Search - Stranglers :: Live

A great live band well captured

skak1 | 03/11/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Anyone who saw the Stranglers will remember how great their live shows were. The group deliberately had unusual support acts (tap-dancers, barber shop quintets, ballet dancers) who would usually get shouted off stage so that when the men-in-black came on the crowd were really up for it. Their live shows were masterful. Hugh Cornwell's dreadful sense of humour is well displayed here as are his attempts to provoke the audience which frequently back-fired. At the start of the song 'Dead Ringer' a member of the audience shouts out 'wanker' at Cornwell who immediately interrupts the song to try to find out who had said the offensive word. Needless to say the whole audience then shouts out 'wanker' and at every live show afterwards the word was systematically directed at the pratt-in-black. Another thing which comes out very clearly on this album is just how good the music was. This collection culls together tracks from the group's first three studio albums and catches them at the height of their power. Easily the best Stranglers' live album."