The Stranglers - Raven [Bonus Tracks] (CD)

All Music Guide

By the time this album was released, the group had branched out a bit from their punkinfluenced pop music stylings and grouchy personalrelationshipbased lyrics. Half the songs on this album (among them "Dead Loss Angeles," [sic] "Nuclear Device," "Shah Shah a Gogo," [sic] and "Genetix" [sic]) spout verses critical of social or political issues. Only the first of these four numbers, with its clipped vocal delivery and strippeddown, bassheavy arrangement, shows significant Britpunk influence. Certain songs here exhibit strong mainstream tendencies with no hardcore sensibilities whatsoever, such as "Duchess" (a tuneful power pop number with clear chartoriented influences) and "Don't Bring Harry" (a slowtempo, pianodominated selection). Still other influences can be seen in "Meninblack," a Devoderived number featuring a synthesized clipped beat/electronic pulse texture, chilly and sanitizedsounding organ, lockstep drums, and Alvin and the Chipmunksstyle spedup vocals. The intriguing "Ice" ...boasts interesting production touches and an inventively dubious tonal focus. The songs are lengthy, with at times prolix instrumental openings and interludes. Sound quality on the EMI America rerelease is uneven at times, with occasional distortion in the drums and percussive low synthesizer. This is a generally good album worth hearing. Original pressings of this release have a 3D picture on the front cover. Approximately half the songs on this album would be reissued one year later on the U.S. label release IV. [The 2006 reissue includes four bonus tracks.] - David Cleary, All Music Guide Read more Less