IV Rattus Norvegicus
When you name your debut album after the rats responsible for the plague, you must be hoping that the music is contagious...in this case it was. The Stranglers were formed in 1974 and quickly became established on the pub rock scene. They played with an aggressive drive, and an uncompromising attitude, that meant when punk exploded on the world in 1977 they were taken to the hearts of many of the UK's punk fans. There were some, mainly journalists, who said they were never true punks, due to their age and having a keyboard player, but they more than made up for this with their confrontational, edgy and menacing songs that border on misogynistic at times. Having said that their music was never a problem for women and they have plenty of female fans, just go along to one of their concerts to witness that.
The scintillating "(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)", a song about their life living in a squat, was the first hit, but the song which caught hold of the listeners was "Peaches". Showing a Reggae sensibility, with a dirty bass and moog groove, this song about lust on the beach smashed in to the UK Top 10. They reflected life in their songs and they had the life experience to back that up. "London Lady" about the superficial attitude of music journalists, "Sometimes", "Ugly" and "Hanging Around" highlighting relationship problems and what happens when you don't cram yourself in to society's ready made pigeon holes. The mighty "Down In The Sewer" (The sewer in question is London) a four-part, seven and a half minutes of brilliance, would invariably be called Prog Rock if anyone else had performed it. Contained in this setting though, it works as an awesome album closer.
The album reached Number 2 in the UK Album Chart and stayed for over 6 months, with only Abba and The Eagles selling more records in the UK that year. A testament to how well the album was received by the record buying public. The combination of great musicianship, a no holds barred attitude and superb songwriting lifted them above their punk peers at the time and they have also stood the test of time as well. The recently released "Giants" is their 17th studio album and has been received well by both critics and fans alike.
Then Now
The scintillating "(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)", a song about their life living in a squat, was the first hit, but the song which caught hold of the listeners was "Peaches". Showing a Reggae sensibility, with a dirty bass and moog groove, this song about lust on the beach smashed in to the UK Top 10. They reflected life in their songs and they had the life experience to back that up. "London Lady" about the superficial attitude of music journalists, "Sometimes", "Ugly" and "Hanging Around" highlighting relationship problems and what happens when you don't cram yourself in to society's ready made pigeon holes. The mighty "Down In The Sewer" (The sewer in question is London) a four-part, seven and a half minutes of brilliance, would invariably be called Prog Rock if anyone else had performed it. Contained in this setting though, it works as an awesome album closer.
Side One
1. "Sometimes" (4:56)
2. "Goodbye Toulouse" (3:12)
3. "London Lady" (2:25)
4. "Princess of the Streets" (4:34)
5. "Hanging Around" (4:25)
Side Two
6. "Peaches" (4:03)
7. "(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)" (3:55)
8. "Ugly"(4:03)
9. "Down in the Sewer" (7:30)
(a)Falling
(b)Down In The Sewer
(c)Trying To Get Out Again
(d)Rat's Rally.
The album reached Number 2 in the UK Album Chart and stayed for over 6 months, with only Abba and The Eagles selling more records in the UK that year. A testament to how well the album was received by the record buying public. The combination of great musicianship, a no holds barred attitude and superb songwriting lifted them above their punk peers at the time and they have also stood the test of time as well. The recently released "Giants" is their 17th studio album and has been received well by both critics and fans alike.
Then Now
(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)
Peaches
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