02/09/2026
John reckons Six by Mansun is one of the most criminally underrated British albums of the ’90s. And the older it gets, the more ridiculous it seems that it isn’t routinely talked about alongside the great records of that era.
Released in 1998, Six is Mansun throwing absolutely everything at it. Prog, glam, psychedelia, indie rock, electronics, huge guitars, strange time changes, orchestration and songs that suddenly disappear down completely unexpected rabbit holes. It’s ambitious, weird, occasionally baffling and gloriously over the top — but underneath all that experimentation are some genuinely brilliant songs. “Legacy”, “Being a Girl”, “Negative” and the title track alone deserve far more recognition.
Maybe that’s why Six slipped through the cracks a little. It arrived when Britpop was running out of steam, but rather than make the obvious commercial follow-up to Attack of the Grey Lantern, Mansun made something sprawling, difficult and completely uncompromising. It didn’t neatly fit the moment — and that’s exactly why it has aged so well.
So, John’s nomination for the criminally underrated album club is Six.
What’s yours? Give us an album you think should be regarded as a classic but somehow never gets the love it deserves.
