MANSUN

Mansun's Six is best experienced in its original, full-length track listing of 13 songs (or 14 if you have the Japanese-only bonus track); a castrated version of the album was issued in the US with only 11 tracks, but when a band dedicates itself this thoroughly to excess trying to hold back becomes counter-productive. This isn't the first time anyone tried to fuse British indie rock of the Britpop era with progressive rock - Marillion tried a somewhat similar experiment with Brave a few years earlier, though that leaned much more heavily on the prog side of the equation - but Mansun's Six deserves notice for the way it applies proggy song structures to songs performed more or less in a Britpop style, bar for the occasional technically complex bit and a few pretty keyboard flourishes.

The lyrical themes draw on various bits and pieces of pop culture - there's lots of Prisoner references, fourth Doctor Who Tom Baker reads a bit of poetry, in the last song you can hear the TARDIS dematerialising - but what's more interesting to me is how the band are able to put this all together into a cohesive musical trip. It took me a while to appreciate it and I'm not sure it's an unalloyed success, but it's a very worthwhile experiment which came up trumps - and was more or less ignored and forgotten about on release. Oh well.

Note: This is a review of the European/Japanese release. If I recall, the American release of this album had a butchered tracklisting and the title track was completely different. No bueno, in my book.

This is one of those albums that catches you off guard when you first hear it. To be completely honest, I walked away from my first listen in total bewilderment... not quite sure if I actually liked what I heard. Having previously listened to their brit-pop "masterpiece" Attack of the Grey Lantern, I was completely thrown off by what I heard on their sophomore album, Six... in all the right ways. As Mansun ex-frontman Paul Draper himself said about the album, it was "commercial suicide, but artistically satisfying". Commercial suicide indeed, and I can certainly see why Mansun all but fell off the earth after the release of Six. To me, Six is an understated masterpiece of progressive rock music.

Obviously, this isn't your dad's style of progressive rock, a la Yes or King Crimson, though you can certainly tell they drew some artistic inspiration from some of the greats. It is, and this may frighten some of you hardcore proggies, a highly catchy album with a lot of the brit-pop tinges that made Mansun famous on their first album. However, whereas "Attack of the Grey Lantern" only had a small taste of experimental songwriting, Six blew the door wide open, offering the most ambitious album from a brit-pop artist I have ever seen.

An album quite like nothing I've ever heard before, or will probably hear any time in the future, "Six" by Mansun is easily one of my top picks for a deserted island album. Unfortunately, after the release of this album, frontman Paul Draper was essentially removed from all creative duties within the band, and they went on to release but one more album before splitting up.

One of the great over-looked gems of British prog. After being a little bit proggish on their also excellent debut Attack Of The Grey Lantern, Mansun went the full hog here with the incredibly complex and uncompromising Six.

Do you like records that have been obsessively assembled with all sorts of tiny little details hidden in the sound? Where you can notice new things after listening to it for years? Then you may be interested in Six.

Completed very quickly after the debut (mostly through the fact that mainman Paul Draper's life more or less WAS Mansun and he was effectively living in the studio which is also why it's so detailed) Six loses the humour and pop of their debut which alienated some fans. In fact not only are there no Stripper Vicars here, it's even one of the bleakest, most unapologetically depressed albums I've never heard. If you're in the right mood and feeling a bit sorry for yourself, something like Legacy can be devestating. Across the album Draper lyrically and apathetically pulls apart most of life's great institutions as being a bit crap. Self reinvention through finding a new religion (Shotgun) or transgenderism (Being A Girl) are suggested as ways out but no matter how much you change, you're still going to die and be forgotten (Legacy). If you're listening to this album, you're never going to all that rich and famous (Special). Religion is a blood-sucking vampire (Cancer). Nothing comes out like you want it to (Six). Over all is this nagging shadow that this depression is basically what life as.

And there's also the dark heart of Witness To A Murder II where the lyric seems to suggest that you watch the world kill you and don't do anything about it. Incredibly sinister (and performed by Tom Baker from Doctor Who, and with some real opera singers on the track too!?) Witness To A Murder II seems incredibly pretentious at first pass but gradually comes to actually appear genuinely significant though it's hard to put why into words. There's "something" lurking in Baker's monologue that doesn't, and perhaps shouldn't, quite make itself known.

Interesting story about Six is that when I first heard it I hated it. I found the extreme and lunatic shifts of direction on songs like Six, Shotgun and Cancer annoying and pointless and the whole thing just seemed ugly and morose. I actually returned it. But then I found I couldn't stop thinking about it and ended up buying it again, the only time I've ever done this. It's supposed to be ugly and morose. This is Draper's bold and unflinching confrontation with the emptiness inside him and it's no surprise that after doing something so momentous he found it hard to continue creatively and the band petered out.

Better than OK Computer? Easily. A must for those interested in British prog.

ALL HAIL BRIT-PROGS FORGOTTEN MASTERS.

Occupying fairly lonely territory between brit-pop and prog, Mansun dropped two brilliant albums, a fairly suspect third one that ended up killing the group and a series of dazzling EPs in their brief but worthy career. I have possibly never been more saddened at the break-up of a group- though that third LP was a bit crap, it did at least continue their trend of doing something very different each time and even though the aborted fourth album was released in its unfinished form, we can't say that it really represents what the band would have done next because it is incomplete.

We shall always fondly remember their video for Taxloss where they took the entire shoot budget in cash, threw it from the roof of a train station and filmed the ensuing scramble.

But getting on to Attack Of The Grey Lantern itself- wow. What a debut. Packed with excellence from the beautiful string section that opens The Chad Who Loved Me to the brilliantly worded Open Letter To The Lyrical Train Spotter, one of the funniest lyrics I've ever seen in prog.

AOTGL is not as openly progressive as Mansun's follow-up Six, the record that really suggested they could have been a prog band had they survived, but it is certainly easier to like. Songs like Egg Shaped Fred, She Makes My Nose Bleed, Wide Open Space and Stripper Vicar are extremely catchy but not too commercial, edgy and accessible at the same time.

From the cheesy romantic almost-disco feel of Mansun's Only Love Song (another ironic song concept given away by the title) to the freak-out Taxloss (and you should check out the uncut version of Taxloss which is floating around somewhere at about 15 minutes) to the epic, emotional closer Dark Mavis, this is rich, intoxicating, high-quality stuff.

How good is this album? Well, let me put it this way. I am a huge fan of and own all or most of the discographies of: Genesis, Gentle Giant, Kong Crimson, Transatlantic, Pink Floyd and a host of other progressive groups. Part one of Mansun's Six (that's the first 8 tracks - although they're actually blended to one continuous peice) is the finest peice of music in my collection, above all of these. How can this be?

Mansun had hit number one with their previous album, and dented the top 10 of the singles charts - this is not the place you typically find a prog band pushing the boundaries. How did they follow this up? With (as their frontman Paul Draper put it) "Around 30 song fragments of about 30 seconds linked together featuring not one chorus" (this isn't quite true actually). Listening to the album this keeps things moving at a frenetic pace - ideas keep tumbling out faster than you can comprehend, while the playing veers from the energy of their live punk roots to the minimalism of a solo piano. The centrepeice of the album is the track Cancer, rounding off part one with a full-blown and suitably bombastic prog guitar solo. The second half is a showcase for Mansun's lyrical ability with barbed attacks on TV culture (Television) and the shallowness of cheap imitation (Legacy) worked around obscure references including the Marquis de Sade and Winnie The Pooh.

Radiohead have publicly acknowledged the ionfluence of this album, while The Mars Volta and Muse have also given it a musical nod. Fans of any of these bands will be richly rewarded, while symphonic fans might be surprised how much there is to enjoy. Five stars only because Six (obviously the appropriate score) is not available!

Was this ever a surprise when it was released!

Prior to this release Mansun had gained some commercial success in the singles charts with a couple of releases, notably Wide Open Space, which also gained large amounts of radio airplay. They seemed to be grouped by the media with other "Britpop" bands such as Blur and Pulp. Looks can be deceiving, and it's amusing to imagine what the Britpop hordes who must have rushed to buy this album (it made no. 1 in the UK album chart) made of what they got! Unfortunately it also meant that the band were largely overlooked by those of a more progressive disposition and have had to be rediscovered somewhat (perhaps this iswhy they were only added to ProgArchives in 2010)

Having secured a deal with a major record label Mansun had the bravery to release their debut album Attack of the Grey Lantern. What we have here is a debut concept album, based around the eccentric and unusual characters in a seemingly sleepy English village, and the secrets they hide behind their supposedly respectable public exteriors; from the sado-masochist of She Makes My Nose Bleed to the deranged accountant of Taxloss, the stocking-wearing perverted clergyman of Stripper Vicar, and the mysterious Mavis of the final track.

The music, as befits a concept, blends seamlessly from one track to the next, mixed with weird sound effects such as air-raid sirens and animal noises. The album opens to a lush string arrangement which blends to a guitar solo - it is some time before lyrics make an appearance. Stand-out tracks include Mansun's Only Love Song (inevitably it's not actually a love song at all) and Disgusting - the revulsion in the lyrics contrasted by a delicate arrangement and beautiful melody. Influences are hard to define, although it's possible to draw comparisons to Pink Floyd, while the surreal imagery of the lyrics might be closer to early Genesis. Add some Bowie, and a punk influence (most noticeable on their live set) and you're still only half way there. Lyrics are as outstanding as the brilliant titles would suggest.

Although it's clearly at the crossover end of the prog spectrum (probably sitting somewhere near Phideaux in "proginess" rating) this is an interesting album to any prog fan and serves as the perfect warm-up before tackling their masterwork "Six". Although part of me thinks that any band that manages to get signed to a major label and then presents them with a concept album as a first offering (at a time when prog was still a joke in the commercial sector) deserves a five star rating, four stars is correct for the musical quality

NOTE TO AMERICAN PROGGERS: Due to some American executive idiot the USA release of this album had jumbled track listing (obviously destroying the continuous flow) and one track dropped and replaced by an inferior B-side. Unless you think that concept albums are improved by being played in shuffle mode this is obviously to be avoided like the plague - pay for the import - it's worth it.

Mansuns second album was always going to be a tricky affair. How do follow up the success (artistic and commercial) of Attack of the Grey Lantern? It seems the record company thankfuly were still happy to let the 4 lads from Chester have their head.The result is certainly a more confident effort although I feel it lacks the prog credentials of their debut. No orchestral arrangements and the songs feel less connected. On the plus side the band are considerably tighter and are playing better than before. There is also a good consistency to the music overall with no tapering off of quality towards the end as seemed to be the with the debut.Thats a good achievement for an album with a running time of 70 minutes. Could I recommend this album to prog fans? Perhaps not as much as AOTGL but if you are looking for indie rock with a brain that packs a decent punch then this may just hit the spot.

Great to see Mansun included in progarchives. I've been listening to them quite a lot recently and this album is top of my personal playlist. I just wonder how many bands would even consider doing something as ambitious as this on a first release? Probably very few. Track 1 'The Chad Who Loved Me' opens with a sweeping orchestral intro which reminds me of classic John Barry scores for the Bond films.The drums and bass join in before the guitar and vocals take over.Feels like you are in a dream as the strings take over and then finishes with some strange animal noises and what sounds like kids playing. Weird stuff as is much of this album. 'Mansuns Only Love Song' although containing some nice melody and vocal harmonies is not really a love song so this is a bit of a misnomer! The in-jokey nature of the title is typical of the album. 'Taxloss' is probably the best remembered of all Mansuns tracks.A very obvious Beatles pastiche recalling 'Tomorrow never knows' but with Mansun's weird sense of humour.Later destined to become a favourite of their live shows. The acoustic guitar intro on 'You,who do you hate?' wouldn't be out of place on a Pink Floyd album before the song takes a bit of a darker twist. I love this track to bits.The vocals and powerfull drumming stand out. Word War 2 air raid sirens help to add atmosphere. The track that introduced me to Mansun was 'Wide Open Space' and is still a personal favourite.The guitar and keyboards in the middle of the song are fantastic. This just works totally.See the video (UK version) and be very scared! 'Stripper Vicar' (another great song title) injects a bit of humour just at the right time.Good bright and breazy tune.''When a vicar strips he gets away with it!'' 'Disgusting' is another dark dreamy song like the opening track.Another good un that keeps the ball rolling. 'She makes my nose bleed' sees more orchestration and vies with '..Space' and 'Taxloss' for the best song on the album.Production is spot on and everything perfectly in place. 'Naked Twister' (do Mansun have ordinary song titles? ..answer NO) is pretty ordinary Indie stuff. Its around this time the album starts to run out of steam. 'Egg Shaped Fred' and 'Dark Mavis' are okay but don't really take the music anywhere.Nevertheless the first 8 songs make this a very worthwhile debut effort.