1979 live album by the Stranglers
Live (X Cert) is the first live album by the Stranglers, released in February 1979 by United Artists. It contains tracks recorded at The Roundhouse in June and November 1977 and at Battersea Park in September 1978.
It captures the raw punk sound of the band prior to the more experimental music of their fourth album, 1979's The Raven. It also contains some amusing between-song audience baiting and provides a fairly accurate picture of the Stranglers' live sound during this period.
CD reissues were augmented with extra live tracks recorded at The Nashville, West Kensington in 1976, and The Hope and Anchor, Islington in 1977.
The album spent ten weeks on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at No. 7.[2] It was the band's fourth album release, and their fourth consecutive UK top ten album.[2]
Critical reception
The album received a mixed reception at the time of release. Nick Kent of the NME remarked that those who have the band's first three studio albums "don't need inferior versions of the same,"[10] while Ronnie Gurr, reviewing the album for the same magazine, said, "Played alongside the studio tracks, the quality, power and gut ... shines through and leaves Rattus Norvegicus, No More Heroes and Black and White as mere cut-outs in the deletion bin of life."[6]
Retrospectively, Ira Robbins of Trouser Press wrote that the "high-tension ambience" and Hugh Cornwell's audience banter "make it an effective dual-function live/greatest hits album."[11] John Dougan, writing for AllMusic, wrote, "Live (X Cert) is worthy if only to hear Hugh Cornwell bait and insult the audience (very punk!). Plus the band sounds pretty good, loads of aggression and volume add to the fun. Not essential but a very interesting snapshot of an era."[3]
Track listing
All tracks are written by the Stranglers
- Track 12 from The Nashville, London, 10 December 1976. Originally included on a free 7" with the Rattus Norvegicus album.
- Track 13 from Hope and Anchor, London, 22 November 1977. Originally included on the "Don't Bring Harry" EP in 1979.
- Tracks 14-18 are taken from the same era as the original source tapes.[12]
- 2018 CD reissue bonus tracks (Parlophone)
- Tracks 12-19 are from the shows used for Live (X-Cert) and are previously unreleased.[13]
Personnel
Credits adapted from the album liner notes.[14]
- The Stranglers
- Technical
- Martin Rushent – producer, mixing
- Alan Winstanley – engineer
- Doug Bennett – engineer
- Laurence Diana – engineer
- Mick McKenna – engineer
- George Peckham – mastering
- John Pasche – art direction, design
- Kevin Sparrow – logo
- Terry Kemble – model making
- Phil Jude – outer sleeve photography
- Trevor Rogers – inner sleeve photography
- Hiro Ohno – inner sleeve photography
References
- ^ a b Twomey, Chris (1992). The Stranglers - The Men They Love To Hate. EMI Records Ltd. p. 76.
- ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 535. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ a b "Live (X-Cert) - The Stranglers | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Stranglers". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
- ^ Strong, Martin C. (2002). The Great Rock Discography (6th ed.). Edinburgh: Canongate Books. p. 1012. ISBN 1-84195-312-1.
- ^ a b Gurr, Ronnie (1979). "NME review". punk77.co.uk. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
- ^ Peacock, Tim (27 March 2018). "Rattus Norvegicus, No More Heroes, Black And White, Live (X Cert), The Raven, The Gospel According To The Meninblack, La Folie - The Stranglers". Record Collector. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
- ^ Starr, Red. "Albums". Smash Hits (22 March - 4 April 1979): 31.
- ^ Gushell, Barry (10 February 1979). "Sounds review". punk77.co.uk. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
- ^ Buckley, David (1997). No Mercy: The Authorised and Uncensored Biography of The Stranglers. London: Hodder & Stoughton. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-340-68062-9.
- ^ Robbins, Ira. "The Stranglers". Trouser Press. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
- ^ Live (X Cert) (Album liner notes). The Stranglers. EMI. 2001.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Live (X Cert) (Album liner notes). The Stranglers. Parlophone. 2018.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ The Stranglers (1979). Live (X Cert) (LP sleeve). United Artists. UAG 30224.
