Rattus Norvegicus | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 15 April 1977 | |||
Recorded | January–February 1977[1] | |||
Studio | T.W. Studios (Fulham) Mixed at Olympic Studios, Barnes, London | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 40:05 | |||
Label | United Artists (UK) A&M (US) | |||
Producer | Martin Rushent | |||
The Stranglers chronology | ||||
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Singles from Rattus Norvegicus | ||||
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Rattus Norvegicus (alternative title The Stranglers IV) is the debut studio album by the Stranglers, released on 15 April 1977.
It was one of the highest-selling albums of the punk era in Britain, eventually achieving platinum record sales. Two of its tracks, "Peaches" and "(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)", were released as 7-inch singles in the UK.
Background
The album was originally going to be titled Dead on Arrival but it was changed at the last minute.[4] The Stranglers IV prefix was a deliberate attempt by the band to cause confusion.[5] The released title is the taxonomic name for the common brown rat. The album was produced in one week by Martin Rushent and was a snapshot of the band's live set at the time.
The first 10,000 copies of the original vinyl release included a free 7-inch single, containing "Peasant in the Big Shitty" (live) and "Choosey Susie".[6] The album launch party was held in the Water Rat pub on the King's Road, in the World's End district of Chelsea.[7]
Remastered versions of the album were reissued on CD in 1996, 2001 and 2018, and included additional tracks.
Lyrics
According to the book The Stranglers-Song by Song, "Sometimes" describes a violent argument with a girlfriend.[8] The same girlfriend is the subject of "Strange Little Girl" which was written earlier by Cornwell and Hans Wärmling.[9] "Goodbye Toulouse" describes the destruction of Toulouse predicted by Nostradamus.[10]
"London Lady" is loosely based on a contemporary female journalist,[11] and "Hanging Around" describes the characters found in the London pubs where the band performed.[12] In 1981, it was covered by Hazel O'Connor on her third album, Cover Plus, and released by her as a single that same year.
"(Get a) Grip (On Yourself)" is based on the band's life in their Chiddingfold squat. It features Eric Clarke, a Welsh coal miner friend of the band's manager Dai Davies, on saxophone.[13] "Ugly" mentions the poem Ozymandias.[14]
"Down in the Sewer" has four sections: "Falling", "Down in the Sewer", "Trying to Get Out Again", and "Rat's Rally". The 'sewer' refers to London.[15] Lyrically, the song references an episode of the 1975 post-apocalyptic BBC TV drama Survivors titled "Lights of London", where the protagonists leave the safety of a farming community to head for the city, which they find can only be entered through a rat-infested sewer.
Reception and legacy
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [16] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [17] |
The Great Rock Discography | 8/10[18] |
Mojo | [19] |
Record Collector | [20] |
Record Mirror | [21] |
Sounds | [22] |
The Village Voice | C[23] |
Rattus Norvegicus was ranked at No. 10 among the top albums of the year for 1977 by NME, with "Peaches" ranked at No. 18 among the year's top tracks.[24] NME later ranked it at No. 196 on its 2014 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[25] In 2000, Rattus Norvegicus was voted number 766 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[26] It was also included in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[27]
During promotion of The Head on the Door in 1985, Robert Smith of the Cure cited Rattus Norvegicus as one of his five favourite albums.[28]
Track listing
All tracks are written by the Stranglers (Hugh Cornwell, Jean-Jacques Burnel, Dave Greenfield, Jet Black)
No. | Title | Lead vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Sometimes" | Hugh Cornwell | 4:56 |
2. | "Goodbye Toulouse" | Cornwell | 3:12 |
3. | "London Lady" | Jean-Jacques Burnel | 2:25 |
4. | "Princess of the Streets" | Burnel | 4:34 |
5. | "Hanging Around" | Cornwell | 4:25 |
No. | Title | Lead vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|
6. | "Peaches" | Cornwell | 4:03 |
7. | "(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)" | Cornwell | 3:55 |
8. | "Ugly" | Burnel | 4:03 |
9. | "Down in the Sewer"
| Cornwell | 7:30 |
Total length: | 40:05 |
- Free single
No. | Title | Lead vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Peasant in the Big Shitty" (livea) | Dave Greenfield | 3:42 |
2. | "Choosey Susie" | Burnel | 3:14 |
Total length: | 6:56 |
- 1996 CD reissue bonus disc (EMI)
- Disc one as per original album
No. | Title | Lead vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Choosey Susie" | 3:14 | |
2. | "Go Buddy Go" (B-side to "Peaches") | Burnel | 3:58 |
3. | "Peasant in the Big Shitty" (live) | 3:42 | |
Total length: | 10:54 |
- 2001 CD bonus tracks
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
10. | "Choosey Susie" | 3:14 |
11. | "Go Buddy Go" | 3:58 |
12. | "Peasant in the Big Shitty" (live) | 3:42 |
Total length: | 50:59 |
- 2018 CD reissue bonus tracks (Parlophone)
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
10. | "Choosey Susie" | 3:13 |
11. | "Peasant in the Big Shitty" (live) | 3:39 |
12. | "Go Buddy Go" | 3:58 |
13. | "Peaches" (Airplay version) | 4:07 |
14. | "Grip '89 (Get A) Grip (On Yourself)" (1989 single remix) | 4:01 |
15. | "Grip '89" (12" Grippin' Stuff Mix) | 5:38 |
Total length: | 64:42 |
- ^a Live at The Nashville pub in West Kensington, 10 Dec 1976[29]
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
Chart | Peak
Position |
Certifications
(sales thresholds) |
---|---|---|
UK Albums Chart[30] | 4 | UK: Platinum[31] |
Australian Charts | 82 |
Year-end charts
Chart (1977) | Position |
---|---|
UK Albums (OCC)[32] | 21 |
Singles
Single | Chart | Peak
Position |
Certifications
(sales thresholds) |
---|---|---|---|
"(Get a) Grip (On Yourself)" | UK Singles Chart[33] | 44 | |
New Zealand Chart | 35 | ||
"Peaches" | UK Singles Chart | 8 | UK: Silver[34] |
Australian Chart | 54 |
Personnel
Credits adapted from the album liner notes.[35]
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References
- ↑ Twomey 1992, pp. 26–29.
- 1 2 Dougan, John. "No More Heroes - The Stranglers | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
- 1 2 Hughes, Rob (6 May 2020). "The Stranglers: a guide to their best albums". Classic Rock. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
- ↑ Buckley 1997, p. 75.
- ↑ Twomey 1992, p. 30.
- ↑ Twomey 1992, p. 54.
- ↑ Carne, Owen (12 February 2011). "Memorabilia-Rattus Norvegicus-Miscellaneous". thestranglers.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
- ↑ Cornwell & Drury 2001, p. 15.
- ↑ Cornwell 2004, pp. 98–99.
- ↑ Cornwell & Drury 2001, p. 19.
- ↑ Cornwell & Drury 2001, p. 22.
- ↑ Cornwell & Drury 2001, p. 27.
- ↑ Cornwell & Drury 2001, pp. 33–34.
- ↑ Cornwell & Drury 2001, pp. 36–37.
- ↑ Cornwell & Drury 2001, pp. 38–43.
- ↑ Cleary, David. "Rattus Norvegicus – The Stranglers". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
- ↑ Larkin 2011.
- ↑ Strong, Martin C. (2002). The Great Rock Discography (6th ed.). Edinburgh: Canongate Books. p. 1012. ISBN 1-84195-312-1.
- ↑ Cameron, Keith (November 2016). "Ages of Hugh". Mojo. No. 276. p. 47.
- ↑ Peacock, Tim (April 2018). "The Stranglers – Rattus Norvegicus, No More Heroes, Black And White, Live (X Cert), The Raven, The Gospel According To The Meninblack, La Folie". Record Collector. No. 478. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
- ↑ Cain, Barry (23 April 1977). "Gripping Stranglers". Record Mirror. p. 14.
- ↑ de Whalley, Chas (16 April 1977). "The Stranglers: IV Rattus Norvegicus (United Artists)". Sounds. Retrieved 11 November 2020 – via Rock's Backpages.
- ↑ Christgau, Robert (5 September 1977). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on 18 June 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
- ↑ "1977 Best Albums And Tracks Of The Year". NME. 10 October 2016. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
- ↑ "The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time: 200–101". NME. 25 October 2013. Archived from the original on 30 March 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
- ↑ Larkin 2000, p. 242.
- ↑ Dimery 2006.
- ↑ "The Cure on 4C+" Robert Smith interview. Canal plus. 11 December 1985. Retrieved 7 June 2015 on youtube.
- ↑ Note: "The Nashville" was later renamed "The Three Kings" and is situated next door to the exit from West Kensington Tube Station
- ↑ "Rattus Norvegicus". Official Charts. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
- ↑ "Stranglers - Rattus Norvegicus". bpi. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
- ↑ "Top Albums 1977" (PDF). Music Week. 24 December 1977. p. 14. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021 – via worldradiohistory.com.
- ↑ "Stranglers". Official Charts. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
- ↑ "Stranglers - Peaches". bpi. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
- ↑ "IV Rattus Norvegicus (Parlophone, 2018)". Discogs. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
- ↑ Carne, Owen (15 December 2011). "Live recording Nashville Rooms December 1976". thestranglers.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
- 1 2 "Grip '89 (Get A) Grip (On Yourself)". Discogs. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
Bibliography
- Buckley, David (1997). No Mercy: The Authorised and Uncensored Biography of The Stranglers. London: Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 0-340-68062-8.
- Cornwell, Hugh (2004). A Multitude of Sins. London: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0-00-719082-4.
- Cornwell, Hugh; Drury, Jim (2001). The Stranglers: Song by Song. London: Sanctuary Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-86074-362-5.
- Dimery, Robert, ed. (2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (revised and updated ed.). New York: Universe Publishing. ISBN 0-7893-1371-5.
- Larkin, Colin (2000). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). London: Virgin Books. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
- Larkin, Colin (2011). "Stranglers". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.
- Twomey, Chris (1992). The Stranglers - The Men They Love To Hate. EMI Records Ltd. p. 105.