The Stranglers - The Gospel According To The Meninblack
Original Release Date
1981
Release Information
UK LP 1981 (Liberty - LBG 30313)
US LP 1981 (Stiff America - USE 10)
UK CD 2018 (EMI - Parlophone - 0190295892463)
1 Waltzinblack 3:39
2 Just Like Nothing On Earth 3:55
3 Second Coming 4:22
4 Waiting For The Meninblack 3:44
5 Turn The Centuries, Turn 4:35
6 Two Sunspots 2:32
7 Four Horsemen 3:40
8 Thrown Away 3:30
9 Manna Machine 3:17
10 Hallow To Our Men 7:31
Bonus Tracks
11 Who Wants The World? 3:14
12 The Meninblack (Waiting For 'Em) 3:37
13 Top Secret 3:29
14 Maninwhite 4:26
15 Vietnamerica 4:03
16 Tomorrow Was Hereafter 4:02
17 G.M.B.H. (Extended US IV Album Version) 3:52
Chart Placings
UK Chart Hit: 8, 5 wksCredits
All music & lyrics written, arranged & produced by The Stranglers
The Stranglers are:
Hughinblack - guitars & vocals
JJinblack - bass & vocals
Daveinblack - keyboards & vocals
Jetinblack - percussion & vocals
This concept by Hughinblack in Nice 1980
All titles recorded & mixed with Steve Churchyard in Europe between January & August 1980
Additional thanks to-
Alan Winstanley on 'Waiting For The Meninblack' & 'Two Sunspots'
Aldo Bocca on 'Just Like Nothing On Earth' & 'Turn The Centuries, Turn'
Laurence Diana on 'Waltzinblack' & 'Four Horsemen'
___________________________________________________
Additional CD Credits:
Master assembly: Pete Mew
CD Bonus Tracks:
11: Single. Produced by The Stranglers and Alan Winstanley. Engineer: Steve Churchyard. BP 355
12: B-Side of Who Wants The World?'. Produced by The Stranglers. Engineer: Steve Churchyard BP 355B
13: B-Side of Thrown Away. Produced by The Stranglers. Engineered by Steve Churchyard BP 383B
14: B-Side of Just Like Nothing On Earth. Produced by The Stranglers. Engineered by Steve Churchyard BP 393B
15: Non-album track. Produced by The Stranglers. Engineer: Steve Churchyard. Mixed by Tony Visconti
16: A-Side of Stranglers Information Service single. Produced by The Stranglers. Engineered by Steve Churchyard SIS 001
17: Extended version of 'Bear Cage' which appeared on the US IRS album IV. Produced by The Stranglers and Alan Winstanley. Engineered by Alan Winstanley and Steve Churchyard. SP 70011
Additional Credits
Hugh Cornwell sings lead vocals on all songs except:
Jean Jacques Burnel: 'Thrown Away' and 'Tomorrow Was Hereafter'
Dave Greenfield: 'Four Horsemen'
Track 15 on 2018 reissue originally released on IV
Reviews & Opinions
DAVID HEPWORTH, SMASH HITS, FEBRUARY 1981: When you've got a sinister image to maintain and your punkaboogie tactics don't get the results anymore, it's probably the right time to dust off the drum machine, start running tapes backwards and generally good 'n' weird. The most obvious influence here is Devo, with jerky tongue in cheek arrangements underpinning quirky deadpan vocals. The band say it's all about religion - it's certainly a curate's egg. (6 out of 10).
IRA ROBBINS, TROUSER PRESS: The Meninblack — previewed on The Raven (and IV) by a song of that name — is a hypothetical soundtrack/concept album concerning aliens with godlike powers that is essentially an attack on organized religion. There's a fair amount of non-vocal instrumental content, lots of synthesizers and other keyboards, tricky special effects and little of the Stranglers' usual thrust. Although radically different, Meninblack is a departure for nowhere.
Additional Notes
It is worth noting that the 2001 CD reissue previously listed on Punky Gibbon did not include the comparatively obscure 'G.M.B.H.', and had a horrible black border around the cover. The Parlophone reissue listed above has the proper borderless cover and uses the same remaster as the 2001 edition (please note: only few pages of the booklet are pictured).
Images
UK LP 1981 (Liberty - LBG 30313). Click here for more
US LP 1981 (Stiff America - USE 10). Click here for more
UK CD 2018 (EMI - Parlophone - 0190295892463). Click here for more
