“This is a song written about the destructiveness of Propaganda and the importance of truth."
- Ray Wilson
Released in November 2008 on Ray’s official site and went available in retail stores in Spring 2009, “Propaganda Man” was a perfect crossroad between Ray's rocker side and his famous acoustic soul, besides being the non-obvious follow-up to his Stiltskin’s album “She” (2006) and the first “solo” record of original material in 4 years (“The Next Best Thing” was released in 2004). The album was something urgent for Ray: after the stressful period because of the “She” promotion - with touring and managing all the logistic, the team and the financial aspects at a higher level - and a very emotional moment in his personal and private life (“Bless Me” could well explain), Ray needed to stay far from everything, getting back to his guitar, and isolating himself writing and recording with no-one around at home. For the fans expecting a rocky “She” successor, the resulting album was a totally different thing, much more closer to album like “Change” or “The Next Best Thing”, and very acoustic rock oriented. And while tracks like “The Brakes Are Gone” or “Razorlite” remained very similar to the earlier versions played live during Spring 2008 as a preview of at the time still untitled forthcoming new album, the main song, “Propaganda Man”, has a different story.
The title track of the album was presented live in a sort of work-in-progress advance version, some weeks prior its official release during some European acoustic shows in September 2008: then split into two parts on the album (first two verses as the main track, with a alternative rock arrangement, very Massive Attack inspired, and the last verse separated as a reprise called “More Propaganda”, much more similar to the acoustic version played during tours), the song “Propaganda Man” has become one of the most favorite and popular moment in Ray’s setlist throughout the years, thanking the constant evolution of its live presentations. When played live these days, as one unique title including all the verses, the song mixes the initial acoustic folkish up-tempo tune with a complete new rock production, often lasting more than 8 minutes, and embellished by the now famous Ali Ferguson's long guitar solo, full of Gilmour and Knopfler's styles reminders. A perfect example of this amazing rendition could be heard in the great double live album “Time & Distance” (2017).
Credits:
📌 Music + Lyrics by Ray Wilson
📌 Live Version performed by:
RayWilson | Lead Vocals + Acoustic Guitar
Steve Wilson | Electric Guitar + Backing Vocals
Ali Ferguson | Lead Guitar
Michał Łyczek | Piano + Keyboards
Lawrie Macmillan | Bass Guitar
Marcin Kajper | Saxophone + Flute + Clarinet
Mario Koszel | Drums
Uwe Metzler | Acoustic Guitar
Alicja Chrząszcz | Violin
📌 Audio recorded live at The Markthalle | Hamburg | April 29th 2016 by Lukasz Koput and mixed + mastered by Yogi Lang at Farmstudios
📌 Lyrics Video by Luca Blukaos Biondi
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