Man is a psychedelic and progressive rock first formed in Wales in late 1968 from the ashes of another group known as the Bystanders. The group’s initial run under the name of Man lasted until 1976, at which time the individual band members pursued other projects and solo albums, often with other members of Man. In 1983, the band got back together with most of the longstanding members from their initial run. Man has released a number of albums over the years, and has done so as recently as 2019. This album, 2 Ozs of Plastic with a Hold in the Middle (1969), was the group’s second release. According to the Wikipedia page for this album, the style is a mixture of psychedelic rock, progressive rock, and hard rock. I’m pretty stoked to give this album a listen, so with that said, I’m going to jump on into the music.
“Prelude / The Storm” begins with a low, rumbling drum, and is soon joined by the crashing of cymbals and a mixture of organs and haunting background vocals that sound like a combination of wind and eerie screams; the sound at the beginning almost sounds like a storm in the beginning of a horror movie that prevents an unsuspecting family from leaving a haunted house. Oh wow, the piano melody comes in with some really sweet flavors, and the overall sound becomes the sound of clear skies after the haunted storm passes. Oh wow, the mixture of sounds is almost like some sort of beach in space, and reminds me a lot of both Hawkwind and Gong. It’s almost creating a sound that feels like a UFO is gradually approaching you while you’re enjoying a pleasant afternoon at the beach. The tune is gradually being taken deeper into psychedelic territory as the sound effects become more apparent and whatever melody has been restructured into spacey sounds; it’s almost like the Grateful Dead’s “Dark Star” meets the space section of their live shows meets Hawkwind and Gong.
I’m really digging this track so far. Oh wow, the spacey sounds fade away and a very gentle, sweet acoustic guitar comes in. The guitar is soon joined by an electric instrument of some sort, either a guitar or a synth/keyboard. Oh wow, the soundscape becomes quite structured as the beat keeps a groovy tempo, and some sweet vocals fade in and out. Holy smokes, the tune takes another eerie turn for a moment as the instruments and vocal pick up a haunted feeling. I really dig the organs that come swirling in with the haunted feeling, which seems to signal the tune back to the sweet section just prior to the haunting sounds. Holy smokes, the soundscape has evolved into some sort of space folk, with some woodwinds invite you further into the music, while some warm electric guitar and bass guitar put you at ease, and the seagull sound effects and crashing cymbals seem to relocate you back to the beach. Wow, great track, and I’m excited to hear more.
“It Is as It Must Be” begins with some really groovy, distorted guitar, some distant, airy rolls of the drums, and then a harmonica and another guitar that bring the tune further into psychedelic territory. Wow, this track is super groovy so far. I really dig the change-up to heavier flavors with the distortion and riffing, while the harmonica brings a more traditional blues rock or even folk rock feel to the track. Oh wow, the vocals come in with a ton of energy. Holy smokes, the tune lays back into itself in a really groovy manner, and seems to naturally let more momentum build up as they continue grooving on. Oh wow, the track gets into a bit of a psychedelic blues jam with the guitar and the harmonica. This is super sweet. Oh wow, the track picks up a ton of steam and evolves into a really groovy psychedelic blues track reminiscent of Cream playing “Crossroads”. Oh wow, the harmonica comes back and the extended jams and different movements from within the tune seem to tie together nearly effortlessly. Oh wow, the band feels almost like they’re landing a psychedelic aircraft of some sort as they pull the tune together. Awesome track.
“Spunk Box” starts out with some really groovy flavors in the guitar and organs that set a tone that reminds me of other psychedelic progressive rock bands from the same time period. Oh wow, the drums and bass really get the tune grooving along nicely, and then the guitars start to pick up some far-out spacey effects reminiscent of the first track from the album. Holy smokes, the vocals come in and suddenly the band sounds like a strange Led Zeppelin in space with the vocals reminding me of Robert Plant and the hard rock flavors in the guitar, and I’m digging it. Holy smokes, the piano that comes in as the tune seems to be coming to an end accentuates the grooves really well. Wow, great track.
“My Name Is Jesus Smith” starts out with some groovy guitar work that feel like they’re pulled out of some sort of surf-inflected psychedelic rock track from a Los Angeles area band of the time period, and I’m really digging it. Holy smokes, the bass guitar comes in with a massive tone, and is soon accompanied by some rollicking piano reminiscent of classic rock and roll and blues rock. Oh wow, the guitar work keeps building on itself and the other instruments really nicely. I’m sort of reminded the rock and roll stylings of Tim Buckley’s later work. Oh wow, the tune enters a different movement as the tune comes to an end, changing things up a ton and almost bringing in southern rock and country flavors to the track, which are especially prevalent with the twang in the vocals in the final line of the track. Awesome tune.
“Parchment Candles” begins with some organs and harpsichord that set a sort of moody, ominous baroque tone for the track. Oh wow, the guitar comes in and seems to provide some sort of psychedelic echo to the organs and harpsichord, while a simple-sounding beat keeps the tempo in the track. I really dig the Gregorian chants in the background, which really tie together the somewhat medieval feel in the tune. Great track.
“Brother Arnold’s Red and White Striped Tent” begins with some scratching of some quick, distorted guitar chops, and soon some organs and a groovy beat join in to create a soundscape that walks the line between blues rock and psychedelic prog rock. Oh wow, the tune picks up a sort of jazz-fusion inclination for a moment, and then the tune seems to groove into some classic psychedelic blues rock sounds with the strong backbeat, swirling organs, and some bluesy distorted guitar chops. Oh wow, the tune seems to come to a sort of prog crescendo as the tune wraps up. Wow, great track, and a great way to end the album.
Holy smokes, this album was pretty sweet. I’ve already started looking at prices on Discogs, where VG+ copies run around $60 after shipping. The album contained an impressive array of different flavors relating to psychedelic prog rock, including classic rock and roll flavors, blues rock, space rock, and even folk rock at times. If you’re into psychedelic prog rock from the late 1960s and/or enjoy far out mixtures of different flavors of psychedelic rock, then you might want to consider checking out this album. If you do decide to give this album a listen, I sincerely do hope that you enjoy the listening experience at least as much as I did.
-A