Difference between revisions of "Discography:Attack of the Grey Lantern (Album)"

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{{Discobox
 
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'''''Attack of the Grey Lantern''''' is Mansun's debut album released in the UK on the 15{{supo|th}} February 1997 via [[Parlophone]] - it was released in Japan 9 days prior to the UK release.<BR>The album spent a total of 19 weeks on the [[UK Albums Chart]], peaking at number one.<ref name="chartstats">{{cite | title=Mansun at chartstats.com | url=http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=7722 | dom=chartstats.com |fetchdate=3 August 2009}}</ref>
 +
 +
==Background==
 +
According to the ''[[Kleptomania (Album)|Kleptomania]]'' liner notes, [[Paul Draper]] states that "[[Take It Easy Chicken (Song)|Take It Easy, Chicken]]" was their first song and the band really did not know how to play their instruments, let alone play as a band, when DJs [[Steve Lamacq]] and [[John Peel]] started to play the song on [[BBC Radio 1]].  Through 1996 and 1997, [[Mansun]] released "[[Egg Shaped Fred (Song)|Egg Shaped Fred]]" (which was re-recorded for the album to include new drummer [[Andie Rathbone]]), "[[Stripper Vicar (Song)|Stripper Vicar]]", "[[She Makes My Nose Bleed (Song)|She Makes My Nose Bleed]]" and "[[Taxloss (Song)|Taxloss]]" (styled Taxlo$$). "[[Wide Open Space (Song)|Wide Open Space]]" became a dance anthem after being remixed by DJ and producer [[Paul Oakenfold]] under the production alias Perfecto. This remix was included on Oakenfold's compilation ''[[Resident: Two Years of Oakenfold at Cream (Album)|Resident: Two Years of Oakenfold at Cream]]'', as an indicator of being one of the most played songs at major UK nightclub [[Cream]], as well as in nightclubs around the world, over the 1997-1999 period.<ref>{{cite | author = Birchmeier, Jason | year = | dom = Allmusic.com | title = Resident: Two Years of Oakenfold at Cream review | format = | work = | publisher = Allmusic | fetchdate = 2006-04-11 }}</ref>
 +
 +
"Taxloss" alludes melodically and lyrically to [[The Beatles]]' song "[[Taxman]]", and also to the rhythmic feel of "[[Tomorrow Never Knows]]",  as well as "[[Long Haired Lover from Liverpool]]" by [[Little Jimmy Osmond]]. The video notoriously featured the band throwing £25,000 in five pound banknotes onto the main concourse of London's [[Liverpool Street Station|Liverpool Street station]] during rush hour and watching the ensuing chaos.<ref name="Natts"> {{Cite | title = Mansun | url =  http://natts.com/mansun/mansun.html | dom = natts.com <sup>dead link</sup> | type=ext | fetchdate=August 2012}}</ref>
 +
 +
"The Chad Who Loved Me"'s main theme comes from John Barry's 1967 song [[You Only Live Twice (song)|You Only Live Twice]] from the [[You Only Live Twice (film)|James Bond film of the same name]].
 +
 +
==Concept album==
 +
[[Paul Draper]] admits that ''Attack of the Grey Lantern'' is not a fully fledged concept album, it was his intention for it to be one, until he "ran out of steam", labelling the LP "half a concept album – a con album".<ref name="Select Review"/>  The majority of the record is centred on the concept of a superhero, known as "The Grey Lantern", in the guise of Draper himself.  Throughout the album, the hero encounters a number of immoral inhabitants in a fictional [[England|English]] village.<ref name="Select Review"/><ref name="Guardian Review"/>
 +
 +
{{QuotesC
 +
|Well, The Grey Lantern is like a comic-book hero — the album is about this village of people with really disgusting morals and the Grey Lantern sorts them out. I suppose the Grey Lantern's me. I wouldn't have a cape, but there are definitely characters on the record — Albert Taxloss, Chad, Dark Mavis. At the end of the album it all gets resolved and you find Mavis is actually the Stripper Vicar.<ref name="Select Review"/>
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|author=[[Paul Draper]]
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|source=Select Review
 +
}}
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 +
At the time of release, Draper hinted at a possible album sequel, titled "The Return Of The Grey Lantern".<ref name="Select Review"/>  For its American release, the album's running order was re-sequenced, a move which some felt compromised the intended concept, as the song "Stripper Vicar" was replaced with "Take It Easy, Chicken."
  
 
==Recording==
 
==Recording==
  
 +
==Release==
 +
When ''Attack of the Grey Lantern'' was released in February 1997, it charted at #1 on the [[UK Albums Chart]].<ref name="chartstats"/> The album was preceded by four singles, the first of which "Egg Shaped Fred" was released a year prior. "Egg Shaped Fred" was Mansun's début single for Parlophone Records and made #37<ref name="chartstats"/> in the UK. The following three singles ("[[Stripper Vicar (Song)|Stripper Vicar]]", "[[Wide Open Space (Song)|Wide Open Space]]", "[[She Makes My Nose Bleed (Song)|She Makes My Nose Bleed]]") all made the top forty each improving of the previous singles' chart position. The final single released from the album was "Taxloss" which followed the album in April 1997 and made #15.<ref name="chartstats"/> In the US, Mansun enjoyed their only chart success with "Wide Open Space" reaching the modest position of #25 on the ''Billboard'' [[Modern Rock Tracks]] chart.
 +
 +
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==Critical reception==
 +
{{Album ratings
 +
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
 +
| rev1Score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref name="allmusic review">{{cite |author=Erlewine, Stephen Thomas |title=Review: ''Attack of the Grey Lantern - Mansun'' |dom=Allmusic.com |publisher=[[Allmusic]] |accessdate=3 August 2009 |authorlink=Stephen Thomas Erlewine}}</ref>
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| rev2 = LeMec Music Net
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| rev2Score = {{Rating|8|10}}<ref name="LeMec review">{{cite |title=Review: ''Mansun: Attack Of The Grey Lantern (1997)'' |url=http://www.lemec.net/mansun.html |dom = lemec.net |publisher=lemec.net |accessdate=3 August 2009}}</ref>
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| rev3 = ''[[NME]]''
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| rev3Score = {{Rating|8|10}}<ref name="NME review">{{cite |title=Review: ''Mansun: Attack Of The Grey Lantern (Parlophone)'' |url=http://www.nme.com/NME/External/Reviews/Reviews_Story/0,1069,136,00.html |year=1998 |dom = nme.com |publisher=[[IPC Media]] |accessdate=6 August 2009 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20010126043200/http://www.nme.com/NME/External/Reviews/Reviews_Story/0,1069,136,00.html |archivedate=26 January 2001}}</ref>
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| rev4 = [[Pitchfork Media]]
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| rev4Score = {{Rating|9.3|10}} [http://web.archive.org/web/20001016220627/www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/m/mansun/attack-of-the-grey-lantern.shtml link]
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| rev5 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
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| rev5Score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref name="Rolling Stone Review">{{cite |first=Dave |last=DiMartino |title=Review: ''Mansun - Attack Of The Grey Lantern'' |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/mansun/albums/album/227926/review/5945949/attack_of_the_grey_lantern |date=8 August 1997 | dom= rollingstone.com | publisher= Jann Wenner |accessdate=4 August 2009}}</ref>
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| rev6 = ''[[Select (magazine)|Select]]''
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| rev6Score = {{Rating|2|5}}<ref name="Select Review">{{cite |author=Wilkinson, Roy |title=Review: ''Mansun - Attack Of The Grey Lantern, Parlophone'' |journal=[[Select (magazine)|Select]] |publisher= EMAP]] |issue=March, 1997 |page=102 |authorlink=Roy Wilkinson}}</ref>
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| rev7 = ''[[The Guardian]]''
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| rev7Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="Guardian Review">{{cite |first=Caroline |last=Sullivan |title=Review: ''Mansun - Attack of the Grey Lantern (Parlophone)'' |journal=Friday Review |publisher= The Guardian |issue=21 February 1997 |page=14}}</ref>
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| rev8 = ''[[The Observer]]''
 +
| rev8Score = positive<ref name="Observer Review">{{cite |first=Neil |last=Spencer |title=Review: ''Mansun - Attack Of The Grey Lantern'' |journal=The Observer Review |publisher= The Guardian |issue=16 February 1997 |page=13}}</ref>
 +
}}
  
 
==Tracklisting==
 
==Tracklisting==
  
 +
'''UK edition'''
 +
 +
1. "[[The Chad Who Loved Me (Song)|The Chad Who Loved Me]]"  (5:02)
 +
 +
2. "[[Mansun's Only Love Song (Song)|Mansun's Only Love Song]]"  (5:55)
 +
 +
3. "[[Taxloss (Song)|Taxloss]]"  (7:02)
 +
 +
4. "[[You, Who Do You Hate? (Song)|You, Who Do You Hate?]]"  (3:06)
 +
 +
5. "[[Wide Open Space (Song)|Wide Open Space]]"  (4:31)
 +
 +
6. "[[Stripper Vicar (Song)|Stripper Vicar]]"  (4:05)
 +
 +
7. "[[Disgusting (Song)|Disgusting]]"  (5:07)
 +
 +
8. "[[She Makes My Nose Bleed (Song)|She Makes My Nose Bleed]]"  (3:55)
 +
 +
9. "[[Naked Twister (Song)|Naked Twister]]"  (4:39)
 +
 +
10. "[[Egg Shaped Fred (Song)|Egg Shaped Fred]]"  (4:12)
 +
 +
11a.  "[[Dark Mavis (Song)|Dark Mavis]]"  (8:36)
 +
 +
11b. "[[An Open Letter to the Lyrical Trainspotter (Song)|An Open Letter to the Lyrical Trainspotter"]] (Hidden track at the end of Dark Mavis) (4:02)
 +
 +
'''US edition'''
 +
 +
1. "[[The Chad Who Loved Me (Song)|The Chad Who Loved Me]]"  (5:02)
 +
 +
2. "[[Wide Open Space (Song)|Wide Open Space]]"  (4:31)
 +
 +
3. "[[She Makes My Nose Bleed (Song)|She Makes My Nose Bleed]]"  (3:55)
 +
 +
4. "[[Naked Twister (Song)|Naked Twister]]"  (4:39)
 +
 +
5. "[[Take It Easy Chicken (Song)|Take It Easy, Chicken]]"  (4:26)
 +
 +
6. "[[You, Who Do You Hate? (Song)|You, Who Do You Hate?]]"  (3:09)
 +
 +
7. "[[Mansun's Only Love Song (Song)|Mansun's Only Love Song]]"  (5:55)
 +
 +
8. "[[Taxloss (Song)|Taxloss]]"  (7:02)
 +
 +
9. "[[Disgusting (Song)|Disgusting]]"  (4:21)
 +
 +
10. "[[Egg Shaped Fred (Song)|Egg Shaped Fred]]"  (4:12)
 +
 +
11. "[[Dark Mavis (Song)|Dark Mavis]]"  (8:36)
 +
 +
'''Japanese edition'''
 +
 +
1. "[[The Chad Who Loved Me (Song)|The Chad Who Loved Me]]"  (5:02)
 +
 +
2. "[[Mansun's Only Love Song (Song)|Mansun's Only Love Song]]"  (5:55)
 +
 +
3. "[[Taxloss (Song)|Taxloss]]"  (7:02)
 +
 +
4. "[[You, Who Do You Hate? (Song)|You, Who Do You Hate?]]"  (3:06)
 +
 +
5. "[[Wide Open Space (Song)|Wide Open Space]]"  (4:31)
 +
 +
6. "[[Stripper Vicar (Song)|Stripper Vicar]]"  (4:05)
 +
 +
7. "[[Disgusting (Song)|Disgusting]]"  (5:07)
 +
 +
8. "[[She Makes My Nose Bleed (Song)|She Makes My Nose Bleed]]"  (3:55)
 +
 +
9. "[[Naked Twister (Song)|Naked Twister]]"  (4:39)
 +
 +
10. "[[Egg Shaped Fred (Song)|Egg Shaped Fred]]"  (4:12)
 +
 +
11.  "[[Dark Mavis (Song)|Dark Mavis]]"  (8:36)
 +
 +
12. "[[Flourella (Song)|Flourella]]" (Bonus Track) (4:18)
 +
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13. "[[The Gods of Not Very Much (Song)|The Gods of Not Very Much]]" (Bonus Track) (4:39)
  
 
==Trivia==
 
==Trivia==
Line 65: Line 187:
 
<References/>
 
<References/>
  
 +
{{Backto | Discography}}
  
 
[[Category:Albums]]
 
[[Category:Albums]]
 
[[Category:Discography]]
 
[[Category:Discography]]

Latest revision as of 21:47, 2 March 2016

Attack of the Grey Lantern cover art
Mansun Album
Name Attack of the Grey Lantern
Tracks 11
Track length 62:13
Recorded 1996 - 1997
Writer/composer Paul Draper
Producer Paul Draper, Mark 'Spike' Stent, Ian Caple
Publisher Parlophone
Format(s) CD Vinyl Cassette MiniDisc
Catalogue №
  • CDPCS 7387 (CD) UK »
  • 7243 855791 2 7 (CD) Europe
  • EK 67935 (CD) US
  • 7243 855791 2 7 (CD) Ltd Edition Promotional Tin
  • TOCP 50095 (CD) Japan
  • AEK 67935
  • EK 67935
  • 7243 855791 4 1, TCPCS 7387
  • EK 67935, D122002
  • PCS 7387
  • CDPCS 7387, 7243 855791 2 7
  • 5099963210323 Attack Of The Grey Lantern (3CD Collector's Edition)
Release date
  • 8th February 1997 (Japan) »
  • 17th February 1997 (Europe)
  • 24th June 1997 (US)
  • 7th June 2010 (Collector's edition)
Chart position 1
Album Chronology
Attack of the Grey Lantern
→
Six
EPs
OneEpVinylCover.jpgTwo-EP-CD-Front.jpg

Three-EP-Vinyl-Front.jpg Four-EP-PromoCD-Front.jpg Five-EP-Vinyl-Front.jpg Taxloss-CD1-Front.jpg


Attack of the Grey Lantern is Mansun's debut album released in the UK on the 15th February 1997 via Parlophone - it was released in Japan 9 days prior to the UK release.
The album spent a total of 19 weeks on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number one.[1]

Background

According to the Kleptomania liner notes, Paul Draper states that "Take It Easy, Chicken" was their first song and the band really did not know how to play their instruments, let alone play as a band, when DJs Steve Lamacq and John Peel started to play the song on BBC Radio 1. Through 1996 and 1997, Mansun released "Egg Shaped Fred" (which was re-recorded for the album to include new drummer Andie Rathbone), "Stripper Vicar", "She Makes My Nose Bleed" and "Taxloss" (styled Taxlo$$). "Wide Open Space" became a dance anthem after being remixed by DJ and producer Paul Oakenfold under the production alias Perfecto. This remix was included on Oakenfold's compilation Resident: Two Years of Oakenfold at Cream, as an indicator of being one of the most played songs at major UK nightclub Cream, as well as in nightclubs around the world, over the 1997-1999 period.[2]

"Taxloss" alludes melodically and lyrically to The Beatles' song "Taxman", and also to the rhythmic feel of "Tomorrow Never Knows", as well as "Long Haired Lover from Liverpool" by Little Jimmy Osmond. The video notoriously featured the band throwing £25,000 in five pound banknotes onto the main concourse of London's Liverpool Street station during rush hour and watching the ensuing chaos.[3]

"The Chad Who Loved Me"'s main theme comes from John Barry's 1967 song You Only Live Twice from the James Bond film of the same name.

Concept album

Paul Draper admits that Attack of the Grey Lantern is not a fully fledged concept album, it was his intention for it to be one, until he "ran out of steam", labelling the LP "half a concept album – a con album".[4] The majority of the record is centred on the concept of a superhero, known as "The Grey Lantern", in the guise of Draper himself. Throughout the album, the hero encounters a number of immoral inhabitants in a fictional English village.[4][5]

Lquote.png Well, The Grey Lantern is like a comic-book hero — the album is about this village of people with really disgusting morals and the Grey Lantern sorts them out. I suppose the Grey Lantern's me. I wouldn't have a cape, but there are definitely characters on the record — Albert Taxloss, Chad, Dark Mavis. At the end of the album it all gets resolved and you find Mavis is actually the Stripper Vicar.[4] Rquote.png
—Paul Draper Select Review


At the time of release, Draper hinted at a possible album sequel, titled "The Return Of The Grey Lantern".[4] For its American release, the album's running order was re-sequenced, a move which some felt compromised the intended concept, as the song "Stripper Vicar" was replaced with "Take It Easy, Chicken."

Recording

Release

When Attack of the Grey Lantern was released in February 1997, it charted at #1 on the UK Albums Chart.[1] The album was preceded by four singles, the first of which "Egg Shaped Fred" was released a year prior. "Egg Shaped Fred" was Mansun's début single for Parlophone Records and made #37[1] in the UK. The following three singles ("Stripper Vicar", "Wide Open Space", "She Makes My Nose Bleed") all made the top forty each improving of the previous singles' chart position. The final single released from the album was "Taxloss" which followed the album in April 1997 and made #15.[1] In the US, Mansun enjoyed their only chart success with "Wide Open Space" reaching the modest position of #25 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.


Critical reception

 Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 4.5/5 stars[6]
LeMec Music Net 8/10 stars[7]
NME 8/10 stars[8]
Pitchfork Media 9.3/10 stars link
Rolling Stone 3/5 stars[9]
Select 2/5 stars[4]
The Guardian 5/5 stars[5]
The Observer positive[10]


Tracklisting

UK edition

1. "The Chad Who Loved Me" (5:02)

2. "Mansun's Only Love Song" (5:55)

3. "Taxloss" (7:02)

4. "You, Who Do You Hate?" (3:06)

5. "Wide Open Space" (4:31)

6. "Stripper Vicar" (4:05)

7. "Disgusting" (5:07)

8. "She Makes My Nose Bleed" (3:55)

9. "Naked Twister" (4:39)

10. "Egg Shaped Fred" (4:12)

11a. "Dark Mavis" (8:36)

11b. "An Open Letter to the Lyrical Trainspotter" (Hidden track at the end of Dark Mavis) (4:02)

US edition

1. "The Chad Who Loved Me" (5:02)

2. "Wide Open Space" (4:31)

3. "She Makes My Nose Bleed" (3:55)

4. "Naked Twister" (4:39)

5. "Take It Easy, Chicken" (4:26)

6. "You, Who Do You Hate?" (3:09)

7. "Mansun's Only Love Song" (5:55)

8. "Taxloss" (7:02)

9. "Disgusting" (4:21)

10. "Egg Shaped Fred" (4:12)

11. "Dark Mavis" (8:36)

Japanese edition

1. "The Chad Who Loved Me" (5:02)

2. "Mansun's Only Love Song" (5:55)

3. "Taxloss" (7:02)

4. "You, Who Do You Hate?" (3:06)

5. "Wide Open Space" (4:31)

6. "Stripper Vicar" (4:05)

7. "Disgusting" (5:07)

8. "She Makes My Nose Bleed" (3:55)

9. "Naked Twister" (4:39)

10. "Egg Shaped Fred" (4:12)

11. "Dark Mavis" (8:36)

12. "Flourella" (Bonus Track) (4:18)

13. "The Gods of Not Very Much" (Bonus Track) (4:39)

Trivia

Media Gallery

Discography Gallery

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Mansun at chartstats.com. Retrieved from chartstats.com.
  2. ↑ Resident: Two Years of Oakenfold at Cream review.
  3. ↑ Mansun. Retrieved from natts.com dead link.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Review: Mansun - Attack Of The Grey Lantern, Parlophone'.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Review: Mansun - Attack of the Grey Lantern (Parlophone)'.
  6. ↑ Review: Attack of the Grey Lantern - Mansun'.
  7. ↑ Review: Mansun: Attack Of The Grey Lantern (1997)'. Retrieved from lemec.net.
  8. ↑ Review: Mansun: Attack Of The Grey Lantern (Parlophone)'. Retrieved from nme.com.
  9. ↑ Review: Mansun - Attack Of The Grey Lantern' (8 August 1997). Retrieved from rollingstone.com.
  10. ↑ Review: Mansun - Attack Of The Grey Lantern'.


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