TAKING IT LIKE A MAN

This is an EP of the first single released in America for No-man. This song is a good example of No-man's dance music, before they moved on to the more lush sounds that were much better. 'Taking It Like A Man' is definitely a club house song, and at times it can be hard to believe that Steven Wilson and Tim Bowness were involved with this, but the vocals are unmistakably Tim's, airy and excellent. But not much here sounds like anything Steven Wilson has done that most of us are familiar with.

The EP starts with the 7' edit of the track and it definitely sounds radio friendly and danceable. The song fades out over 2 minutes early, but was trimmed for radio airplay. This is followed by an edited remix of the song (the Budda-Pic remix done by Teri Bristol and Marc Pichotti), which has additional keyboards added in, plus a more dance-friendly vibe. The additional keyboards are performed by Dave Sears. After this you get the original version of the track as it appeared on the U.S. edition of the album 'Loveblows and Lovecries', but it was only on that edition even though it was recorded at the same time as that album. It is just like an extended version with more instrumentals, which is mostly automated beats and electronics. The last version on this EP is the Budda-Pic Vocal Remix in it's full version. It's definitely got the rave up sound, or modern disco if you will. The remixes were commissioned by Epic, the record label, without any input from No-man.

The 12' single goes further by adding 3 more club remixes of the track. Thank goodness these were left off of the EP. The EP, however, does have 2 other tracks which are completely different songs. 'Housekeeping' is another track from 'Loveblows and Lovecries' and isn't quite so automated sounding, but is still an upbeat and danceable track. It does sound a bit more like later No-man tracks, more mature sounding, but a bit repetitive in the rhythm section, but there are places where it drops out for a nice piano led section. There is a heavier section during the 2nd instrumental break that grows more chaotic, but soon breaks down to the regular rhythmic sound again. 'Long Day Fall' is the last track on the EP, but was left off of the 12' single. This track was previously available on the 'Only Baby' single/EP and features the third No-man member Ben Coleman on violin. This has a long introduction which is led by the violin and a bit of synthesizer. The music has more in common with their later music, soft, lush and airy, but the melody isn't quite as interesting as some of their later work. This track is the hardest one to fine elsewhere and is the only real reason why you would want to get this EP, unless you are a completionist. Nevertheless, it is a nice track.

Since this EP is mostly obsolete, it really isn't worth searching for. You would be better off looking for one of their early collections or for the Loveblows and Lovecries album if you are interested in their early dance music to satisfy your curiosity about what Wilson's dance music would sound like, but only fans or completionists would be interested in this EP.