Black and White (The Stranglers album)

Infobox Album
Name = Black and White
Type = Album
Artist = The Stranglers


Released = May 12, 1978
Recorded = TW Studios, Fulham
Genre = post-punk
Length = ??:??
Label = United Artists 1978
EMI 2004
Producer = Martin Rushent
Reviews =
* Allmusic Rating|2.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:xp6uak8k5m3v link]
Last album = "No More Heroes"
(1977)
This album = "Black and White"
(1978)
Next album = "The Raven"
(1979)

"Black and White" is The Stranglers third studio album and was recorded within 18 months of their debut "Rattus Norvegicus". Produced by Martin Rushent and engineered by Alan Winstanley, the album is divided into the "Black side" and "White side", each nominally characterised by the style and mood of the songs which they contain. This release sees The Stranglers adopting a more experimental approach to song structures and time signatures (for example, "Curfew" features 7/4 time).

The band recorded a version of "Sweden" sung in Swedish and released this in Sweden (the song was inspired by Cornwell's PhD placement at Lund University in the mid 1970s). The song title "Death and Night And Blood" is taken from a line from Yukio Mishima's novel "Confessions of a Mask".

When released in 1978, on the United Artists label, the first 75,000 LPs came with a free white vinyl 7" - Walk On By / Mean To Me / Tits. "Walk on By" was their cover of the Bacharach and David song written for (and originally recorded by) Dionne Warwick. "Mean to Me" was a Stranglers Vocal version of the song the band had previously recorded with a cover of "Mony Mony", both with a female singer (Celia Golin), released under the moniker "Celia and the Mutations". United Artists released this as a single in Nov '78 but it failed to chart. "Tits" is a tongue-in-cheek live recording from "The Front Row Festival" at the Hope and Anchor. The Cassette version included "Mean to Me" on the White Side (Between Tokyo & Sweden).

The US version of the Album, on the A&M label, was pressed on Black & White Marbled Vinyl, but came without the EP.

Singles from the album were: "Nice'n'Sleazy" (B-side: "Shut Up"), and an EP containing "Walk on By", "Tank" and "Old Codger". Old Codger featured a guest vocal from jazz singer George Melly. An Edited Version of "Walk on By" with "Tank" was also pressed as a double A side Radio play single.

Most of these tracks were included in the remastered 2001 CD re-issue of the album.

The album peaked at no.2 on the album chart in 1978, spending 18 weeks on the chart.

Track listing

White side

#"Tank"†
#"Nice 'N' Sleazy"†
#"Outside Tokyo"†
#"Sweden (All Quiet on the Eastern Front)"†
#"Hey! (Rise of the Robots)"†
#"Toiler on the Sea"†

Black side

#"Curfew"‡
#"Threatened"‡
#"Do You Wanna"§/"Death and Night and Blood (Yukio)"‡
#"In the Shadows"†
#"Enough Time"†

Bonus tracks on 1988 CD reissue:
*Mean to Me†
*Walk on By†

Bonus tracks on 2001 CD reissue:
*Mean to Me†
*Old Codger
*Shut Up‡
*Tits" (live)†
*Walk on By†

The above track listing is as per the original Vinyl LP Release (both UK United Artists & US A&M versions).The CD changed the running order, moving "Hey" to before "Sweden" and "In The Shadows" to before "Do You Wanna".

Line up

* Hugh Cornwell: guitars, lead† and backing vocals
* J.J. Burnel: bass guitar, lead‡ and backing vocals
* Dave Greenfield: keyboards (Hammond L100 Organ, Hohner Cembalet electric piano, Minimoog synthesizer), lead§ & backing vocals
* Jet Black: drums
* Lora Logic (of Essential Logic and X-Ray Spex): guest saxophone on "Hey!"
*George Melly: guest vocals on "Old Codger"
*Lew Lewis: harmonica on "Old Codger"

References

*cite web | title=The Torture Garden - Official Hugh Cornwell site | work=Discography - Black and White| url=http://www.hughcornwell.com/black&white.html | accessdate=March 19 | accessyear=2005