The Stranglers / Aural Sculpture
Artist The Stranglers
Album Title: Aural Sculpture
Album Cover:
Primary Genre Rock: New Wave
Format CD
Released 11/00/1984
Reissue Date 00/00/2001
Label Epic Records
Catalog No 5045922000
Bar Code No 5 099750 459225
Reissue Yes
Remastered Yes
Packaging Jewelcase
Tracks
1. Ice Queen (4:02)
2. Skin Deep (3:53)
3. Let Me Down Easy (4:11)
4. No Mercy (3:38)
5. North Winds Blowing (4:03)
6. Uptown (2:57)
7. Punch & Judy (3:47)
8. Spain (4:13)
9. Laughing (4:12)
10. Souls (2:42)
11. Mad Hatter (4:00)
12. Here & There [Bonus] (4:21)
13. In One Door [Bonus] (2:55)
14. Head On The Line [Bonus] (3:08)
15. Achilles Heel [Bonus] (2:55)
16. Hot Club [Bonus] (3:04)
17. Place De Victoires [Bonus] (4:10)
18. Vladimir And The Beast [Bonus] (3:53)
19. Vladimir Goes To Havana [Bonus] (5:28)
Date Acquired 03/09/2018
Personal Rating
Acquired from cecilchesser (Discogs)
Purchase Price 5.99

Web Links

All Music Guide entry:
Discogs entry:
MusicBrainz entry:

Notes

Tracks 1 to 13 & 18 Produced for LOL Productions Ltd.
Remastered at Sony Music Studios, Whitfield Street, London.
All tracks published by EMI Songs Ltd/Plugshaft/Complete Music/Plugshaft
All tracks ℗1984 Sony Music Entertainment (UK) Ltd. except
track 15 ℗1995 CBS Records
track 17 ℗1985 Sony Music Entertainment (UK) Ltd.
This Compilation ℗ 2001 Sony Music Entertainment (UK) Ltd.
© 2001 Sony Music Entertainment (UK) Ltd.
Distribution: Sony Music.
Artwork [Ear Sculpture] – John King
Bass, Vocals – J.J. Burnel
Design [Sleeve] – Jean-Luke Epstein (Graphyk)
Graphics [Remastered] – Graphyk
Keyboards – Dave Greenfield
Percussion – Jet Black
Photography By – Brian Griffin, Jean-Luke Epstein*, John Kisch, Kees Tabak, Mike Prior, Nik Yeomans, Terry Lott
Producer – Laurie Latham (tracks: 1 to 13, 18), The Stranglers (tracks: 2, 7, 10, 12 to 19)
Remastered By – Tony Bridge
Sleeve Notes – Nik Yeomans
Vocals, Guitar – Hugh Cornwell
Written-By – The Stranglers
Produced For – LOL Productions Ltd.
Remastered At – Sony Music Studios, London
Published By – EMI Songs Ltd.
Published By – Plugshaft Ltd.
Published By – Complete Music Ltd.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Sony Music Entertainment (UK) Ltd.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – CBS Records
Copyright (c) – Sony Music Entertainment (UK) Ltd.
Distributed By – Sony Music
Barcode: 5 099750 459225
Matrix / Runout: S5045922000-0101 13 B 1
Mastering SID Code: IFPI L553
Mould SID Code: IFPI 94K6
Rights Society: MCPS/BIEM/SDRM
Label Code: LC 0199
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
foobar2000 1.3.17 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2018-03-13 02:17:17
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analyzed: The Stranglers / Aural Sculpture
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR             Peak         RMS          Duration        Track
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR9        -0.10 dB   -10.73 dB      4:02 01 - Ice Queen
DR10      -0.10 dB   -12.51 dB      3:53 02 - Skin Deep
DR10      -0.10 dB   -11.96 dB      4:11 03 - Let Me Down Easy
DR9        -0.10 dB   -11.60 dB      3:38 04 - No Mercy
DR11      -0.10 dB   -12.29 dB      4:03 05 - North Winds
DR9        -0.10 dB   -10.03 dB      2:57 06 - Uptown
DR8        -0.10 dB   -10.61 dB      3:47 07 - Punch & Judy
DR9        -0.10 dB   -10.68 dB      4:13 08 - Spain
DR10      -0.51 dB   -12.64 dB      4:12 09 - Laughing
DR9        -0.10 dB   -10.90 dB      2:42 10 - Souls
DR10      -0.86 dB   -12.96 dB      4:00 11 - Mad Hatter
DR10      -0.10 dB   -11.53 dB      4:21 12 - Here & There
DR9        -0.10 dB   -10.08 dB      2:55 13 - In One Door
DR8        -0.10 dB     -9.74 dB      3:08 14 - Head on the Line
DR8        -0.10 dB     -9.31 dB      2:55 15 - Achilles Heel
DR9        -0.10 dB   -11.71 dB      3:04 16 - Hot Club (Riot mix)
DR10      -0.10 dB   -12.10 dB      4:10 17 - Place de Victoires
DR12      -0.10 dB   -13.59 dB      3:53 18 - Vladimir and the Beast
DR11      -0.10 dB   -12.09 dB      5:28 19 - Vladimir Goes to Havana
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of tracks: 19
Official DR value: DR10
Samplerate: 44100 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 16
Bitrate: 935 kbps
Codec: FLAC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reviews
Review by Alex Ogg
A massively underrated album by a band too quickly dismissed as relevant only to the '70s -- fair enough, as the accompanying statement of intent (the title was meant to be descriptive) is pretentious rubbish. Yet there is a real majesty to some of these pop compositions, notably Burnel's devastating "North Winds." The hit single "Skin Deep" is excellent, if a little self-important. Other cuts, like the infectious "Uptown" and "Mad Hatter," reveal the eternally grim Stranglers to be in a playful mood. Not quite what everyone expected, but a great album nevertheless. [The 2001 reissue offers eight more songs, including "In One Door" and "Hot Club"]
Cover 1
Cover 2
Cover 3
Cover 4
Cover 5
Cover 6
Cover 7
Cover 8