Colin Hay has managed that rare pivot, segueing nearly seamlessly from 1980s New Wave One-Hit-Wonder status (though admittedly, Men At Work had several hits) to being a prolific solo artist, writing some of the best songs of his career decades later.
In 2003, he put out Man @ Work, a career retrospective of both his time as frontman of Men At Work as well as his solo catalogue up to that date. The record eschewed the predictable ‘best of’ route – simply re-releasing his old music in new packaging. Instead, while some of those songs were the same, he reworked many of the classic songs acoustically, completely reinventing many of them, as well as offering remixed and revised versions of other songs.
More than two decades later, he offers a follow-up with Man @ Work 2. This time around, all songs have been reworked, and the bulk are pulled from his solo catalog. There is even a new song here, “We The People,” that was penned in reaction to the polarization of the most recent presidential election. It’s a decent enough song, but not nearly as compelling as the opening track, “Into My Life” off of Hay’s first solo effort. There is also a fun version of the old Men At Work track, “Blue For You,” this time with a more reggae-infused vibe. Another pre-solo career song, “Catch A Star” also gets the reggae treatment. “Come Tumblin’ Down,” originally released in 2017, sounds even better in this reworked version. The same can be said of the more stripped-down version of “Oh California” here.
After the breakup of the original Men At Work lineup in 1986, Hay quickly pivoted to his solo career, but in the decades since, he has struck a nice balance of still paying homage to Men At Work – sometimes touring with a new band under that moniker and exclusively playing Men At Work songs. But he has incorporated many of his old band’s songs into his solo sets, though reworked acoustic numbers more akin to his current output (and if you doubt just how good this can be, check out his reworked version of “Overkill.” It’s stunningly beautiful). Man @ Work 2 perfectly typifies the balance that Hay treats his early work with his newer solo career.
