The Raven (The Stranglers album)

The Raven
Studio album by The Stranglers
Released	21 September 1979
Recorded	June 1979 at Pathe Marconi Studios, Paris, France, Air Studios, London
Genre	Post-punk
Length	41.11 (original vinyl)
Label	United Artists
Producer	Alan Winstanley, The Stranglers
The Stranglers chronology
Black and White (1978) The Raven (1979) The Gospel According to The Meninblack (1981)

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The Raven is an album by The Stranglers, released in 1979. The album was originally released with a limited edition 3-D cover. Another limited edition was inadvertently created when the band was forced to remove an image of Joh Bjelke-Petersen from the inner sleeve artwork. Petersen was the subject of the album's sixth track, "Nuclear Device".

"The Raven" sold well, reaching No.4 in the UK Album Chart, although it is believed it could have made No.1 but for an error in the chart. The Police hit No.1 despite their album not yet being released, leading to controversy that the Police album was mis-credited with sales of "The Raven". Although the album was successful, "The Raven" only spawned one top 20 single, "Duchess", with "Nuclear Device" only reaching No.36 and the EP "Don't Bring Harry" reaching No.41.

Despite its high peak chart position in the UK, "The Raven" only spent 8 weeks on the chart, a significantly shorter duration than the band's previous three studio albums.

Track listing

All song written by The Stranglers

1. "Longships" (1:10)
2. "The Raven" (5:13)
3. "Dead Loss Angeles" (2:24)
4. "Ice" (3:26)
5. "Baroque Bordello" (3:50)
6. "Nuclear Device" (3:32)
7. "Shah Shah A Go Go" (4:50)
8. "Don't Bring Harry" (4:09)
9. "Duchess" (2:30)
10. "Meninblack" (4:48)
11. "Genetix" (5:16)

1987 CD Reissue

1. "Bear Cage" (2:50)

2001 CD Bonus Tracks

1. "Bear Cage" (2:50)
2. "Fools Rush Out" (2:09)
3. "N'Emmenes Pas Harry" (4:14)
4. "Yellowcake UF6" (2:55)

Tracks 12–15 were not on the original vinyl release. They are singles and B-sides, approximately contemporaneous with the Raven album, but have subsequently been released as bonus tracks on some CD versions.

It is often said that this album is steeped in Nordic imagery. This is true of the first two songs, much of the artwork (the band is shown standing on the prow of a viking longship) and the raven itself is, of course, a feature of Norse mythology. However the album deals with a variety of issues including: Japanese ritual suicide ("Ice"); heroin use ("Don't Bring Harry"); the Iranian Revolution ("Shah-Shah-a-go-go") and Genetic engineering ("Genetix").

"Duchess", was the first, and most successful, single from the album despite the video – which showed the band as choir boys – being banned by the BBC because they considered it blasphemous.^{[citation needed]}

"Meninblack", ended up becoming the starting point for their next album, The Gospel According to The Men in Black.

Covers

The song Dead Loss Angeles was covered by Japanese supergroup Metalchicks on their debut album.

Personnel

The Stranglers

• Hugh Cornwell: guitar, vocals, 2nd bass (track 3)
• J.J. Burnel: bass, vocals
• Dave Greenfield: keyboards, vocals
• Jet Black: drums, percussion

Production

• Alan Winstanley: engineer, mixing
• Steve Churchyard: engineer, mixing

External links

• The Raven feature with original sleeve art