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The Paul Draper and Mansun appreciation thread

Started by Vodka Margarine, April 30, 2016, 09:07:10 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

niat

I'm in that FB group but I didn't see anything, and now I'm intrigued. Still don't know what happened with the Estrons thing earlier.

Enzo

Missed all this. Not good news though if he's feuding with Andie, he sorted out the rights issues with Chad & Stove for the upcoming Attack of the Grey Lantern boxset.

PaulTMA

He appeared recently to be the one other member of the band he still was on good terms with and hinted he'd make an appearance on the upcoming tour, which I expect is unlikely to happen now (the guest appearance, that is).

buzby

Just got back from the Manchester gig. it was fantastic. The man himself was on form, though I did notice sometimes he had to drop the falsetto vocals an octave. He's put some timber on compated to the pictures from last year's tour though, His 81-year old dad was there too, just along the balcony from where I was standing. his band are excellent - he said it was the best band he'd ever played with and that's probably true. Katherine AD has departed for this tour, replaced by Christina Hizon (part of the PSB's live setup) but she is more than capable on the keys and backing vocals.

The support act was some young bloke with an acoustical guitar called Sol. Like most young blokes with acoustical guitars he was trying to channel Bob Dylan with a bit of Leonard Cohen thrown in, and was singing in 'that' earnest vocal style. All a bit meh to me I'm afraid.

Then came Draper & co. for the first half, a 50-minute run through of the highlights of his solo album .This was great, though it seemed a large proportion of the crowd were unfamiliar with it, which was a shame. Presumably they had just come for the nostalgia of hearing Grey Lantern. The only problem I had with the solo stuff was he did an acoustic version of Jealousy Is A Powerful Emotion, which was a shame as the lush synths made this my favourite track on the album. On the other hand, we did get an extended version of Friends Make The Worst Enemies (dedicated to 'all the people you know who turned out to be cunts').

After a 10-minute break they returned and ran through Grey Lantern, in the album running order with all the string parts, sounds effects and transitions intact (parts taken from the master tapes that he's just got back). It was bloody marvellous, is all I can say. At the end he said he wants to come back with his next solo album and do Six, so fingers crossed (hopefully it won't take another 15 years).

The only downsides of the night were a)it was fucking freezing - there's probably not been so many long coats at a gig on Whitworth Street since the Hacienda opened, and b) just after the second half started a bloke and his pissed-up missus came and stood behind me, and proceeded to have a low-octane domestic throughout the gig. She had a really loud, irritatingly nasal posh Manc accent too, which cut through anything the PA could muster. Fucking people!

niat

You jammy bugger. I had a ticket but wasn't brave enough to risk the M62 from Leeds last night. It looked packed from the pictures I've seen online. I thought there would be more stay-at-homes, especially from the right side of the Pennines.

Saw him in Leeds on the first night of the mini-tour last year and it was excellent. Sounds like he's gone from strength to strength.

I'm hoping he might add a few extra dates to the end of the tour. If not, it sounds like he's going to tour Six next year, so I'll catch him then.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

Quote from: Enzo on February 10, 2018, 11:25:20 PM
upcoming Attack of the Grey Lantern boxset.
What could this contain that wasn't already on the 2010 edition?

Quote from: niat on February 09, 2018, 01:12:17 PM
Still don't know what happened with the Estrons thing earlier.
It's possible he's just not famous enough to trouble the news cycle, but hopefully the lack of any further details in the #metoo/#timesup era means that it wasn't that bad.

purlieu

Quote from: Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth on March 02, 2018, 04:45:31 PM
What could this contain that wasn't already on the 2010 edition?
Wouldn't mind a reissue of this, to be honest, it goes for stupid amounts.

PaulTMA

He's toned down the embarrassing and weird chat that he had going on in Glasgow on the previous tour, in fact he came across as quite normal this time.  Audience were a bit subdued overall though.  Perhaps the previous gig was just simply full of keener fans.

Enzo

according to the facebook group he walked off the Nottingham gig after 4 songs.

PaulTMA


Sgt. Duckie


Vodka Margarine

I attended the Brighton Haunt two weeks ago and he was in fine form. The arrangements and his vocals in the solo set and the AOTGL section sounded exemplary and just for an evening it really felt like the old magic was back. The venue's long and narrow shape left a lot to be desired - it didn't take a lot of bodies to fill up the main area, which meant too many people found themselves kettled down and trapped behind the huge DJ booth and into the bar area, where you could barely see or hear a thing. Fortunately I managed to edge forward and get a passable view of Paul between two bobbing heads, so I can't grumble too much. It was sold out after all. Still, a poor choice of venue – The Haunt is mostly used as a nightclub, so somewhere just a little more well, 'wide open' would've been grand.

The events of last night in Nottingham sound pretty bleak. I refuse to watch that clip, I think it would utterly ruin my day. I'm used to him looking a bit dishevelled and well padded these days but I really can't face that.  There's a lot of speculation flying around on the fan forums – he's burnt out, he's got a drink problem, he's got a drugs problem, he's got poor mental health, he hates playing Mansun songs, someone at the venue pissed him off, someone in his band pissed him off, someone at Drowned In Sound pissed him off (since debunked). He also left a bizarre (and since deleted) message on his own page completely ripping into DIS, to much bewilderment. Understandably, there are some very unimpressed fans who've waited 20 years and paid a lot of money to effectively watch a car crash but there's even more displays of genuine concern for his wellbeing. He's clearly in a very bad place at the moment. I hope once the tittle-tattle dies down and he feels up to it he'll say something – it seems wildly out of character for Draper to take any pleasure in alienating his fans, inadvertently or not. 

purlieu

He made a statement saying a personal issue came up prior to the gig and he couldn't focus - probably why he was so drunk as well. That video is horrible to watch. Given the positive reviews for the rest of the tour it does seem like it was a one-off thing, but it was really sad to see either way.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

Bumping the thread, on the sixth day of the month, appropriately enough, as I've just noticed that the reissue of SIX is due for release on the 22nd. A bit odd for it to be on the 21st anniversary, although, if I remember rightly, it was actually around this date twenty years ago that I bought my copy.

Here's the blurb for the ultra mega edition:

Quote
DELUXE 4-DISC BOOK - three CDs featuring the remastered album in full, a disc of demos, rarities & outtakes, and the b-side album The Dead Flowers Reject. Also contains a DVD featuring SIX mixed in 5.1 surround sound mix (DTS 96/24 5.1 and Dolby Digital AC3 5.1) by long-time collaborator P-Dub; a hi-resolution stereo audio (24bit/48kHz Linear PCM) and all of the album's original promotional videos.
It also comes with a 48-page hardback book featuring sleeve notes by journalist and long-time fan Paul Lester; alongside notes on the album from the band's Paul Draper (including foreword, analysis of the cover art, track-by-track descriptions for the CD extras and an album overview of The Dead Flowers Reject).

Disc 1 - SIX (remastered album)
SIX
Negative
Shotgun
Inverse Midas
Anti Everything
Fall Out
Serotonin
Cancer
Witness to a Murder Part 2
Television
Special/Blown It
Legacy
Being A Girl

Disc 2 - Outtakes, rarities and demos

Disc 3 - The Dead Flowers Reject
What It's Like To Be Hated
GSOH
Been Here Before
When The Wind Blows
Can't Afford To Die
Church Of The Drive Thru Elvis
I Care
King Of Beauty
But The Trains Run On Time
Check Under The Bed
I Deserve What I Get
Railings

Disc 4 - 5.1 surround sound; a hi-resolution stereo audio and all of the album's original promotional videos

Five of the tracks from the Dead Flowers Reject have already found their way onto previous compilations, which is a tiny bit of a disappointment. I'll be god damned if it's going to stop me from getting a copy though.

PaulTMA

Ah that's good, I thought for a second he'd been cancelled

sevendaughters

wish they'd edit a bunch of bars from the chorus of Television out and add a few bars to Special/Blown It in

colinzeal

Quote from: Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth on March 06, 2019, 12:36:30 AM
Bumping the thread, on the sixth day of the month, appropriately enough, as I've just noticed that the reissue of SIX is due for release on the 22nd. A bit odd for it to be on the 21st anniversary, although, if I remember rightly, it was actually around this date twenty years ago that I bought my copy.

Here's the blurb for the ultra mega edition:

Five of the tracks from the Dead Flowers Reject have already found their way onto previous compilations, which is a tiny bit of a disappointment. I'll be god damned if it's going to stop me from getting a copy though.


I'm writing a review of this for a music website and have been listening to the rarities and b sides disc. It's incredible. The two different versions of Cancer are a revelation and Pterodactyl is brilliantly weird.

buzby

Quote from: PaulTMA on March 06, 2019, 12:41:15 AM
Ah that's good, I thought for a second he'd been cancelled
He basically already has been, hasn't he? He's just obscure enough for the mainstream not to care.

gilbertharding

I hadn't considered Mansun since about 2001 and wouldn't have clicked on this thread otherwise - but the last ChartMusicPodcast brought me here. What's going on?

phantom_power

I know he got a lot of flak when a female support band quit his tour for inappropriate messages sent to them or something, and there have been numerous other tales

DrGreggles

He told Caitlin Moran to fuck off.
To be fair to him, he probably has met her.

purlieu

Quote from: Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth on March 06, 2019, 12:36:30 AM
Bumping the thread, on the sixth day of the month, appropriately enough, as I've just noticed that the reissue of SIX is due for release on the 22nd. A bit odd for it to be on the 21st anniversary, although, if I remember rightly, it was actually around this date twenty years ago that I bought my copy.
The Grey Lantern reissue was a 21st anniversary one too. I'm very excited for this, anyway, as I've somehow not heard any Six b-sides other than those on Kleptomania (which I never listened to much, for some reason), so it's basically an entire new Six-era album for me. The demos and sessions I'm sure will be fascinating, and I'm glad the remaining b-sides have found their way onto the second disc (+ one is a hidden track on the Dead Flowers album).

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

Is the 21st anniversary version of Attack of the Grey Lantern the same as the 2010 reissue? Basically, is there any compelling reason to get it in addition to the earlier one?

daf

Quote from: Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth on March 06, 2019, 12:51:55 PM
Is the 21st anniversary version of Attack of the Grey Lantern the same as the 2010 reissue? Basically, is there any compelling reason to get it in addition to the earlier one?

The bonus tracks are all different - no duplication.

2010 : album & 2 discs of B sides (for all the ep's up to Closed for Business)
2018 : album & 1 disc of session outtakes & a disc of BBC sessions (not all of them though - they miss out on the amazing Mark Radcliffe 1995 session - possibly due to song duplication?)

Quote
Disc 2 – CD
1. Disgusting (demo) [04:41]
2. Rebel Without A Quilt (original version) [06:22]
3. Naked Twister (demo) [03:49]
4. Dark Mavis (demo) [05:31]
5. The Dutchess (backing jam) [03:41]
6. Ski Jump Nose (original version) [05:59]
7. She Makes My Nose Bleed (strings only) [03:59]
8. The Chad Who Loved Me (backing track take 1) [05:39]
9. Stripper Vicar (take 1) [04:21]
10. Stripper Link (full length version) [01:07]
11. Dark Mavis (rejected version) [05:17]
12. She Makes My Nose Bleed (version 1) [04:00]
13. An Open Letter To The Lyrical Trainspotter (take 1) [04:15]
14. The Greatest Pain (backing track take 1) [03:01]
15. You, Who Do You Hate? (early version) [03:01]
16. She Makes My Nose Bleed (demo) [04:01]
17. Egg Shaped Fred (mix 1) [05:13]

- - - - - - - -

Disc 3 – CD
1. Skin Up Pin Up (Radio One Session 14/9/95) [04:05]
2. Grey Lantern (Radio One Session 14/9/95) [03:02]
3. Flourella (Radio One Session 15/5/96) [04:07]
4. Naked Twister (Radio One Session 15/5/96) [03:46]
5. Drastic Sturgeon (Radio One Session 15/5/96) [03:27]
6. Egg Shaped Fred (Soho Live Radio One Evening Session 12/11/96) [04:15]
7. Take It Easy Chicken (Soho Live Radio One Evening Session 12/11/96) [05:55]
8. Stripper Vicar (Mark Radcliffe Session 16/12/96) [03:48]
9. She Makes My Nose Bleed (Mark Radcliffe Session 16/12/96) [03:48]
10. Wide Open Space (Mark Radcliffe Session 16/12/96) [04:18]
11. The Chad Who Loved Me (Mark Radcliffe Session 16/12/96) [02:00]
12. Ski Jump Nose (Mark Radcliffe Session 16/12/96) [03:05]

There's also a DVD with the album in 5.1 - which, as I don't have 5.1 speakers, may or may not be 'any good'.

The DVD also has the Grey Lantern videos - BUT - the audio on the videos is TOTAL GARBAGE - all phasesy and thin - something went seriously wrong there.

(Luckily, you can get all the Mansun videos in PERFECT audio - and in correct 50fps - on the 2 disc best of - Legacy)



daf

Quote from: purlieu on March 06, 2019, 10:56:45 AM
I've somehow not heard any Six b-sides other than those on Kleptomania

The B sides for Little Kix are also great - including my all time favourite Mansun song, the Paul & Chad co-write Black Infinite Space

If only Little Kix had been as half good as that - Insanely, it was hidden away as track 3 on the second CD of Fool.

Jesus, I LOVE that song!

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

I can probably, possibly, do without the Greay Lantern re-re-issue, then. Their videos generally weren't all that, even if they did include the finest performance of Britain's premier thespian Danny Dyer. Fun fact: one of my sister's friends was in the video for Taxloss, lobbing cash over the balcony at Liverpool Street.

purlieu

The inner shelf-organiser I have really dislikes that the really good Grey Lantern reissue (ie with all the b-sides that I'll actually want to listen to regularly) is in the 3CD digipak, while the Six reissue and, no doubt, upcoming Little Kix reissue, are in big 12" boxes. I'd love to have all three side-by-side, but that would require buying a second version of the debut with tracks I'm not massively interested in.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

You could swap out the disks maybe?

Is a Little Kix reissue confirmed? The website says that KScope acquired the band's full back catalogue, so it makes sense that they'd release it in some form, but I can't imagine it meriting the same glossy treatment that the first two albums have. There are probably enough B-sides to make up a second disk, but I can't imagine Draper wanting to spend much time writing liner notes for it.

Quote from: colinzeal on March 06, 2019, 09:24:44 AM
I'm writing a review of this for a music website
Oooh. When and where will it be published? Also, does the remastered version of the album sound any different from the original?

By the by, it seems a bit weird that the single version of the title track isn't included in the set.

purlieu

Quote from: Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth on March 06, 2019, 05:11:22 PM
You could swap out the disks maybe?
It'd still involve buying something I'm not tremendously interested in, which was my real gripe. I mean, it's a small gripe really, I'm happy with the 2010 reissue. I just have a 'section' for super deluxe oversized editions in my collection and it'd be nice if they were all there. Oh well.

MidnightShambler

I saw Mansun supporting Shed Seven in The Lomax in Liverpool in about 1996. It was only a tiny place and nobody at all was interested in them, about 30 of us watching them and they sounded ok, nothing special. Thought no more about it then a few months later they were massive (well, ish).

Always wished I'd have paid more attention so I'd have a better story but there you go, the mid-90s was great for things like that, saw loads of bands in shitty little venues that ended up being big.

Don't miss the Ben Sherman's though.