Track Listing

1. Tank
2. Nice 'n' Sleazy
3. Outside Tokyo
4. Hey (Rise Of The Robots)
5. Sweden (All Quiet On The Eastern Front)
6. Toiler On The Sea
7. Curfew
8. Threatened
9. In The Shadows
10. Do You Wanna
11. Death And Night And Blood (Yukio)
12. Enough Time
13. Mean To Me
14. Walk On By
15. Shut Up
16. Sveridge
17. Old Codger
18. Tits

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1791 in Music
• Released on: 2001-08-20
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Released in the summer of 1978 and cruelly denied the Number One spot by the decidedly non-New Wave Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, Black and White--The Stranglers' third studio album--found Guildford's gruesomely confrontational punks persisting brilliantly with their angrified and melodiously intoxicating melange of Hugh Cornwell's scrubby telecaster guitar, Dave Greenfield's burbling psychedelic keyboards and Jean-Jacques Burnel's brutally flatulent bass. That said, the album marked a noticeable departure from the antagonism and political incorrectness of No More Heroes. Deadpan pessimism featured prominently on Side 2 (the "black side" in old vinyl terms) courtesy of the apocalyptically grim "Enough Time" and the Cold War neurosis of "Curfew". Burnel spouted the memorable line "Bring me a piece of my Mummy, she was quite close to me" on "Threatened" and also paid tribute to controversial Japanese poet Yukio Mishima on the almost funky "Death And Night and Blood". Cornwell, in comparision, was relatively jovial, satirising the sterility of Scandinavian life on "Sweden" ("too much time to think too little to do") and penning a memorable joyriding ode in the spirit of "Fun Fun Fun" or Chris Spedding's "Motorbikin'", except this one was called "Tank". Black and White's less morbid moments included the elongated (and probably the best ever version) of Bacharach & David's "Walk On By" (imagine an instrumental, New Wave version of Deep Purple), the biblically-versed punk-reggae of "Nice 'n' Sleazy", the epic "Toiler On The Sea" and the ungainly mesh of punk noise (including Laura Logic's squawky toy sax) that was "Hey! Rise Of The Robots" ("They're gonna want a union soon, oil break that's dead on noon"). A brilliant record, true, but the best was yet to come. Kevin Maidment

Customer Reviews

nice and sleazy? fantastic!! the rest...............?
the stranglers were responsible for two of the best ever singles, namely 'peaches' and 'nice and sleazy' - the good news is that nice and sleazy features on this album, which, if you dont already own the single, makes this a must buy cd. the bad news is that that song is head, shoulders and several divisions above everything else on here. the stranglers were a curious band with a definate identifiable sound, and for that they should be applauded, but the bottom line is that, apart from the aforementioned classic singles and a couple of other decent attempts, they couldnt really cut it in the songwriting stakes. i mean, its ok, but thats all it is, which is a shame cos with that identifiable sound they could have really been something. but all of their albums suffer from the same illness. one or two good songs and the rest consisting of filler.i wish they could have capitalized more on their strengths. but they didnt, which means they will always be a second division band

Black and blacker
The production values are the same as on their first two albums, but on 'Black And White' The Stranglers shift from schoolboy sniggers and misanthropy toward serious issues. They retain their confrontational stance, as ever, but 'Sweden' marks a new target, the nation. The first, 'white,' side of the original LP links with previous recordings and is, for the most part, quite manic, laced with the usual thrilling keyboard runs. Only the reggae-slanted 'Nice 'n' Sleazy' and the short, sober 'Outside Tokyo' differ from this approach. 'Tank' is familiar fare, about a recruit who can't wait to go out and 'maim.' 'Sweden' and 'Toiler On The Sea' are relentless epics and the pacy, sax-ridden 'Hey!' portrays a future in which machines rule.
The second side is the jaw-dropper. Visions of Russian invasion, stalkers, bloodlust and apccalypse are new and frightening areas. Gone also is the infectious hit potential, replaced by JJ Burnel's nightmarish vocal delivery, and plainer, repetitive patterns. Bonus tracks are the usual mixture of comical throwaways that appeared on b-sides and the free EP that came with the LP, plus the superb, 6-minute hit cover of 'Walk On By,' which was also featured on the EP. 'Black And White' is a leap forward for an already formidable band, but it doesn't make easy listening.

ATTRACTIVE OPPOSITES
After the disappointment of NO MORE HEROES (see review), BLACK AND WHITE comes across as a sharp poke in the eye and a firm boot up the arse. Demure it most certainly is not.

In LP form the concept made more sense: two contrasting musical dispositions on two sides of vinyl. Simple but clever. As a cd, this stark duality becomes slightly diluted by the addition of bonus tracks, nevertheless it remains a superb piece of work with considerable impact. The same goes for the cover. It's a beautiful reminder of how effective photographic media can be at it's most basic: overexposed negatives of four figures posing in a void, opaque and unreadable. The pefect marriage of image and sound, the perfect iconic statement.

It is perhaps a tad petty to point out that side one does not, in fact, equate to 'Black' as you might naturally expect. However, any such inconsequential musings are immediately blown away the moment TANK blasts through the speakers. Heavy, driving, almost grungy, the song never lets up and is a marvellous taster for things to come. The pseudo-reggaefied NICE AND SLEAZY is next up, keeping things light and energetic (and, of course, sleazy) but then the pace drops unexpectedly for OUTSIDE TOKYO, a waltz, complete with de-rigeur flat Cornwell vocal. Given a sharper edge, this gloomy song would not seem out of place on, y'know, the 'other' side...the darkside.

Hey, hey, whaddya say?...RISE OF THE ROBOTS almost speeds out of control with to and fro vocals battling jazzy sax and keyboards over ownership of the metronome. In sharp contrast, SWEDEN (ALL QUIET ON THE EASTERN FRONT), is a more focused and streamlined affair, even finding room in it's anti-tourist board sentiments for the words "cumulus nimbus" (a beautiful latin reference to clouds. Nice touch, Hugh). Honours for outstanding track, however, must go to TOILER ON THE SEA, a thumping epic which shows THE STRANGLERS at their knuckle-dusting best and brings the 'White' side to a close on a bloody big high.

Of course, every yin needs its yang, every Jeckyll his Hyde, every Cannon his, or its, Ball. And the 'Black' side (un)happily obliges in every department. Sometimes discordant, other times just plain disturbing, the mood swing is dramatic, almost bi-polar. CURFEW, THREATENED, IN THE SHADOWS...angry, brooding pieces of work challenging you to sing along, if you dare. The unpleasant DO YOU WANNA segues neatly into DEATH AND NIGHT AND BLOOD, another intense Burnel number which picks up the pace until we reach the final song, ENOUGH TIME. And by this time, believe me, it's time enough; a big, clanging bassline intro and the death-knell of repetitive keyboard and vocals makes for an unsettling descent into hell.

Fortunately, on this occasion, opposing sides make for attractive opposites - and being seduced by the darkside comes with a return ticket.


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