Yes I agree with your points...like you say it was all four of them that made them the band they were and yes your right and as we all know as Stranglers fans it was Dave's major keys sound that gave them their distinction and all the classics songs he's there at the heart of the sound....BankMan wrote: ↑19 Feb 2024, 21:29 The reality is, is that Stranglers MK1 was greater than the sum of its parts. Dave, Jet and JJ together took Hugh’s ideas to another level and equally Hugh’s input to stuff that he didn’t write, and his guitar lines, added something we’ve never seen or heard since he left.
I’ll tell you something though, you listen now to any of the stuff by any of the different MK’s and you realise how much Dave, more than any of the others, was the man who gave the Stranglers their gold dust. Imagine nearly all of the MK1 stuff without his contribution, it just wouldn’t be half as good. MK2, when he was increasingly sidelined - pretty poor. He got his mojo back on NC and Suite - great albums - and Paul Roberts played a huge part in that, sadly unrecognised by many. Without Daves’s contribution on Giants and DM, you’ve got some pretty average stuff. You can hear this on the three DM tracks recorded after he passed - clunky and uninspiring to say the least.
On Hugh, I’ve always felt that that his solo stuff needed/needs contributions from equally talented people who will challenge him and add extra layers that will take his ideas and his music to beyond the “OK”
I mean Heroes,Duchess,GB wouldn't be the same without out dave his sound made it the popular song it was,Sewer,toiler infact he's there on all of them making them the great songs that they were and legendary became.
The thing is you take GB a very good example of Hugh's imput that surley nobody else would of come up with,Dave again at the heart of the sound in the first place with Jets percussion together they came up with GB's sound which was amazing but then somehow it was Hugh that turned that melody into the classic it became with his lyrics and simple but very effective lead solo parts that it ended up like....quite incredible I do think how did he come up with what he did what Jet and Dave started together to what Hugh then turned it into ...I believe nobody else could of done that.
For me also they wern't past their sell by date with Hugh at the end with 10....nothing wrong with that album in just my opinion...infact hugh's songs and contribution to that album were excellent,it was the other few that wasn't up to scratch to be on the album for me only.
The band was still good until hugh left for me anyway.
