 1 is 3/5

Sweet EP!

Melancholy, heaven, sadness, charm, tranquility, etc., are words that come to my mind everytime I listen to No-Man, that Bowness/Wilson project that easily makes an effect on the listener, increasing their sensibility and expanding their senses (at least that happens to me). No-Man is one of those bands that I can listen no matter my mood, it is my partner when I am sad, tense, enthusiastic or even happy, that is one of the things I love of them.

When I listened to "Wherever there is Light" (the song) I immediately fell in love with it, which is why I wanted to get their EP with the same name. Released in 2009, it features five songs, three of them are actually unreleased tracks, while the last two are live versions of past songs. Here we will have 25 minutes of wonderful No-Man music.

Starting with the titled track, I cannot ask for more, I don't really know if the effect that this song had with me had something to do with my personal situation at that time, because it may not be the most elaborated composition, but emotionally it really moves me, and I truly believe is one of the touchiest No-Man songs ever, and I dare say, one of their best. It is simply beautiful, and enchanting, the piano and the atmosphere is brilliant, and that along with Bowness voice makes it very special; worth mentioning also the flute sound added by Theo Travis.

"Death was California" has a nice acoustic guitar, a calm rhythm and again a beautiful sound. One can be resting, lying in the bed and letting the music do the rest. It takes away your tension and makes the moment wonderful. "Counting" has a constant percussion sound as background, later new electronic noises are added and are repeated time after time, the guitars sound very delicate but they are also present all the time, just as Tim's voice charms us once again. The surprise here is that the melancholic sound ends after two minutes when a tense and dark atmosphere appears, with great guitars and without the voice. Here we could appreciate two faces of No-Man in one single track, another great thing!

"Carolina Skeletons" is the first live track included here, this is a song released for the album "Returning Jesus" , this live performance is better than the studio version, with a couple of minutes more of music and with a great violin and guitar playing on stage. The last track is "All the Blue Changes" which I would really like to witness someday in a concert. Bowness and the musicians really connect each other and create a wonderful atmosphere, an ecstasy that the audience surely felt and loved.

This is an excellent EP. I like the decision of combining those three studio tracks with the final two live ones, and well, the title track simply kills me. My personal grade would be four stars, but I believe that objectively it deserves three stars.

Enjoy it!

Returning Jesus -- No-Man

Returning Jesus is the epitome of an atmospheric, beautiful album. Tim Bowness and Steven Wilson have truly created a work of art with this album.

Returning Jesus is a very melancholic work, yet full of brilliant and shimmering instrumentation. Clearly inspired by cool jazz, ambient music and also chamber music, this album has somewhat of a stripped down sound, while still staying pretty atmospheric in nature. While those two terms (stripped-down, atmospheric) may sound contrasting, in terms of this album, they really aren't. Bowness' vocals haven't changed much, maybe a little more breathy and personal. The guitarring of Steven Wilson is just as creative as it always is, and compliments Bowness' vocals quite nicely. A common guest of Steven and Tim's, Theo Travis, among a handful of others, makes an appearance on this album. His presence is always welcome, in my opinion, as he is a great flautist and saxophonist, adding that wonderful jazz sound to this mix.

This is an excellent album. The only downside is that some pieces seem to drift on for a little longer than I feel they should, though this isn't always a negative thing. An excellent album overall and highly recommended for fans of Steven Wilson and Tim Bowness, as well as those with affinities for cool jazz-influenced rock and chamber music.

4 Stars.

Fog is a beautiful thing.

Tim Bowness vocal style is closer to reading poetry than singing as you might typically know it, but you have to admire what a prolific lyricist he is. Sometimes reminds me of Pete Sinfield.

One of the songs that made the biggest impression on me is Pigeon Drummer. Almost out of context for this album. They really went heavy on that one and I guess if you take 'Schoolyard Ghosts' as a theme, this is the bully. The rest of the album is a more mellow affair.

Some beautiful songs you might want to get to know.

Beautiful Songs You Should Know?

After waiting 5 years for the boys from Britain to follow up their 2003 gem of music, Schoolyard Ghosts delivers what fans were waiting for on many fronts. First and foremost, new no-man material is here, and as expected, this marks another stylistic change for no-man, opting for darker, piano led ballads with a much more song based structure. The music here is, as mentioned, darker and less optimistic than many previous no-man releases, although one the fans (and newcomers, as I was when I grabbed this album) might just like.

The album is incredibly slow moving and has an an air of hopelesness and depression surrounding each composition. The combination is surprisingly different, combining the noise elements of their previous releases like Wild Opera, the piano/vocal intimacy of Returning Jesus, and the instrumental array of Together We're Stranger. As a unique mixture, this works quite well in many places, such as the killer track on the album Truenorth, a 12 minute movement featuring several mini-compositions of raw beauty, and the small poppy ballad Wherever There Is Light, although is less successful on some of the other tracks, namely Song Of The Surf and Beautiful Songs You Should Know. The real winner on this album, in this reviewer's humble opinion, is the array of other instrumentation used. The tribal drums, the string sections, the flute solos, the violin fills - they all make this album what it is, beautiful modern music.

The music can create a dense range of atmosphere - the pounding Pigeon Drummer immediately brings up a sense of fear, horror and uneasiness, Wherever There Is Light creates a lonely nostalgia and hopelessly in love feel, Mixtape can make the most positive of moods drop into a pessimistic pit. Regardless of the emotion, this album can almost definitely make you feel it.

As with the other no-man albums, this is best enjoyed alone, appropriately loud and with full focus. The 5.1 master is brilliant here, and as many other albums do, best works in surround.

4/5 for this one; incredibly excited for what no-man put out next, and if past behaviour is any indication of the future, it will continue to be filled with wonderful, melancholic works of dream-pop, trip hop and ambient.

Pure beauty transposed into music, pure and simple.

As an album, Together We're Stranger is just that - a collection of truly beautiful music transposed into one disc. On this album of wonderful ambient pop, Bowness and Wilson truly solidify their legacy as no-man, creating just under 50 minutes of sonic wonder. The truly commendable effort of Wilson, tackling a majority of the instrumentation, creates some of the most dense and explorative atmospherics to ever grace my ears, and Bowness' dramatic, dulcet tones, although not everyone's favourite vocal style, match this music perfectly, and pull at the heart strings like very few other albums ever have, or ever will.

The music is mostly soundscape/synthesizer based and has a wonderful lyric set, which mostly seems to confront relationship issues, the loss of loved ones and other facts of life, love and loss. The soundscapes, guitar, banjo, clarinet, strings and vocal work here is unlike any other no-man album (or any other album for that matter) - incredible creativity and imagination is at work here, creating unheard of tones. This is an album best enjoyed on a walk at night, or in one's room alone - put simply, this is not upbeat music in any real shape or form, and features very few pop sensibilities like many of no-man's other works.

The album opens with soft synth on the title track, Wilson awaiting Bowness' vocal input later on in the track. A soaring guitar solo cuts amongst the ambient work here, and the result is truly perfect. Other tracks like All The Blue Changes feature a more definite rhythm, and this movement between structured, beat based music comes in and out of the picture. The spacey, open wide sound returns with Things I Want To Tell You, a maze of haunting vocals, incredibly sad yet beautiful lyrics, plucked guitar and mellotron, which is very easily one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever conceived, recorded or heard. Photographs In Black And White features a sound more similar to the earlier, poppier no-man works, although closes in an incredibly dark fashion. Back When You Were Beautiful is the albums more obvious ballad, but is still brilliant none the less. This melancholic little ditty features some of the most beautiful guitar and vocal interplay I've ever heard, and ranks highly amongst my favourite Wilson releases. The closer, The Break-Up For Real, has a much more harsh, raw sound, although is still absolutely beautiful, and brings this tear-jerker to an end.

As a pop music, ambient lover, or Wilson aficionado, you HAVE to hear this album. As such a curiosity in their discography, it is surprising to see this album receive the band's most critical acclaim, although incredibly well deserved. It is worth mentioning the sonic quality on the 24 bit master, available on the DVD portion of the CD/DVD version, blows the CD's out of the water for sonic fidelity, which is an important factor on this album. Regardless of how, this album MUST be heard!

An easy masterpiece.

Is No Man psychedelic space rock?

I don t think so...it is more ambient space rock, eclectic space rock.

What distinguish No Man is the melancholia ,the ballad tunes ,more than something hard.

When i knew about this apparition i was so happy.....but

Well sound mastering and video art excellent..this is a very good quality product...but..

I missed more melancholia..and i didn t like the sounding of instruments.

Why the keyboards and drums so silent ...there is a lack of passion there. Violin well , Bownes fantastic...

But why Steven Wilson tries so much to show this group belongs to him?

I really didn t like at all SW guitar participation...why so loud? ¿was this a Porcupine Tree concert ...did SW try so?

Too much hard rock sometimes with a disproportionated participation of loudness in the artists.

I quite liked the selection of songs...but the interpretation not so much.

A little disappointed.