Derived from the remnants of the Rattus sessions, for a cash in quick release, The Stranglers were in a sonically golden groove. They may have been churning it out but they had the nations ear. A time of “porky prime cut” double ‘A’side singles, playing tag team with the top ten or even co-existing in the charts due to the endurance of 45 sales in the almost unchallenged medium of vinyl.

Here comes the science: “No More Heroes” is the definitive home of the bands classic “3 minute +” song template. At the core, Dave Greenfield’s celebrated hammond organ & keys playing off Jean Jacques Burnel’s unforgettable lead bass. Symbiotically, trading licks like backwoods duelling banjo’s, all licensed by Jet Black’s under played but coercive beats. From left field, Hugh Cornwell delivers an iconic guitar sound which embellishes the dynamic tension with bursts of off kilter aggression (Something Better Change & No More Heroes), melancholic isolation (English Towns) & unsettling decay (School Mam, Burning Up Time). Frontman duties made Hugh a necessary minimalist at times but he pervades this damaged English soundscape throughout.

The thematic controversy of the material is narrated by diverse idiosyncratic vocal contributions. A fairly even split of duties between the ascerbic Cornwell & harsh Burnel are peppered with Greenfield’s rare psych-O-delic menace. Not so much Beatles, more late seventies Cockroaches.

This is quintessential Stranglers. Their core skill: To musically meld the incongruence of dark themes with uplifting melody, something that set them apart & will never be touched.

With United Artists pushing for product, No More Heroes was the nearest these (otherwise) eclectic explorers got to a cul de sac, as it often plays on a (winning) formula. Indulge and be tainted & I mean that positively!

Additional Info:

If you are a certain age & cognitively sound, the physical gravitas of vinyl and sleeve aesthetics will have a lost meaning. The unsubtle but striking wreath and rat tails front was backed by a classic solarised window framing of this dangerous quartet. For the youth, do a search on google images to get a stymied inkling.

It won't do it justice.

The Stranglers at their best.

This was the album that flavoured my youth and gave it zing. I vividly recall the thrill I felt back in the early 80s when I held it in my sixteen year old hands! Every track except one (was never crazy about 'School Mam') fuelled my young mind with a sizzling blend of danger, aggression and full-blown testosterone - extremely potent then and tantalising even now - not to mention its succession of brilliant, belting melodies. An iconic album, the last three tracks a bonus as I don't recall them being on the original 1977 release.

This album was released late in ‘77 & went straight to the top of the charts-an impressive follow-up to their top-five debut, ‘Rattus Norvegicus IV’....However, its success is shamefully ignored by the revisionist media....Yes, some of the lyrics are troubling....Yes, the group members, allegedly, could be boorish and aggressive....But glossing over this LP like it never happened seems to me to be an extremely foolhardy enterprise....So popular were The Stranglers @ the time of ‘No More Heroes’’ release that I can recall, from my perch on The White Wall, practically the whole of The Shed End singing, a Capella, this album’s title track....Song after song slams through, each one unique, each one a Punk gem....My personal fave is ‘English Towns’ with its melancholy closing refrain-‘No love in a thousand gals’....Anybody wishing to understand the Punk Rock phenomenon could do no worse than start with this gem of a record....The Stranglers were an unlikely, but integral part of the early Punk Rock movement....No one should be in denial about this.

Adam/4-Dotz

Kent

October 2020

Great follow up to Rattus play it loud !