The Stranglers - The Raven
Original Release Date
1979
Release Information
UK LP 1979 (United Artists - UAG 30262)
A1 Longships 1:11
A2 The Raven 5:12
A3 Dead Loss Angeles 2:23
A4 Ice 3:21
A5 Baroque Bordello 3:48
A6 Nuclear Device 3:28
B1 Shah Shah A Go Go 4:51
B2 (Don't Bring) Harry 4:09
B3 Duchess 2:29
B4 Meninblack 4:48
B5 Genetix 5:14
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UK CD 2001 (EMI - 7243 5 34689 2 7)
1 Longships 1:11
2 The Raven 5:14
3 Dead Loss Angeles 2:24
4 Ice 3:25
5 Baroque Bordello 3:50
6 Nuclear Device 3:32
7 Shah Shah A Go Go 4:50
8 Don't Bring Harry 4:10
9 Duchess 2:30
10 Meninblack 4:48
11 Genetix 5:17
Bonus Tracks
12 Bear Cage 2:50
13 Fools Rush Out 2:10
14 N'Emmenes Pas Harry 4:15
15 Yellowcake UFO 2:56
12: A-Side of Bear Cage/ Shah Shah A Go Go 7", released March 1980
13: B-Side of Duchess 7", released August 1979
14: A-Side of N'emmènes Pas Harry 7"/12", released in France only, 1980
15: B-Side of Nuclear Device (The Wizard Of Aus) 7", released October 1979
Chart Placings
UK Chart Hit: 4, 8 wksCredits
LP:
Hugh Cornwell - guitar, vocals, 2nd bass on 'Dead Loss Angeles'
Dave Greenfield - keyboards, vocals
Jean Jacques Burnel - bass, vocals
Jet Black - drums
Produced by The Stranglers and Alan Winstanley
Engineered by Alan Winstanley at Pathe Studios, Paris, June 1979.
Mixed at Air London Studios by Alan Winstanley and Steve Churchyard
Cover Concept - The Stranglers
Design Coordination – John Pasche
2d Cover Photo – Chris Ryan
3d Cover Photo – Toppan
Back Cover Photo – Paul Cox
Inner Bag Photo – Allan Ballard
Inner Sleeve Design – Shoot That Tiger!
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Additional CD Credits:
Liner notes: Alan Parker (The Gimmick)
Idea and Concept: Alan Parker
Re-issue Art Design: Nick Reynolds & Rob Green
Our Man At E.M.I.: Steve Woof
Additional Credits
Hugh Cornwell sings lead vocals on all songs except:
Dave Greenfield: 'Genetix'
Jean Jacques Burnel: 'The Raven', 'Ice', 'Don't Bring Harry', 'Meninblack' and 'N'Emmenes Pas Harry'
Jet Black - drums
Reviews & Opinions
RED STARR, SMASH HITS, OCTOBER 18 - 31, 1979: Side one finds the bully boys pretending to be Vikings (tee hee) and visiting the world being unpleasant (ho hum) about everyone else. Good, punchy riffs and songs, however, with fine contributions from Cornwell and the underrated Greenfield. Side two, though, is distinctly ropy with tedious self indulgence creeping back in. But overall, their best since 'Rattus'. Best tracks: 'The Raven', 'Duchess'. (6 1/2 out of 10).
DAVE McCULLOUGH, SOUNDS, 1979: The Stranglers are ya book sucks nastymen, sexist, pig-headed, dirty, noisy, slightly controversial, and terribly, terribly, safe somehow amid it all. A sort of rock and roll Fawlty Towers, they threaten but rarely insult the fan, and prove really a big friendly monster at the end of the day, coming out as sheer fun more than anything else. Which leaves the Stranglers a major oddity, fact that 'The Raven' compounds wonderfully. Nothing is as obvious about the Stranglers as it seems, which is my way of saying that this is the best Stranglers album and probably (side by side with Slits, Fall and Undertones releases) one of the year's finest. In total 'The Raven' is a rich, classic album vibraht with atmosphere and edge. (Five Stars *****)
PHIL McNEIL, NME, 1979: This albums shows them in all their lights, from jukebox pop to unlistenable new age techno-rock, from subtle power to wilful ugliness. Will The Stranglers ever make an unflawed album? Will Jean Jacques Burnel take up riding a moped?
PUNKY GIBBON: Much more varied in terms of subject matter than previous recordings, this has songs about Vikings ('The Raven'), a real-life corrupt Australian politician ('Nuclear Device'), the shah-ky (sorry) situation in Iran ('Shah Shah A Go Go'), heroin abuse ('Don't Bring Harry'), bloody Americans ('Dead Loss Angeles'), and even godlike aliens using humans as food ('Meninblack'). Opening with a nifty minute-long instrumental and closing with a quote from the science books on 'Genetix' (featuring a marvelous vocal from Greenfield), 'The Raven' is a cannily constructed, intelligent and wide-reaching record which may well be their best forty minutes.
Additional Notes
Collectors notes: The 3D "lenticular" sleeve was limited to the 20,000 copies. After its initial release the band was forced to remove an image of Joh Bjelke-Petersen (the massively corrupt Premier of Queensland) from the inner sleeve artwork. Some copies of the LP mispressed: instead of The Stranglers on Side 2 you get some country & western songs instead.
The CD scans page shows two images of the lyrics inner from the original LP. These are from the CD and look a bit blurry because that's the way they look in the CD booklet: a bit blurry.
Images
UK LP 1979 (United Artists - UAG 30262). 3D Sleeve. Click here for more
UK LP 1979 (United Artists - UAG 30262). Click here for more
UK CD 2001 (EMI - 7243 5 34689 2 7). Click here for more
