Stranglers in the Night

Stranglers in the Night is the eleventh studio album by the Stranglers and the first release on the band's own record label, Psycho, in 1992.

Stranglers in the Night
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 1992
Recorded1991–1992
StudioSteptoe Recorders
Studio Audio
Dojo
Jacobs Studios
Sarm East/Sarm West
Metropolis
Genre
Length51:28
LabelPsycho
ProducerMike Kemp
The Stranglers chronology
10
(1990)
Stranglers in the Night
(1992)
About Time
(1995)
Singles from Stranglers in the Night
  1. "Heaven or Hell"
    Released: August 1992[1]
  2. "Sugar Bullets"
    Released: October 1992[2]
Alternative cover
North American version
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [3]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]
The Great Rock Discography4/10[5]
NME2/10[6]

It opened the recording career of the Stranglers MK II, with Paul Roberts on vocals and John Ellis on guitar. The band returned to a purer, less "produced" sound; the horns have departed and the songs have a less-constrained, harder edge.[citation needed] Styles vary from ballads such as "Southern Mountains" and "Grand Canyon" to the fast-paced "Sugar Bullets" and "Brainbox". The album marks the second Stranglers album to be produced by Mike Kemp, the first being 1986's Dreamtime.[7]

The North American version of this album (with a white, rather than dark grey, cover) contained three extra tracks ("Coffee Shop", "Vicious Circles" and "So Uncool"), which were originally B-sides in the UK. The album peaked at No. 33 in the UK Albums Chart in September 1992.[8] The single "Heaven or Hell" was released from the album, and peaked at No. 46 in the UK Singles Chart in August 1992.[8] The follow-up single, "Sugar Bullets", failed to chart.

Track listing

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All tracks are written by the Stranglers

No.TitleLength
1."Time to Die"3:51
2."Sugar Bullets"5:26
3."Heaven or Hell"4:31
4."Laughing at the Rain"3:42
5."This Town"5:18
6."Brainbox"2:48
7."Southern Mountains"3:46
8."Gain Entry to Your Soul"4:28
9."Grand Canyon"4:11
10."Wet Afternoon"4:02
11."Never See"4:00
12."Leave It to the Dogs"5:32
Total length:51:28
North American bonus tracks
No.TitleOriginLength
13."Coffee Shop"B-side of "Heaven or Hell"4:30
14."Vicious Circles"B-side of "Heaven or Hell"3:22
15."So Uncool"B-side of "Sugar Bullets"3:08
Total length:62:25

Personnel

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The Stranglers
Additional musicians
  • Simon Morton – additional percussion
Technical
  • Mike Kemp – production
  • The Stranglers – production on "Coffee Shop"[9] and "Vicious Circles"[10]
  • Richard Norris – engineering
  • Jill Furmanovsky – photography
  • Cactus – sleeve design
  • Simon J. Webb – Psycho Records logo design

References

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  1. ^ "Never to Look Back: 13. Heaven or Hell" (PDF). thestranglers.co.uk. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  2. ^ "Sugar Bullets". stranglers.pagesperso-orange.fr. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  3. ^ Rabid, Jack. "The Stranglers: Stranglers in the Night [Limited Edition] > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
  4. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Stranglers". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  5. ^ Strong, Martin C. (2002). The Great Rock Discography (6th ed.). Edinburgh: Canongate Books. p. 1012. ISBN 1-84195-312-1.
  6. ^ Harris, John (12 September 1992). "Long Play". New Musical Express. p. 33.
  7. ^ "Spaceward Studios Retrospective". Sintefex Audio. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  8. ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 535. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  9. ^ "Heaven or Hell (Disc 1)". Discogs. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  10. ^ "Heaven or Hell". Discogs. Retrieved 5 January 2022.