Search - Stranglers :: Sessions

A classic Album for a classic band

George W. Rodriguez | Hialeah, FL United States | 02/09/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"THe stranglers have always been sort-of outsiders. From the very early days they were the first punk band to incorporate a keybord, and their lyrics always took on deeper, sleazier, darker, yet still good humoured topics. In all honesty, I believe that the stranglers are perhaps one of best alltime punk rock bands to ever have graced sound systems. This recording is a collection of some of their best and catchiest songs done live in a studio. All the songs are tight and clear, and every instrument sounds superb. Infact, if I didn't know any better I would have thought this to be a plain old studion album. You can tell the difference by the following: in this album the bass is thumpier and smoother-as opposed to their other studio works where the bass is growly and slightly distorted-and there is much more guitar, that is, the guitar is more audible, whereas regular stranglers records have a predominant keybord sound. ALso, the backing vocals are much more noticeable than on the regular recordings. These are nit-picky details, but in some cases add an improvement, but frankly if you want a nut-shell reasoning, the overall recording is just cleaner than regular stranglers' records. Other bands to whatch out for in this vain of punk rock would be the Jam, Radiobirdman, and the much newer fore-runners of the current punk rock scene, The International Noise Conspiracy. Forget blink-182, sum-41 and newfound glory. If you are looking for some real punk rock with cathcy melodies and humorously ingenious lyrics, then buy this album."

THE STRANGLERS

chris36643 | scotland glasgow | 03/15/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Stranglers a name that put fear and loathing to the GLC.A band that,fired the nation into punk.4 guys a chemist,icecream salesman,a musian,and a student,The Stranglers.
This cd shows off the band to their best.11 tracks ranging from thier first album,to their last(at that time La Foile).
The best of the tracks are Wog,No More Heroes,Sewer.
This cd shows how the band sounded when Hugh and JJ were working togthere,not pulling each other a part,an excellent cd a must for those who love the band,a must for those who like The Stranglers,a must for those who want to hear how the band sounded in the good old days."

Worth it for fans

rhu1@cableol.co.uk | 03/05/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I've had this for years, and thought it was good all the way through, but I've recently become more drawn to the '82 session tracks i.e. the final three. The Nuclear Device / Genetix medley works OK, but if you have "Rattus Norvegicus" or any live album with "Down in the Sewer" in it, then get this. You will not hear a sweeter, cleaner version of this song anywhere else, so far as I know. The instruments are almost perfectly balanced, and Jet's drumming is beautiful in it's simplicity, but Hugh's guitar gets washed out a bit somehow."