Mansun & Suede- Two Criminally Underrated Bands

The Hustler

What do you all think? DogManStar and Six are two of my all time favourite albums, absolute genius

Dudess

God, I wouldn't say "under-rated" applies to Suede. When they first emerged they made the front of NME as "Britain's greatest band" or some such nonsense... and they hadn't even released anything. "Over-rated" I think was applicable to them then. They came on in leaps and bounds after though.

homerun_homer

I'm a big Mansun fan. Saw their last gig ever but was a pity I never got to see them properly when they toured Six. Six is one of my favourite albums of all time, so diverse and crazy. They got such a slagging in their day but bands like Radiohead were name checking them and were influenced by them, which really says something.

The Hustler

homerun_homer wrote: »

I'm a big Mansun fan. Saw their last gig ever but was a pity I never got to see them properly when they toured Six. Six is one of my favourite albums of all time, so diverse and crazy. They got such a slagging in their day but bands like Radiohead were name checking them and were influenced by them, which really says something.

Six is my favourite album of all time, absolutely incredible. I honestly have no idea how someone could write something like that.

Xavi6

Massive Suede fan.

Could never get into 'Six' at all. Even listening to it now I get bored after 4 or 5 songs.

The Hustler

I GuanYin wrote: »

Massive Suede fan.

Could never get into 'Six' at all. Even listening to it now I get bored after 4 or 5 songs.

I reckon Suede will reform in 2009

homerun_homer

The Hustler wrote: »

Six is my favourite album of all time, absolutely incredible. I honestly have no idea how someone could write something like that.

Paul Draper wrote 2 huge e-mails which are bound to be on his site, detailing the full ins and outs to the writing and recording of the album. He basically came up with a track each week since he had nothing to go into the studio with. It's definitely in my top 3 desert island discs.

The Hustler

homerun_homer wrote: »

Paul Draper wrote 2 huge e-mails which are bound to be on his site, detailing the full ins and outs to the writing and recording of the album. He basically came up with a track each week since he had nothing to go into the studio with. It's definitely in my top 3 desert island discs.

Yeah, think I remember reading something on his myspace about a Six blog, gonna check it out as soon as I get home

insinkerator

I really like suede, im not too sure whuch is better, Dog Man Star or their self titled. Have yet to listen to Mansun though...

Captain Darling

I was a huge Suede fan back in the day, but i also bought Six on tape and played it until it packed it in. Great record. Really off the wall, but cool.

Placid_Casual

Always found Mansun a bit hit and miss. Six is 50% genius and 50% self-indulgent nonsense. If they cut about 25-30 minutes out of the album it would have been one of my favourites of all time.
Still listen to it now and then but find myself skipping songs and fast-forwarding through parts of others.

Pighead

Dudess wrote: »

God, I wouldn't say "under-rated" applies to Suede. When they first emerged they made the front of NME as "Britain's greatest band" or some such nonsense... and they hadn't even released anything. "Over-rated" I think was applicable to them then. They came on in leaps and bounds after though.

Ah now that's not quite true in fairness. Melody Maker proclaimed them the "Best new band in Britain" which in retrospect was pretty much spot on if you ask me. And I too think that they have been underrated in the grand scheme of things. They pretty much kicked off the whole Britpop era yet there are plenty of kids out there who've never heard of them and it's very rarely you'll hear a Suede tune on daytime radio.

For me they were the best band of that era without doubt. I absolutely love their first two albums and even the 3rd album is a cracker in a poppy kind of way. I can't think of any other band since whose first three albums have all been top notch from almost start to finish. And that's without even mentioning Sci Fi- Lullabies, the greatest B-Sides album you'll ever hear.

dead air

Listened to Mansun on and off around the time of the mid nineties. Unfortunately it was after they broke up that I really got into their albums. Good band, shame about the break up.

ShawnRaven

I absolutely HATED Mansun i have to say, Wide Open Space got on my nerves so much. Although I thought they were really hitting their stride before they broke up as i always felt Little Kix was very underrated. It got slated by the media because it sounded nothing like Six, personally i thought it was the better album, but i'm probably in a small minority there.

The Hustler

Jeeeeez, almost forgot about Sci-Fi Lullabies and Little Kix brilliant stuff

Glassheart

Mansun had some really terrific songs.I think Kleptomania might have been their best if they had of finished it properly.A lot of those tracks are demos and abandoned recordings for the album.

<snip>

The Hustler

Glassheart wrote: »

Mansun had some really terrific songs.I think Kleptomania might have been their best if they had of finished it properly.A lot of those tracks are demos and abandoned recordings for the album.

I was at that last gig too.It was kind of sad that only around 200 people were there.What does the Ambassador hold? 1500-2000?

<snip>

Think they only played 10 songs at that gig, but if I remember correctly they played a good few off Six (Being A Girl, Legacy and Negative), they also played Wide Open Space, Take It Easy Chicken and 4 or 5 new ones which sounded really good.<snip>

Glassheart

The Hustler wrote: »

Think they only played 10 songs at that gig, but if I remember correctly they played a good few off Six (Being A Girl, Legacy and Negative), they also played Wide Open Space, Take It Easy Chicken and 4 or 5 new ones which sounded really good.<snip>

I think it was the final straw after the commercial failure of Little Kix.

I have Dominic Chad's setlist from that gig.I don't think they played Negative.I must check that when i get home...

One thing that i'll always remember about that gig is how heavy Dominic Chad had gotten.Do you remember that? He looked completely different.

markesmith

Some journalist said that Suede were the curious appetiser before Britpop exploded, which is a pretty good summation. I got their first album when I was 16-17, thought it was a masterpiece. I remember not liking Dog Man Star as much...listened to 'New Generation', 'Wild Ones' and 'We Are The Pigs' last week, they are great tunes.

Suede were brilliant, but I have two things to say about them:
1. They descended into a parody of themselves, where you could play a drinking game of nailing a shot every time you heard a drug reference on a Suede album. You'd be trolleyed.
2. Always thought Anderson would have been a great advertising man if he wasn't in music. He was good at self-publicizing.

Butler is an amazing guitarist. Mansun? Don't know that much about them tbh.

The Hustler

Glassheart wrote: »

I think it was the final straw after the commercial failure of Little Kix.

I have Dominic Chad's setlist from that gig.I don't think they played Negative.I must check that when i get home...

One thing that i'll always remember about that gig is how heavy Dominic Chad had gotten.Do you remember that? He looked completely different.

YES!!!!!! And he had this HUGE beard, looked like Cousin It/Grizzly Adams!! Could still play guitar like no one else though, it was a truely brilliant gig. Didn't that gone and long forgotten Irish band Melaton support that night?

seachto7

The Hustler wrote: »

YES!!!!!! And he had this HUGE beard, looked like Cousin It/Grizzly Adams!! Could still play guitar like no one else though, it was a truely brilliant gig. Didn't that gone and long forgotten Irish band Melaton support that night?

Got a listen to Six last night. Strange album. A lot of digital stuff going on by the sounds of it, but it's pretty good.

Speaking of Melaton, where can I find stuff by the forgotten Irish band Revelino. I've been looking everywhere, and nothing...

Glassheart

The Hustler wrote: »

YES!!!!!! And he had this HUGE beard, looked like Cousin It/Grizzly Adams!! Could still play guitar like no one else though, it was a truely brilliant gig. Didn't that gone and long forgotten Irish band Melaton support that night?

Yeah i remember Draper introducing him as Grizzly Adams.
It was Woodstar who supported them.I don't think they wanted to be there.Boring bastards!

The Hustler

Glassheart wrote: »

Yeah i remember Draper introducing him as Grizzly Adams.
It was Woodstar who supported them.I don't think they wanted to be there.Boring bastards!

Woodstar, those are the c*nts! Missed em anyways, got there about 10 mins before Mansun took the stage.If you're into Mansun/Suede, another band I'd recommend are King Adora

homerun_homer

<snip>

The Hustler wrote: »

Think they only played 10 songs at that gig, but if I remember correctly they played a good few off Six (Being A Girl, Legacy and Negative), they also played Wide Open Space, Take It Easy Chicken and 4 or 5 new ones which sounded really good. <snip>

They played The Chad Who Loved Me, Legacy, Being a Girl, Wide Open Space, Take it Easy Chicken, Slipping Away, Getting you Way, Home, Keep Telling Myself & 1 more from Kleptomania sessions - I think Love Remains

seachto7 wrote: »

Got a listen to Six last night. Strange album. A lot of digital stuff going on by the sounds of it, but it's pretty good.

Speaking of Melaton, where can I find stuff by the forgotten Irish band Revelino. I've been looking everywhere, and nothing...

They have a line in the album booklet saying there was no synths used, it's all guitars. It was recorded on tape and not digitally so imagine trying to edit it all together, it would have been head wrecking. so it was no easy pro-tools jobs creating it.

The Hustler

homerun_homer wrote: »

They played The Chad Who Loved Me, Legacy, Being a Girl, Wide Open Space, Take it Easy Chicken, Slipping Away, Getting you Way, Home, Keep Telling Myself & 1 more from Kleptomania sessions

That's the setlist alrite, remember them opening with The Chad Who Loved Me, really weird long drawn out version of it, deadly nonetheless!God I miss them!

sweetie

seachto7 wrote: »

Got a listen to Six last night. Strange album. A lot of digital stuff going on by the sounds of it, but it's pretty good.

Speaking of Melaton, where can I find stuff by the forgotten Irish band Revelino. I've been looking everywhere, and nothing...

I've done some weddings with Brendan Tallons (Revelino) new band Beatclub. Website is www.beatclub.ie. Drop him an email and he may be able to sort you out.

I loved Suedes' Dog man star and the first album. Remember when Stay together got to number 2 in the uk charts (around xmas I think, it was a non album single) Always thought Brett was a bit of a bowie wannabe though. Saw them live in Dublin castle around 96 i think but they weren't great.

Also like the first Mansun album a lot but never got into six much at all, must dig out them all again and give em a listen.

homerun_homer

The Hustler wrote: »

That's the setlist alrite, remember them opening with The Chad Who Loved Me, really weird long drawn out version of it, deadly nonetheless!God I miss them!

Yeah everything was played in a lower key, 1/2 step up, so it didn't sound like the records.

sweetie wrote: »

Also like the first Mansun album a lot but never got into six much at all, must dig out them all again and give em a listen.

The Mansun Myspace is dead handy, as are the fan myspace site for getting all the albums, b-sde and live stuff to download. They change the media player every week.

dead air

seachto7 wrote: »

Speaking of Melaton, where can I find stuff by the forgotten Irish band Revelino. I've been looking everywhere, and nothing...

I picked up a copy of To The End by Revelino in City Discs in Temple Bar, for about €8. Check some second hand shops and you might pick something up.

seachto7

dead air wrote: »

I picked up a copy of To The End by Revelino in City Discs in Temple Bar, for about €8. Check some second hand shops and you might pick something up.

arrgh! down the country. i cant even find any youtube stuff to listen to...

nyarlothothep

Coming Up is a great album, some excellent catchy tunes, Trash is incredible. I didn't take too much to their debut though it has some good songs. Dog Man Star is a masterpiece though, it would be favourite album, I remember listen to it constantly from 2003-2004. They were initially overrated though I can't believe DMS was received so unenthusiastically when it was released, it got to no. 3 for a week, then dropped quickly. I suppose people weren't keen on the idea of a Hollywood concept album with grandiose songs.

The Hustler

nyarlothothep wrote: »

Coming Up is a great album, some excellent catchy tunes, Trash is incredible. I didn't take too much to their debut though it has some good songs. Dog Man Star is a masterpiece though, it would be favourite album, I remember listen to it constantly from 2003-2004. They were initially overrated though I can't believe DMS was received so unenthusiastically when it was released, it got to no. 3 for a week, then dropped quickly. I suppose people weren't keen on the idea of a Hollywood concept album with grandiose songs.

Trash is probably my favourite Suede song, reminds me of being 15 all over again, with an inflamed sense of teenage angst! :)Agree about DMS being a masterpiece, came out around the same time as the similarly dark and uncommercial Holy Bible by the Manics, both critically acclaimed but commercially flopped.Even as quirky, dark and uncommercial as DMS is, it's still got cracking pop songs in We Are The Pigs, The Wild Ones and New Generation

homerun_homer

Had a bit of a Mansun listening day yesterday - mostly Kleptomania and live sessions I collected over the years.
So today seeing the thread still going I've stuck on Suede's greatest hits. Never fully got into them but loved the singles from first few albums and the odd latter day single.

The Hustler

homerun_homer wrote: »

Had a bit of a Mansun listening day yesterday - mostly Kleptomania and live sessions I collected over the years.
So today seeing the thread still going I've stuck on Suede's greatest hits. Never fully got into them but loved the singles from first few albums and the odd latter day single.

Few too many ballads on the first self-titles album for my liking, but the singles are top notch, especially Metal Mickey.Just reading their biography now, 'Love & Poison', picked it up new on sale in Chapters for 4 euro, hardback edition anorl, well worth a read

estariol

The Hustler wrote: »

I reckon Suede will reform in 2009

Hope not Brett has turned into his own parody, a la damien rice! a moderate collaboration with Butler, and two very mediocre solo albums.

Still cant argue with the sheer brillance of most of the back catalogue!

Re: Mansun, attackt of the..... had some amazing moments, in general six is a far better album and very underratted on release. Just don't metion the horrid little kix!

The Hustler

estariol wrote: »

Hope not Brett has turned into his own parody, a la damien rice! a moderate collaboration with Butler, and two very mediocre solo albums.

Still cant argue with the sheer brillance of most of the back catalogue!

Re: Mansun, attackt of the..... had some amazing moments, in general six is a far better album and very underratted on release. Just don't metion the horrid little kix!

Yeah but another greatest hits tour would be deadly! Would have loved to go to the gig a few years ago where they played DMS from start to finish!

Glassheart

This would be a good place to ask...
Where the hell is Drapers solo album?!!

The Hustler

Glassheart wrote: »

This would be a good place to ask...
Where the hell is Drapers solo album?!!

His MySpace is your best bet bet, he replies to private messages anorl, dead sound he is