‘The Man’s Machine’ was the third and final single from Jamie T’s second album, Kings & Queens. It was the last commercial release of his for a while. After promotion for that album died down, he sort of disappeared for a few years before returning with a new album in 2014. Admittedly, after really liking his debut album, I didn’t feel the same about ‘Sticks ‘n’ Stones’ or ‘Chaka Demus’ that much, so I didn’t give Kings & Queens that much chance. Maybe I’ll listen to it in full one day. The video for ‘The Man’s Machine’ started showing on MTV2 though. And after hearing that many times in the morning while getting ready for school, I couldn’t forget about the song very easily.

So what’s this one about? I think it’s one of those travelling man songs. One where the narrator talks about a person who’s walked the land, seen many things and encountered situations and problems that he’s learned from in order to make themselves a better person. I can’t think of an example of those types of songs, but I’m sure there’s one out there somewhere. I think the track also touches upon the fragility of life and how there are always better times ahead. Jamie T flows nicely over the top of the instrumental track which is a cool hybrid of hip-hop, punk rock and reggae. It’s just a good marriage of vocals and production.

The version used for the music video was cut down just a bit to make it suitable for the radio. The album includes a longer introduction. Taking samples of ‘Kids on the Street’ and ‘You’re Nicked’ from Angelic Upstarts Live, the song’s given this ‘live onstage banter’ effect to set the mood before it actually begins. In fact, if you listen to that whole Upstarts album you’ll hear a lot of noises that appear in ‘The Man’s Machine’. Anyway, both versions are on this page so you can witness the differences.