Search - Mansun :: Kleptomania

Why, oh why, did they have to break up?

Sakos | United States | 06/15/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"That's what you'll be asking yourself after you finish listening to this compilation, which was the result of an online fan petition to convince the record label and the band to release it. First, I'll start with disc 2. This is the only disc that has completely previously available material on it. Mansun released 14 EPs (singles plus multiple b-sides) and this CD contains the best bits as voted in online by fans. Great stuff here, including Take It Easy Chicken, Flourella, Ski Jump Nose, Skin Up Pin Up, and Been Here Before. I have all of their EPs, so nothing new here for me, but still a nice compilation for the new fan (plus, the EPs are damn hard to find!). Disc 3 contains outtakes, demos, and live/radio tracks. Good stuff here, but certainly the weakest disc. Now, getting to disc 1....Mansun's 4th album, which was to be titled Mansun, was never released, and here we have what was just about ready for final post-production when the band split. All I have to say is, WHY DID THEY BREAK UP? This material is first-rate. The production is a little raw, yet polished at the same time, which gives the songs and instruments a great sound and feel. And the songs.....Getting Your Way, Slipping Away, Keep Telling Myself, Wanted So Much....they're all top-notch with GREAT vocal performances from Paul Draper and great playing from the band as a whole. A shame this wasn't completed properly and released, as it's obvious Mansun had a lot of greatness still in them. But with this collection, you can enjoy the "lost" 4th album repeatedly (I Have!). Great box set, although I would adivse getting the UK versions of Mansun's first 3 albums before snagging this."

It IS quite a steal, really... worth every penny.

Luke Rounda | Lawrence, KS | 01/25/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"They're a band who needs no introduction -- save the saving-face of informing those new to the band that "it's Mansun with a 'u'... no, they don't wear makeup... no, they didn't do that 'Mmm-Bop' song..."



As an American, I can say that I'm part of a small but deadly circle of Mansun fans. From the moment "The Chad Who Loved Me" from "Attack of the Grey Lantern" entered my virgin ears, I was hooked. To the uninitiated, Mansun fans -- especially American Mansun fans -- are going to seem a little "off." But we can't help it. Simply put, Paul Draper's Accounts-Payable-to-Hell croon and Dominic Chad's dance hall afterburner guitar stylings combine favorably across nearly every song this band ever put to tape. And it's that kind of consistency that most bands, British or American, have trouble maintaining these days.



So, predictably enough, Mansun have broken up. "Kleptomania" collects their unreleased tracks, b-sides, and the recording sessions for their salivatory fourth album.



The b-sides and knickknacks are great, but the fourth album is probably what most fans were most eager to get their mitts on. The wildly original and beautifully anti-radio experimentation of "Six" is absent, but the fourth album reminds more of "Attack of the Grey Lantern" than "Little Kix," the latter of which was a flop commercially and among dedicated fans.



There's some floaty, bubbly chamber pop ("Harris") mixed in with more typical Mansun-sounding tracks like opener "Getting Your Way" and "Wanted So Much," which plays off a complex electronica head into a soaring, singalong Brit-rock chorus. It's well-written, well-instrumented pop music. You'll find yourself humming or attempting to sing along to the majority of the songs here. And if you're a guitarist with any sort of pop leaning, well... you're in for a treat with any Mansun album.



Quite a steal. Pick it up, then just try to put it down. I'm going to bet that you'll just buy their whole back catalog instead."

At long last...

patrick bateman | Calgary, Alberta Canada | 03/30/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Britpop spawned a lot of crap. Granted it had some great bands, but that era in english music really gave out some rubbish. Having grown up in england and begun my love of music in the midsts of that particular time it has taken a lot for me to admit that a lot of my old favourite bands really weren't up to the task. That said, my love of Mansun is still strong. i was one of the 3,000 that petitioned to have this released and it doesn't disappoint. If anything, the incomplete album sessions are rather upsetting simply because you can just tell that, had they been finished, they would have been great. There are a few patchy parts, but really, with a little hammering out in production this would have been an amazing album. The second cd too is brilliant. Some of the greatest songs never properly released are on there and it's nice to finally have them. The third cd is patchy at best, but it's an unreleased and demos cd, so that's to be expected. If it were an almost perfect cd as the other two are then it would get a five. As it is this is a four. The only other problem being that they didn't include 'The Holy Grail and the Holy Blood' on the second cd. oh well."