The Stranglers Albums Ranked From Worst to Best Original
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- Опубликовано: 15 авг 2022
- Week 3 of Jasgust and this week we're ranking the 18(!) studio albums of The Stranglers.
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The Stranglers are an English rock band who emerged via the punk rock scene. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 19 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have originated in the UK punk scene.
Formed as the Guildford Stranglers in Guildford, Surrey, in early 1974, they originally built a following within the mid-1970s pub rock scene. While their aggressive, no-compromise attitude had them identified by the media with the emerging UK punk rock scene that followed, their idiosyncratic approach rarely followed any single musical genre, and the group went on to explore a variety of musical styles, from new wave, art rock and gothic rock through the sophisti-pop of some of their 1980s output. They had major mainstream success with their 1982 single "Golden Brown". Their other hits include "No More Heroes", "Peaches", "Always the Sun", "Skin Deep" and "Big Thing Coming".
The Stranglers' early sound was driven by Jean-Jacques Burnel's melodic bass, but also gave prominence to Dave Greenfield's keyboards. Their early music was also characterised by the growling vocals and sometimes misanthropic lyrics of both Burnel and Hugh Cornwell. Over time, their output gradually grew more refined and sophisticated. Summing up their contribution to popular music, critic Dave Thompson later wrote: "From bad-mannered yobs to purveyors of supreme pop delicacies, the group was responsible for music that may have been ugly and might have been crude - but it was never, ever boring."
Keyboard player Dave Greenfield died on 3 May 2020 after contracting COVID-19 while receiving treatment for a heart ailment. The remaining band members completed a new album recorded with Greenfield, Dark Matters following his death and confirmed that they would proceed with their "Final Full UK Tour", initially announced in January 2020, in his honour.
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Thanks for watching. Let us know what you think of The Stranglers, our lists, and how you rank their albums by leaving a comment below.
Next week: Prefab Sprout
After that: 1972 Deep Dive Week, Def Leppard, Journey
#thestranglers #albumsranked #worsttobest
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Loved the video and what you had to say, thanks for doing them ... some of their songs are an all time favourites which I was obsessed with and showed them to everyone, very nostalgic and bring vivid memories, they have a unique sound and these songs strike a chord with me, I listened to their first 8 albums and they're all 3.5 to 4.5 stars, so might be my favourite band not to reach 5 stars (debut is close though and who knows one day) and definitely a top 100 band just because I love those songs so much. Can't wait for tomorrow's episode.
Great episode, I really enjoyed it. I can really get how you’re hearing the records, you’re really good at verbalising you’re experience. And I love that Jason’s winner is Joe’s last! I’m more with Joe in my assessment of that particular album I must say
I find it bizarre indeed that that's Jason's fav.
I'm a bit late to the party but omg, what a utterly fabulous video! Loved hearing your views on The Stanglers albums.
Favourite album for me would have to be Feline but The Raven come a close second - still kicking myself that I missed that recent The Raven vinyl reissue, that lenticular album sleeve looked absolutely incredible.
Anyway guys, thanks again for another amazing ranking video!
Brilliant show guys. I was really waiting for you to cover The Stranglers and then you did, and saw them live last week. A joy. Though I detect not great enthusiasm for one of my all-time fave bands, fascinating analysis as always on their 18 albums. Didn't always agree of course, but that's the way it is. Keep up the great work guys, waiting for QOTSA and Tindersticks listographies🤔
Fantastic! Looking forward to this ☺️👍🏻
I love the first four albums in particular ♥️
Love, love, love The Stranglers! Not sure why you didn't have more love for Black and White but to each their own. Here's my top ten:
1. The Raven
2. Black and White
3. Rattus Norvegicus
4. La Folie
5. No More Heroes
6. The Gospel According to the Meninblack
7. Dreamtime
8. Dark Matters
9. Aural Sculpture
10. Giants
Dreamtime should never, ever be in a Stranglers top 10, in the bin with it….
Just catching up with this another excellent job gents. In spite of being from the uk and having heard all the hits and liked a fair few of them i’ve never been compelled to listen to an album by The Stranglers, your ranking means i am now gonna check out the first two and the eighties album with the giant ear (always loved Skin Deep) and then see if that makes me wanna explore more, so again nice one guys.
18. Coup De Grace
17. Written In Red
16. 10
15. Suite 16
14. The Gospel According To The Men In Black
13. Norfolk Coast
12. Giants
11. In The Night
10. About Time
9. The Raven
8. Dreamtime
7. La Folie
6. Dark Matters
5. Black And White
4. Aural Sculpture
3. No More Heroes
2. IV - Rattus Norvegicus
1. Feline
The Gospel ranked so low? Blasphemy
your ranking is very similar to mine, I thought these guys did not give Dark Matters enough props...
I remember The Stranglers with much fondness, having been a teen in the 70's. For me, their first 6 albums were 'the classics' that truly defined them - and the ones I enjoy most. From La Folie (1981) onwards their sound changed greatly, though true, the '80's sound', in general, defined its own era.
Unexpected to see you guys ranking The Stranglers albums, but I'm really impressed with that decided to do a ranking on them! Congratulations 🎉🎉! One of my favorite punk bands for sure! They were also post punk and new wave! The debut and Raven are my top 2 albums! Their new album is really solid! They're not like a ton of the punk bands from the UK in the 70s at all! Very different band! Robert Smith of The Cure said that The Stranglers were his favorite punk band! Somewhere around top 25 or 30. I'm a punk guy, so many awesome bands it's very hard to choose who I love! I hope that you do a ranking on Manic Street Preachers soon! They do have some punk roots, but they're more alternative! Still an awesome band! And underated band like The Stranglers! Still waiting for The Moody Blues ranking soon! Keep up with the good work!
From a recent Far Out magazine article -
I don't think he wass being completely truthful about the influence of punk and particularly the Sex Pistols though. If you listen to the bonus cuts on disk 2 of the Deluxe edition of Three Imaginary Boys, their earliest tracks recorded before they made the album sound very punk and Smith even sounds a bit like a sneering Johnny Rotten at times.
My favourites are 1 - La Folie, 2 - The Raven, 3 - Men in Black, 4 - Feline, 5 - Rattus.
Are you mad 😂😂😂
Saw the Stranglers in Montreal in the 70's. It was in a small club, extremely hot. People were passing out on the floor. The band left the stage after 40 minutes. The crowd rioted, throwing bottles and chairs at the stage. A fight broke out outside... they were solid for 40 minutes but you could tell the band were very unhappy to be there. Cornwell, I remember was wearing a long full length jacket in this hot box of a club.
Favorite Stranglers moment ever: that fade in and fade out in “second coming” from the Gospel album while their vocals sound echoey and holy
18 About Time (1 Star)
17 Stranglers In The Night (1 Star)
16 Dark Matters (1.5 stars)
15 Suite XVI (1.5 stars)
14 Written In Red (1.5 stars)
13 Giants (1.5 stars)
12 Coup De Grace (2 stars)
11 Norfolk Coast (2 stars)
10 10 (2.5 stars)
09 Dreamtime (3 stars)
08 The Gospel According To The Men In Black (3.5 stars)
07 Aural Sculpture (4 stars)
06 Black And White (4 stars)
05 Feline (4 stars)
04 La Folie (4.5 stars)
03 No More Heroes (4.5 stars)
02 Rattus Norwegicus (5 stars)
01 The Raven {5 stars)
One of those band which took the full cycle through ups and downs to arrive where they took off from.
The Stranglers never were punk and with their third album (Black and White) they made it clearer than before. They were aggressive and Burnel's bass shook the ground but they garnished it with irresistible melodies. However, at times they could be just synthpop in its worst incarnation. I take their first and last albums and forget the rest, except for selected songs.
18. Coup de Grace 1,5 (Stranglers only by name as the millennium ended...After this, their later return is even more astonishing.)
17. Feline 2,0
16. Stranglers in the Night 2,5
15. The Gospel According to the Meninblack 2,5
14. Written in Red 2,5
13. Aural Sculpture 2,5
12. The Raven 3,0
11. 10 3,0
10. Dreamtime 3,0
9. Black and White 3,0
8. La Folie 3,5
7. Dark Matters 3,5
6. Giants 3,5 (The third - and least powerful - album of their terrific comeback in the 2000s)
5. About Time 3,5
4. Norfolk Coast 4,0 (2004!! The unexpected comeback after the mostly lousy 90s records, from the onslaught of the opening seconds they made a clear statement that is was a return to their roots. #20 in 2004)
3. Suite XVI 4,0 (The second coming of their second coming...#21 in 2006)
2. Stranglers IV (Rattus Norvegicus) 4,0 (#73 in 1977)
1. No More Heroes 4,0 (#55 in 1977)
They were Punk before they were signed, during 1976 were very much part of it, but too much infighting saw them distance themselves,
Their first two records had the energy and attitude of punk, but with keyboards and generally better playing.
Guys when are we doing The Kinks?
18) Stranglers in the Night (1992) 2/5
17) Coup de Grace (1998) 2/5
16) Written in Red (1997) 2.25/5
15) Feline (1983) 2.5/5
14) The Gospel According to Meninblack (1981) 3/5
13) The Raven (1979) 3/5
12) About Time (1995) 3/5
11) Black and White (1978) 3/5
10) 10 (1990) 3.25/5
09) Aural Sculpture (1984) 3.25/5
08) Dark Matters (2021) 3.25/5
07) Dreamtime (1986) 3.5/5
06) Giants (2012) 3.5/5
05) Suite XVI (2006) 3.5/5
04) Norfolk Coast (2004) 3.75/5
03) No More Heroes (1977) 3.75/5
02) La folie (1981) 4/5
01) Rattus Norvegicus (1977) 4.25/5
Ratings Scale:
0 stars - irredeemably terrible/insultingly bad/the worst
.5 stars - terrible
1 star - bad
1.5 stars - pretty bad
2 stars - fair
2.5 stars - meh
2.75 stars - "It's OK, but quit playing it."
3 stars - OK/decent
3.25 stars - pretty good
3.5 stars - good
4 stars - very good
4.5 stars - excellent
5 stars - laced my coffee with acid
Chronological order:
1977 4.25 Rattus Norvegicus
1977 3.75 No More Heroes
1978 3.00 Black and White
1979 3.00 The Raven
1981 3.00 The Gospel According to Meninblack
1981 4.00 La folie
1983 2.50 Feline
1984 3.25 Aural Sculpture
1986 3.50 Dreamtime
1990 3.25 10
1992 2.00 Stranglers in the Night
1995 3.00 About Time
1997 2.25 Written in Red
1998 2.00 Coup de Grace
2004 3.75 Norfolk Coast
2006 3.50 Suite XVI
2012 3.50 Giants
2021 3.25 Dark Matters
notes:
* I first heard The Stranglers when their song "Peaches" was used as the opening title music for the film Sexy Beast and went crazy for it. What a monster groove. I haven't heard much else since then though, so almost all of this music was new to me.
* The band was characterized mainly by the thick, meaty bass lines of Jean-Jacques Burnel and the swirling, dizzying keys of Dave Greenfield. Their early records had a punky energy which fit in with the prevailing punk movement of the late 70's. From there, they morphed into something closer to a New Wave synth pop band before bringing back more of that punk energy in their latter days.
* Their lyrics were sometimes good, sometimes lame. They get pretty dirty and sleazy at times on their early albums which I appreciate. Sometimes their songs added trippy synth elements which I always appreciate as well.
* Black and White has a (mostly) killer first side but goes downhill on the second.
* By their next few records, they were sounding kinda like Devo at times, rather mechanical.
* The second half of La folie gets really good. I love the title track - it gave me a chance to exercise my knowledge of French. The singer does an excellent job of channeling Serge Gainsbourg.
* They basically just sound like a synth band on Feline and some of the vocals are bad. "Let's Tango in Paris" is sort of a failed "Golden Brown" redux.
* Aural Sculpture is so light. The music is smoother with less of those herky-jerky Devo keys. Horns also play a prominent role for the first time although their use goes back all the way to their first album.
* On 10, they sound almost like a standard pub rock band. It would be the last album to feature guitarist/lead singer Hugh Cornwell. The cover of "96 Tears" is an unremarkable, straight reading, rather pointless, although it does fit in with the album well enough. "Sweet Smell of Success" is a strong opener with a great bass line.
* They bring in new vocalist Paul Roberts for Stanglers in the Night which, despite the great title, turns out to be their worst album IMHO. It's not totally bad, but it is thoroughly unappealing. Paul does sound a bit like Jim Morrison - another baritone.
* The band unfortunately struggled with sounding cheesy at times which proved to be a persistent problem on their next few albums.
* Written in Red turns out to be their biggest rollercoaster ride, oscillating between bad songs and excellent ones repeatedly. Most of it is on the lame side, but "Miss You" is great and their cover of the classic "Summer in the City" is cool, a nice modern update with very cool percussion.
* Norfolk Coast brought back some of that punky energy. It rocks, but they also do some mellow songs and do them well.
* "Mercury Rising" (5 stars!) is the clear standout track on Giants while their most recent album Dark Matters has some weak songs but also a handful of very good ones.
* It took quite a while to plow through all these records, but I'm glad I did it.
* Cheers mates!!!!!!!!!!
You're not kidding on the time consuming nature of this discography. I had a couple days head start because I moved on from Be-Bob Deluxe early, but by the end of the week I was still running late.
Your order is so bizarre Rich. Even for you 😉
@@TastesLikeMusic ha ha, shouldn't that comment be reserved for Joe who put your number 1 dead last? LMAO. We share some opinions here and there.
@@TastesLikeMusic I think it might be fair to say I'm more tolerant of latter-day material from an aging band than you are.
@@TastesLikeMusic Take note that Kramzer put 10 in the middle like I did.
Up until the mid eighties the Stranglers were always a band that more than caught my interest with each release but I gave up on them after 'Dreamtime'... My surprise when catching up with them was that I kinda liked some songs on most albums, probably more than I should have done as there was no Hugh Cornwell... Doing this ranking was interesting, especially noting how my tastes have changed so much over my lifespan... The Stranglers are generally a band that I would just make my own playlists...
18) Coup de Grace ... 2/5
17) Dark Matters ... 2.25/5
16) About Time ... 2.25/5
15) Stranglers in the Night 2.5/5
14) Written in Red ... 2.5/5
13) Suite XVI ... 2.5/5
12) 10 ... 2.5/5
11) The Gospel According to Meninblack ... 2.75/5
10) La folie ... 3/5
09) Giants ... 3.5/5
08) Norfolk Coast ... 3.5/5
07) Feline ... 3.5/5
06) Dreamtime ... 3.75/5
05) Aural Sculpture ... 3.75/5
04) No More Heroes ... 3.75/5
03) Black and White ... 4/5
02) The Raven ... 4/5
01) Rattus Norvegicus ... 4.25/5
Same ratings as 1, 4 and a few others. Love to see those quarter-star ratings!
Can we just take a minute to celebrate the great thrill that is JJ Burnel’s bass?
Did a deep-dive during lockdown, previously only knew their hits. Not unique in thinking their music drops off the edge of a cliff after Hugh Cornwall goes but have absolutely fallen in love with their stuff before.
Their first 4 records are essential, 4-5 stars to my tired ears:
Rattus takes the Doors/60s nuggets & marries it with 70s uk punk.
No More Heroes is their “straight” punk album, imo the best punk album not called Nevermind the Bollocks.
Black & White is ferocious angular art rock.
And The Raven (my favourite) adds a proto-goth sound.
They were all done within 2 years & I think they’re all great. And you’ve also got to mention the singles, including Walk On By, one of the great covers.
The 80s albums are not as immediate but are growers, Aural Sculpture has great dreamy pop songs, Feline an icy European sound, La Folie is proggy new wave & Men in Black is ridiculous, a complete failure of an experimental album but fair play to them, always searching for something different- it’s just like nothing on euuurggth.
Has any other band changed their sound so drastically in their prime?
It makes sense that he used to study classical guitar before doing bass. His bass playing is SO MELODIC
"All Roads Lead To Rome" made me think of "Love is a stranger" by Eurythmics.
The Stranglers Albums Ranked & Rated:
18. Coup De Grace [1998] (1.6) ⭐
17. 10 [1990] (3.4) ⭐½
16. Stranglers in the Night [1992] (3.9) ⭐⭐
15. Written In Red [1996] (4.0) ⭐⭐
14. Dreamtime [1986] (4.8) ⭐⭐½
13. Norfolk Coast [2004] (6.0) ⭐⭐⭐
12. Feline [1982] (6.2) ⭐⭐⭐
11. Suite XVI [2006] (6.3) ⭐⭐⭐
10. About Time [1995] (6.5) ⭐⭐⭐
9. La Folie [1981] (7.3) ⭐⭐⭐½
8. Giants [2012] (7.5) ⭐⭐⭐½
7. Dark Matters [2021] (7.5) ⭐⭐⭐½
6. The Gospel According to The Meninblack [1981] (7.9)⭐⭐⭐⭐
5. The Raven [1979] (8.3) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
4. Black And White [1978] (8.5) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
3. Rattus Norvegicus [1977] (8.7) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
2. No More Heroes [1977] (8.8) ⭐⭐⭐⭐½
1. Aural Sculptures [1984] (9.1) ⭐⭐⭐⭐½
Ave (6.46) ⭐⭐⭐¼
All the top 10 I'd gladly listen to again and the top six I may want to buy a copy of.
Coup De Grace, however, is the absolute worst album I sat through on behalf of a TLM Discography.
"God is Good" is the worst song I've hade to listen to on behalf of TLM as wel
I have put Black and White, La Folie and No More Heroes as a 5, 10 as a 3, but I agree with Coup disgrace, In the End though is in my top twenty best songs so saved by that else I would have thrown it in the bin.
I'm so agreeing with all three of you here and obviously reflects your tastes. I'm torn between Raven, the debut and Meninblack. All three are great LPs. In the end the one I play most is The Raven. And it's the bass work on the title track that sets it up. A terrific record in my opinion. Loved it when I bought it aged 18 back when it came out. On cassette.
I really like the first 10 Stranglers albums & then they lost me. But what a good band they were. Did some good covers along the way .. # 10 LA Folie # 9 10 ( Roy Thomas Baker Produced but Queen , Journey .. Cars success eluded ) # 8 TheMenInBlack # 7 Feline 🐈 # 6 Aural Sculpture # 5 No More Heroes # 4 Dreamtime # 3 Rattus Norveaicus # 2 The Raven & # 1 Black & White ( Still have my original black & white USA Pressing 🇺🇸 ) Really talented musicians , particularly the late Dave Greenfield on synth 🎹 . ✌️
1. The Raven
2. Rattus
3. Black White
4. La Folie
5. Giants (yep, it really impressed me)
1. Rattus Norvegicus (1977) 4/5
2. The Raven (1979) 4/5
3. La Folie (1981) 4/5
4. No More Heroes (1977) 3.5/5
5. Feline (1983) 3.5/5
6. Aural Sculpture (1984) 3.5/5
7. The Gospel According to the Meninblack (1981) 3/5
8. Suite XVI (2006) 3/5
9. Norfolk Coast (2004) 3/5
10. Dark Matters (2021) 3/5
11. Black & White (1978) 2/5
12. About Time (1995) 2/5
13. Giants (2012) 2/5
14. Written in Red (1997) 2/5
15. Coup de Grace (1998) 2/5
16. 10 (1990) 1.5/5
17. Dreamtime (1985) 1.5/5
18. Stranglers in the Night (1992) 1.5/5
CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER:
4.0 Rattus Norvegicus (1977)
3.5 No More Heroes (1977)
2.0 Black & White (1978)
4.0 The Raven (1979)
3.0 The Gospel According to the Meninblack (1981)
4.0 La Folie (1981)
3.5 Feline (1983)
3.5 Aural Sculpture (1984)
1.5 Dreamtime (1985)
1.5 10 (1990)
1.5 Stranglers in the Night (1992)
2.0 About Time (1995)
2.0 Written in Red (1997)
2.0 Coup de Grace (1998)
3.0 Norfolk Coast (2004)
3.0 Suite XVI (2006)
2.0 Giants (2012)
3.0 Dark Matters (2021)
This band is virtually unknown in my part of the world so I'd only ever heard one song ("Peaches") coming into the week. If I had to come up with a phrase that described The Stranglers' first half-dozen albums it'd be "angular new wave heavily influenced by the punk do-it-yourself aesthetic." The first 1/3rd of their catalogue is a pretty eclectic ride, though, as they were influenced by everything from reggae to baroque pop. I find their most consistent LPs are the 1977 debut, 1979's The Raven, and 1981's La Folie. On 1984's Aural Sculpture their albums start recieving slick 1980s production and any leftover traces of their punk-ish roots are gone. (A strong R&B influence also starts showing up in their records, complete with horn sections.) 1985's Dreamtime begins stretch of bad albums which they didn't snap out of 'til 2004's Norfolk Coast. After that run of disappointment it was refreshing to find that 3 of their last 4 albums are actually good. Overall, I'd say there are excellent songs scattered throughout The Stranglers' discography, but in terms of full albums not that much of it blows me away. They would not be a candidate for my "top 100 artists" list but I'm happy I explored their discography. It's was a challenge to do it all in one week- but was worth it, I think.
MY RATING SYSTEM:
5.0 = major classic (consistently great *and* stratospheric highs)
4.5 = minor classic (consistently great *or* stratospheric highs, but not both)
4.0 = great (a clear majority is worth revisiting and it's an essential record for this artist/style - passes my "it'll make a fan out of someone who's new to this artist" test)
3.5 = seriously good (at least half is worth revisiting)
3.0 = nominally good (less than half is worth revisiting)
2.5 = decent (competent but uninspired - not worth revisiting)
2.0 = poor (difficult listen)
1.5 = awful (can't finish it)
1.0 = historically awful (musical apocalypse)
* "Consistently" does not mean "flawlessly." I allow for a few duds if the rest of the songs are good enough. "Stratospheric highs" refer to albums that either feature iconic songs or have an extremely influential sound. (Albums that I consider to be "perfect" can also reach 5 stars, even without containing iconic songs or being highly influential.)
* I don't go below 1 star because once I'm in the realm of the truly terrible I don't care to differentiate anymore.
* Anything I rate 3.5 stars or higher is an album I'm enthusiastic about and would likely revisit at some point.
You have inspired me.
5.0 Black and White 1978
5.0 No More Heroes 1977
4.75 Rattus Norvegicus 1977
4.75, LaFolie 1981
4.5, The Raven 1979,
3.5, 10 1990
3.5, Aural Sculpture 1984
3.0, Written in Red 1997
3.0, Giants
3.0, Norfolk Coast
2.5 Stranglers in the Night 1992
2.5 Suite XVI 2006
2.5 About Time 1995
2.5 Dark Matters 2021
2.5 The Gospel According to the Meninblack 1981
2.5 Feline 1983
2.0 Dreamtime 1985
1.5 Coup de Grace 1998
2 for B/W, that’s pretty harsh, especially when you compare it to The Raven, which is rated 4 and expands on the direction taken on B/W.
How come?
@@janpoelkamp4229 Black and White is a 5 for me, I yearn for every note and phrase 🙂
Interesting differences in your rankings .
I was lucky enough to see them at the Danforth Music Hall in Toronto around 1987 , and they were terrific .
To me , their keyboard player , Dave Greenfield , is their secret weapon .
His keyboard playing elevates their songs across the board . ( I feel the same way about Greg Hawkes' keyboard playing with The Cars )
Here are my top 10 Stranglers albums in order of preference :
Rattus Norvegicus
No More Heroes. ( the title track is my favourite Stranglers song )
The Raven
Dreamtime
Aural Sculpture
Norfolk Coast
Giants
Dark Matters
La Folie
The Gospel According to the MeninBlack
Thanks !!!
Thanks !!!
At my college in 1979 we came in third place in a lip syncing contest as the Stranglers doing “Sweden”. We each won 6 Pink Floyd albums my two “band members” gave me their albums as they were punks and Pink Floyd was not. I quickly sold them and used the proceeds to buy beer.
Thanks guys for doing The Stranglers. Although I fundamentally disagree with some of your rankings it is really interesting to hear an alternative point of view. You are like 3 Stranglers fans discussing the albums and disagreeing about most of it. The words you use such as leftfield and goofy as a negative thing are the very reasons I like those particular albums.
Good job guys.
18. 10 (1990) 1.5/5
17. La Folie (1981) 1.5/5
16. Coup De Grace (1998) 1.5/5
15. Written In Red (1997) 2/5
14. Aural Sculpture (1984) 2/5
13. The Gospel According To The Meninblack (1981) 2/5
12. Norfolk Coast (2004) 2.5/5
11. Dreamtime (1986) 2.5/5
10. Stranglers In The Night (1992) 2.5/5
9. About Time (1995) 2.5/5
8. Rattus Norvegicus (1977) 3/5
7. No More Heroes (1977) 3/5
6. Black And White (1978) 3.5/5
5. Giants (2012) 3.5/5
4. Feline (1983) 3.5/5
3. Dark Matters (2021) 3.5/5
2. Suite XVI (2006) 3.5/5
1. The Raven (1979) 4.5/5
This is one all over the place list. - Joe
@@TastesLikeMusic I prefer their rock stuff (for exception liking more Feline and less Norfolk). The other really different thing from pretty much all lists is low score on La Folie which I don't like at all (really bad songs & dated production). The rest of my list are standart.
The only albums that matter are their first three.
3. Black and White
2. No More Heroes
1. Rattus Novergicus.
Their best ever song - Hanging Around.
1. Black and white.
2. Rattus.
3. The Raven.
4. Meninblack
5. La Folie
6.live x-certs
No other album rates and I’ve been a fan since ‘77.
Honourable mentions for Nosferatu and Euroman Cometh, Cornwell and Burnells respective solo albums
My local band! I lived in Guildford for many years and now I live just down the road in Godalming. I’m proud of what they’ve achieved. This little corner of Surrey also gave us The Jam (Woking) and Eric Clapton (Ripley) and it’s kind of ironic because Surrey is probably the least rock n roll county in England.
Haha! Yes, not very rock and roll for those of us in the know 😃 Where I'm from, we have quite a decent array of bands - Dr Feelgood, Eddie & the Hotrods, Paul Webb and Lee Harris from Talk Talk came from Canvey Island, then of course there's Depeche Mode and Yazoo hailing from Basildon or BasVegas as we like to call it 🤣
@@lubilou64 Ha ha, exactly. That is a decent array of bands, especially Talk Talk and Depeche Mode. I used to work with a guy from Benfleet who always referred to Basildon as BasVegas so I’m well aware of that nickname, always made me laugh 😁
@@marks.8780 if you travel from London towards Southend on the A127 as you hit the outskirts of Basildon there’s a grass mound in the opposite carriageway with bright white 10ft letters spelling BASILDON. It’s so completely tacky and awful 🤣🤣🤣 hence the BasVegas.
@@lubilou64 Ha ha, all makes sense now!
Thanks Jason for choosing such a interesting band. Rubbish at times but never boring. Of the "punk" bands of that era maybe only Wire were more interesting. Their changing face certainly showed in the diversity of picks and the dramatic difference in the rankings.
My top 5 would be different again
1 Dreamtime ( so may great pop songs ...and after this the wheels fell off)
2 La Folie. (Unusually accessible for them as they cross from new wave to art)
3 The Raven (Their transitional album that sees them at their best - but incosistant)
4 Rattus norvegicus (Lyrics - What lyrics? Nothing to see here)
5 The Meninblack A curious record -really interesting- but with a lot of filler.
Great Stuff.
Meninblack. I love that one Joe.
I will champion Black & White as the Stranglers most eclectic, experimental, and consistent album. but the album that brought me to the table was Rattus Norvegicus. if I had to rate debuts by the classic punks, this would win over the Sex Pistols and the Clash. JJ Burnel sounded like he strung his bass with cast iron strings, and Dave Greenfield was like a punk Garth Hudson. I never got past the Cornwell era, and I think I need to correct that.
I probably prefer The Damned's debut to the other 3 but Rattus Norvegicus is probably the next best (The Clash's debut is overrated although I love Give Em Enough Rope and London Calling). I would rate Black and White slightly above Rattus Norvegicus at the moment but maybe because I just got myself a physical copy recently and have been listening to it more.
I really enjoy your ranked shows. Hope you do The Mothers of Invention / Frank Zappa some day in the future. Best wishes from Germany!
This Stranglers ranking is a very nostalgic trip for me they're a band I always associate with lots of laughter and fun back in the day.
Thanks for doing this. All your views were fair and close to my own thoughts.
Job well dome considering you'd all only heard a few things here and there. A very patchy catalogue but I still love the band.
Hard to rank but my list is done with with little thought and very quickly so could easily change.
1) Rattus Norvegicus - number one by it's association with some very fun times, though never really liked Peaches.
2) The Raven - could easily be my number one. It's a strange and unique record.
3) No More Heroes - *Acid*
4) La Folie - it gets better with age, though Golden Brown is a little played out for me - lots of radio play in Australia.
5) Black and White -very good but I heard it much later and didn't enjoy it as much as expected based on its reputation.
6) Feline - an unusual album but I'm glad it's in the catalogue.
7) Aural Sculpture - a very mixed bag but was my point of entry
8) Norfolk Coast
9) Giants
10)Dark Matters - I've only heard this once and it could easily move up.
11) Dreamtime
13)Suite XVI
13)10
Gospel - not sure where to put this one. For its strangeness alone it deserves some credit.
I haven't heard the albums Stranglers in the Night thru Coup de Grace.
Shout out to the rarities compilation Off The Beaten Track which has the brilliant Old Codger, 5 Minutes and Walk on By.
As a lifelong fan of the bands music I enjoyed this video on the basis that all three of you assessed the catalogue without bias. Here's my rankings below.
1 La Folie
2 The Raven
3 Aural Sculpture
4 Black & White
5 Rattus Norvegicus
6 The Gospel
7 No More Heroes
8 Feline
9 Dreamtime
10 Ten
11 About Time
12 Written In Red
13 Stranglers In The Night
14 Norfolk Coast
15 Dark Matters
16 Coup De Grace
17 Giants
18 Suite XVI
18 albums sheez, I think Jason nails that the length of discography and meanderings hurt retrospective. Their "golden era" was aces. First 10 albums very interesting. they have about 5 excellent albums, most bands cannot produce even 1. One thing I love about the punk/ post punk era is band like Stranglers who started loud, bratty and brash and over time showed their stellar musicianship and songcraft. Separating the artists from the punks.
Id go
1. The Raven
2. Black And White
3. No More Heroes
4. Rattus Norvegicus
5. La Folie
6. Gospel According To The Meninblack
7. Aural Sculpture
8. Feline
9. Dreamtime
10. Suite XVI
(11.) 10
I love the Stranglers... since day one. I used to read NME et al, came to buy their albums. I love the song, "Shah Shah A-Go-Go", it was so fitting and topical.
I can only rank the first ten. (Once Hugh Cornwell leaves it's no longer The Stranglers).
1 The Raven (One of my favourite LPs by anyone, ever).
2 Black and White 3 La Folie 4 No More Heroes 5 The Gospel According To The Meninblack
6 Rattus Norvegicus 7 Feline 8 Aural Sculpture 9 Dreamtime 10 10
Kramz you clearly don't get this band. Dave Greenfield was an amazing keyboard guy and the organ is the heart and soul of the most popular Stranglers albums. Nothing "goofy" about them. This band brought a punk energy and attitude to prog rock, which is one hell of an accomplishment. And all of you rated Suite XVI way too low, as it as good as those that top your lists.
Good choice of band! So good to see this band being recognized out with UK
Disappointed with Kramzers lowest album being Dark Matters! I thought this was a great return to form for them and would rank in my top 5 I think!
I agree with Joe on Meninblack however. Completely unlistenable!!
Other than that my top would be
1) Rattus Norvegicus
2) The Raven
3) Black and white
4) No more heroes
5) Dark matters
The Stranglers are a very interesting band. Always accompanied by cool Synth lines, their discography is very shaky. Definitely a songs band, almost all of their albums are inconsistent, mostly front-loaded. But the best Stranglers songs are absolutely amazing.
Album Ranking:
1. The Raven (4,5 Stars)
2. Aural Sculpture (4 Stars)
3. Feline (4 Stars)
4. Black and White (4 Stars)
5. La Folie (3,5 Stars)
6. Rattus Norvegicus (3,5 Stars)
7. Dark Matters (3,5 Stars)
8. Stranglers in the Night (3,5 Stars)
9. No More Heroes (3,5 Stars)
10. Norfolk Coast (3 Stars)
11. The Gospel According To The Meninblack (3 Stars)
12. About Time (3 Stars)
13. Suite XVI (3 Stars)
14. Coup De Grace (3 Stars)
15. Giants (3 Stars)
16. Dreamtime (3 Stars)
17. Written In Red (2 Stars)
18. 10 (1,5 Stars)
Cool list. Very different from mine but I like it.
I haven’t heard all their albums, but I used to like them quite a lot while Hugh Cornwall was still in the band. My top five:
1. The Raven
2. La Folie
3. Rattus Norvegicus
4. The Feline
5. No More Heroes
Been a stranglers fan since I was 12 years old, and still listen to them non stop 16 years later. My list would be
18. About Time
17. Dark Matters
16. Written in Red
15. Suite XIV
14. Giants
13. Coup De Grace
12. Feline
11. Aural Sculpture
10. Norfolk Coast
9. La Folie
8. Dreamtime
7. Gospel According to the Meninblack
6. Rattus Norvegicus
5. No More Heroes
4. 10
3. Black and White
2. Stranglers in the Night
1. The Raven
About Jason’s remark of the ‘IV’ in the title of IV: Rattus Norvegicus, what makes things even more confusing is that around 1980 there was a US compilation with odds and ends called ‘IV’.
Party music from back in the day. One of my favorite bands from the UK new wave / post punk scene.
1. Rattus Norvegicus (1977)
2. No More Heroes (1977)
3. La Folie (1981)
4. Aural Sculpture (1984)
5. Black and White (1978)
6. The Raven (1979)
7. Dreamtime (1986)
8. Feline (1983)
9. Giants (2012)
10. About Time (1995)
11. Stranglers in the Night (1992)
12. The Gospel According to the Meninblack (1981)
13. Dark Matters (2021)
14. Norfolk Coast (2004)
15. Suite XVI (2006)
16. Coup de Grace (1998)
17. Written in Red (1997)
18. 10 (1990) *I’m with Jason, 10 sounds godawful.
Genetix is a classic, JJ’s bass is legendary on this, plays it like a guitar solo
And it has one of those rare Dave Greenfield lead vocals.
Golden Brown is a perfect single. It sounds like a single, has a catchy sound and that is why it was selected and made the UK charts. USA would like it if Maria Carey murdered it.
Nice & honest to your tastes review, thank you. I loved the Stranglers since they arrived, way back in early 1977. They were a bit daft and silly, which went against them as well as for them. However, they were very kind and generous to their public. Progressive Punk at it's best.
Checkout the 1st 3 Ultravox! Albums (1:Ultravox, 2: Ha Ha Ha!, 3: Systems of Romance), a very different creation then the popular 80's version.
My list is quite a bit different from all of yours but overall I enjoyed diving deeper into The Stranglers. They were actually on my list of artists to request for Patreon so this worked out very well. I knew a lot of the bigger songs and had listened to a few of these albums before (Black and White, No More Heroes) but had been meaning to dive into them further for quite a few years. I definitely wasn't expecting some of the more mediocre stuff in the 90s and all that but it's always interesting to see how these bands evolve over time. I definitely felt like their discography was a bit of a roller coaster ride, I might have been the one to say that a few times on Discord lol.
I'm still shocked to see Stranglers in the Night in two top 10s though. I thought that album was terrible myself but it seems to have been a contentious one, maybe I'm just crazy.
18. 10 - 2 (4.1)
17. Coup de Grace - 2 (4.3)
16. Stranglers in the Night - 2 (4.4)
15. Written in Red - 3 (5.8)
14. About Time - 3 (5.9)
13. Norfolk Coast - 3 (6.1)
12. Giants - 3 (6.3)
11. Feline - 3 (6.5)
10. Suite XVI - 3.5 (6.9)
9. Dark Matters- 3.5 (7.0)
8. Aural Sculpture - 3.5 (7.3)
7. Dreamtime - 3.5 (7.4)
6. La Folie - 4 (7.9)
5. The Gospel According to the Meninblack - 4 (8.1)
4. Rattus Norvegicus - 4 (8.3)
3. Black and White - 4 (8.4)
2. The Raven - 4.5 (8.9)
1. No More Heroes - 4.5 (9.1)
You're absolutely not crazy about Stranglers in the Night. It only has three songs I would listen to again and "Gain Entry to Your Soul" gets 1.5 from me. As for the rollercoaster thing, I think a few of us mentioned it (I used it to describe my experience listening to Written in Red) but you were the first if my recollection is correct. Our opinions are similar on at least a few things. I've got Rattus at 4.25 but I will record it on RYM as 4.
@@179rich That's true, a few people definitely said it was a roller coaster to get through these albums. Glad that we agree on Stranglers in the Night. Should be interesting to see the averages on RYM in our community when everyone has their scores in. :)
yep your crazy! lol!♥♥♥🐯🐯
@@bengalgangster Hahaha thanks!
Thanks interesting discussion. I saw the Stranglers three times in the late 70’s in NYC clubs. They were quite the band live loud powerful somewhat indifferent to the crowd.
I don’t really agree that the frequent use of organ on the early albums is a pub rock vibe. I think it’s a Doors sound, sort of The Doors meet punk rock
That’s literally what I say during the Rattus review. - Joe
Yeah I noticed. I wrote that comment while watching the video so I hadn’t reached that part yet
Great stuff lads 💪 Can you do the Damned soon?
That would be fun
The Stranglers!!!
My Tier List:
1-The Raven (****), 2-The Gospel According to the Men In Black (****), 3-Black & White (***1/2), 4-Rattus Norvicus (***1/2), 5-No More Heroes (***1/2), 6-Le Folie (****) 7-Feline (****), 8-Dream Time (****), 9-"10" (***) 10-Aural Sculpture (***)
(Yeah, my star rating do not match my ranking, but I like experimentation which is hit or miss... Also part of the charm of the Stranglers is they are More Then A Little Stupid!!!)
FOR ME: the Mach II, & Mach III albums are not worth rating...
The Paul Roberts (Mach II) era sounds like 1980s, Journey to me. I am surprised you did not make that comparison! I don't even know the Mach II albums, even though I owned them at one point... I never liked the Paul Roberts albums, even though I tried!!
Mach III Stranglers? Yes, "Pub Rock" describes it... I can't enjoy it. And I do not think "PUB ROCK" was even a thing at that point...
>>>>Non album singles, Like Bear Cage, & the "WALK ON BY" cover are crucial Stranglers for me...
For me the Stranglers were a mysterious, unique band I would hear on College radio in the 1980s. I owned Black & White, and Rattus Norvicus in the 1980s. I did not have any money as a teen, so there was some risk in those purchases!!
>>>I got them mixed up with THE FALL and GANG OF FOUR
I got the Epic era albums (Aural Sculpture, Feline, Dream Time, 10) in the 2000s, when vinyl was cheap. The Epic era albums were never played on college radio...
>>>CORRECTION:
>>>Aural Sculpture was: Uptown, Let Me Down Easy, and Souls were played on College radio...
Then I got the Raven at a used record store in 2005 for $10, and it has been my favorite ever since!!!
Genetixs has become a kind of prophecy for me since the 2020 pandemic. The error humans have made by playing God with genetic engineering upsets me to no end, and the freakish musicianship of Genetix is a perfect match.
One thing you did not mention is: some say The Stranglers invented GOTH with The Gospel According To The Men In Black. While that is not really true, there is something to it... The Song MENINBLACK was a staple of college radio, so it was natural the Stranglers would make a concept album out of it.
IMHO
The synth solo on Nice n Sleazy is so bad ass, avant garde.
Most of the material on the first five studio albums was as pure gold with a couple of gems on La Folie. Downhill all the way after for me I’m afraid and when Hugh left I don’t for the life of me know how the hell they had the nerve to call themselves The Stranglers.
Fantastic episode! I'm a huge Stranglers fan. And I was a huge Cornwell (pun intended) fan. I lost my interest in the band after the huge disappointment of 10 (I agree on everything Jason said about that album). So my top 10 is a top 10 based on the Cornwell catalogue. I know I'm probably too late with my recommandation: but the non-album single Who Wants The World is the perfect introduction to The Meninblack album and definitely in my Stranglers song top 10. I hope our trio listened to the non-album singles before doing their song rankings.
10. 10 1/5 Jason
09. Dreamtime 3/5 Jason
08. La Folie 3/5 Kramzer
07. No More Heroes 3/5 Jason
06. Aural Sculpture 4/5 Jason
05. Black And White 4/5 Joe
04. Feline 4/5 Jason
03. The Meninblack 5/5 Jason
02. The Raven 5/5 Joe
01. Rattus Norvegicus 5/5 Kramzer
After each album I entered my star ratings and nominated the review I could most agree on.
ps. I believe JJ is doing lead vocals on Princess Of The Street.
pps. The Stranglers (being from Guildford) were initially called The Stranglers IV after The Guidlford IV (arrested being not guilty and sentenced to prison for years). So the IV on Rattus Norvegicus is a leftover from their initial band (knick) name. The name "The Stanglers IV" also appears on the label of initial pressings of their second album No More Heroes.
ppps. The only song I really like on 10 (and I like it a lot) is Sweet Smell Of Success.
I would say Who Wants the World is quite a bit better than anything on the Meninblack album.
You guys should add a bottom five songs from each discography. It would be entertaining and enlightening. Add a little fun. Thanks - you are always appreciated.
I've bugged them about doing top 10 worst song lists. I don't think they will do it lol
@@179rich that is why i am trying for 5. It would be really interesting - you KNOW more people would watch. C'mon - great minds think alike! Don't give up.
@@jbellinger99 I'm doing a top 10 worst Stranglers songs now myself.
Great choice. I am familiar with their most popular songs, which were played on the radio here in Europe probably more so than in the US. The songs I know are all fantastic, but I don't know their albums well enough to participate in any ranking.
He man! 👋 Ik zou persoonlijk zeggen, begin met Rattus en The Raven.
Maar haal eigenlijk gewoon de Old Testament box in huis met de eerste albums en zo’n cd-setje van Universal voor de albums daarna.
Rattus sounds incredible because they essentially went into the studio and did it live, they had been playing this material for two years on the road so when it came to recording, it was simple and needed virtually no production, I mean one week in the studio to put this down! You can even hear guitar strings as Hugh changes chords. The next album, No More Heroes wasn't as popular because a lot of it was made up of songs that didn't go on Rattus, so even though the standard was high a lot of these songs weren't good enough for Rattus. The spent time more time in the studio so it lacks the energy of the first album. If you listen to the songs Burning Up Time, Dead Ringer and Dagenham Dave the tempo of the songs were far slower than when they played them live. If the record company had said get into the studio and just play it live it would have been a much better album. Both albums were more or less autobiographical on what they had experienced since the bands conception in 1974. They sacrificed a lot to make it work to the extent they more or less had no money. Hugh described himself as being like a tramp because of how he looked. London wasn't in a good place at the time, ecomomically dire with many people on strike etc..They signed for United Artists in December 1976 because that record company had made so much money out of sales of the singer Shirlley Bassey they decided to take a 'punt' on a 'punk' band and chose the stranglers (which they never regretted as the stranglers were by far the best selling 'punk' band of that era). It's funny listening to the views of Dave Greenfield, Hugh originally wanted a 3 piece (bass, drums and guitar) but didn't have the confidence to play a lead instrument, so in 1975 so they brought in a keyboard player called Dave Greenfield and the rest is history.
You could always tell especially when I saw them live just after the first album that they were musicians adapting to the punk youth culture. I remember going to a council estate pub where a friend was playing records one Sunday and he played the first album start to finish. Nobody objected and it sounded great through the PA
I think it was Jason who mentioned ‘they even released Golden Brown again’ when reviewing Feline, but that song was added to the US release.
Which is strange, because Feline was their first album released on the Epic label after they just left Liberty, who licensed Golden Brown.
Guys , never thought you would do it especially as they were never popular in the states , I would love you to try Status Quo !
Men in black at 18, Joe you have lost your mind, it's one of their best
Yeah, aliens took it. - Joe
@@TastesLikeMusic hahaha nice one, new fan here btw, love the vids guys
Anyway, copied and pasted from Sea Of Tranquility here’s my list:
Black And White and The Raven are moody masterpieces. I think the band peaked there, but of what I have there’s not a bad one in the bunch. I’d probably rank No More Heroes lower than anyone else as I feel it’s a bit of a sophomore slump for them, but by no means do I think it’s any less than strong.
Here’s my list:
1. The Raven
2. Black And White
3. IV: Rattus Norvegicus
4. The Gospel According To The Meninblack
5. Feline
6. La Folie
7. Aural Sculpture
8. No More Heroes
9. Dreamtime
Honorable mention goes to Live Xcert, or: How to insult an audience for noobs!
RIP Jet Black
i tryed got thru half or so.i really enjoyed the raven and stranglers in the night! [ Sorry V] But they were all over the place for me!🐯🐯
PS the album is getting killed in the comments [duelly noted V]
Well they do divide opinion, from someone who lived every release from the beginning as it happened it interesting to hear views from the casual listener. I too was very disappointed with the Gospel According to the Meninblack, should have been an EP with Hallow to our Men with Four Horseman and Waiting for the meninblack, the rest was too odd. I liked 10 but disliked Dreamtime.
My top ten
1, Black and White
2, No More Heroes
3, Rattus Norvegicus
4, LaFolie
5, The Raven,
6, 10
7, Aural Sculpture
8, Written in Red
9, Giants
10, Norfolk Coast
11, In the Night
Pretty nice cover of Strange Little Girl by Tori Amos. It was one of The Stranglers biggest hits in the 🇬🇧 & was not on any any album excepting compilations.
Hey David, not a massive Stranglers fan but I do love that song. Will check Tori Amos's version out 👍
@@lubilou64 She does it justice .. I thought. Very pretty song.
@@davidellis5141 The video is pretty trippy too.
@@179rich I thought that Tori was reaching a bit covering this song but she proved me wrong .. wish the video had been seen by more but at least it's on YT.
It was a new song on the Singles 1977-1982 compilation with which they parted ways with the Liberty label.
The Meninblack album...the instrumentals are great there; but when there are vocals, there is trouble
They were so great - never lost their influence and popularity in Europe . " Ice Queen " still moving me every time .
"I'll take a concept album about 'Bring on the Nubiles." LMFAO
I feel like Prince took this advice to heart.
So, I watched this. The Stranglers have been one of my favorite bands since I bought their first album when it was brand new.
Had a single or two before that. I saw them live in Chicago 4 or 5 times. Great gigs. The first time was when The Raven was brand new.
I had to watch this in two parts. I got halfway through and someone said something ridiculous. lol
But I finished it.
I have to admit I haven't heard a number of the releases after Hugh left the band.
Although I did hear their latest and I thought it was pretty good. Listened to it several times.
I hate to rate things that I love so much.....
I might go with something like:
The Raven
The Gospel
Black and White
Rattus
Heroes
First came across The Stranglers in the mid-'80s. I know their albums from this time, Feline, Aural Sculpture and Dreamtime and associate them with that sound. But their debut is killer and I'm definitely checking out Meninblack.
The Stranglers first 4 albums are best 4 albums I've ever heard
The Stranglers. This should be interesting
jason used to have a broken clock in the background and now he has a pirates pennant! God i miss that clock!🐯🐯
Right now , The Pirates ☠️ could sweep the Yankees who are having an epic collapse from 48-16 to a team that won't win 90 games. 78 Red Sox Redux.
@@davidellis5141 big cease verlander match up tonight of historic proportions🐯🐯 PS F--- bucky dent
@@bengalgangster Holy 🐄 !
Dreamtime is very good. 4 stars, at least. Production doesn't age well but "too precious", "reap what you sow", "mayan skies", "big in america" or "ghost train" are true gems. Can't understand bad reviews for this.
The Stranglers reviewed by Joe, Kramz and Dave Greenfield…. euhhh Jason!!!! I’m curious, bring it on!!!! 😃
Please tackle The Church discography…
I love The Raven. Interested to know where it comes.
Appreciate Jason for picking bands and artists that I never would've heard of otherwise.
Kudos to him to bring up The Stranglers and Be-Bop Deluxe.
And putting The Gospel… at #1 is rad!! 👍
JJ sings Princess Of The Streets. Check out his 79 solo album Euroman Cometh. I love it, but handle with caution. Cornwell's record from the same year Nosferatu sounds more like The Stranglers with contributions from Devo and Ian Dury. Live X Cert is a truly ferocious LP with great audience banter.
Been a fan of The Men in Black since 79. I was Late to the scene but didn't get into punk fully till 79 so I had to catch up. I'm American where the Stranglers are hardly known. I kept hearing about them from friends but couldn't get into them cause I found their name ridiculous. Nice to see the younger generation reviewing then. You all did a good job. Love Baz Wayne live. He is everything Hugh Cornwell was and a better guitarist. But Baz could not make one album worthy of The Stranglers work with Hugh. Maybe Norfolk coast is worthy.
Therefore I won't rank anything post Hugh.
1. Black and White
2. Gospel according...
3. La Folies
4. Feline
5. Aural Sculpture
6. The Raven
7. No more heroes
8. Rattus
9. Dreamtime
10. 10.
5. Rattus Norvegicus
4. No More Heroes
3. The Raven
2. Black And White
1. Gospel According To The MIB
One of my favourite bands
1. The Raven
2. Rattus
3. La Folie
4. Black and white
5. Feline
6. No More heroes
7. Aural sculpture
8. Dark Matters
9. Norfolk Coast
10. Giants
(thatl do)
Def Leppard is going to be another week off for me, tbh, although I will stop by to roast you all if you put that 1987 abomination over their earlier AC/DC starter kit albums. Journey isn't exactly high art either, but I like a lot of their stuff. We'll see what you all have to say about them.
Not overly familiar with all their albums, a band I've always liked what I've heard and I have attempted to delve more into their catalogue, partially because I knew this episode was coming, so here is my top 7:
7: Aural Scripture
6: La Folie
5: The Raven
4: No More Heroes
3: Dark Matters
2: Rattus Norvegicus
1: Black and White
I can't really rate more than 7 as I don't know the other albums as well to put them in any order except for The Gospel According to Meninblack and Feline which aren't my favourites and I agree with Joe, about The Gospel According to Meninblack I find it almost unlistenable.
Strange Little Girl is a great stand alone single
When golden brown came out, one of my mates was gonna stand outside a local record shop and beat up anyone that bought it, that’s how passionate he was about them, p.s. he was studying astronomy at university so wasn’t a thug 😂😂😂
Finally ranking the Stranglers albums, great comments...how about doing albums of another band in the same era.....XTC
1. The Raven '79'
2. Black and White '78'
3. La Folie '81'
4. Rattus Norvegicus '77'
5. Feline '82'
6. TGATTMIB '80'
7. No More Heroes '77'
8. In The Night '92'
9. Aural Sculpture '84'
10. Dreamtime '86'
11. About Time '95'
12. Norfolk Coast '04'
13. Suite 16 '06'
14. 10 '90'
15. Dark Matters '21'
16. Giants '12'
17. Written in Red '97'
18. Coup de Grace '98'
The Top 6 pretty much stay the same,
10 has never really been a favourite the sound of a band wanting to go in two separate musical directions , with a producer assigned by Epic to get them airplay . The latest will take time to settle into the list . Even I would never attempt to play all 18 ! In quick sucession ..
Just got out of bed this morning and immediately thought, I think those guys made that long video and not one of them said anything about
how cool the cover of The Raven is. The album cover, it's in 3D. You didn't mention it.
Or if you did I forgot......
I said how much I liked the cover of Raven somewhere. - Joe
They’re cover of walk on bye is outstanding
Wow!!! Jason goes all Manifesto on Meninblack! 100% on target, buckaroo. For many of the reasons mentioned, Meninblack is my go-to! 🤠
Meninblack is a great album...at least two of the members on the panel agree!!
I always enjoy a few quotes from the guys in their videos. This from Joe was so funny. 'I remember the song meninblack from the Raven and thinking this is terrible. Im glad I never have to listen to this again and then I look at the title of the next album. ' Hell rubbing it into you. We have all been there.
Heh, I don’t know…
Putting The Gospel… at the bottom and rating The Raven highly seems like a bit of a stretch…
Sorry, Joe 👍
The bass line on the title track is super (the raven) and the bass playing on toiler on the sea. The bass playing full stop. Maybe Jean Jacques Burnell? I'm old. Can't remember.