Huge No-Man set gathers up a sweep of early days, the formative years of albums and curios.

Release Date: 26th January 2024

Label: One Little Independent Records

Format: 5CD box set

Housekeeping is a comprehensive remastered collection of No-Man’s output for the OLI label between 1990-1994. One that records the emergence of the soon-to-be, weel known firm of Bowness, Wilson & Coleman, soon to reshape with Tim Bowness and Steven Wilson plus a contact book with some seriously solid names such as Richard barbieri and Mick Karn of Japan and some guy called Fripp.

The band released two albums and series of singles on the OLI label which at the time generated rave reviews (Singles Of The Week in Melody Maker, Sounds, and Hot Press) and opened up a series of opportunities for radio/TV play aplenty (BBC Radio One sessions/playlist, appearances on MTV, Channel Four and ITV1).

Bowness and Wilson’s later escapades bore fruit in the form of Schoolyard Ghosts and Together We’re Stranger and for a time it seemed No-Man were the band Porcupine Tree would become. Or as Partridge might say: “Porcupine Tree. Only the band that No-Man might have been.”

For a real, in-depth, almost track-by-track analysis, check out Mr Kinski’s Music Shack review, who like us, adopts the philosophy of reviewing only music that he loves, so we’re happy to give a plug. However, perhaps it’s only fair to state the importance of the Ben Coleman factor in these earlier years and high profile of his violin playing while also noting the key elements of the No-Man sound that’s still evident in their most recent work; such is the range of No-Man -that’s recently been tapped into with the moods and the electronics and disco thud of the most recent Love You To Bits.

The first album, Loveblows & Lovecries traces the roots of the later sophistication, with more of an electronic influence, a dance direction and with Ben Coleman casting his violin textures. The latter is the first sound before a bouncing beat kicks in. Tim Bowness singing “love, love me…” possibly inspired by the soundtrack into a Donna Summer husky sexiness and we know what an influence she and the Giorgio Moroder disco hits of the seventies were. Worn on the sleeve here. Having said that, listen to the recent Love You To Bits and spot the links.

Cool vibes abound and te debt to his purpleness comes in the decidedly stark funkiness of Break Heaven, not for the only time judging on the evidence that follows. And in addition to their own influences coming to the fore on these early releases, the trademark outpouring of melancholy that largely characterises the legacy of Wilson, Bowness and No-Man is firmly established. Beautiful And Cruel has Tim crooning about waking up crying in the morning,

Heaven’s Break combines the textures and electronics, the sequencer bubbling behind a smooth and eerie wave while Tim again expounds over the top in his now familiar Garvey-esque weariness. It paves the way for the rush of Taking It Like A Man and Babyship Blue. More robust offerings where the club vibes find them hedging their bets on another possible future direction that No-Man could have taken.

The second album, Flowermouth stands at the apex of this collection and in hindsight, a high watermark in the legacy. The opening few seconds of Angel Gets Caught In The Beauty Trap never failing to trigger for me the initial thoughts of the tumbling piano of The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, although I now hear more of an Oldfield influence in the sequencer pattern.

The experimentation with textures is explored in the cool vibes of Watching Over Me and Animal Ghost where the flute dances lightly yet the closing piece is one that finds itself on loop. The warmth of the funereal chapel organ sound on Things Change – the epitome of ‘achingly beautiful’ and one that sits alongside Wilson/Porcupine Tree’s Half Light in terms of evoking an emotional response and a vision of love and loss. “I pretended, nothing you said could ever hurt,” oh my. That’s until the guitar freak out shatters the reverie. The go-to track of the set, and along with the later period Photographs In Black And White and Wherever There Is Light, it’s the most exquisitely crafted and executed piece of music. Poignancy defined.

Of no surprise is the continued vein of bubbling electronic to the fore that wouldn’t be out of place in Ibiza or a Glastonbury DJ tent. You Grow More Beautiful – very Gabrielesque opening part (Digging In The Dirt anyone?) before the lush “I look for my face in the patterns on the wall” line – might be the ideal combination of the some if not the many sides of No-Man

The singles compilation Lovesighs starts the curio gathering. Some of these have appeared on the All The Blue Changes compilation, the wildly undulating mix swings from Seventies American cop soundtrack to jazzy experimentation with the inevitable synth/sequencer/drum machine support. The intriguing Iris Murdoch Cut Me Down is an off-the-map amalgam of revered violin (think Jon Sevink of The Levellers), busy percussion that sees electronic and organic merge and a half-hidden, barely comprehensible spoken word interlude, making for a psychedelic trance option.

More in keeping is The Lovely Day In The Trees (US remix version no less…) where the violin weaves a sad refrain, Coleman making one of several telling cameo appearances that lead to Reich, Bartok, Ives, Walker, Roads; single word track titles that highlight the working practices; minimalist and experimental, two musicians prepared to push the boundaries and excited by the process of creation.

A separate Singles collection throws up several gems from all corners. The opening Ocean Song is a hook-riddled piece; nice vocal and busy guitar line plus a folky violin part (once you’ve made the Levellers connection, it’s hard to ignore, especially when we find ourselves another treasure in the single mix of Painting Paradise which mashes up the forms) floating in and out. Perfect Top Of The Pops/radio material, maybe hence the 12″ single release, but countered with the contrasting ambience of Back To The Burning Shed. The chance to offer an extended release also heralds nine minutes of Sweetheart Raw getting the experimental treatment. The two versions of Only Baby showing how the duo twisted and tweaked their arrangements, while Bleed shifts from industrial ambience to a thundering trip-hop alternative.

Perhaps not the sort of setup you’d feel would be built for radio sessions, a dozen cuts bring together sessions for Radio 1, HTN, and GLR from 92-94. Interesting may be the word as the sessions vary between the more visceral and the more stripped back. The collection finds Ocean Song straining at the bit, to break free of the rubbery bassline that’s well up in the mix for the HTN session. We get a more acoustic viewpoint for GLR, while You Grow More Beautiful gets the acoustic guitar/bongos treatment along with three more songs in an acoustic vein in the July 1994 SYN sessions that display a growing confidence.

While the careers of Bowness and Wilson followed divergent paths, they never strayed too far away from each other as musical and social companions. Their early work paved the way for further decades of groundbreaking creativity. A journey of trip-hop and dance-pop to ambient art-rock. Welcome to the phenomenon of No-Man

Here’s the sublime Things Change:

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