Mansun - Studio Albums Collection 1997-2000 (3CD)

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Mansun - Studio Albums Collection 1997-2000 (3CD)

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Arriving in the aftermath of Brit-pop, Mansun was one of the first British guitar bands to depart from the prevailing styles of the mid-'90s, leaving both light, Beatlesque pop and studied trad-rock behind. Mansun had more in common with early-'90s bands like Suede and the Manic Street Preachers, groups that stood defiantly outside of the pop spotlight, yet managed to cultivate a devoted fan base. By combining a dark, grandiose vision with the driving intensity of hard rock and the stylish swagger of New Romanticism, Mansun didn't sound a thing like their contemporaries. While their first singles earned a devoted audience, the British music press didn't focus heavily on the group, so it came as a surprise when their debut album, Attack of the Grey Lantern, debuted at number one in early 1997, knocking the long-awaited Blur comeback off the top of the charts. But by that time, Mansun had been hailed as one of the best new bands of the year, and the record was praised throughout the U.K. music press, making the group one of the most respected and popular new British groups of 1997.

Led by guitarist/vocalist Paul Draper, Mansun formed in Chester, England in the mid-'90s. Draper met Stove King (bass) at Wrexham Art College, discovering that the pair shared a fondness for new wave acts like Duran Duran and ABC, as well as Prince, Pink Floyd, and David Bowie. The pair, who worked at a photo laboratory together, met Dominic Chad (lead guitar) at a local pub he was managing. Forming under the name Grey Lantern, the trio began playing, supported by a series of drummers. After being told by an acquaintance that Grey Lantern was the worst name he had ever heard, the group changed their name to Mansun, which was a truncation of a Verve B-side "A Man Called Sun."

Early in 1996, the group released the limited-edition single "Take It Easy Chicken" on their own Sci Fi Hi Fi label, and it entered the playlist for Radio 1. Shortly afterward, Andy Rathbone became their permanent drummer. Initially, the U.K. music weeklies tagged Mansun as one of the crowd of post-Oasis, lad-rock bands, primarily because of Chad's heavy drinking and alcohol-fueled antics. Over the course of the year, the guitarist sobered up and the band released a series of singles, each more ambitious than the one before. By the end of the year, they had earned their first Melody Maker cover. In February of 1997, Mansun released their debut album Attack of the Grey Lantern on Parlophone Records. It unexpectedly entered the charts at number one, earning enthusiastic reviews in the process. Six appeared two years later; it didn't fare as well as their first album, but Mansun wowed college audiences with the title track. The band's third effort, Little Kix, did even worse, barely receiving recognition in the

States when it appeared in summer 2000. Although work began on a fourth album in spring 2002, Mansun split up in May 2003. The results of the new material appeared on the two-disc collection Kleptomania in 2004.

Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic.com

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Mansun - Studio Albums Collection 1997-2000 (3CD)

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Mansun - Studio Albums Collection 1997-2000 (3CD)

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Opening with the swirling, cinematic strings of "The Chad Who Loved Me," Mansun's debut album, Attack of the Grey Lantern, is anything but a conventional Brit-pop record. Few debut records are this assured, especially when a group is developing such an idiosyncratic, individual style. Mansun recalls many artists – Suede, Manic Street Preachers, Tears for Fears, David Bowie, ABC, Blur, Prince – without sounding exactly like any of them. Attack of the Grey Lantern is a grandiose, darkly seductive blend of new wave and '90s indie rock, filled with phased guitars, drum machines, and subversive, off-kilter song structures, many of which wind past five minutes. No song is ever quite what it seems – "Mansun's Only Love Song" balances between soul and fractured pop, "Stripper Vicar" has new wave backing vocals and hard-rock chords, while "Taxloss" marries Suede's dark glam rock with uneasy psychedelia. It's an ambitious, even pretentious, record, but Mansun has enough confidence and skill to make it an astonishingly original debut.

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic.com

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Mansun - Studio Albums Collection 1997-2000 (3CD)

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Since Mansun's debut album, Attack of the Grey Lantern, was some sort of convoluted song cycle, it shouldn't have been surprising that their second album, Six, felt like the second coming of prog rock. What was a surprise was the extent to which Mansun pushed the limits forward on the album. From the garish Marillion-styled artwork to the endlessly shifting, segued songs, Six fits into the grand tradition of prog rock, and it does tell some kind of a story, even if it's impossible to tell what that story may be. In fact, it's difficult to get into the music itself, even as it dazzles with its twists, turns, appropriations, and recontextualizations. And, make no mistakes, Six is frequently dazzling, since Mansun skillfully melds classic prog and pop styles with contemporary ideas, including a healthy portion of electronica. It's a head-spinning listen, especially the first time through when it's impossible to tell where it's going or where it's going to end. That feeling doesn't quite let up on repeated listens, either, mainly because the record is so dense with impenetrable ideas – ideas that are confounding even when you think you understand where Paul Draper is going with the entire thing. On one scale, that's an impressive achievement, but it's diminished somewhat when you take into account that Six isn't particularly rewarding once you get a handle on it. Since it never reveals its secrets, or even its clues, it's hard to embrace the record, even for all of its many attributes. Still, Six is clearly the work of ambitious, gifted musicians who aren't willing to stay still, which is reason enough to try to come to terms with it.

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic.com

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Mansun - Studio Albums Collection 1997-2000 (3CD)

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Mansun's Little Kix is an album of the joke being on them. Attack of the Grey Lantern brazenly screamed its melodies amidst the pomp and circumstance, Six showed that Marillion-like "concept" albums even had their place in the post-Brit-pop landscape, and on both attempts, the more Mansun seemed out of touch with the masses, the better off they were. Here, the band simply seems out of touch with themselves. As leadoff single "I Can Only Disappoint U" croons in with over-accented curls and turns, one notices that the band's characteristic over-production is turned down to outline the band's actual songwriting chops. Which is laudable. Yet, in "Soundtrack 4 2 Lovers" (spelled the New Edition way) or "Electric Man" (the most significant nod to Suede's "The Chemistry Between Us" in ages), a new, lovelorn Mansun is shown stripped of their highly divisive costuming of old – and their bare bodies are ugly. It's this album's simpler approach that shows them naked and floppy without their previous new romantic/prog-rock garments to hide their failings. With oafish lyrics carrying these semi-tunes along like "Video games, we have lost our souls/Bulldozer head 'cos we're stoned," there's a feeling that Mansun is grasping toward just about anything new for a sense of perspective. Admittedly, the band's commendable, urgent rises of orchestration still remain, which is a strong selling point. It's the feeling of a mistaken step that feels the most damaging. With future work with Paul Oakenfold, one hopes that Little Kix will merely be seen as a pause between superior albums. Indeed, as in the George Michael clap-along "Until the Next Life," Draper sings: "We were always acting out some drama." If he is to be believed, it's a fine time for them to get out of intermission and to start making plans for some new kind of pageant play.

Review by Dean Carlson, Allmusic.com