The Stranglers: The Gospel According To The Men In Black - 1981


This, according to Hugh Cornwell, was the height of The Stranglers' creative output, Jean-Jacques Burnel feels similarly positive about it. 

The public at the time did not, expecting some tub-thumping "punk" from a band who had long left that behind. This was the band's drug-induced album (heroin), it had to be said, but it is full of quirky oddities, and a myriad of rhythms that were very ahead of their time, both from drums and keyboards. Few of its songs tend to appear on any "Best Of The Stranglers" compilations, but it is definitely worthy of attention. I wouldn't say it was their best work, though, but then, I didn't write or perform it and they did. 

Waltzinblack is an atmospheric instrumental, with an (unsurprising) waltz beat and great bass line. Just Like Nothing On Earth has a big, thumping bassy beat and a weird, unnerving vocal from Hugh Cornwell, together with all sorts of electronic noises thrown in there. There are hints of Talking Heads in there somewhere, for me. It is almost techno in places, ahead of its time too. 

Second Coming has a very post-punk-early new romantic backing to it, and another sonorous, brooding vocal. Once again, there is an infectious, rubbery bass sound. Waiting For The Meninblack is a menacing, dark, dense piece of industrial strength post-punk-electronica paranoid intensity. Yes none of these tracks are catchy or remotely commercial, but they are intriguing. Hugh Cornwell's vocal is very much of the haughty tone that would be adopted by many vocalists over he subsequent few years. 

Turn The Centuries, Turn is a chugging, but evocative instrumental. Two Sunspots is a lively song that blends a punk pace with hints of early new romantic-electronica about it. Paul Weller was surely influenced by this on parts of his 2010 Wake Up The Nation album. I am thinking particularly of Fast Car/Slow Traffic. Four Horsemen is another keyboard-driven piece of experimental early eighties music. This stuff really isn't like anything done by anybody else at the time. Thrown Away is once more powered by electric rhythms and a deep, haunting vocal. Manna Machine is an ambient piece with a spoken vocal. 

The album ends with probably its most catchy piece, the lengthy, quasi-religious Hallow To Our Men. Overall, this is an oddity of an album, and certainly those that bookend it, The Raven and La Folie are more complete, better albums but this is more than just a strange creation. Despite its drug-addled foundations, it is an important cornerstone in the group's development and shouldn't be overlooked.


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