alaninblack wrote: ↑23 Nov 2021, 21:39
AS was an utter disappointment on release for me and I would say for many other 'fans" at the time, and im sure you've heard that before many a time.
Of course, Aural Sculpture got a mixed reception from the fans at the time - just read the letters pages from Strangled from around the time. Some people couldn't get on board with the brass, and others congratulated the band for showing signs of musical growth and were happy with the relatively higher production values of the album. Naturally, I'm in the latter category.
(Some fans didn't rate tracks like "Strange Little Girl" or "Golden Brown" either and that was their problem)
unbroken69 wrote: ↑23 Nov 2021, 17:22
Certainly Jim's drums are heavier on this album and more energetic than previous Stranglers albums. It is the absence of proper drums with the replacement of drum machines that give the later MK 1 albums that awful tinny effect.
I'd describe Jim's drumming as quite lumpen, particularly in comparison with Jet's more nuanced playing. As for the drum machines on the likes of Aural Sculpture and Dreamtime, while I would have preferred Jet to be playing on those albums, I still vastly prefer listening to them.
Jet is a far more experienced drummer, are you a drummer as a matter of interest? Lt Kudu.
Well jet has said the hardest part to play nowday's is the latter part to sewer and that's from the great man himself but as a non drummer i can't comment on something i don't play.
I'd describe Jim's drumming as quite lumpen, particularly in comparison with Jet's more nuanced playing. As for the drum machines on the likes of Aural Sculpture and Dreamtime, while I would have preferred Jet to be playing on those albums, I still vastly prefer listening to them.
Jet is a far more experienced drummer, are you a drummer as a matter of interest? Lt Kudu.
Well jet has said the hardest part to play nowday's is the latter part to sewer and that's from the great man himself but as a non drummer i can't comment on something i don't play.
Years ago they used to play the Rally Part over and over, I mean the bit where It speeds up, takes some stamina to do that, but Jet had the strength of a bear back in the day. Lt Kudu.
unbroken69 wrote: ↑23 Nov 2021, 22:59
Apart from North Winds and Souls it all sounds so dated. Nothing wrong with being of its time, but the best Stranglers albums sound timeless.
"Dated" is not a pejorative, and there's no such thing as timelessness. An album released in 1984 sounds like an album recorded in 1983/1984? What a shocker!
I think it's aged well. I certainly don't listen to A S thinking "there's a band trying to relive past glories". I think they embraced the tech they had at the time and used it well. Sure the soul angle deffo didn't work but I think the album benefits from it
Jim
Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk
"I bathed in sun and walked in rain
It taught me how to laugh again"
Jet is a far more experienced drummer, are you a drummer as a matter of interest? Lt Kudu.
Well jet has said the hardest part to play nowday's is the latter part to sewer and that's from the great man himself but as a non drummer i can't comment on something i don't play.
Years ago they used to play the Rally Part over and over, I mean the bit where It speeds up, takes some stamina to do that, but Jet had the strength of a bear back in the day. Lt Kudu.
Yep he sure did if you just watch his pace and strength to some of of the late '70s stuff it's quite incredible.I've really acknowledged his greatness in Jim's poem for sure trying to get this poem right from all angles what with the stranglers having had two drummers obviously jet being the godfather of this band and founder member,so i think iv'e got it about right not far off completing it.I think looking back and listening to so much of Jim's stuff he really is a better drummer i feel than maybe he gets credit for i feel and what with his solid contribution for nearly ten years is why i feel he more than deserve an appreciation piece from me.The founder member's legacy without doubt is the best who will always be remembered by the hardcore for that too,If there was no Jet then there wouldn't of been a stranglers band in the first place let alone still going today 47 years on so we are always indebted to him for sure.
Last edited by toilerinblack on 24 Nov 2021, 00:05, edited 5 times in total.
unbroken69 wrote: ↑23 Nov 2021, 22:59
Apart from North Winds and Souls it all sounds so dated. Nothing wrong with being of its time, but the best Stranglers albums sound timeless.
"Dated" is not a pejorative, and there's no such thing as timelessness. An album released in 1984 sounds like an album recorded in 1983/1984? What a shocker!
Ah, but there's a difference between sounding "of it's time" and "dated".
As I've said before, "Laughing" still stands up as a production today precisely because it's going for a distinctive 80s sound but consequently this means you're listening to it thinking "this sounds like it's going for an 80s synth pop kind of vibe and is really nicely produced".
On the other hand a track like "Spain" is not going for an obvious 80s synth sound but is trying to be a contemporary pop rock song. The problem is that this is not the same as a contemporary pop rock song outside of the mid 80s, so when listening to it now you end up thinking something like "this is a good song but sounds really old". An awful lot of the problem is the drum machine but there's other uber-80s stuff going too which dates it.
By way of contrast consider Pink Floyd's "The Final Cut", Julian Cope's "Fried" or Lloyd Cole and The Commotions "Rattlesnakes" from the same time period, I would argue that they sound much less dated than AS.
"I woke up on a good day, and the world was wonderful"
parasiteinblack wrote: ↑23 Nov 2021, 23:59
Ah, but there's a difference between sounding "of it's time" and "dated"
Actually, there isn't - they're both one and the same thing. A recording is "of its time" the moment it's recorded and immediately "dated" to the period in which it was recorded. Whether or not someone still enjoys listening to that recording outside of the context of the time in which it was recorded and released is moot.
parasiteinblack wrote: ↑23 Nov 2021, 23:59
By way of contrast consider Pink Floyd's "The Final Cut", Julian Cope's "Fried" or Lloyd Cole and The Commotions "Rattlesnakes" from the same time period, I would argue that they sound much less dated than AS.
I've heard all of those albums and like Aural Sculpture they sound like albums recorded and released in the '80s. Surprise, surprise.
parasiteinblack wrote: ↑23 Nov 2021, 23:59
Ah, but there's a difference between sounding "of it's time" and "dated"
Actually, there isn't - they're both one and the same thing. A recording is "of its time" the moment it's recorded and immediately "dated" to the period in which it was recorded. Whether or not someone still enjoys listening to that recording outside of the context of the time in which it was recorded and released is moot.
I think you're being pedantic. Those are, of course, literal interpretations of the phrases "of its time" and "dated" but I don't think most people in this forum or any other would use them as such in common parlance.
If we are really going to quibble over semantics then let me rephrase as my assertion as follows:
Aural Sculpture has aged poorly in comparison to contemporaneous long players by artists such as Pink Floyd, Lloyd Cole and the Commotions and Julian Cope. In my humble opinion of course...
parasiteinblack wrote: ↑23 Nov 2021, 23:59
By way of contrast consider Pink Floyd's "The Final Cut", Julian Cope's "Fried" or Lloyd Cole and The Commotions "Rattlesnakes" from the same time period, I would argue that they sound much less dated than AS.
I've heard all of those albums and like Aural Sculpture they sound like albums recorded and released in the '80s. Surprise, surprise.
Yes Cilla, I never claimed otherwise, but "the 80s" encompasses a broad spectrum of sonic delights and some parts of it now sound more "poorly aged" than others.
"I woke up on a good day, and the world was wonderful"
