The Stranglers

Did you see their early gigs before they were signed? The 75/76 era? I'm not sure how far they travelled from their Surrey base during that time. Would've been great to have seen some of those early shows.

 

I saw them live in Leeds more than once. A superb band.

My favourite LP is Rattus Norvegicus, followed closely by The Raven.

 

That's a decent live album. The sound of the bass isnt so great on that recording but worth having as a document of those early days shows back in '77. Hugh Cornwell's between song comments to the audience are funny.

 

Speaking of Stranglers collections cds, another one I have is also very nice. It's called "Hits And Heroes", a 2 cd set that also has 3 video clips on cd #1.
Cd#2 is comprised of b-sides and rarities.

http://www.amazon.com/Hits-Heroes-Stranglers/dp/B00002MF41/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1288978512&sr=1-1

Tracklist

CD #1 :

1-1 Stranglers, The - Get A Grip (On Yourself) 4:02
1-2 Stranglers, The - Peaches 4:06
1-3 Stranglers, The - Hanging Around 4:26
1-4 Stranglers, The - Go Buddy Go 3:58
1-5 Stranglers, The - Something Better Change 3:36
1-6 Stranglers, The - Straighten Out 2:45
1-7 Stranglers, The - No More Heroes 3:28
1-8 Stranglers, The - 5 Minutes 3:16
1-9 Stranglers, The - Nice 'N Sleazy 3:12
1-10 Stranglers, The - Walk On By 6:21
Written-By - Bacharach / David*
1-11 Stranglers, The - Duchess 2:30
1-12 Stranglers, The - Nuclear Device 3:31
1-13 Stranglers, The - Who Wants The World? 3:13
1-14 Stranglers, The - Golden Brown 3:28
1-15 Stranglers, The - La Folie 6:05
1-16 Stranglers, The - Strange Little Girl 2:40
Written-By - Greenfield* , Warmling* , Cornwell* , Burnel* , Black*
Video1-1 Stranglers, The - No More Heroes
Video1-2 Stranglers, The - Duchess
Video1-3 Stranglers, The - Golden Brown

CD #2 :

2-1 Stranglers, The - Choosey Susie 3:13
2-2 Stranglers, The - Peaches (Radio Version) 4:06
2-3 Stranglers, The - No More Heroes (Radio Edit) 2:56
2-4 Celia & The Mutations* - Mony Mony 3:03
Written-By - Gentry* , Bloom* , Cordell* , James*
2-5 Celia & The Mutations* - Mean To Me 2:00
2-6 Stranglers, The - Rok It To The Moon 2:47
2-7 Stranglers, The - Shut Up 1:07
2-8 Stranglers, The - Walk On By (Radio Edit) 4:26
Written-By - Bacharach / David*
2-9 Stranglers, The - Sverige 2:49
2-10 Stranglers, The - Old Codger 2:49
2-11 Stranglers, The - Fools Rush Out 2:10
2-12 Stranglers, The - N'emmenes Pas Harry 4:16
2-13 Stranglers, The - Yellowcake UF6 2:57
2-14 Stranglers, The - Bear Cage (12" Version) 6:29
Mixed By - Tony Visconti
2-15 Stranglers, The - Shah Shah A Go Go (12" Version) 5:20
Mixed By - Tony Visconti
2-16 Stranglers, The - Tomorrow Was Hereafter 4:03
2-17 Hugh Cornwell - Cocktail Nubiles 7:08
Lyrics By - Hugh Cornwell
Music By - C. Leigh* , J. Richards*
2-18 Stranglers, The - The Meninblack (Waiting For 'Em) 3:33
2-19 Stranglers, The - Vietnamerica 4:02
2-20 Stranglers, The - Love 30 3:55
2-21 Stranglers, The - You Hold The Key To My Love In Your Hands 2:38
Producer - Tony Visconti

 

The last album with Paul Roberts, Norfolk Coast, wipes the floor with anything else they did post-Cornwell. I think it even betters several of the original group's albums. Good luck finding it though.

 

I think of Feline as one of the first Goth albums.

The final Cornwell album "10" was a real surprise as they suddenly turned to garage rock, cover of "96 Tears" and all. I like it a lot, but not very many do.

 

That one got really good reviews here in the UK, but I never picked it up, must get hold of it..

 

It is worth it to invest in The Old Testament. I don't know why The Stranglers are so often overlooked. They made some great albums that have aged well.

 

Here in the USA, back in the "good ole days", when the record companies were cranking at full speed, we got some cool exclusive Stranglers items released here. A really nice swirly colored vinyl 7" ep with a 3D label, a black and white colored ltd edition "Black & White" vinyl album, and a comp album, "IV", to make up for "The Raven" and "Meninblack" not being released here, with selected cuts from those 2 albums and a few choice rarities tossed in besides. I really like the "Vietnamerica" track...

 

The 7" 3-d ep :

Check out the hilarious blurb on the rear of the pic sleeve!

 

I don't have my USA "IV" vinyl album anymore, but I see that it was released on cd? I need one of those - always kind of liked that comp...I don't think I've ever even seen a copy on cd!

 

Hugh is trippin'. That is NOT Dionne Warwick's face on that pic sleeve for Walk On By.. No way.

 

I think the 'sexist yob' tag was landed on them by Julie Burchill, who didn't get them at all and may have made her usual mistake of taking their lyrical content at face value. I don't think Hugh Cornwell was either sexist or a yob.

The EMI stuff is the best by far: always thought of them as a prog band in punk clothing. And they had serious pop skills - I think they scored more top ten hits than any other new wave/punk band.

Black And White is probably my favourite, though you can't go wrong with anything from Rattus....up to Meninblack, which I think was a worthy attempt to progress their sound. I even like La Folie. What follows, though, is of only fitful interest to me, as I think their sound became a bit too slick and ponderous.

 

Hmmm. Sorry, I'm not convinced. I'm pretty sure JJ sang "Where I Live". He played the song a few times (once with his daughter Hannah) during his solo sets at Stranglers conventions in 2001.

 

I totally agree with you there. I'm pretty sure it's an ex-girlfriend of Hugh's. That was the story I heard, anyway. Definitely not Dionne Warwick. Not even close.

By the way, much respect for bigging up The Old Testament. That is by far and away the best way to hear The Stranglers UA/EMI output. Throw the superlative Live X Cert (one of the ten best live rock albums, in my opinion) into the mix and you have an unbeatable body of work.

 

The Stranglers were also of accused of being racist (I Feel Like a Wog) and anti-Semitic (Ugly), when they were anything but. One of their earliest and biggest fans was Dagenham Dave, who was black. He was very close to JJ (who wrote the eponymous song in his honour, after he killed himself). I think their lyrics lampooned typically masculine attitudes at the time, if anything.

As for their output, I'm in complete agreement with you. The EMI years were the high water mark. The albums from Feline through to 10 are not without their moments, especially Aural Sculpture, which is the best of the four.

 

That live album is one glaring omission in my Stranglers collection. I had the original lp back in the day <didn't initial copies have a bonus 7" with a few more live tracks?> but sold it a while back. I know the latest remaster has a LOT of bonus tracks tacked onto it, but boy do I hate the shoddy artwork reproduction and the brickwalled sq of those remasters... I bought and quickly sold/traded all of them.

The Epic years remasters were much better, as I recall. I was lucky enough to snag one of the limited edition "The Epic Years" boxed sets with all 5 cds plus some postcards for 40% off at Borders back when they were getting good stuff in. I wish I knew how many they made of those, it goes for quite a sum now, if you can find one.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Epic-Years-Stranglers/dp/B00005NZHD

 

I believe they once had a rather dodgy following, which included some racists. When Aswad supported them on an early tour, the Stranglers came out and read the riot act to the scumbags in the audience who were giving them (Aswad) grief.

 

I'd love to hear a comp tape of between song tirades/banter by Hugh and JJ directed at thier audiences. Hilarious stuff on a par with John Lydon/Rotten's rants at Sex Pistols <especially on the USA tour> and PIL gigs - tough crowds, tough times.

They even did a song addressing this, the b-side to "Nice & Sleazy", a short <1 min. 6 seconds> track titled, appropriately, "Shut Up"!

 

I emailed this mystery to a woman in France I know who used to hang out with the band, and she says it's a lookalike, the same lookalike they hired from an agency who was also used in the video for the song. This old friend of mine even knew the name of the agent!

 

i really love the stranglers : black and white, the raven are masterpieces!!!
they were very good i think from rattus to aural sculpture after it's different!!! many friends i have love norfolk coast too!!

 

With all those compliments for their cd box 'Old Testament' the prices at different sites for this fine compilation are actually rising soon
For fun I watched last week some amazon sites and saw some of those not very cheap boxes really dissappear during that period of time, so - I pressume - as result of this site!

 

One exists! The B-side of Uk 12-inch single "Shakin' Like a Leaf" is "An Evening WIth Hugh Cornwell," a full 20 minutes worth of stage patter from the Aural Sculpture tour, and it's hilarious.

 

That's very interesting. I got lucky and scored my copy around 5 -7 years ago for like $50 or so new from Amazon UK. It must have been one of thier last copies, because they ran out and the marketplace sellers were promptly asking $100 + for used copies. I dunno what folks are getting for one these days, I've seen them for like $250!!!

 

Here's one!