Mansun - 'Legacy - The Best Of' (Parlophone) Released 18/09/06

Chester hasn’t really given us anything useful; a cathedral, some Roman bits and pieces, Hollyoaks, ok an ace Lazer Quest but most importantly, and lest we forget, they gave us Mansun. Purveyors of effeminate theatrical vocals, the best named guitarist this side of The Edge – the name’s Chad incidentally – Mansun have a clutch of some of the most wonderfully underrated indie anthems ever. Overlooking the relatively recent ‘Kleptomania’, the majority of ‘Legacy…’ is taken from the fine ‘Attack Of The Grey Lanterns’ and ‘Six’ long players that make for a sentimental bit of listening.

With a penchant for great song titles ('Egg Shaped Fred', 'The Chad Who Loved Me' etc) a gift of capturing a soaring chorus and an ear for some epic arrangements, there’s no shortage of quality. ‘I Can Only Disappoint U’ opens proceedings with delicious irony, there’s the dramatic prog noodling of ‘Negative’ the formidable Oasis take of ‘Take It Easy Chicken’ and the twin epic of ‘Wide Open Space’ and ‘Closed For Business’. It’s enough to bring a fond smile to the most hardened of critics. It all seems cruelly final as the tandem swagger of ‘Move On’ and ‘Slipping Away’ sees them head for the door before finishing with all the extended flourish of ‘Taxloss’. Of course we’ve failed to mention ‘Stripper Vicar’; ‘Being a Girl’ and ‘She Makes My Nose Bleed’ and at 17 tracks you definitely aren’t sold short.

If you couldn’t bring yourself to buy ‘Attack Of The Grey Lanterns’ despite it being less than a fiver in the second hand section, ‘Legacy…’ is such a comprehensively brilliant Best Of, you might even forgive the blatant cash in – although we bet they regretted that ‘Taxloss’ video.

After their official split in 2003, the unfinished ‘Kleptomania’ seemed a fragmentary and disappointing end and for once a Best Of put an irrevocable climax to a band’s career. Fortunately ‘Legacy’ continues to subvert the Best Of trend because not only is it a masterpiece but a tribute to a band so easily forgotten.