Man’s Micky Jones 1946-2010 R.I.P.

Virtuoso musician, beloved by rock fans everywhere, could make the guitar talk.

By Fred Mills

Guitarist Micky Jones of the legendary Welsh psychedelic band Man, passed away late last week (reportedly on Wednesday, March 10, or Thursday, March 11) following a lengthy battle with brain cancer. He was 63.

Here in the States, Man's profile was relatively low, although anyone who came up during the ‘70s reading rock mags like Trouser Press, Phonograph Record Magazine, BAM and even the occasional imported copy of Melody Maker  or NME surely knew the band - and possibly, like myself, pledged eternal allegiance as well. A string of classic albums on the UA label yielded endless pleasure for fans of full-on hemp-fueled guitar rock; not for nothing was Man consider the Grateful Dead of the British Isles, and it's significant that no less a West Coast psychedelic avatar than Quicksilver Messenger Service's John Cipollina not only gave Man his blessing, he embraced them wholeheartedly as musical brethren by sitting in with them in 1975 for the great live Man album Maximum Darkness.

To those in the know, Man was the quintessential jamband decades before the term "jamband" was even coined. Their 10, 15, 20-minute and even longer excursions into cosmic freefall remain the stuff that old-timers love to tell their grandkids about, and anybody who saw them in the early/mid ‘70s during their initial artistic peak can count themselves among the lucky ones.

A solid, concise history of the band penned by ultimate Manfan (and latterday producer of the band) Ron Sanchez can be found at Jones' MySpace page, while a more detailed history of Jones himself and his career can be found at Jones' official website. Additionally, BLURT's own Rev. Keith Gordon has an outstanding review of a 2008 concert DVD that was released chronicling a '76 Man performance - check it out here.

 Obviously, this isn't the kind of passing that will be marked by all the hipster media - Pitchfork, Brooklyn Vegan, Pop Matters, et al - since hirsute, jammy outfits from the ‘60s and ‘70s never pass into hipster "cool" unless they get the belated blessings of, I dunno, Beck, Devendra Banhart or Animal Collective. Which is sad, but understandable. I'd hope that anyone reading this will follow some of the links and discover the band anew: seriously, they could rock like motherfuckers, and Jones in particular was a guiding light for guitar fans everywhere.

Jones was right there in the middle of the rawk  scene back in the day. He initially formed the beat combo The Bystanders in the mid ‘60s, which evolved into Man circa 1968 in response to the growing psychedelic movement. It was good timing, for while the group's early recordings didn't set the world on fire, within a few years Man was at the forefront of the UK freak scene; to this day, perennial Man band anthem "Spunk Rock" has the capacity to transport listeners to alternate dimensions. According to Sanchez:

"Right from the start it was clear Mick was a guitarist of amazing skills and originality. He also possessed a distinctive soulful voice. Micky's father had played Hawaiian lap steel guitar and had inspired the young George Jones to pick up the guitar himself. Like most of his generation, Micky was well schooled in American rock and roll. The mid 60's saw a growing interest in West Coast sounds. From talking to Mick, it was clear people like Jerry Garcia, Steve Miller, Cipollina, Zappa, and Zoot Horn Rollo were the big influences. The resulting sound that Micky produced was highly original, fluid, and sometimes aggressive. You could always expect some serious fretboard explorations when he stepped up to solo. The version of ‘Spunk Rock' from the Greasy Truckers live album is often cited as one of his landmark performances."

Man had its ups and downs, including periods of break-up and reunions, but by the mid ‘90s they were back in full force, recording and touring regularly. Around 2002, however, Jones was diagnosed with brain cancer, so his son George took his place in the band - later, Jones returned to make it a father-son team! Sadly, it was not to last, and the illness returned. Jones spent the last few years of his life in a nursing home.

In a report about Jones' death by the BBC, veteran journalist Michael Heatley is quoted as saying, "Man were a live band. People would go and see them because they knew that the live performance was going to be much better than the record. Micky was a fantastic improvisational guitarist. Deke [Leonard, the band's other guitarist] would create the outline and Micky would "fill in the bits". The thing that kept people coming back was the he could make the guitar talk."

Amen to that. He will be deeply missed.