The Stranglers 70's Albums

The Stranglers is an amazing band, three of the members still going since 1974 while Hugh Cornwell is performing solo. But no matter which one you listen to, the songs are still amazing. But the real gold from them has to be their four 70’s albums. While they had plenty of good songs from the 80’s to now, I feel their 70’s songs were much more creative and catchy. This sound was characterized by Dave Greenfield’s swirling keyboards, JJ Burnel’s growling bass, and the growling vocals from both Cornwell and Burnel (Though Hugh constantly used his growling vocal to the point where I thought it was a different person while JJ did different vocal styles.)

Rattus Norvegicus 1977

 

The Stranglers’ debut album was good one, though the sound is a little dated compared to the other three. The first track “Sometimes” is a catchy tune despite the harsh lyrics (such as “Sometimes I wanna smack your face”) with wonderful keyboard work and a nice guitar solo in the middle. “Peaches” is a very interesting tune about a stroll on the beach, which apparently got banned from radio stations. “Grip” is one of the friendlier tracks, but still has the great instrument work and nice harmonizing in the middle. “Go Buddy Go” is sung by Burnel. I really enjoy the bass work in this track. “Down in the Sewer” has amazing instrument work, especially at the end where the band builds to a frenzied crescendo. The rest of the tracks are good, but not as amazing as the ones I listed.

No More Heroes 1977

 

This is their most popular album, and I can see why as the many of the songs have a stronger sound than Rattus (though three of the tracks; "Something Better Change", "Bitching" and "Peasant in the Big Shitty" were actually leftovers.)

The album starts with “I Feel Like a Wog”, a very silly track but still a good tune with catchy guitar riffs. The title track is my favorite Strangler song and is also the most popular. We have incredible vocals, great guitar solo, and amazing keyboard work. “Peasant in the Big Shitty” is another favorite on this album. We get simple yet catchy riff for most of the song, but in the middle we have different riff with another great guitar and keyboard solo. The best part has to be Dave’s incredible vampire like vocals, and the song ends with his voice fading into a high pitch squeak as he says, “Do you like it like that?”

Other favorites include “Something Better Change”, “Bring on the Nubiles” despite the explicit lyrics, and “Straighten Out.”

Black and White 1978

 

This is my favorite Stranglers album. Here, the band started experimenting a little with their songs. The first six tracks is the “White” side, which is more upbeat and a bit quirky while the “Black” side has a darker tone and a bit messy. The last six are the bonus tracks.

“Outside Tokyo” is a bit bland but still worth listening to. The rest of the tracks are amazing. “Rise of the Robots” is one of my favorites, with the band performing at an incredibly fast speed. Laura Logic guest appears to play saxophone, which was a good touch for the track. This is also the first track where JJ doesn’t alter his voice. “Toiler on the Sea” is another favorite with excellent instrument work.

The black side is actually my favorite side on the CD due to the bizarre sound. “Curfew” has JJ handling the verses in his normal voice while Hugh and Dave sing the chorus. “In the shadows” is the weak track on the black side in my opinion. “Do You Wanna” is another one of the few Greenfield songs. We don’t get much keyboards in this track, but we still get some good instrument work from the other three. The song fades into the next track “Death and Night and Blood” where JJ sings in his deeper voice.

“Enough Time” is my favorite on the entire CD and is also the most bizarre. Throughout the song we get some nice bass riffs, mainly in the chorus and the end. In the chorus, Hugh sings the line “Have you got enough time” with Dave and JJ chanting it. In the middle, we get a morse code message; “SOS. This is earth. We are fucked. Please advise.” During this, Dave plays a weird tune while JJ does his own riff on the bass. Hugh simply strums his guitar and Jet simply continuous his drumming. As the song gets closer to the end, Hugh continually sings, “Have you got enough time” with Dave and JJ chanting along. During this, JJ changes the riff a bit with Hugh doing the same on his guitar. Dave also brings in a nice wind effect. As the song continues, JJ and Dave’s chanting gradually becomes higher pitch until the track starts slowing down until it grinds to a stop.

The six bonus tracks are good, but not as amazing as the main album. “Old Codger” sounds a bit like a country tune, which is actually sung by George Melly, a Jazz singer from the 60’s. “Tit’s” is a recording of the band at a party each doing their own solo’s when Hugh introduces each member. The best bonus track has to be their cover of Dionne Warwick’s song “Walk On By.” Here, the band actually extends it by including a long keyboard solo followed by a guitar solo.

This album was an enjoyable experience for me, and I wish the band had done something like this again.

The Raven 1978

 

This is where the band started transitioning into a more commercial sound. Here, we have a bit of the sound of the 80’s albums while played in the style of the 70’s albums. This is also where Hugh started using his real voice. This style is used in three of the tracks: “Dead Los Angeles”, "Baroque Bordello", and Duchess”, which are all very good tracks with amazing synths and bass work (Hugh actually plays a second bass in “Dead Los Angeles.)

The title track is another great track sung by JJ, using his whispering vocals for the first time. “Shah Shah a Go Go” and “Nuclear Device” are some of my other favorites.

 

All four of these albums where filled with great songs due to the amazing instrument and vocal work the band put in. While the band has started to return to this style, it doesn’t exactly have the same impact, likely due to the lack of Hugh. But I will say the songs do come close.