| Product: |
Black And White - Stranglers |
| Date: |
27/06/07 (292 review reads) |
| Rating: |
 |
Advantages: A classic album from an underrated and misunderstood band
Disadvantages: Absolutely none!
I’m going through one of those retro periods at the moment with my music listening habits and this latest one has been fuelled by listening to a recent album release of another band.
When I have one of these retro moments I nearly always start by listening to a Stranglers album, and the first album I always pick first to listen to is this one, ‘Black and White’.
After the release and success of both 'Rattus Norvegicus' and 'No More Heroes', The Stranglers released their third album 'Black and White' in May 1978.
'Black and White' was (for me anyway) the turning point for The Stranglers; it was a break of style from their first couple of albums and the start of a new direction, both musically and lyrically. The release of 'Black and White' also, quite by chance, coincided with the then declining 'punk rock' phenomenon. This showed the general public and the critics that The Stranglers meant to stay and weren't just in the business for the ride, despite rumours and one or two dubious comments from members of the band that The Stranglers were about to split up!
'Black and White' came about as a result of The Stranglers spending the winter of 1977-78 locked away at a 'farm' away from their London/Surrey base. Once they had thrashed out, debated, and finally agreed on the songs they had written for this album (which at this time had no fixed/set title), the collection was then given to their then trusted Mixer/Producer Martin Rushent who then set about 'making' the album complete. In the meantime The Stranglers went on tour, in America, which won't be remembered as the best in their history.
After some tweaking, and a visit to America by Martin Rushent to do some final 'adjustments' the 'Black and White' album was ready for release. The title was finally decided upon as a result of the songs on the album. It became apparent whilst mixing the tracks that there was an obvious difference in the songs in that there became two very distinct styles. One handful of songs were 'leftovers' and a continuation of the first albums, which became known as the 'White' side. The other songs were of a newer, different, darker style and had a more menacing feel about them, leading to them being included together on the 'Black' side of the album.
In May 1978 the album was released, and went straight into the album charts at number 2! Back then that was quite an achievement by anyone's standards and it was only just pipped to the number one slot by the Saturday Night Fever compilation album, which was all the rage back then.
So, to the album itself, as it was originally released on vinyl I shall obviously be reviewing that version; although I am aware there are some extra tracks on the CD version of the album.
THE WHITE SIDE
I don't know why I have started with the White side; I have always assumed this to be the 'first' side as I suppose many fans do. One reason for that is knowing The Stranglers style, and as I explained before the White side had the ‘leftover’ tracks/songs from the first albums.
The album starts apace with [1] Tank, a lively starting song that is made more energetic with the combination of Dave Greenfield’s very interesting sound effects on his keyboard(s) and JJ Burnel’s relentless bass guitar work which is complemented by Hugh Cornwell's touches on his rhythm guitar and Jet Black’s momentum on the drums.
Next up is probably the most famous song from this album [2] Nice 'N' Sleazy, made even more (in)famous at a gig in Battersea Park when a group of female strippers danced naked to this song on stage. The tempo is slowed right down for [3] Outside Tokyo, a quite short and eerie song about time. If I remember correctly (you must excuse my failing memory) this was about the same time digital watches became all the rage which just fuelled our obsession about time.
The tempo picks up again quite dramatically with [4] Sweden (All Quiet On The Eastern Front), a very good song that changes pace dramatically throughout. Again I like the way Hugh Cornwell sings this with mock excitement when actually the song itself is a rather less than complimentary ode to what Sweden doesn't have to offer, save some interesting cloud formations!
The tempo is kept up as we move on to [5] Hey! (Rise of The Robots), and you don't need any clues to what this song is about! Yep, it's about our increasing reliance on computers in our lives. I like the way Hugh Cornwell sings this in a mock panic/fear tone. It's like he is warning everyone of an impending doom and having a little snipe at Unions in the process.
Now to the last track on the White side, [6] Toiler On The Sea, and probably one of my favourites. However, I don't like the album version of this song as much as I do when it is done live. Every Stranglers gig I have been to and this is played, it always receives some of the loudest cheers of the set. The instrument effects are something else, especially Dave Greenfield's keyboard version of a storm! Definitely a much better song live than in a studio, although this album version keeps me happy in the meantime.
THE BLACK SIDE
Now here is the contrast. This side of the album is moody and menacing but it works well, really well. We start with [1] Curfew, an excellent song and start to this side of the album setting the mood and pace of the 'Black' side perfectly.
Next up is [2] Threatened, a very dark and moody song that is basically about different outlooks/opinions in our lives and how important are they really in the grand scheme of things. This is probably my favourite song on this side of the album.
Then we have [3] In The Shadows - another dark, foreboding song about fear. There are some very good keyboard effects on this track, again from Dave Greenfield, which give the song a really eerie feeling.
The next two songs blend into each other starting with [4] Do You Wanna - although quite a good song, it’s probably my least favourite as it doesn't seem to go anywhere until near the end when it runs into [5] Death And Night And Blood (Yukio) - a song written and performed by JJ Burnel.
The last track on the black side is [6] Enough Time. When I first heard this track (listening to the vinyl version of course!), I thought there was something wrong with my Record Deck until I realised it was how the song was supposed to end. As the song nears completion it slows down dramatically and sounds like the turntable has come to a stop before the record has finished playing - a pretty good effect for the era!
As I said at the top of this review, this is probably the most played album of my Stranglers collection, but I don't really know why, it seems to have a magic of its own and for me it is like a milestone or turning point for The Stranglers. They had seemed to have gotten past the 'raw' era of their career with the first albums and the 'White' side of this one and started something new with the 'Black' side.
Another point I’d like to make that with this album, unlike many other bands’ albums, no two songs sound the same or even feel the same. Here we have 12 quite unique and individual songs that range from the upbeat and faster tempo of Tank, Hey!, Sweden, Toiler On The Sea, Curfew and Enough Time to the quirky/eerie/edgy songs like Outside Tokyo, Threatened, In The Shadows, Do You Wanna and Death and Night and Blood. Then standing on its own is the punk-reggae classic Nice ‘N’ Sleazy.
From a personal point of view The Stranglers and groups like them from this era have had an influence on a number of rock groups we see and hear today and this is why I recommend this album, especially as a good starting point if you wanted to have a flavour of The Stranglers and their style of rock.
If you are interested you can pick up the CD from Amazon marketplace for under a fiver and I’ve often seen it at HMV for about the same price.
The extra tracks on the CD are:
Mean To Me
Walk On By (a cover of Dionne Warwick’s classic)
Shut Up
Sveridge
Old Codger (with main guest jazz crooner George Melly)
Tits (yes, you read that correctly!)
Summary: A tale of two very distinctive sides...
|
|
