Friday the 13th was the first new release following Man's 1983 reunion, and was recorded live at the London Marquee on, indeed, Friday the 13th of June, before a crowd that knew the songs as well as the band itself. Certainly there's no shortage of old favorites here, and the opening "C'mon" is... [+] Expand

Friday the 13th was the first new release following Man's 1983 reunion, and was recorded live at the London Marquee on, indeed, Friday the 13th of June, before a crowd that knew the songs as well as the band itself. Certainly there's no shortage of old favorites here, and the opening "C'mon" is barely seconds' old before the time machine has whisked you back, and the last ten years might never have happened. True, there's one strange face on the stage -- drummer John Weathers. But the key axis of Deke Leonard, Martin Ace, and Micky Jones blazes around him, and there's not a dull moment to be heard. What does seem strange here is the absence of any of the band's trademark, 15-minute workouts -- the longest songs clock in at barely half that, which means that just where "classic" Man would have started pulling out the stops, the new crew are beginning to wind down. But there's a sharp beauty to this brevity all the same, and though Friday the 13th will never rank among the greatest Man live albums ever, at least it lets fans know that they were back. And that was good news as well. ~ Dave Thompson, All Music Guide [-] Collapse

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