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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Lapsed punks growing ever more melodious and increasingly less malign, The Stranglers' aptitude for a genuinely shrewd pop tune probably reached its apex on 1984's Aural Sculpture, arguably the last great album to feature the band's original line-up as well as the first to feature a three-piece brass section (including future Propellerhead Alex Gifford on tenor sax). Although the horns didn't go down too well with some of the rancid punk fundamentalists in The Stranglers' audience Aural Sculpture endures to this day as a brave conjunction between synth-led Europop and proximate blue-eyed soul, appetisingly wrapped-up within a temperate mainstream pop frame and abetted by Laurie Lathams' clean and lustrous production work. Highlights include the very untypical "Mad Hatter" (doo-wop with vibraphone and trombone), the brilliantly minimalist hit single "Skin Deep", committed Europhile JJ Burnel's ruminations on the state of post-war Europe on the chilly "Northwinds' (a candidate for best-ever Stranglers song) and other morsels of fine pop craftsmanship such as "Ice Queen", "No Mercy" and Hugh Cornwell's "Laughing" (a tribute to the recently murdered Marvin Gaye, whom The Stranglers had hoped would produce this album). The bonus tracks include all the attendant b-sides, including--sung by JJ in an Americanised Radio Moscow accent--the ongoing diary of our dissident Soviet chum Vlad on "Vladimir And The Beast" ("only in the world's greatest socialist democracy can one hope to be forgiven for losing temporary sight of the aims and goals of the Marxist Leninist revolution, two years it took me to be cured of my illness"). Lovingly remastered, with excellent sleeve notes from Strangled magazine contributor Nik Yeomans, this re-issue does both Sony and The Stranglers proud. --Kevin Maidment
CD Description
180 grams audiophile vinyl 2LP edition with 11 bonus tracks
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Moving on from FELINE's slick production values (and Dave Greenfield's then "new" OBERHEIM OB-X), The Strangler's went for a "philly soul" type of sound for this album. Now that SHOULD have been a recipie for disaster, but..it works!
"Ice Queen", "Skin Deep", "Let Me Down Easy", "Here and There" stand out as really successfull results of the new formulae (complete with brass stabs, samples, and hammond organ riffs).
The rest of the album works just as well, but a star is lost because there are also a few weaker numbers such as "punch and judy" which spoil the smoothness of the vibe.
Overall, another successful experiment by the band in the 80's.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
The Stranglers bounce back from the stripped down and almost "unplugged" Feline album with a return to form. Aural Sculpture features some of the Stranglers'finest post-punk songs. "Skin deep" is exquisite, a haunting song utilising Burnel and Greenfield's backing vocals to wonderful effect. Likewise "No mercy", "Let me down easy", "North winds" and "Souls" are up there with the Stranglers' best work. There are a few "average" tracks, chiefly "Mad Hatter" and the silly "Punch and Judy". If you're looking for punk-angst then this isn't the album for you. If you're looking for majestic riffs, good lyrics and a crisp production then this album will not disappoint. I dropped one star for Black's insistence on using a drum machine instead of playing on the album. Lazy sod!
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This album was produced at a time when home studios were becoming a reality. In the past Hugh Cornwell wrote with JJ Burnel but this time tracks were written seperately. As always the tracks are credited to The Stranglers and it's interesting trying to work out which were Hugh's and which were JJ's. There are some fine pieces of music here. Ice Queen, Skin Deep, Let Me Down Easy, No Mercy and Spain are obvious stand out tracks of high quality with wonderful production. But the masterpiece is track 10: 'Souls'. This really is essential for anyone who likes The Stranglers. The other tracks such as Mad Hatter really are clunky and best avoided but on the whole this album is definitely work owning. Probably the last moment of joy from The Stranglers featuring Hugh Cornwell.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
It's an aural pleasure !
Aural sculpture on the cover -aural pleasure on the disc ! The former punk band reinvents itself as a modern pop group ! Read more
Published on 23 Feb 2010 by Michael Wolfram
"Watch them move into the future"
This album for me marks a vast improvement on the previous one, "Feline". Whether this was due to Laurie Latham's production (the opening to the track "Laughing" is so reminiscent... Read more
Published on 21 May 2008 by Nicholas Casley
In both ears
Until Hugh Cornwell's departure, The Stranglers didn't make a bad album. By the time of 'Aural Sculpture,' however, their confrontational approach had waned considerably. Read more
Published on 7 Oct 2007 by D. J. H. Thorn
NO MUFFS REQUIRED
AURAL SCULPTURE, indeed. When you consider that EVERY album ever made is a work of art - and therefore an aural sculpture - the more appropriate title for this one should have been... Read more
Published on 23 May 2007 by Kelvin J. Dickinson
The best Stranglers album you've never heard
The Stranglers continue the pop/rock style of Feline but with superior songs. The opening five are excellent. There are a some fillers but it does not matter. Read more
Published on 17 Sep 2005
Worth a Listen
Not their best and not their worst but worth a listen all the same. Their last true great moment the single Always the sun was just round the corner. Read more
Published on 22 Feb 2005
watch out for the skin deep
this is probably the most consistant stranglers album every song is a gem,while most fans(me included)would say the punk era produced their best songs aural sculpture proved they... Read more
Published on 31 Dec 2001
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