Well, Ya Can't Get A Hit Every Time At Bat, Eh?

Wiki sez re: The Strangler's "La Folie," the album that contains the band's one Great Work of Art (and biggest commercial hit):

"buoyed by the success of the album's second single, "Golden Brown", released 10 January 1982 and reaching No. 2 in the singles chart, the album eventually peaked at No. 11 in the UK Albums Chart, spending eighteen weeks in the chart. The single would go on to become EMI's highest-selling single for many years...

Trouser Press wrote of the album: "Subtle, effective, mature and energetic – but no outstanding songs." (my italics)

Ha! That's ok TP, we luv ya.

Can't speak for TP, but I'm guessing that they (like me) prefer the rougher songs like 'goodbye Toulouse' 'get a grip on yourself' 'nice and sleazy' etc?

But your point's well taken, you can't dismiss the significance of 'golden brown' in the band's catalog. Of course, it's ALL absent from the US conscience anyway. Did they ever have a single break the top 100 here? The top 200? Not likely (though I'm too lazy to check).

TP may have been kinder to the band then some...I believe I've read that the stranglers were often dismissed by the press compared to other similar acts.

Yeah, that seems like a weird judgment. I actually haven't heard LA FOLIE, but I think NO MORE HEROES & BLACK AND WHITE are great albums. "Golden Brown" is a great song, but it's not far from a slower version of earlier singles like "Duchess."

In England, one big reason they were dismissed is that Jean-Jacques Burnel beat up Jon Savage for writing a negative review. Hence no mention of the band in ENGLAND'S DREAMING (and many similar punk histories!)



Post Edited (08-26-18 16:31)

"Golden Brown" probably didn't chart in the US too high, but it still seems to get around. It's the only Stranglers song i remember seeing a video for (at least in the early '80s) making it a hit at my high school at least! I hear it in public (once in a Vegas casino!) There have been numerous covers of it, and I can't think of any other Stranglers covers (tho I'm sure there's a few).

The only Stranglers song I know offhand is "Strange Little Girl" which Tori Amos not only covered, but made the nominal title track of her covers record, Strange Little Girls.

The only cover of The Stranglers I can think of is Hazel O'Connor's take on Hanging Around.

TP is wrong. "Golden Brown" is an outstanding song...as is "Let Me Introduce You to the Family." And "Tramp." But who's counting...