I think this the very first punk album I bought, just after its release in ’77, although my memory is a bit fuzzy about that. There was way more to The Stranglers than the two chord heroes from the rest of the punk movement. They were around banging away for a few years before punk exploded, and had paid their dues somewhat – they could also write half decent songs. A big reason in what differed them from all the other punks was that the guitar was not the dominating sound – a lot of the songs were driven by the keyboards of Dave Greenfield.
This is one of the defining albums of the punk period as they were the first to have some chart success with the single, Peaches. There are some really good tunes here with the likes of Grip, Down In The Sewer, and Hanging Around. The surprise to me though is Princess Of The Streets with an old school blues vibe complete with a guitar solo – which was very un-punk. Still a fun album to listen to.
8.5/10 from The Grooveman.
