Long Time Coming (Norfolk Coast - Stranglers)

Member Name: I Like Blue

Product:	Norfolk Coast - Stranglers
Date:	25/03/04 (888 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: They're back!, Great songs

Disadvantages: Yeah, right, don't think so

It?s been 2 years in the making and it?s 6 years since the last studio album, but finally it?s here, on their 30th anniversary, the new Stranglers album, Norfolk Coast.

Before I continue I must tell you that I have been checking dooyoo?s ?newest products? list for a while now, looking and waiting for Norfolk Coast to appear since it?s release. It was only the other day that I decided to check the ?newest products? list more thoroughly and in doing so I found it had been added on the 12th February, 4 days before the album was actually released!

Anyway, on with the review.

Norfolk Coast, in my slightly biased opinion (grin), is an excellent album and while at first I wasn?t too sure about it the more I have listened to it the better it has become. This album has 11 tracks, is just under 40 minutes long and is The Stranglers back to their best with a promise of more to come.

Now, I know the group aren?t, and never have been, everyone?s cup of tea but Norfolk Coast is definitely worth a listen. Quite cleverly, with it?s more listener friendly feel, this latest offering from one of Indie/Prog Rock?s oldest and enduring bands (please don?t make the mistake of classing them as Punk ?cos it just isn?t so), Norfolk Coast targets die-hard Stranglers fans and hopes to recruit new ones too. I think that overall they might just have pulled it off!

For those of us who have ?worshipped? the Meninblack since the very beginning Norfolk Coast has plenty of ?old skool? Stranglers feel to it which, for me anyway, has had me listening to vintage Stranglers? albums more than normal; it?s that infectious. Hopefully, for new fans, it will tempt them to search out and listen to those old classics too.

For me, Norfolk Coast is a success on a number of leve
ls, for the group personally and particularly for Paul Roberts, the lead singer. It seems that finally Paul has managed to translate all of his natural, and very energetic, singing style and range, that is so evident in the band?s live performances, to the studio for this album.

On another level this album is also a success for another reason and that is it also seems that the band have, at last, overcome the 14 year hangover they appeared to be suffering from after the departure of Hugh Cornwell.

So, onto the album itself, which opens with the title track [1] Norfolk Coast, a song that reminds you of older classics from the band but with a fresh new bite to it. Starting with the keyboard wizardry that is Dave Greenfield?s unique and quite unmistakable style, followed by the even more unmistakable, and quite aggressive, bass guitar playing style of JJ Burnel and Jet Black?s self-taught drumming style (once likened to someone hammering on a tin roof) then finally Paul Roberts breaking into song, Norfolk Coast is a great song to begin with and an excellent start to the album.

Hot on the heels of Norfolk Coast is [2] Big Thing Coming, which keeps the tempo going and now the album is really starting to come alive. This track was the band?s first single from the album and while it reached a slightly disappointing chart position of 31 it?s still a great song and I, like many other Stranglers fans, don?t really give to much credence to that kind of statistic, if you like the song then what does it matter?

The next track [3] Long Black Veil is the next single to be released, early in April, and slows the tempo somewhat but is still a solid song nonetheless. The tempo is picked up again with [4] I?ve Been Wild, a rather catchy tune that recounts some of the band?s earlier indisc
retions which earned them a reputation that has stuck for years.

Next up is [5] Dutch Moon, a melodic foot-tapper with just more than a hint of a Blues/Jazz feel to it that gives the song a good moody atmosphere which is good because next we have [6] Lost Control, and this track is pretty much the complete opposite. It?s the band getting back to a more up-tempo rhythm with that usual bit of edge we?ve become used to.

Keeping the tempo going is [7] Into The Fire, and while I quite like this song I think it is probably the weakest on the album although there?s some good pieces of guitar work by Baz Warne (incidentally, although Baz has been with the band for some time now this is the first studio album he?s appeared on).

For me though the best track on the album is [8] Tucker?s Grave, and it?s also the longest track at nearly 6 minutes. Moody, full of atmosphere and very deliberate in it?s delivery this is almost like a rock ballad but has a lot more depth and soul to it. There isn?t much time to dwell on it though as we?re whisked off again with [9] I Don?t Agree, which is The Stranglers Iraq War and WMD protest song. It?s done extremely well and has a pretty catchy tune.

Nearly there, bear with me!

The penultimate song is the excellent [10] Sanfte Kuss, which translates to ?Gentle Kiss?. Roberts sings this brilliantly in German, French and finally English. If you are a Stranglers fan then you?d probably agree that this song is very similar to the old classic ?Cruel Garden?. Jon Sevink, of The Levellers, features on this track with a good violin solo which adds that bit extra to the song. However, each time I listen to this song I can?t help thinking how it reminds me a bit of a TV theme tune for a
cheesy sit-com or one of those holiday or properties in the sun programmes.

Last, but not least, we have [11] Mine All Mine, which finishes the album off well. I?ve not heard this live but I?ve heard it?s actually better and quicker in it?s ?stage? form. I?ll have to try and find out for myself as soon as I can but for now I?ll enjoy the studio version.

Overall this is a great album and while they have the momentum, and the backing of EMI (again), I hope they don?t leave it so long before their next offering. I mean, at 66 years old, I don?t think Jet Black has that many drumming days left in him, although to still be going at his age is nothing short of remarkable! Mind you none of the band are exactly spring chickens, in fact the youngest is Baz Warne at 40 years old, and at 52 JJ Burnel still looks in excellent shape.

Finally, I was quite impressed with the CD inlay to this album which has the words to all the songs, along with the URL address of The Stranglers 2 official websites, www.stranglers.net and www.stranglers.co.uk (merchandise site), but the best part of the inlay is at the back of the booklet.

On the last page is The Stranglers Ringtone Service which means finally I can get a decent Stranglers ringtone for my mobile phone (yes, the beloved SL55). The service accommodates just about every mobile phone and both polyphonic and monophonic ringtones, however there are only 3 tones available and they are - Peaches, No More Heroes and Big Thing Coming.

So, Norfolk Coast is a must for all Stranglers fans and I recommend the album to anyone else as I think you?ll be pleasantly surprised, as there is something here for everyone.

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