REVIEWS:
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(reviewed by Rob Eustace)
HIGH POINTS: Down in the Sewer, Peaches, Ugly, Hanging Around, Goodbye Toulouse. LOW POINTS: Princess of the Streets
The late 70's UK Punk/New Wave explosion like any movement had it's forerunners in the form of The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Damned etc, it also had it's second wave of sub standard outfits in the form of Sham 69, The UK Subs, The Ruts, The Angelic Upstarts etc the list goes on and on. It may be subjective as to which bands fit into which category but for me the most interesting point about this particular period is the artists 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 and importantly in this instance The Stranglers.
The Stranglers weren't punks, they didn't look the part and didn't sound the part, they didn't dress like punks and at the end of the day were surely far too old to truely fit the image. What they did have however was attitude, aggression and vulgarity that affiliated them with the movement, they ultimatley became the media's dirty old men of punk, but more importantly than anything else they had talent and originality by the bucket load. Anyone familiar with the bands 70's output will already be fully aware of 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 feminist associations or political correctness brigades either, but then lets face it lyrics were never really the Stranglers strong point.
Where the band score heavily is in their 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 dominates. The sound that they generate is essentially bass and keyboard led, the guitars only ever really supplement the sound and generally play second fiddle to the keyboards in the solo stakes and the whole picture is completed with solid work from the drum stool. I really don't recall any band during the whole of this period (with the exception of The Blockheads) sounding this tight.
There really are no weak points on this debut and "Princess of the Streets" 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 fill the sound. Cornwell and Burnel take shifts in the 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 a forgotten classic from this set, possiblily as much of it is more or less indecipherable lyrically. It wasn't until I replaced my original vinyl copy with a CD version that I discovered the full scathing tale of the "less photogenic" among us. The band never beats arounds the bush and sums up the sorry tale "Don't tell me that aesthetics are subjective, you just know the truth when you see it, whatever it is", very thoughtful. "Peaches" is the hit that wasn't radio friendly and got itself banned by most radio stations, it's built around an engaging riff and lyrically inspired by a stroll on the beach, to this day it remains a classic of the era and is an ever present on your later day punk compliations.
The album signs off with the magnificent seven minute "Down in the Sewer" showcasing a long instrumental passage at the beginning of the track . This was a feature of many of the bands early works, vocals would 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, the track is broken into four sections with each section seamlessly moving into the next with the band feeling tighter than ever. It takes a short 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.
Rattus is an awesome debut, fantastic production 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. This set is highly recommended, but I accept it won't be for everyone. Tread very carefully here, it's a long way from "Golden Brown".
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(reviewed by Rob Eustace)
HIGH POINTS: Something Better Change, No More Heroes. LOW POINTS: Bring on the Nubiles, School Mam
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" into something more like "naughty schoolboys" territory. No More Heroes is not a complete disaster but it feels as though it was just thrown together with whatever new material they had 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 the band 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 but Dury's lyrics never seemed to sound quite as naive as the Stranglers 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, Greenfield's swirling Manzarek organ 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 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 grooves 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 would be the first to admit that Rattus was always going to be a tough act to follow and when listening to No More Heroes you can't help but compare the two. Ultimately though this remains 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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(reviewed by Rob Eustace)
HIGH POINTS: Toiler On The Sea, Nice Nn Sleazy, Tank, Do You Wanna, Enough Time. LOW POINTS: Outside Tokyo.
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 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 in the form of the dreary "Outside Tokyo" which just 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 having been despatched from X-Ray Spex started guesting 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 early 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" is an enjoyable tale "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 a 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 one 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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(reviewed by Rob Eustace)
HIGH POINTS: Go Buddy Go, Dagenham Dave, Straighten Out, Five Minutes, Dead Ringer. LOW POINTS: None.
Released in 1979 between Black And White and The Raven, Live X Cert is a most enjoyable collection of tracks from the bands first three albums and various singles from the same period. What is even more satisfying is that the tracks included from the lesser of those albums, No More Heroes, sit shoulder to shoulder with the rest of the set in this format quite happily. Live X Cert is real plus for the band as apart from the classic Live At The Roxy compilation they’re wasn’t too many live outings issued by bands from the punk/new wave era. Many have been released since but most are budget packages of poor quality. There suddenly appears to be numerous Pistols Live CD’s hitting the shelves in the UK and dire releases by various other bands, X-Ray Spex to name but one.
Live X Cert is a solid set, and although I never had the pleasure of witnessing the band live, historically this album is said to be a good representation of their raw stage presence. Like many live albums some of the tracks are worked out somewhat quicker than their studio counterparts but this doesn’t detract from the overall effect one little bit. “Go Buddy Go” is a sheer joy in this live format and I would always return to this version rather than the studio rendition since X Cert’s release. Other highlights are “Dagenham Dave” and “Dead Ringer”, both far more impressive than they were on the No More Heroes album. “Curfew” and “Do You Wanna/Death and Night and Blood” on the other hand are not quite as striking here as they were on Black And White but nevertheless still worthy sections of the album. An awesome, grinding, rendition of “Five Minutes” is another highlight as is “Hanging Around” and the remaining tracks “Get a Grip”, “Straighten Out”, “Burning up Time” and “I Feel Like a Wog” (for those who are familiar) tend to speak for themselves.
The album was recorded at various London venues during 77 and 78 and the banter between the Hugh and audiences is another enjoyable part of the proceedings. He takes no prisoners as he deals with insults, spitting, and educates the crowd on the rights of those held at "Her Majesty's pleasure" and the true meaning of a Jubilee, a thoroughly entertaining set all round. The latest CD re-issues come complete with several bonus tracks (don’t you just love that). Great as a first time buyer sure, but justifying a second purchase (or in the case of The Who sometimes third or fourth) on the strength of what are usually pretty flimsy additions is a little difficult to justify, but you’ve just gotta hear them, haven’t you!!!. All in all then a great little live package, might not be quite so appealing if you’re not familiar with the studio versions but nevertheless its an engaging and entertaining experience throughout.
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(reviewed by Rob Eustace)
HIGH POINTS: Duchess, Shah Shah a Go Go, Baroque Bordello, Don't Bring Harry, Dead Los Angeles. LOW POINTS: Nuclear Device, Meninblack, Genetix
After the welcome return to form of Black and White I’ve always found The Raven as a little bit of disappointment. It’s not a disappointment in the same league as No More Heroes but it does mark the end of The Stranglers as we knew them and introduces a generally more commercial sound with less menace, more synths and softer vocals. Having said all that it is an effective set and for me remains the last good Stranglers album. Their work beyond The Raven is far more mainstream than anything that went before and whilst the odd tracks stand out generally their 80’s albums are uninspiring (certainly in comparison with the first four) and they occasionally sail dangerously close to dire synth pop during that period.
The Raven contains quite a mixture of tracks, it starts with an OK instrumental “Longships” which acts as a bold introduction to the set. “Longships” is followed by the title track the first here to feature JJ’s whispering vocals and one of the few nod’s to the previous albums with Greenfield’s swirly synths playing a big part in proceedings. “Dead Los Angeles” has a strong familiar Cornwell vocal and a serious tone whilst “Ice” continues the whispery vocals over an unimaginative and repetitive synth line. The Raven was the first album to introduce Hugh’s new crooning vocals over a full track, we had seen flash’s of this previously (certainly on “Sweden” from the previous album), “Baroque Bordello” was the result of this new style and to be fair in this instance it works very well.
"Nuclear Device" is one of four!!! UK singles taken from The Raven, the others being “Duchess”, “Don’t Bring Harry” and “Shah Shah a Go Go” (as a double A side with “Bear Cage”). “Nuclear Device” is by far the weakest of the four and why they decided this was suitable for the singles market I’ll never understand. Just hearing it’s annoying “Waltzing Matilda” opening is enough for me to press the skip button. “Shah Shah a Go Go” is far stronger, as is the spacey drug ballad “Don’t Bring Harry”. The Stranglers were always very subtle lyrically in their drug tales, so much so that it was rumoured that a certain large corporation was under the impression that the subject matter of “Golden Brown” was toast !!. “Duchess” was the only really successful single from The Raven and deservedly so, a pop masterpiece that still had enough of The Stranglers edge to make it stand out from the crowd.
The final tracks on the album bring the set down a little, “The Meninblack” maybe atmospheric but the silly hellium induced vocals and childish giggling simply wreck the piece in my view. What makes matters worse is that they refused to leave the subject matter alone and took it forward as a concept for their next appalling album. “Genetix” is generally popular with reviewers but I’m afraid it’s never really done anything for me. I would be the first to admit that I generally prefer Hugh’s vocal tracks and particularly in the case of this album. To me “Genetix” is simply an overlong, uninteresting piece with a long coda where Hugh gets to relive his Biochemistry days.
Generally The Raven is a good set and for me the last solid album Stranglers album. I do tend to underrate this album a little judging by what other reviewers generally feel so I would imagine The Raven is to be recommended. Tread carefully after this one however, they might have had the same line up for another 10 years but you are essentially looking at a different band, which for me was always a pity.
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(reviewed by Rob Eustace)
HIGH POINTS: Waiting for the Meninblack, Second Coming. LOW POINTS: Just Like Nothing on Earth, Turn the Centuries Turn, Manna Machine, Four Horsemen, Waltzinblack.
This is quite simply one of greatest disappointments of my album entire collection, how a band with so much ability, originality and sheer presence were reduced from the magnificent debut to this embarrassment in four short years will always be totally beyond me. The road had been a little rocky for band, Rattus being one of the all time great debuts, Heroes being the rushed follow up, Black And White the great return to form, and The Raven being patchy but still showing signs of life.
The Meninblack then was released at the beginning of 1981 attempting to take the subject matter of one of The Raven's weaker tracks and stretching it over what I can only assume was a tongue in cheek concept album. Tongue in cheek or not, the album should in reality have killed the band off as it contains nothing of The Stranglers previous sound and offered nothing to inspire new fans.
The album kicks off with what would eventually become one of the bands signature tunes over the next decade the instrumental "Waltzinblack" with the return of the helium induces squeals to clutcher the backdrop. "Just Like Nothing on Earth" follows, a single from the period which might make you think it's going to be one of the stronger tracks on the set, but it's simply a jumbled mess of limp lyrics, strange vocal phrasings, lame synth lines and generally disjointed from start to finish. "Second Coming" is delivered melodically by Hugh and is I suppose one of the better tracks on the set, in fact all the stronger tracks here including the following "Waiting for the Meninblack" generally sound like leftovers from The Raven. "Turn the Centuries Turn" is more instrumental filler, plodding and directionless bringing a dire end to the first side of the album.
The second side starts off brightly with the short and poppy "Two Sunspots", a brighter moment from this album but what Dave Greenfield felt about being reduced from keyboard wizard to pumping out these cheesy little synth ditties is beyond me. "Four Horsemen" sounds like JJ doing Visage, and it doesn't get any more exciting for Greenfield by the time we reach "Thrown Away", two bars of this insipid tune is surely enough for anybody. "Manna Machine" is three minutes of spacey sound effects, annoying bleeps and occasional guitar phrases dressed with a spoken Cornwell vocal. The album closes with the seven and a half minute "Hallow to our Men" and it follows a little of the bands previous format for album climaxes with a close on three minute intro. The problem with the track is that once again that it's directionless, hookless, uninspired, "give-us-this-day-some-of-your-manna" Hugh stutters, "spare-us-today-even-if-we're-no-good", and so it continues .
I really don't know who this album was aimed at, it must have alienated many fans and as I stated previously it couldn't possibly have earned them any new ones. It's not that it's a change of direction so much, it's simply that the entire set is devoid of any real substance, there simply is not one track contained that can salvage anything positive for the album. In fact the best track on the CD re-issues is the "Thrown Away" B side "Top Secret" which at least has a little atmosphere, a solid twisting and turning coda and delivered with Hugh's more familiar menacing vocal.
I've never actually met anyone who could justify this album's release, or felt that this was a step in the right direction for The Stranglers, and although I couldn't particularly endorse any of the albums that followed, this set is generally regarded as a low point for the first incarnation of the band. The key element is that the amazing Manzarek influenced Greenfield keyboards that led the tracks on the first three albums are missing completely and he is simply reduced to a bit player churning out what appears to be one finger synth patturns. The growling bass has disappeared, as has all the power and menace that washed all over the previous albums, but more importantly the album suffers from the basic ability to write effective material. I generally sensed during the 80's that from this post La Folie fans were not entirely comfortable with the bands the 70's albums and vice versa, nothing lasted forever I guess.
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