The late 70's UK Punk/New Wave explosion like any movement
had it's credible bands in the form of The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Damned
etc, it also had it's "we're coming along for the ride boys" in the shape
of Sham 69, The UK Subs, The Ruts, The Angelic Upstarts etc the list goes
on.
You may disagree on which bands fit into which category, but for me the most
interesting point about this particular period is the bands who were also
swept in on the New Wave bandwagon and ultimately turned out to be far more
creative and enduring, Elvis Costello, Ian Dury & Squeeze come to mind but
most importantly The Stranglers.
The Stranglers weren't punks, they didn't look like punks, they didn't sound
like punks (they could actually play), they didn't dress like punks and were
surely far too old. What they did have was attitude, aggression and vulgarity
that affiliated them with the movement, they were the media's dirty old men
of the punk, but more importantly than anything else they had talent and originality
by the bucket load.
Now anyone who is familiar with the bands 70's output will know what a high
regard these boys had for the opposite sex and when any album kicks off lyrically
with the line "Someday I'm gonna smack your face" you pretty much get an idea
of what's in store. This album isn't anywhere near as offensive as the album
that follows but it's sure not going to win any admirers from the feminist
associations or political correctness brigades either, but then lets face
it lyrics were never really this bands strong point.
Where The Stranglers score most heavily is their sheer ability and originality,
the sound that they create is simply awesome, its menacing, its aggressive,
the bass throbs, the guitars growl, the keyboards swirl and no one instrument
ever seems to dominate. The sound that they make is essentially bass and keyboard
led, the guitars only really punctuate the songs and generally play second
fiddle to the keyboards in the solo stakes, and the whole thing is held together
by fantastic work from the drum stool. I really don't ever recall any band
during the whole of this period sounding this tight. There really are no weak
points on the whole of the album, my hand has been forced in picking "Princess
of the Streets" and that has only been isolated as it doesn't have quite the
same atmosphere as the rest of the tracks. "(Get a) Grip (on Yourself)" and
"Hanging Around" are the radio friendly tracks from the album and are less
menacing than the others but still retain the essential Stranglers sound.
The other side one tracks "Sometimes", "Goodbye Toulouse" and "London Lady"
are all on fire with Dave Greenfield's Manzarek influenced keyboards, swirling
and dazzling their way up and under JJ Burnels thundering bass lines with
Cornwells guitar sliding in to every now again to complete the picture.
Cornwell and Burnel take shifts in the lead vocal stakes, Cornwell the more
familiar with his laid back effortless vocal style and Burnel altering things
a little to suit each particular track.
"Ugly" is more or less indecipherable lyrically and it wasn't until I replaced
my original vinyl copy with a CD version (that included lyrics) that I discovered
what the song was all about. Feminists best steer clear of the lyric sheet
I fear, however "Ugly" signs off with the line "Don't tell me that aesthetics
are subjective, you just know the truth when you see it, whatever it is",
there is some thought behind these lyrics really you know !!.
"Peaches" is the hit that wasn't radio friendly for obvious reasons but remains
a classic, built around a great riff and inspired by a stroll on the beach
and as ever contains all the elements that make this album a classic.
The album signs off with the magnificent seven minute "Down in the Sewer".
Another factor that appeals to me about the bands work during this period
is the long instrumental passages that they use to lead us into many of the
songs, vocals quite often take over a minute to appear on tracks, two minutes
in this case. "Down in the Sewer" leads us through such an intro before Cornwell
breaks in with his echoey vocal track, each section of the song has its own
sub-title and each section seamlessly moves into the next with the band feeling
tighter than ever. It takes a breath close to the end where Greenfield slows
things down for a moment before the band come together to build to a majestic
frenzied crescendo.
This really is an awesome album, fantastic production work from Martin Rushent,
angry and menacing, powerful and original in every sense. It never fails to
please and I hear something different every time play it.
Highly recommended, but I do accept it won't be for everyone, so beware, it's
along way from "Golden Brown".
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Anyone who had experienced and enjoyed The Stranglers
magnificent Rattus album must have been over the moon when
the follow up was scheduled for release only six months later, unfortunately
the resulting album is nothing like it's predecessor in content or quality
and in reality is nothing short of a complete mess.
Apparently many of the tracks on No More Heroes were recorded
at the same sessions that produced the first album which could explain the
sudden drop in quality as many of these tracks were obviously considered not
strong enough for that glorious debut.
The band were pretty outrageous lyrically on the first album and with that
knowledge tucked safely under their belts felt confident enough to really
go to town on this second outing, the result being that they shift from the
"menacing, dirty old men" tag into something more like "naughty
schoolboy" territory.
No More Heroes is not a complete disaster but it feels as
though it was just thrown together with whatever new material they around
backed with outtakes from the previous album sessions, no doubt a marketing
demand to quickly cash in on the success of the previous album before the
Punk/New Wave movement burned out.
"I Feel like a Wog" commences proceedings and immediately disappoints
with its dull repetitive riff and clearly doesn't have the same bite as anything
from Rattus. "Bitching" is the first of a more
lightweight Stranglers feel (not lyrically of course) and presents more of
a "poppier" side to the band than had not previously been seen.
"Dead Ringer" and "Dagenham Dave" are both tracks that
for me get a far better treatment on the Live X Cert album that was recorded
during this period and released the following year, the tracks performed live
retain more attitude and edge than they do here and the band generally doesn't
feel anywhere near as tight as they did previously.
"Bring on the Nubiles" is for me the worst track on the album, lyrically
it's simply laughable and their most offensive venture yet. I'm really not
sure what they were trying to achieve by writing this kind of lyric, Ian Dury
also wrote lyrics of this nature and wasn't afraid to use course language
around this time but Dury's lyrics never seemed to sound quite as naive as
they do here.
"Something Better Change" redresses the balance a little, this is
the only track here that recaptures some of the atmosphere of the previous
album, Dave's swirling Manzarek organ is up front, menacing vocals, a great
solo and it really holds your attention right the way to its pulsating finish.
"No More Heroes" the main single from the album is again head and
shoulders over most tracks on this set and again shows a slightly lighter
edge to the band before we descend into the land of disappointment again with
"Pheasant in the Big Shitty" & "Burning up Time".
"Pheasant" has potential but is spoilt by the unnecessary Transylvanian
style vocals, a better result would have been achieved if the vocals had been
left to Hugh to deliver in his familiar manner.
"English Towns" has that "earmarked for a single" feel
about it, and is certainly more radio friendly than most tracks here but again
doesn't really deliver anything on any level, and so we come to the album
closer "School Mam".
When I fist pulled this album from its sleeve I noted the groove space allotted
on side two for this track and thought that we might be looking at another
lengthy "Down in the Sewer" style climax to the album and waited
in anticipation. "School Mam" does start positively and feels as
though it's a track that's going to slowly build, but when you reach the end
of the first verse and anticipate a solo break or maybe a change in direction
it simply plods on with more of the same and rambles on past 7 minutes to
nothing more than a shambling finish.
Now I admit that Rattus was a tough act to follow and when
listening to No More Heroes you can't help but compare the two, but ultimately
it is a disappointing set and seeing as the following album is a massive improvement
it only reassures me that Heroes was rushed out to meet either
public or record company demand.
"Straighten Out" and "5 Minutes" were both recorded and
released around this period and are far stronger than most of the tracks that
made it onto this album so the ability to create songs of this nature was
clearly still there. That said, "Rok it to the Moon" (a B side from
this period) showed just how sloppy they could get if they really felt like
it and left me seriously worried about what sort of material was being lined
up for the next album.
No More Heroes still remains (in most critics views) one
of the classic four Stranglers albums recorded between 1977-1979, but to me
it is by far the weakest of the four, it will no doubt sound better if you've
not been introduced to Rattus, if you have prepare to be
disappointed.
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After the incredible debut in Rattus Norvegicus
and then major disappointment of No More Heroes this was
one album that I was extremely cautious about investing in. My faith had been
kept in the fact that the singles that had appeared prior to, and following
the No More Heroes release were still right up there with
the standard of the tracks from the first album. My faith in the band was
thankfully rewarded as Black and White turned out to be the second masterwork
from this criminally underrated band and does indeed push Rattus
close for the honour of the bands best album.
Everything that dragged down Heroes is thankfully eradicated this time round,
lyrically again this is nothing to shout about but at least we've left behind
the naive subject matters of the previous set and this time concentrate on
stronger themes. The album was originally released (as the title suggests)
with a black and a white side which is sadly kind of lost on the latest CD
releases.
The white side that leads the set is sung entirely by Cornwell and is far
more upbeat than the black side which is clearly Burnel inspired, but whichever
side you listen to the songs are well structured, they shoot off in various
directions at any given time, they contain wonderful arrangements and solo's
and the band feels every bit as tight as they did on the first album. There's
a general feeling that they are comfortable creating their own unique sound
and not trying to keep in time with the movement of the day as I feel they
were encouraged to do on the previous album.
The white side does contain the weakest track on the album for me the dreary
"Outside Tokyo" which rambles along casually but nevertheless does
include a nice Greenfield solo and the track is short enough at just over
two minutes not spoil the overall impact of the first side. It's followed
by the manic "Hey! (Rise of the Robots)" performed at breakneck
speed and boosted by a screaming sax from guest star Laura Logic who if I
remember rightly guested on various albums from this era.
"Nice N Sleazy" was the only single from the album and quite rightly
was an automatic choice for the honour with it's quirky reggae influence,
Greenfield's solo once again lifts the track to new heights especially when
experienced through headphones, play it loud and play havoc with your eardrums.
"Tank" features all your favourite Stranglers trademarks, JJ's bass
drives hard alongside Dave's nimble fingerwork, the menacing vocal track coupled
with explosive effects keep the track firing on all cylinders from start to
finish.
"Sweden", now some of you guys out there may have something to say
about the lyrical content of this song "only country where the clouds
are interesting", "too much time to think, too little to do"
Hugh informs us. Now he did live in Sweden for a couple of years prior to
returning to the UK in the early 70's so I guess he's entitled to form his
own opinions, no doubt some of you out their will have your own !!!. "Sweden"
is also the earliest sign of Hugh trying out his "proper" singing
voice as he croon's his way through the "cumulus nimbus" line, little
did we know that he'd soon be adopting this style for good.
"Toiler on the Sea" is the pinnacle of the white side and indeed
the entire album, once again we get the trademark long instrumental lead into
the song where all the guys get the chance to flex their muscles before Hugh
drives us into the main body of the track. Well structured with a wonderful
mid section where the track builds to peak before coming back for a final
verse where if I'm not mistaken Hugh's crooning a little more than he is in
the first two verses, crooning with an edge though and a great finish to stunning
first side.
JJ kicks off the black side with the equally enthralling "Curfew",
spacey organ verses led with JJ's "Dalek" style vocals (following
his vampire impersonations on the previous album) with Hugh leading the vocals
for the choruses. "Threatened" follows which is the first of two
extremely dark and atmospheric tracks, wonderful keyboards again with the
JJ's bass pumping away, "In the Shadows" is just as moody with it's
deep dark vocals and equally dark lyric.
"Do you Wanna" is probably my favourite track from the black side
of the album with its heavy intro and fantastic guitar work throughout, great
middle eight "Do you wanna fix my muffler, it's got a hole in it"
we hear before seamlessly disappearing off in to the next track "Death
and Night and Blood" with it's infectious "hey little baby don't
you lean down low" line, this really is a return to form and by this
point I had completely forgiven them for the last album.
The album closes with the dark as you like "Enough Time" a real
heavy finish to the album, grinding guitars, throbbing bass, morse code solo,
Hugh handling the verses with JJ punctuating the "have you got enough
time" lines which close each verse and then form the coda where subtle
effects are added and the track gradually slows and slows, down and down until
it eventually grinds to a halt.
Original copies of the album in the UK were issued with limited edition white
vinyl copies of the "Walk on By" / "Mean to Me" single
which are welcome addition as bonus tracks on the CD version. Later CD additions
I believe have recently added further bonus tracks which amongst others include
a Swedish language version of "Sweden" from the main album.
I personally rank "Walk on By" as one of my favourite Stranglers
tracks and surely one of the greatest covers of all time, this track really
is a prime example of how good this band really were. They took what was a
run of the mill 60's soul ballad and transformed it, extended it, incorporated
their own influences, and moulded it into their own unique style. It's an
absolute classic, six minutes and twenty one seconds of pure perfection and
if you haven't heard it make sure you do, it's really worth buying this album
on the strength of this track alone.
What more can I say, Black and White was a major return to
form for this band, they had one more good album in them yet but sadly for
me this was the point where the Stranglers waved goodbye to their unique style
and started to look in different directions.
Black and White is hardly easy listening and I would admit
that it takes two or three listens before you really begin to reap its rewards.
As I've also stated previously it remains a far cry from the "Golden
Browns" and "Skin Deeps" of the future, but it also justly
remains an absolute classic of this era.
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