Meninblack [Original recording remastered] [Import]

Product Description
UK repackaged reissue of 1981 album, includes new artwork with extensive sleeve notes & previously unseen photos. 13 tracks including three bonus tracks, 'Top Secret', 'Maninwhite' & 'Tomorrow Was Hereafter'.

Meninblack,Stranglers,EMI,Rock,Rock/Pop

Meninblack [Original recording remastered] [Import]

Average customer rating:

Least Liked Stranglers Record
favorite Stranglers record
Phoebe's take on one of the best stranglers albums
One of the best of the 'New Wave"
Experimental concept album

The Meninblack
The Stranglers
Manufacturer: Caroline
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00005MAGE
Release Date: 2006-11-21

Tracks:

Waltzinblack
Just Like Nothing On Earth
Second Coming
Waiting For The Meninblack
Turn The Centuries, Turn
Two Sunspots
Four Horsemen
Thrown Away
Manna Machine
Hallow To Our Men
Top Secret
Maninwhite
Tomorrow Was Hereafter

Album Description

UK repackaged reissue of 1981 album, includes new artwork with extensive sleeve notes & previously unseen photos. 13 tracks including three bonus tracks, 'Top Secret', 'Maninwhite' & 'Tomorrow Was Hereafter'.

Album Details

Digitally Remastered and Repackaged with Bonus Tracks, Fresh Artwork, Extensive New Sleevenotes and Many New, Previously Unseen Photos.

Customer Reviews:

Least Liked Stranglers Record.......2007-02-14

I now own 15 CD's from the Stranglers (16 if you count a best of release) and this is definetly, without a shadow of a doubt, my least favorite, as a matter of fact I hate this record, there isn't one track on here I could live without, not one. Sound harsh? Just telling it like it is for me. The Stranglers changed their styles over the years and I pretty much like them from Feline on with several tracks from stuff earlier to that also included, but not one track from Meninblack would be included. Concept albums are OK in my book, I love Tommy, I also liked Tarkus, and Setting Sons, so I'm not against the concept album, its just that these songs are all querky, and querky is good if your Weird Al Yankovich, but not the Stranglers. They developed into my idea of guys who were very cool, this album is if anything very geeky, not cool at all. Make this the last of the releases to get if your a compleatist as your not missing anything, not even the bonus tracks are redeeming.

favorite Stranglers record.......2005-11-23

Been listening to this one for many years, never tire of it, always something new to hear. They conjure it all on this record with intensity and restraint. The songs are brilliant in a framework of their own, rather than any sort of "hook laden" pop/rock or punk style. The musicianship is masterful, almost neurotically precise drums and bass and lots of keyboard jumping around. The guitar playing is just insane, especially on tracks like "Nothing on Earth". Hugh delivers the vocals totally deadpan with at times a sort of fake east-european accent. Intro. track features chipmunk-like creepy aliens laughing at the plight of humanity (I suppose).

Phoebe's take on one of the best stranglers albums.......2005-09-01

After working in a record store for 6 years and coming from a family of musicians and music lovers alike I thought I had heard
a great deal of good music,and then I discoverd this cd.
Meninblack is one of the most innovative albims I have ever heard. Apparently when it was released in '81 it garnerd little fanfare and no 'hits'- not suprising, it was way ahead of it's time.Forget Tangerine Dream- this album pioneered techno while still being very much a rock album. The more I listen to it the more I love it,a must have for fans of Talking Heads,Gang of Four,Devo etc., notable tracks:'It's Like Nothing on Earth','Waiting for the Men in Black',and 'Manna Machine' which listens like a distant stare into space.

One of the best of the 'New Wave".......2004-04-22

This was one of the albums that got me through high school... DEFINITELY a 'desert island disc'. Just heard it again for the first time in 10 years. Better than I remembered! HIGHLY recommended. Possibly the greatest concept album ever made.

Experimental concept album.......2002-03-11

In 1980, years before the film 'Meninblack' came out, the Stranglers devoted a concept album to black-clad extra-terrestrials. A track on the previous album, the classic 'Raven', had already touched on the theme and since the group and most of their fan base wore nothing but black it seemed logical to develop the idea further. In the columns of their excellent fanzine, 'Strangled', they tried to convince their following that since touching on the theme they had been plagued by bad luck (Hugh Cornwell's arrest, the theft of the band's equipment, etc). This was put down to the influence of aliens from outer space!! The MeninBlack (or M.I.B) album was much more electronic and synthesised than previous recordings. In many ways it was ahead of its time but fell on deaf ears from some of the more narrow minded of their punk following. The sight of fans pogoing to the mid-tempo 'Thrown Away' on Top of the Pops spoke volumes of the unwillingness of some to allow the group to evolve. Commercially the album was not a success but it is worth listening to. One classic lyric concerning Jesus' second coming was particularly inspired: 'he may be ugly and have problem hair, even speak funny and make all the people stare'.

Average customer rating:

The Meninblack
The Stranglers
Manufacturer: Toshiba EMI
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B000FPX0HU
Release Date: 2006-08-07

Tracks:

Waltzinblack
Just Like Nothing on Earth
Second Coming
Waiting for the Meninblack
Turn the Centuries, Turn
Two Sunspots
Four Horsemen
Thrown Away
Manna Machine
Hallow to Our Men
Top Secret
Maninwhite
Tomorrow Was Hereafter [*]

Album Description

Exclusive Japanese Limited Edition reissue of this 1981 album packaged in a miniature LP sleeve featuring bonus tracks. Virgin. 2006.

Album Details

Japanese Digitally Remastered Limited Edition Issue of the Album Classic in a Deluxe, Miniaturized LP Sleeve Replica of the Original Vinyl Album Artwork.

Average customer rating:

Meninblack
Stranglers
Manufacturer: Phantom Sound & Visi
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000BRHUQE
Release Date: 2001-12-05

Average customer rating:

A true classic....
Nice idea, but....
dark and metric
a classic pop record

The Meninblack
The Stranglers
Manufacturer: Disky Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00005BAEW
Release Date: 2001-04-17

Tracks:

Waltzinblack
Just Like Nothing on Earth
Second Coming
Waiting for the Meninblack
Turn the Centuries, Turn
Two Sunspots
Four Horsemen
Thrown Away
Manna Machine
Hallow to Our Men
Top Secret
Maninwhite

Album Description

Reissue of the British punk act's third album, originally released in 1981. Inspired by a turbulent period for the band (Hugh Cornwell's two-month prison stretch for heroin possession and the band's incarceration following the Nice University riot). Tracks include, 'Two Sunspots', 'Hallow To Our Men' and 'Waltzinblack'. 2000 release. Standard jewel case.

Customer Reviews:

A true classic...........2004-09-05

I think the Stranglers are one of the most under-appreciated bands in America. Of course, all of their good work is behind them, but it's too bad so few have heard them. This album is a prime example. Now, many would, rightfully so, say this is not particularly representative of the Stranglers' body of work, and I would agree. But that makes it no less excellent. A tongue in cheek concept album, it showcases the innovative skills of each member of the Stranglers incredibly well. It has a distinct "new wave" type of sound that is somewhat dated, and yet it also has a great "electronica" style sound that was a solid decade ahead of its time. If you have any appreciation for the music of the early 80's, grab this record, because it is one of a kind and it is brilliant!

Nice idea, but...........2001-10-13

Sorry, I side with those critics who thought this was a poor album. The idea, concepts and themes are fine, but musically this record doesn't have the range of it's predecessor "The Raven". I'm all for musical experimentation, but this just doesn't do it for me. However, it is interesting for the use of studio effects and techniques, but that's the best I can say.

dark and metric.......2001-07-04

What, one may be tempted to inquire, were the Stranglers on when they wrote this? Answer: cocaine, if we're to believe the authorised biography. The band were also probably nuts at the time. No, seriously. "The Gospel According to The Meninblack" is a concept album in which we are told of our ancestors, aliens who created us and gave us religion. This is Erich von Daniken territory here. Completely round the twist. And... erm... it's actually my favourite Stranglers album.

Why? Well, if you think "concept album" you probably think of day-long prog-rock efforts with flute solos and tubular bells and kitchen sinks, but "The Meninblack" comes in under 45 minutes, and only one track strays above 5. There's also the quality of the production; this is typical Stranglers but with an extra layer of (there's no other word for it but) strangeness. And finally, even though they were apparently sincere, there's often a hint or two of irony throughout the lyrics and music. The whole album is actually a lot of fun, and it turns out the Stranglers know how to tell a story well. Even if the story is nonsense.

"Waltzinblack" has earned a place in the pantheon of quirky-sounding instrumentals to be rolled out when an ad needs a silly waltz tune, but don't let that put you off. It's unbearably (but endearingly) catchy and gets odder and odder as the Meninblack themselves appear, squeaking and cackling. Nutters, the lot of them. Bizarrely, "Just Like Nothing On Earth" never even made the charts, despite Hugh Cornwell's deadpan rapping and the silliness of the alien chorus. Remember, this was the era of "The Birdie Song". It should have been number one for a month. Overture and tales of alien abduction out of the way, we settle into the story proper: "Second Coming" and "Waiting For The Meninblack" bring us the minds of those anticipating the return of... whoever. Jesus, aliens, sons of magic women, makes no odds. In "Second Coming", Hugh treats us to some speculations on the messiah: "he may be ugly and have problem hair". See what I mean about irony - most of what's going on here seems utterly tongue in cheek. The music, too, seems to have a flippancy about it, although always to the fore is the vision of a band seemingly on top creative form. "Turn The Centuries, Turn" is a doom-laden instrumental dragging us back to the beginning of the story; it ends as it began, but the music is now running backward.

Side Two, as it was called in the old days, begins with "Two Sunspots", which is apparently about breasts but always makes me think of cells dividing, which is more apt really. We are now in the past, as it were. "Four Horsemen" tells us how the Meninblack became mistaken for gods, angels, or other heavenly beings. In "Thrown Away", JJ Burnel's deepest growl plays the voice of one of them who broods over lost chances and looks ahead to the Meninblack's departure. If you can accept the subject matter, it's actually quite a sad song. The tune has rightly been likened to a nursery rhyme; again, you'd think that would spell chart success. In sonic terms, "Manna Machine" is undoubtedly the album's highlight. The song depicts a device that churned out the manna that kept the Israelites alive in the desert ("can you still make cookies in your caboose?" Hugh wonders); here, the band itself seems to have meshed into a machine, all artificial chirps and blurps and mysterious guitar plucks, without a single note wasted. Finally, "Hallow To Our Men": the Meninblack fly off home to a largely instrumental piece heavy with nostalgia; the lyrics are a fairly clever reworking of the Lord's Prayer. The main tune is the sort of thing Wagner might have written if he was a member of Kraftwerk; there are a couple of bars here and there that remind me of Frank Zappa's "Inca Roads", but that's surely a coincidence? Or is it? [sinister chords sound].

As the music fades, the Meninblack's ship powers up and zooms off into space... and we're left with just us. Note the structure here: the album concludes in the past, with the void left by the Meninblack, reminding us of those people who, earlier in the album, were sitting, watching, waiting, hoping for their return. "The Meninblack" is ultimately about spiritual emptiness and the need to fill it. And it has nothing whatsoever to do with Will Smith.

a classic pop record.......2001-06-15

Recently I've been playing this for people, and the reactions are almost always the same... "what IS this?", "is this new?", "this is brilliant!"... Yes, it is brilliant but it isn't new. In fact it was recorded over 20 years ago. This is one very enjoyable, demented and accomplished record, full of bleeping, twisted melodies, atmospheric passages, rumbling and distorted bass, and some of the poppiest songs ever.

Average customer rating:

The Meninblack
The Stranglers
Manufacturer: EMI
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

British Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000LYTZGA

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