Rock Revival's Forgotten Album's: The Stranglers Black and White (1978)

Black and White was The Stranglers third studio album and recorded within 18 months of the seminal Rattus Norvegicus.

This was raw, but intelligent punk, setting it well apart from the Sex Pistols and even the Clash (note re intelligent:1. members were French 2. "Death and Night And Blood" is taken from a line from Yukio Mishima's novel Confessions of a Mask, 3. "Sweden" was inspired by Cornwell's PhD placement at Lund University in the mid 1970s.

Here was proof, not only that punk could be 'progressive', in the true sense of the word, but that the emphasis on bass and keyboards, the Stranglers signature, could pushed to extreme without compromising punk's 'fuck you' attutude.

The great thing about this album, what sets it apart, is that every song is equally as good as the next. Yes, there is 'Nice and Sleazy' and the bonus 'Walk on By'; You can also hear, Tank, Death and Night and Blood, Sweden. Threatened, Enough Time, etc.

Want to hear what punk can do, why it is still critical, why you dont need to be a dumb barstard to like it ? Listen to 'Black and White' by the Stranglers

Image: EMI