What am I missing by not owning these Stranglers records?

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I never bothered to buy
Black & White
The Raven
Feline
.. Or anything after Dreamtime.

And I never bought any of the reissues with bonus tracks.

I'm not sure I need any more Stranglers records, but is my life incomplete having not heard any of these?

― dave225 (Dave225), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 12:33 (twenty-two years ago)

Black & White is brilliant, probably my fave of the first three.

The Raven has a few great tracks (Dead Loss Angeles, Nuclear Device, Shah Shah A Go Go, Don't Bring Harry, Duchess) but also some real clunkers and just doesn't seem to hang together as a coherent whole.

I'm not aware of any convincing arguments for owning any Stranglers albums after they left UA.

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 12:43 (twenty-two years ago)

I bought feline. Nice album, full of accoustic bass... I Can recommend. "European Female", "Midnight summer dream".....

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 12:44 (twenty-two years ago)

Hmm.. That kind of doesn't help! I was hoping you'd say, "don't bother." Now I'm curious. Oh, why do I look through my old LPs?

― dave225 (Dave225), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 12:47 (twenty-two years ago)

Well let's be fair then: even the ones that were great at the time haven't aged incredibly gracefully. If you've managed to get by without having listened to Rattus Norvegicus and No More Heroes for a while, I think I'd be more inclined to go for a decent "Best Of" that you might actually play occasionally rather than any of the individual albums at this point.

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 13:00 (twenty-two years ago)

'Black & White' is good. "Do You Wanna" sounds like something from 'Doc at the Radar Station'

― dave q, Tuesday, 11 November 2003 13:01 (twenty-two years ago)

slightly off subject: Misheard lyric "Is she trying to get out of that blue tardis?"

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 13:03 (twenty-two years ago)

I just listened to a few odd songs yesterday .. I was pretty underwhelemed .. and although it's been slandered in these parts, "Goodbye Toulouse" is really the quintessential Stranglers song and really the only one I need to hear I think.

....

Goddamnit dave q, you're not helping.

― dave225 (Dave225), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 13:03 (twenty-two years ago)

""Do You Wanna" sounds like something from 'Doc at the Radar Station'"

I'd never drawn that comparison myself, although I suppose it isn't all that surprising, since it was also around that time that Hugh Cornwell recorded the album "Nosferatu" with Beefheart drummer Robert Williams.

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 13:06 (twenty-two years ago)

You don't really need anything after Aural Sculpture (and even that was late in the day in the quality department), but I don't think I could function without owning No More Heroes, Rattus Norvigicus and The Raven. But that's me.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 13:10 (twenty-two years ago)

I've always liked Aural Sculpture, but not as a Stranglers record. It could have been some flash in the pan 80's new wave band - and that's how I regard it...

I listened to a few songs from Dreamtime, which I liked when it came out .. but Ughh.. cough.

― dave225 (Dave225), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 13:12 (twenty-two years ago)

I'd say Aural Sculpture is somewhat akin to the Joke's Brighter Than a Thousand Suns in that, like you said, it's a fine record, but not a very decent representation of what the band normally sound like. (That said, I love "Ice Queen" and "Under the Name of Spain" quite a bit).

Dreamtime hasn't aged quite so well, has it. It did miraculously yield a palpable hit single for the band ("Always the Sun"), but I'd be sincerely fibbing if I claimed I've consciously spun the record many times since, oh, 1988.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 13:21 (twenty-two years ago)

"I don't think I could function without owning No More Heroes, Rattus Norvigicus and The Raven."

< boggles >The Raven rather than Black & White? Really?!? < /boggle >

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 13:22 (twenty-two years ago)

Black & White is an entirely superior album, Stew, you're right....but I was just sending up a flair for the seemingly maligned Raven, which I do adore (primarily for the title track, "Nuclear Device" and "Meninblack".)

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 13:26 (twenty-two years ago)

I'd say Aural Sculpture is somewhat akin to the Joke's Brighter Than a Thousand Suns in that there's just enough material on each of them to make one good single! < ducks >

I have to admit, I can't even remember how the title track of Raven goes! For some reason I just never "got" Meninblack at all - either the song or the subsequent album (another one that contain enough good material to make a good single!).

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 13:41 (twenty-two years ago)

Ack! You don't remember "the Raven"? Oh sad! Well, it's sort've a sweeping atmospheric number with a signature Burnell bassline and a great keyboard hook. Funnily enough, I'm wearing a Stranglers t-shirt this morning (odd, that) and my wife, whilst brushing her teeth -- appropos of nothing -- pointed to Dave Greenfeld on this shirt, saying he looks out of place, as "if he just walked off of a Steppenwolf t-shirt". I though that was rather insightful from an ardent admirer of Simply Red.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 13:45 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, The Gospel According to the Meninblack is inarguably a flawed album, but it has its moments (however few and far between they are). It's a classic example of a half-baked concept they rather foolishly ran away with.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 13:46 (twenty-two years ago)

I think the raven is great. It's my favourite stranglers album actually. I like "men in black", "nuclear device", "longships", "the raven" & "dutchess" especially. Well worth getting imo.

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 13:51 (twenty-two years ago)

I really love Aural Sculpture - it's bonkers but great. Skin Deep is majestic. For the early stuff - a singles compilation gets me by, I don't really feel a pressing need to hear 'I Feel Like A Wog' again thanks. I have owned The Raven in the past and might re-buy.

Alex - study this post closely! Look - I *LIKE* something!

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 16:24 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, but only that. You hate everything else and will be giving all your records to me.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 16:56 (twenty-two years ago)

You've got plenty already!

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 17:10 (twenty-two years ago)

Well, I know, but still. :-(

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 17:11 (twenty-two years ago)

For Stewart:
http://www.freakytrigger.co.uk/102/17stra.html

(I had trouble downloading this, but it's definitely the right URL)

Black And White is a must own. (Although I think I've only got a cassette copy of my sister's LP. I know I've got the free 7" that came with it, though - stolen from my sister haha)

― Jeff W (zebedee), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 17:15 (twenty-two years ago)

Haha Worrell. Your sister has an unusual name Jeff.....

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 17:37 (twenty-two years ago)

Alex - study this post closely! Look - I *LIKE* something!

Cheers, Doctor. And it's something we can even agree on (as anyone agreeing with me has suddenly become a freakish scarcity here, I'll take some solace in that).

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 17:55 (twenty-two years ago)

five years pass...

I'm getting a kick out of Toiler on the Sea from Black White. It's kind of epic. And I'm guessing Flock of Seagulls might have copped their name from the lyrics??

― dad (gnarly sceptre), Thursday, 21 May 2009 22:15 (sixteen years ago)

Of course they did.

― Alex in NYC, Thursday, 21 May 2009 23:49 (sixteen years ago)

Well let's be fair then: even the ones that were great at the time haven't aged incredibly gracefully

This is blasphemy.

― kwhitehead, Friday, 22 May 2009 01:13 (sixteen years ago)

"Black And White" and "Feline" are probably my two favourite Stranglers albums.

― Geir Hongro, Friday, 22 May 2009 08:46 (sixteen years ago)

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