The Stranglers - Giants And Gems: An Album Collection (2014) [11CD Box-Set]

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The Stranglers - Giants And Gems: An Album Collection (2014) [11CD Box-Set]

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In 2013, the great five-disc Stranglers box set The Old Testament: The U.A. Studio Recordings (1977-1982) from 1992 was reissued, featuring most of the group's best albums plus a bunch of drool-worthy bonuses (demos, B-sides, remixes, and other whatnot). This bulky 11-disc set was released just one year after – the excuse being that the band's 40th anniversary must be honored – but the differences are vast, with this one serving a purpose for the hardcore while Old Testament is the clear winner for the more casual listener. Believe that the band was a sham once lead singer Hugh Cornwell left in 1990 and Giants and Gems is a legacy-harming device, since two albums with Baz Warne on vocals (the OK Suite XVI from 2006 and the excellent Giants from 2012) are included. End-to-end fans who think that Baz is ace might still find this set revisionist history, as the band's middle period as a five-piece with the slinky singer Paul Roberts (who acted as if he were fronting INXS and not the scruffy band that recorded "Peaches") is missing, as are the late Hugh Cornwell albums, since classics like Aural Sculpture are owned by Sony. The Old Testament bonus tracks have also gone missing here, as Giants and Gems presents the albums just as they were issued on vinyl with no extras, but including the rarities compilation Off the Beaten Track in this set is a bonus in itself, as are getting the live albums Live (X-Cert) and Live at the Hope & Anchor. Those looking to go past the hits should buy Aural Sculpture and Feline separately, then consider The Old Testament if you want the complete lean and mean Stranglers, or add this one to the shelves for something more exhaustive and Bazzy.

by David Jeffries, AMG

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The Stranglers - Giants And Gems: An Album Collection (2014) [11CD Box-Set]

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Like the Vibrators, the Stranglers were an older band which managed to gain visibility and success through association with Britain's punk movement. Musically, the group is much more polished than some of their rawer brethren such as the Adverts and Siouxsie and the Banshees. the Stranglers' early work is most properly described as stripped-down pop played with a hardcore sensibility; fairly lengthy songs with frequent solo breaks, prominent keyboard usage, and occasional employment of vocal harmony sets them apart from their peers. But snarling lead singing that puts forth macho/critical/distasteful lyrics predominates here, clearly showing the group's punk affinity. Most of the songs on this album fit the description of hardcore pop to a tee, but there are a few deviations from this model. "Princess of the Streets" is a slow-tempo selection with blueslike echoes. The ambitious "Down in the Sewer" crosses the concept of episodic numbers like the Who's "A Quick One" with early-'60s instrumentals. And the energetic "London Lady" is almost a true punk song – or at least as close as the band gets to one. While not the equal of their best album, No More Heroes, this release is solid and worthwhile, a rewarding listen.

by David Cleary, AMG

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The Stranglers - Giants And Gems: An Album Collection (2014) [11CD Box-Set]

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Rattus Norvegicus, the Stranglers' first album (and first of two in 1977), was hardly a punk rock classic, but it outsold every other punk album and remains a pretty good chunk of art-punk. On the other hand, No More Heroes, recorded three months later and released in September 1977, is faster, nastier, and better. At this point the Stranglers were on top of their game, and the ferocity and anger that suffuses this record would never be repeated. Hugh Cornwell's testosterone level is very high, but it's still an enjoyable bit of noise that holds up better than anyone would have guessed at the time.

by John Dougan, AMG

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The Stranglers - Giants And Gems: An Album Collection (2014) [11CD Box-Set]

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Of the first three Stranglers albums, Black & White is arguably the weakest, yet it still has some absolutely stunning moments. For example, the epic "Toiler on the Sea" picks up where "Down in the Sewer" and "School Mam" left off on the band's two previous efforts. Ignore the fact that it's a concept album (it has a black side, and a white side, see) and that there are a couple of slightly ill-judged efforts ("In the Shadows" is plain silly, "Outside Tokyo" is whimsical rubbish), and let the rest of the album burn through your speakers. "Nice 'n' Sleazy" does just what it says on the bottle (the band was getting themselves into awful trouble hiring strippers for open air gigs to dance to this one), and "Death and Night and Blood (Yukio)" includes one of those inimitable Stranglers moments: "Bring me a piece of my mummy/She was quite close to me." All together now!

by Alex Ogg, AMG

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The Stranglers - Giants And Gems: An Album Collection (2014) [11CD Box-Set]

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Recorded at various gigs in 1977-78, Live (X Cert) is worthy if only to hear Hugh Cornwell bait and insult the audience (very punk!). Plus the band sounds pretty good, loads of aggression and volume add to the fun. Not essential but a very interesting snapshot of an era.

by John Dougan, AMG

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The Stranglers - Giants And Gems: An Album Collection (2014) [11CD Box-Set]

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By the time The Raven was released, the Stranglers had branched out a bit from their punk-influenced pop music stylings and grouchy personal-relationship-based lyrics. Half the songs on this album (among them "Dead Loss Angeles," "Nuclear Device," "Shah Shah a Gogo," and "Genetix") spout verses critical of social or political issues. Only the first of these four numbers, with its clipped vocal delivery and stripped-down, bass-heavy arrangement, shows significant British punk influence. Certain songs here exhibit strong mainstream tendencies with no hardcore sensibilities whatsoever, such as "Duchess" (a tuneful power pop number with clear chart-oriented influences) and "Don't Bring Harry" (a slow-tempo, piano-dominated selection). Still other influences can be heard in "Meninblack," a Devo-derived number featuring a synthesized clipped beat/electronic pulse texture, chilly and sanitized-sounding organ, lockstep drums, and Alvin & the Chipmunks-style sped-up vocals. The intriguing "Ice" boasts interesting production touches and an inventively dubious tonal focus. The songs are lengthy, with at times prolix instrumental openings and interludes. Sound quality on the EMI America re-release is uneven at times, with occasional distortion in the drums and percussive low synthesizer. This is a generally good album worth hearing. Original pressings of this release have a 3-D picture on the front cover. Approximately half the songs on this album would be reissued one year later on the U.S. label release IV.

by David Cleary, AMG

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The Stranglers - Giants And Gems: An Album Collection (2014) [11CD Box-Set]

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Widely regarded as the Stranglers' turkey, there is indeed much to snigger about on this overblown concept album. The delightful "Waltzinblack," much beloved of TV chef Keith Floyd (who later used it on his TV series), is worth salvaging, as are the two singles – the scat jazz-inspired "Just Like Nothing on Earth" and "Thrown Away." Elsewhere, the group seems unfocused and unconvinced as while ploughing through some esoteric lyrics concerning the imminent arrival of men in black suits from another planet who are going to whisk us away. Several thousand Stranglers fans did indeed go missing after the release of this album, though that can be attributed to listening tastes rather than anything that would interest Mulder and Scully.

by Alex Ogg, AMG

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The Stranglers - Giants And Gems: An Album Collection (2014) [11CD Box-Set]

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La Folie is a welcome album in the Stranglers' oeuvre, mainly a collection of tight, punchy songs that often suggest the forthright approach of American new wave bands. With one exception, the songs are shorter and more pointed, harking back to the comparative conciseness of some of the tunes on the band's first two albums, Rattus Norvegicus and No More Heroes, though acidic lyrics still predominate. "Non-Stop" is a typical example, featuring a half-spoken vocal that suggests Lou Reed, a Cars-influenced organ sound, and a bouncy, dance-derived drum beat; this particular song is atypical, however, because it employs a blues-oriented progression. An interesting excursion is encountered in the song "Golden Brown," a subdued, jazz-influenced number with purring vocals, a coolly executed synthesizer/harpsichord backing texture, and a periodically stumbling beat. Only the plushly understated title track suggests the sprawl typical of the group's immediately preceding releases. This fine album is well worth purchasing.

by David Cleary, AMG

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The Stranglers - Giants And Gems: An Album Collection (2014) [11CD Box-Set]

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The Stranglers - Giants And Gems: An Album Collection (2014) [11CD Box-Set]

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Among their brethren in the first graduating class of British punk, the Stranglers are one band who seem admirably uninterested in spiky-haired nostalgia. Rather than simply mining their past, the Stranglers continue to write and record fresh material in their trademark style, and 2006's Suite XVI (their 16th studio album, natch) features a full three-quarters of the lineup that recorded Rattus Norvegicus back in 1977 (even the "new guy," guitarist Baz Warne, had close to five years under his belt with the Stranglers by the time this disc hit the shops). Following the muscular-but-hooky pattern of the group's mid- to late-'80s commercial high point rather than the sinister lurch of their earliest stuff, Suite XVI is plenty lively and generates a good head of aggressive steam on most cuts, especially the bitter "Summat Outanowt" and the passionate opener "Unbroken." However, while the Stranglers are to be congratulated for keeping their muse alive and functioning, that doesn't change the fact Suite XVI sound annoyingly pro forma; while the band sounds as skillful as ever (especially Jean Jacques Burnel's thick bass and Jet Black's powerful drumming), they haven't learned a whole lot of new melodic tricks over the course of three decades, and Dave Greenfield still sounds like he wishes he was Ray Manzarek without getting any closer to reaching that goal. And the tunes feel like variations on a theme the Stranglers have been slowly wearing into the ground since the day they started; Suite XVI is the work of a band who still have the focus and wherewithal to continue what they started, but left their best ideas behind them years ago, and for all the craft on display, these guys are just going in circles as they run out of gas.

by Mark Deming, AMG

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The Stranglers - Giants And Gems: An Album Collection (2014) [11CD Box-Set]

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Their first release since lead vocalist Paul Roberts' departure, the Stranglers' 17th studio album, Giants, sees one of the '70s punk scene's most enduring acts slip gracefully into grumpy old age. Indeed, with drummer Jet Black having turned 73 in 2012, the days of punching journalists and inciting riots are long gone, and instead, the newly trimmed four-piece choose to embrace their advancing years with a stream of world-weary if slightly cynical words of wisdom. The title track sees bassist Jean-Jacques Burnel, who shares the vocals with relative spring chicken Baz Warne throughout the album, offer his best Leonard Cohen impression on a swirling, organ-led ode to "how things ain't what they used to be" ("Once there were giants walking amongst us/now I have to deal with little men with little hearts), a nostalgic theme also present on the '80s 2-Tone-meets-'90s-Brit-pop "Time Was Once On My Side." To their credit, the band aren't always so curmudgeonly in their music. Like its name suggests, "Adios – Tango" is a bilingual Latin number which has shades of Santana's early-2000s comeback while "My Fickle Resolve" is an ominous slice of lounge-bar jazz which could have been lifted from Pulp's under-rated This Is Hardcore. However, the quartet only really appear comfortable when they stick to what they know best, such as the opener "Another Camden Afternoon," a jam session instrumental which neatly interplays Burnel's trademark melodic basslines with Warne's bluesy guitar riffs, and the pulsing power pop of "Freedom Is Insane." The Stranglers may be approaching their 40th anniversary, but while it's unlikely to find an audience outside their die-hard following, Giants prove that there's still life left in them yet.

by Jon O'Brien, AMG

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The Stranglers - Giants And Gems: An Album Collection (2014) [11CD Box-Set]

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