After two albums – the great Rattus Norvegicus and its
weaker sister, No More Heroes – and some extraordinary singles, The Stranglers
were one of the most successful punk-era bands, hitting the top 10 regularly
and being controversial (even for 1977) with their sexist lyrics and macho
attitude. In 1978 they were in danger of becoming a loutish version of The
Doors, whose keyboard riffs they seemed overly fond of. But, with a verve that
would mark most of the records they released, The Stranglers turned everything
round on their third album, the extraordinary Black and White. With an aptly
stark cover and a division into "black" and "white" sides,
Black and White was immediately notable for its tougher sound and attitude, and
a merciful lack of songs about how awful women were. Instead, bassist Jean-Jacques
Burnel offered takes on the homoerotic machismo of Yukio Mishima (Death and
Night and Blood) while lead vocalist Hugh Cornwell mused on tanks (Tank),
robots (Rise of the Robots) and, er, Sweden (Sweden). Along the way, songs like
Threatened, In the Shadows and Curfew layered on the menace big time, all
helped by Martin Rushent’s best production for the band yet. Beefy yet minimal,
it displayed clear influences on the work of Gang of Four and Joy Division. In
the mix you can hear bits of electronics and keyboards (and creepy, sped-up
voices) that would culminate in the full-on synthesized alien paranoia of their
Meninblack era. After Black and White, The Stranglers would leave their punk
and their pub-rock roots behind forever, embracing the keyboard-led pop of the
1980s with aplomb (but not before recording their iciest album, the confidently
fantastic The Raven). Those looking to buy or download Black and White are
advised to follow their ears to the singles and EPs surrounding the album’s
release. No other band would accompany their most stringent release so far with
a crushingly great version of Bacharach and David’s Walk On By and a ludicrous
punk boogie called Mean to Me. Essential.
I have rushed this up the schedule to today following the
sad news that Dave Greenfield passed away aged 71 from Covid 19 on Sunday 3rd
May.
Ripped from an expanded CD to menacing FLAC
The Stranglers; Black And White
1. Tank
2. Nice
N’ Sleazy
3. Outside
Tokyo
4. Hey!
(Rise Of The Robots)
5. Sweden
(All Quiet On The Eastern Front)
6. Toiler
On The Sea
7. Curfew
8. Threatened
9. In
The Shadows
10. Do
You Wanna
11. Death
And Night And Blood (Yukio)
12. Enough
Time
13. Mean
To Me
14. Walk
On By
The Stranglers first two albums are around here
R.I.P. Dave Greenfield
ReplyDeleteSo sad to read, Dave is dead.
ReplyDeleteMy personal Stranglers fav...
ReplyDeleteNo More Heroes wasn't weaker, it outsold their first! It had some great songs! RIP Dave, my dad had a heart problem, but he was lucky, he died years ago before the common cold (aka coronavirus) was used as a (false) cause. Covid19 is a coverup for Big Pharma killing elderly people with their vaccines and booster shots, some of us have a medical background, and they can't fire me twice for speaking out.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts Anon. Let me just begin by saying that you're opinion is irrelevant, No More Heroes IS the weaker album. Conspiracy theories about Covid 19 are just that, theories. I'm sorry to read about your dad and that you've been fired, life sucks at the moment.
ReplyDeleteAJ you know that your opinion is relevant to me. No More Heroes appeals a whole lot to me, nonetheless
ReplyDeleteHey Fabio, No More Heroes was my first Stranglers album and it still has a special place, but maybe because it was recorded and released the same year as Rattus, in my humble opinion it hasn't had time to be properly developed. When you look at the incredible leap to Black And White, I believe that the band should have waited 6 months before recording Heroes.
DeleteAs we all know, looking back at music released over 40 years ago with 20/20 vision, that we can make judgement calls on any band or any album that shapes the bands future direction, from the Government of the day, to the introduction of synths in the studio, to the development of the drum machine...to the untimely death of a band member.
The make or break second album No More Heroes is a belter, of that there is no argument, but it isn't as great as Rattus or Black And White.
For a GREAT Bootleg of The Stranglers look here:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.guitars101.com/forums/f90/stranglers-great-remixed-archives-1976-1985-a-719453.html
Thanks Fabio, this looks a bit weird but that's not unusual for bootlegs
Delete