Rattus Norvegicus (also known as The Stranglers IV) is the debut studio album by English punk rock band the Stranglers, released on 15 April 1977.
| Rattus Norvegicus | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 15 April 1977 | |||
| Recorded | January–February 1977[1] | |||
| Studio | T.W. Studios (Fulham) Mixed at Olympic Studios, Barnes, London | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 40:05 | |||
| Label | United Artists (UK) A&M (US) | |||
| Producer | Martin Rushent | |||
| The Stranglers chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Rattus Norvegicus | ||||
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It was one of the highest-selling albums of the punk era in Britain, eventually achieving platinum record sales. Two of its tracks, "Peaches" and "(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)", were released as 7-inch singles in the UK.
Background
The album was originally going to be titled Dead on Arrival but it was changed at the last minute.[4] The Stranglers IV prefix was a deliberate attempt by the band to cause confusion.[5] The released title is the taxonomic name for the brown rat. The album was produced in one week by Martin Rushent and was a snapshot of the band's live set at the time.
The first 10,000 copies of the original vinyl release included a free 7-inch single, containing "Peasant in the Big Shitty" (live) and "Choosey Susie".[6] The album launch party was held in the Water Rat pub on the King's Road in World's End, Chelsea.[7]
Remastered versions of the album with bonus tracks were reissued on CD in 1996, 2001 and 2018.
Lyrics
According to the book The Stranglers-Song by Song, "Sometimes" describes a violent argument with a girlfriend.[8] The same girlfriend is the subject of "Strange Little Girl" which was written earlier by Cornwell and Hans Wärmling.[9] "Goodbye Toulouse" describes the destruction of Toulouse predicted by Nostradamus.[10]
"London Lady" is loosely based on a contemporary female journalist,[11] and "Hanging Around" describes the characters found in the London pubs where the band performed.[12] In 1981, it was covered by Hazel O'Connor on her third album, Cover Plus, and released as a single.
The lyrics of "Peaches" take the form of an internal monologue by a man ogling girls on the beach. The song was notably featured in the opening scene of Jonathan Glazer's 2000 film Sexy Beast.[13]
"(Get a) Grip (On Yourself)" is based on the band's life in their squat in Chiddingfold, Surrey. It features Eric Clarke, a Welsh coal miner friend of manager Dai Davies, on saxophone.[14] "Ugly" mentions Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem Ozymandias.[15]
"Down in the Sewer" has four sections: "Falling", "Down in the Sewer", "Trying to Get Out Again", and "Rat's Rally". The 'sewer' refers to London.[16] The song references an episode of the 1975 post-apocalyptic BBC TV drama Survivors titled "Lights of London", where the protagonists leave the safety of a farming community to head for the city, which they find can only be entered through a rat-infested sewer.
Reception and legacy
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [17] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [18] |
| The Great Rock Discography | 8/10[19] |
| Mojo | [20] |
| Record Collector | [21] |
| Record Mirror | [22] |
| Sounds | [23] |
| The Village Voice | C[24] |
Rattus Norvegicus was ranked at No. 10 among the top albums of the year for 1977 by NME, with "Peaches" ranked at No. 18 among the year's top tracks.[25] NME later ranked it at No. 196 on its 2014 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[26] In 2000, Rattus Norvegicus was voted number 766 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[27] It was also included in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[28]
Robert Smith of the Cure cited Rattus Norvegicus as one of his five favourite albums in a 1985 interview.[29]
Track listing
All tracks are written by the Stranglers (Hugh Cornwell, Jean-Jacques Burnel, Dave Greenfield, Jet Black)
| No. | Title | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Sometimes" | Hugh Cornwell | 4:56 |
| 2. | "Goodbye Toulouse" | Cornwell | 3:12 |
| 3. | "London Lady" | Jean-Jacques Burnel | 2:25 |
| 4. | "Princess of the Streets" | Burnel | 4:34 |
| 5. | "Hanging Around" | Cornwell | 4:25 |
| No. | Title | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Peaches" | Cornwell | 4:03 |
| 7. | "(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)" | Cornwell | 3:55 |
| 8. | "Ugly" | Burnel | 4:03 |
| 9. | "Down in the Sewer"
| Cornwell | 7:30 |
| Total length: | 40:05 | ||
- Free single
| No. | Title | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Peasant in the Big Shitty" (livea) | Dave Greenfield | 3:42 |
| 2. | "Choosey Susie" | Burnel | 3:14 |
| Total length: | 6:56 | ||
- 1996 CD reissue bonus disc (EMI)
- Disc one as per original album
| No. | Title | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Choosey Susie" | 3:14 | |
| 2. | "Go Buddy Go" (B-side to "Peaches") | Burnel | 3:58 |
| 3. | "Peasant in the Big Shitty" (live) | 3:42 | |
| Total length: | 10:54 | ||
- 2001 CD bonus tracks
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 10. | "Choosey Susie" | 3:14 |
| 11. | "Go Buddy Go" | 3:58 |
| 12. | "Peasant in the Big Shitty" (live) | 3:42 |
| Total length: | 50:59 | |
- 2018 CD reissue bonus tracks (Parlophone)
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 10. | "Choosey Susie" | 3:13 |
| 11. | "Peasant in the Big Shitty" (live) | 3:39 |
| 12. | "Go Buddy Go" | 3:58 |
| 13. | "Peaches" (Airplay version) | 4:07 |
| 14. | "Grip '89 (Get A) Grip (On Yourself)" (1989 single remix) | 4:01 |
| 15. | "Grip '89" (12" Grippin' Stuff Mix) | 5:38 |
| Total length: | 64:42 | |
- ^a Live at The Nashville pub in West Kensington, 10 Dec 1976[30]
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
| Chart | Peak Position | Certifications (sales thresholds) |
|---|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart[31] | 4 | UK: Platinum[32] |
| Australian Charts | 82 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1977) | Position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums (OCC)[33] | 21 |
Singles
| Single | Chart | Peak Position | Certifications (sales thresholds) |
|---|---|---|---|
| "(Get a) Grip (On Yourself)" | UK Singles Chart[34] | 44 | |
| New Zealand Chart | 35 | ||
| "Peaches" | UK Singles Chart | 8 | UK: Silver[35] |
| Australian Chart | 54 |
Personnel
Credits adapted from the album liner notes.[36]
References
Bibliography
- Buckley, David (1997). No Mercy: The Authorised and Uncensored Biography of The Stranglers. London: Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 0-340-68062-8.
- Cornwell, Hugh (2004). A Multitude of Sins. London: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0-00-719082-4.
- Cornwell, Hugh; Drury, Jim (2001). The Stranglers: Song by Song. London: Sanctuary Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-86074-362-5.
- Dimery, Robert, ed. (2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (revised and updated ed.). New York: Universe Publishing. ISBN 0-7893-1371-5.
- Larkin, Colin (2000). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). London: Virgin Books. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
- Larkin, Colin (2011). "Stranglers". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.
- Twomey, Chris (1992). The Stranglers - The Men They Love To Hate. EMI Records Ltd. p. 105.