Rattus Norvegicus [IMPORT]

Stranglers

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 30, 2000)
• Original Release Date: April 1977
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: EMI/Virgin
• ASIN: B000007461
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #398,407 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Sometimes

2. Goodbye Toulouse

3. London Lady

4. Princess of the Streets

5. Hanging Around

6. Peaches

7. (Get A) Grip (On Yourself)

8. Ugly

9. Down in the Sewer

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SOMETIMES I GOTTA WRITE, July 6, 2000

By	L JOBLING (UK) - See all my reviews

This is a must buy. It baffles me why this has not sold well in America. Imagine a musically superior Doors. An speeded up up John Entwhistle mixed with heavy machinery bassline mixed with anger , venom and a tongue in cheek sexism that a Mr Marshall Mathers would be proud this disc oozes quality . From the opening angry psychedelia of sometimes to the noise of a toilet being flushed the sheer energy and musical brilliance is relentless. Incidently the latter part of Down in the sewer is probably the best classical music ever written with electric instruments. BUY IT NOW !

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Intellectual Punk from a Legendary Band, March 9, 2001

By	S. A. Keister (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The best combination of melody, instrumentation, lyrics, and pure rock aggression probably ever! The first time I heard "Get a Grip on Yourself" I was hooked. The looping organ lines, pounding bass, guitar lines like bursts of electrical energy, and intense cracking drum work is irresistable. Then you add Hugh Cornwell's sardonic and sarcastic vocals with his self-mocking and male-debunking lyrics and you've got a band that noone (not the Stones, Zep, Clash) has ever been able to match. Not to mention one of the tightest, and most intelligent live acts. The Stranglers alone elevated the punk scene to a new level of sophistication.

These guys put out brilliant, solid, unforgettable albums for ten years, and this was the first. They grew more and more pop as time progressed, but never again achieved the level of fury and aggro-humor found on Rattus Norvegicus. No band, except perhaps Midnight Oil, had the intelligence and range of The Stranglers. Long misunderstood for their surly satiric takes on chauvinism and violence, The Stranglers were actually accomplished arrangers, players and composers of funny and intellectual pop/rock songs. Their closest cousins are really the Kinks.

And then there's J.J. Burnel's awesome bass-playing...not enough can be said for how this guy revolutionized the instrument. My personal biggest influence. Best rock bassist of all time, and no lightweight singer himself.

Buy this, then buy more Stranglers. Why are their CDs so hard to find? Where is The Raven (their most accomplished album, truly a progressive masterwork)?

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why not get the bonus tracks?, March 1, 2003

By	"stratocaster6" (Coppell, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This album is fantastic. It is one of the great early punk classics. However, there is another version of the CD that has some bonus tracks on it, so get that one!