Rattus Norvegicus: IV - Stranglers

Dirty Rats or Aristocrats? Scene 1 - Clifford's bedroom ----------------------------------- Clifford said he'd bought Rattus Norvegicus IV - would I like to go round and listen to it? Of course. In west London, a big victorian house was quite something but with no central heating it was freezing. His bedroom was enormous with high roofs and had two single beds at right angles.We huddled up under the covers (in seperate beds). From the first note, I was totally seduced, but not by Clifford! As the first side ended, we raced to flip the disc. Scene 2 - Brunel University ---------------------------------- Amazingly, not ...  Read the complete review

One of the most unique and controversial acts to ever fall under the banner of ‘Punk’ were Guildford’s finest, The Stranglers, an act which, in their most prolific, and best, incarnation churned out 10 studio albums, 9 of which were of a very high quality, before singer and guitarist Hugh Cornwell departed the group in 1990 to pursue a solo career. However, The Stranglers he left after the release of ‘10’ was a much different beast to the one which crafted their debut album, ‘Rattus Norvegicus’. Unlike many of the acts classed as punk who arose in 1977, The Stranglers were no overnight success, and began life in Sweden under the moniker of Johnny Soxx, with ...  Read the complete review

This is my first music review since becoming the new music guide, taking over from Frankingsteins. It was his love (obsession?) for Iron Maiden and the amount of reviews he wrote about them that has inspired me somewhat to write some more about one of my favourite bands of all time, The Stranglers. Until recently dooyoo only had a couple of The Stranglers? albums to review, but now I?m like a kid in a sweet shop and where better to start than with Rattus Norvegicus. Rattus Norvegicus (That's Norwegian Rat to you and me) is the title of The Stranglers first album. ...  Read the complete review