Essential

by The Stranglers

Overview

A Stranglers best-of collection is bound to play out almost like a various-artists collection or an eclectic mixtape. Over their decades-spanning journey, the English group found their roots in the early punk and beer-soaked pub rock scenes, but quickly branched out into stylistically diverse territory. Listening back-to-back to two of the band's biggest hits -- the swaggering street thug amble of "Peaches" placed next to the lilting Baroque melancholia of "Golden Brown" -- makes their sonic shapeshifting abundantly clear. One minute they're belting out the keyboard-heavy hard rock of "No More Heroes" and the next we're treated to the synthy post-Joy Division French-language goth of "La Folie." Essential manages to steer away from the disjointedness that could come from presenting an overview for such a widely varied band, but there are still some dips in the road. The inclusion of prog-punk throwaway tracks "Nice N' Sleazy" or "Five Minutes" slows the momentum, especially in light of the omission of Stranglers cover versions of the Kinks "All Day and All of the Night" or Question Mark & the Mysterians' "96 Tears," both of which were hits for the band in the late '80s. Generally, Essential manages to portray the Stranglers in an accurate light; a slightly schizophrenic band with an equal ratio of great tunes and head-scratching filler. ~ Fred Thomas

Product Details

Release Date:	11/08/2011
Label:	Emi / Emi Gold
UPC:	5099968023324

Tracks

1. Peaches
2. Golden Brown
3. Strange Little Girl
4. No More Heroes
5. Straighten Out
6. Hanging Around
7. Walk on By
8. La Folie
9. Something Better Change
10. (Get A) Grip (On Yourself) [Grip '89 Remix]
11. Duchess
12. Nice N' Sleazy
13. Bear Cage
14. 5 Minutes
15. London Lady

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Stranglers   Primary Artist
Dave Greenfield   Vocals,Keyboards
Hugh Cornwell   Guitar,Vocals
Jet Black   Drums,Percussion
Jean-Jacques Burnel   Guitar (Bass),Vocals

Technical Credits

Alan Winstanley   Engineer,Producer
Jet Black   Composer,Producer,Lyricist
Benny King   Engineer
Dave Greenfield   Composer,Lyricist,Producer
Burt Bacharach   Composer,Lyricist
Steve Churchyard   Engineer
Hal David   Composer,Lyricist
Hugh Cornwell   Composer,Lyricist,Producer
Hans Warmling   Composer,Lyricist
Jean-Jacques Burnel   Remix Engineer,Producer,Lyricist,Composer
The Stranglers   Producer,Lyricist,Composer
Martin Rushent   Producer,Mixing
Doug Bennett   Mixing
Tony Visconti   Producer