Six (album)

Infobox Album |
Name = Six
Type = Album
Artist = Mansun


Released = September 7, 1998 (UK)
April 20, 1999 (US)
Recorded = 1998
Genre = Neo-progressive, Rock
Length = 70:37
Label = Parlophone
Producer = Mark Stent, Michael Hunter, Paul Draper
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|4|5(International Edition) [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:3nfrxqujldke link]
*Allmusic Rating|3|5(U.S Edition) [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:be8m963ohep6 link]
*Pitchfork (7.8/10) [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/19698/Mansun_Six link]
*PopMatters (Positive) [http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/m/mansun-six.shtml 10/29/02] |
Last album = "Attack of the Grey Lantern" (1996)
This album = "Six" (1998)
Next album = "Little Kix" (2000)

"Six" (released July 1998 - see 1998 in music) was the second album by English rock band Mansun.

"Six" was released in the US on April 20, 1999, but with an alternative running order, different artwork, and the re-recorded single version of the title track.In an interview prior to the release of 'Six', Paul Draper stated that the "interlude" 'Witness To A Murder (Part Two)' was included to separate the album into two parts as a tribute to old style vinyl albums.

Track listing

UK release

Part Onetracklist
title1 = Six | length1 = 8:07
title2 = Negative | length2 = 4:21
title3 = Shotgun | length3 = 6:38
title4 = Inverse Midas | length4 = 1:44
title5 = Anti-Everything | length5 = 2:25
title6 = Fall Out | length6 = 3:47
title7 = Serotonin | length7 = 2:33
title8 = Cancer | length8 = 9:31

Interludetracklist
title9 = Witness to a Murder (Part Two) (monologue performed by Tom Baker) | length9 = 3:06

Part Twotracklist
title10 = Television | length10 = 8:21
title11 = Special / Blown It (Delete as Appropriate) | length11 = 5:32
title12 = Legacy | length12 = 6:33
title13 = Being a Girl | length13 = 7:59
title14 = I Care (Japanese only bonus track) | length14 = 3:42

*Track 2 written by Paul Draper, Dominic Chad, Stove King and Andie Rathbone.
*Tracks 3 and 10 written by Paul Draper and Dominic Chad.
*Track 9 written by Dominic Chad.
*All other tracks written by Paul Draper.

US release

tracklist
title1 = Six (Baker Mix) | length1 = 3:56
title2 = Negative | length2 = 4:16
title3 = Legacy | length3 = 6:19
title4 = Anti Everything | length4 = 2:25
title5 = Fall Out | length5 = 3:47
title6 = Serotonin | length6 = 2:33
title7 = Cancer | length7 = 9:16
title8 = Television | length8 = 8:21
title9 = Special / Blown It (Delete as Appropriate) | length9 = 5:18
title10 = Shotgun | length10 = 6:27
title11 = Being a Girl | length11 = 8:00

Personnel

*Paul Draper - Producer
*Mark 'Spike' Stent - Producer
*Mike Hunter - Engineer
*Paul Walton - Engineer
*Pennie Smith - Band Photography

Notes

Charted coincidentally at UK #6.

"Legacy", "Being A Girl (Part One)", "Negative" and "Six" were each released as singles.

"Being A Girl (Part One)" is literally the first two minutes of "Being A Girl" it was in this form that it was released as a single.

"Six" was re-recorded and produced by Arthur Baker for its single release.

Artwork

The album's sleeve art was a painting produced by Max Schindler, and commissioned especially for the album. It contains many references to personal interests and obsessions of the band, such as a TARDIS and an image of Tom Baker as Doctor Who, and Patrick McGoohan as Number 6, from The Prisoner. There is also a depiction of Winnie the Pooh standing close to a painting that may be a reproduction of Vinegar tasters, a Taoist allegorical painting. Guitarist Dominic Chad is known to be both a Taoist and a fan of A. A. Milne, and the album's name is in fact a reference to Milne's book Now We Are Six.

The cover also depicts a number of (perhaps non-existent) books, including:
*"Life As A Series of Compromises" by Graham Langdon
*"Who On Earth Is Tom Baker?" by Tom Baker (the actor's autobiography)
*"Nineteen Eighty Four" by George Orwell (1984 was one of the album's working titles)
*"120 Days of Sodom" by Marquis De Sade (referenced in the lyrics of "Legacy")
*The Book of Mormon (referenced in the lyrics of "Cancer")
*"The Bible Code" by Michael Drosnin
*"People Places" by Richard Rogers (referenced in the lyrics of "Anti-Everything")
*"The House on Pooh Corner" by A. A. Milne (referenced in the lyrics of "Shotgun")
*"Dianetics" by L. Ron Hubbard (referenced in the lyrics of "Negative")
*"The Schizoid Man", Refers to an episode title of "The Prisoner"
*"Paint It Black" by Geoffrey Giuliano (a book on the death of Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones, an important influence on Dominic Chad)

The inlay booklet includes enlarged images of the piles of books from the cover, making it easier to read the authors and titles.

One book perhaps notably absent is Benjamin Hoff's "The Tao of Pooh", given Chad's interest in both Taoism and A. A. Milne. The book is also arguably one of the major influences behind the lyrics to the song "Shotgun".

ingles

Legacy (Eight Ep)

* Released 29 June 1998.
* UK Singles Chart: #7

ix (Eleven Ep)

* Released 1 February 1999.
* UK Singles Chart: #16