Comments on: The Stranglers “Rattus Norvegicus”

By: johno

johno — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 11:23:04 +0000

Good synopsis there, my friend. I got a barage of dissent when I posted on youtube that these uncatagorisable wayfarers through rock were one of the progenitors of goth music. In fact I think the term solely suits the Stranglers and not the image conscious try too hards. Listen to Death and night and blood, Hanging around, toiler.., the raven, Waltziznblack, Four Horsemen ( now doesn’t that sound like Satan himself mocking humanity!)These guys didn’t have to travel to that dark place to find inspiration, they were residents!It’s criminal that they weren’t appreciated on a larger scale. Never mind. It’s our esoteric secret, eh people? The rest have been knealing to wrong gods!

By: Len Liechti

Len Liechti — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:56:22 +0000

This was and still is a great debut album. The Strangs were a long way from being archetypal snotty-nosed teenagers with a snotty attitude; they were quite a bit older, and all were hardened rock musicians who could play. British punk almost universally made a virtue out of NOT being able to play, unlike the less nihilistic US punks who combined the attitude with the chops. The Strangs chose to adopt the snotty attitude but kept the chops. The “Punk Floyd”? I dunno about that, but early comparisons were certainly drawn with the Doors, and keyboardist Dave Greenfield’s style is certainly comparable with Ray Manzarek’s. The next two albums mined the same vein, but IMHO with less satisfactory results as the songwriting was not as hungry and immediate. After that it was a journey toward AOR and “Golden Brown”. Rattus Norvegicus is often slated for its sexist and mysogynist lyrics, but again IMHO this was all done tongue in cheek. These guys were too intelligent to really believe all that stuff. Certainly, they didn’t quibble about substituting “bikini” for “clitoris” in order to get a radio-acceptable version of “Peaches” on to the airwaves.

By: chris in black

chris in black — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 19:06:33 +0000

This album changed my life. Brilliant musicians with attitude. It may be 30+ years old but it still rocks.

By: levi

levi — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 02:25:13 +0000

as an american that has loved stranglers since ‘80, I still find it odd that most americans don’t know and love them. fucking weird. well, I guess the states are freaking huge and had tons of other music going on… but still…

By: jimjam

jimjam — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 13:25:14 +0000

great write up and i agree with everything you’ve said.

One thing though… it’s Hugh Cornwell not Cromwell!

I think The Stranglers were best summed up at this time when someone (can’t remember who!) named them ‘Punk Floyd’… describes them to a tee

By: Mr. Beer N. Hockey

Mr. Beer N. Hockey — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 02:13:23 +0000

For a time there, in the sweaty clubs and music halls of England, these Guildford boys may have been the best rock show on the planet.

By: Susie

Susie — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 09:31:58 +0000

Perfect synopsis of the album AND the band…Such a pity they’ve not been able to convince the American audience…Oh well, they’re loss!

Great that you’ve mentioned this album, as it’s a ‘must have’ for any music collector, as well as a tease to have a listen to any one of their other 15 studio albums!

Thanks for that! Spread the word!