The new job, in case you had not heard,is taking some of my blog time away...... I assure you I (and
my contributing team) will NEVER let it die, it just may take a little bit longer to get your fix......sorry, gotta eat and all that shit, that year of retirement was sweet, but MAN was I getting bored/depressed, and just HAD to get back into the work field.... so it is..... the next installment of my mega-Stranglers post consists of comps, rarities discs,etc..... there will be some overlap, but I really don't have time to sort it all out...... the Stranglers were GREAT we all know that, and putting all their stuff in one place for the fans is a necessity.... sorry it's taken so long, but it's just life/work, and i STILL love music, and TRULY love sharing it with you folks, whom I ALSO truly love.... pick and chose here, Stranglers fans, there is good stuff here, also some overlap, but the Stranglers were one of the best and most underappreciated of the 70's-80's new wave/punk acts. Their precursors were the Doors and (especially) Music Machine.....
Well, let us begin with "Off the Beaten Track", tons of B-sides and the like, most of these will be well-known to fans, BUT it's a cool collection, and includes a couple of non-lp singles, "5 Minutes" and "Rok it To the Moon"......worthwhile set.
Next up lets throw at ya "1977-90 Greatest Hits",nothing hard to find here, but a novice might find it just the thing for their collection.
Next we have the fab "All 12 Inches", various Stranglers greats remixed and such and originally taken from 12" singles.......don't miss this one, it's a really great one and one every Stranglers fan oughta own.
Next is the comprehensive 2-disc "The Hit Men", covers most of their essential material, and an update of "Grip" ("Grip 89")........much like the earlier "greatest Hits collection", this is a bit more comprehensive, if you want but one Stranglers disc on your shelf, this may be it... a finely selected and programmed collection.
"The Best of the Epic Years" includes a lot of the older classics, some are alternate takes, such as single remixes, or the like.. for completists and fanataics.
From 2002 we have a treasure chest, "Rarities", which includes some totally fantastic and unable to locate elsewhere rare Stranglers tracks, see track list for info, but this is one you REALLY want to have, Stranglers fan! Likely the best collection of hard to find Stranglers tracks you will stumble upon, unfortunately including the unnecessary "radio edit" of "Peaches"........can't win em all.....
Now, they released a few more comps, such as "Peaches", "Very Best Of", and "Gold Collection", all of which I DO have here at my disposal but AM NOT opting to include here, due to the hella-overlap factor......if I missed something important on one of these sets, be sure and let me know, and I will issue either individual tracks or the sets as a whole, just seems like a lotta extra work right now.
Now, HERE is a gem, though.... the 10-Track Collectors Disc, created by a fan club and given away free at some personal appearance events... the cover/ad is included, I think this is a pretty rare find, don't you?
Gonna wrap this long set up with the three disc UA Singles Collection, I know there is some overlap here as well, but a lot of good stuff here, and a rarity raises its head every now and again.
As I said, I have most of the other available Stranglers comps, if I have missed a track you'd want me to include, or a whole set, just let me know and it will be done, these guys just had a LOT of material, enough, in fact that I will get to yet ANOTHER posting, regarding their solo efforts away from the band.......till then, sorry I make you wait so long between posts, breaks my heart, really, but things are settling down and I WILL begin to post a bit more stuff, with help, of course, from my guest contributors (DO NOT miss Jonder's fantabulous Duke Spirit series, it's unreal and I hope he shares some of his other fave bands with us!)
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK-01 Go Buddy Go (B Side)/02 Top Secret (B Side)/03 Old Codger (B Side)/04 Maninwhite (B Side)/05 Rok It To the Moon (B Side)/06 Love 30 (B Side)/07 Shut Up (B Side)/08 Walk On By (Non LP Single)/09 Vietnamerica (B Side)/10 Mean to Me (From "Black and White" Free EP)/11 Cruel Garden (B Side)/12 Yellowcake UF6 (B Side)/13 5 Minutes (non LP Single)
GREATEST HITS 1977-90 01 Peaches/02 Something Better Change/03 No More Heroes/04 Walk
On By/05 Duchess/06 Golden Brown/07 Strange Little Girl/08 European Female/09 Skin Deep/10 Nice In Nice/11 Always the Sun/12 Big In America/13 All Day and All of the Night/14 96 Tears/15 No Mercy
ALL 12 INCHES-01 Midnight Summer Dream (Extended Version)/02 Skin Deep (Extended)/03 No Mercy (Cement Mix)/04 Let Me Down Easy (Extended Version)/05 Nice In Nice (Porridge Mix)/06 Always the Sun (Hot Mix)/07 Big In America (Texas Mix)/08 Shakin Like a Leaf (Jelly Mix)/09 All Day and All of the Night (Jeff Remix)/10 Was It You (Extended)/11 96 Tears (Tearaway Mix)/12 Sweet Smell of Success (Indie-Pendence Mix)
THE HIT MEN DISC 1-Grip '89/02 London Lady/03 Peaches/04 Go Buddy Go/05 Hanging Around/06 Choosey Susie/07 Something Better Change/08 Straighten Out/09 No More Heroes/10 English Towns/11 5 Minutes/12 Nice N Sleazy/13 Toiler on the Sea/14 Mean To Me/15 Walk On By/16 Duchess/17 Nuclear Device/18 Don't Bring Harry/19 The Raven/29 Bearcage/21 Who Wants the World
THE HIT MEN DISC 2-01 Waltzinblack/02 Thrown Away/03 Just Like Nothing On Earth/04 Let Me Introduce You to the family/05 Golden Brown/06 La Folie/07 Tramp/08 Strange Little Girl/09 European Female/10 Midnight Summer Dream/11 Paradise/12 Skin Deep/13 No Mercy.14 Let Me Down Easy/15 Nice In Nice/16 Always the Sun (Sunny Side Up Mix)/17 Big In America/18 Shakin Like a Leaf/19 Was It You? (Remix)/20 All Day and All of the Night/21 96 Tears/22 Sweet Smell of Success
BEST OF THE EPIC YEARS-European Female (Album Version)/02 Midnight Summer Dream (7"
Edit)/03 Paradise (Album Version/04 Skin Deep (Album Version)/05 No Mercy (Album Version)/06 Hot Club (Instrumental)/07 Let Me Down Easy (Album Version)08 Nice In Nice (Album Version)/09 Always the Sun (Original 7" Edit)/10 Big In America (Album Version)/11 Shakin Like a Leaf (Album Version)/12 All Day and All of the Night (Single Version)/13 Was It You (7" Version)/14 96 Tears (Album Version)/15 Sweet Smell of Success (7" Edit)/16 No Mercy (Cement Mix)/17 Always the Sun (Long Hot Sunny Side Up Mix-12" Version)/18 Sweet Smell of Success (Indie-Pendence Mix-12" Version)
RARITIES-01 Choosey Susie/02 Peaches (UK Radio Airplay Version)/03 Mony Mony (Celia and the Mutations)/04 Mean to Me (Celia and the Mutations)/05 No More Heroes (UK radio Edit)/06 Walk on By (UK Radio Edit)/07 Sverige (Swedish)/08 N'Emmenes Pas Harry (French)/09 Fools Rush Out/10 Bear Cage (12" Mix)11 Shah Shah a Go Go (12" mix)/12 The Meninblack (Waiting For Em)/13 La Folie (edited)/14 Rok it to te Moon/15 Shut Up/16 Old Codger/17 Yellowcake UF6/18 Vietnamerica/19 Love 30
10 TRACK COLLECTORS DISC-01 Golden Brown/02 Walk On By/03 European Female/04 Peaches/05 Something Better Change/06 Big Thing Coming/07 Strange Little Girl/08 5 Minutes/09 Always the Sun/10 No More Heroes
THE UA SINGLES COLLECTION DISC 1-01 (Get a) Grip (On Yourself)/02 London Lady/03 Peasant in the Big Shitty (Live 1976)/04 Choosey Susie/05 Peaches/06 Go Buddy Go/07 Something Better Change/08 Straighten out/09 No More Heroes/10 In the Shadows/11 Five Minutes/12 Rok It To the Moon/13 Nice N Sleazy/14 Shut Up/15 Walk on By/16 Mean to Me/17 Tits (live)
THE UA SINGLES COLLECTION DISC 2-01 Walk On By Radio Edit/02 Old Codger/03 Tank/04 Duchess/05 Fools Rush Out/06 Nuclear Device/07 Yellowcake UF6/08 Dont Bring Harry/09 Weird/10 Crabs (Live)/11 In the Shadaows (Live)/12 Bear Cage/13 Bear Cage 12" Extended Mix/14 Shah Shah a Go Go/15 Shah Shah a Go Go 12" Version/16 Sverige/17 N'Emmenes Pas Harry
THE UA SINGLES COLLECTION DISC 3-01 Who Wants the World /02 The Meninblack (Waiting
For Me)/03 Thrown Away/04 Talk Secret/05 Just Like Nothing On Earth/06 Maninwhite/07 Let Me Introduce you to the Family/08 Vietnamerica/09 Golden Brown/10 Love 30/11 La Folie/12 La Folie (radio Edit)/13 Waltzinblack/14 Strange Little Girl/15 Cruel Garden
Lotta stuff here.... hope you like it....... I love you guys and am sorry I've been slacking here a bit with the new job and all..... it should get better, if You don't abandon me I SWEAR I won't ever abandon you........this blog will NOT die before I do. Enjoy, and feel free to request and contribute and and comment, and just continue to be a part of our family here! Having a bit of computer trouble, but I will continue to FIGHT to bring you the best blog (????) on the internet!
My go-to reggae guy, Cliff in the UK, is still under the weather.... we are all praying for a quick recovery for ya, Cliff.... however, he does send along a fine link to a BBC broadcast, "Men In Black, The Stranglers Story"... very very good, narrated by Glen Matlock.... if you are a Stranglers fan you WANT this trust me.
Finally, non-Stranglers, from Jonder comes my favorite recent submission.......I will copy the email
07 Killing Me Softly With His Song (as made famous by Roberta Flack, The
