No More Heroes (album)

Last updated

No More Heroes
Stranglers - No More Heroes album cover.jpg
Studio album by
the Stranglers
Released23 September 1977
RecordedJanuary–February 1977, June–July 1977 [1] [2]
StudioT.W. Studios (Fulham)
Genre
Length38:01
Label United Artists (UK)
A&M (US)
Producer Martin Rushent
The Stranglers chronology
Rattus Norvegicus
(1977)		No More Heroes
(1977)		 Black and White
(1978)
Singles from No More Heroes
  1. "Something Better Change"
    Released: 22 July 1977
  2. "No More Heroes"
    Released: 16 September 1977

No More Heroes is the second studio album by English new wave band the Stranglers. It was released on 23 September 1977, [3] through record label United Artists in most of the world and A&M in the United States, five months after their debut album, Rattus Norvegicus .

Contents

Background

No More Heroes was produced by Martin Rushent. The album consists of new material with four songs left over from the Rattus Norvegicus sessions ("Something Better Change", "Bitching", "Peasant in the Big Shitty" and "School Mam"). [4]

The album cover features a photo of a wreath placed on a coffin with the tails of several rats (the Stranglers' trademark). The brass plaque on the album cover was engraved by Steven Stapleton of Nurse with Wound. [5]

Two singles were released from the album: the title track, and a double A-side of "Something Better Change" and the non-album track "Straighten Out".

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [6]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
The Great Rock Discography 7/10 [8]
Record Collector Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [10]

The Oakland Tribune likened the band to "Capt. Beefheart backed by the Ramones." [11] The Guardian noted that "a good organ sound and distinctive vocal tricks [keep] off the encroaching monotony." [12]

AllMusic called No More Heroes "faster, nastier and better [than Rattus Norvegicus]. "At this point the Stranglers were on top of their game, and the ferocity and anger that suffuses this record would never be repeated." [6] Trouser Press wrote that No More Heroes "continues in the same vein [as Rattus Norvegicus], but drops whatever hint of restraint may have been in force the first time around. Rude words and adult themes abound, with no punches pulled, from the blatant sexism of "Bring on the Nubiles" to the sarcastic attack on racism ("I Feel Like a Wog") to the suicide of a friend ("Dagenham Dave"). Despite the increased virulence, the music is even better than on the debut, introducing pop stylings that would later become a more common aspect of the Stranglers' character," finishing the review with "No More Heroes is easily [the Stranglers'] best album." [13]

In 2000 it was voted number 427 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums . [14]

Track listing

All tracks are written by the Stranglers (Hugh Cornwell, Jean-Jacques Burnel, Dave Greenfield, Jet Black)

Side A
No.TitleLead vocalsLength
1."I Feel Like a Wog"Hugh Cornwell3:16
2."Bitching"Jean-Jacques Burnel4:25
3."Dead Ringer"Dave Greenfield2:46
4."Dagenham Dave"Burnel3:18
5."Bring on the Nubiles"Cornwell2:15
6."Something Better Change"Burnel3:35
Side B
No.TitleLead vocalsLength
7."No More Heroes"Cornwell3:27
8."Peasant in the Big Shitty"Greenfield3:25
9."Burning Up Time"Burnel2:25
10."English Towns"Cornwell2:13
11."School Mam"Cornwell6:52
Total length:38:01
1987 CD reissue bonus track (EMI)
No.TitleLead vocalsLength
12."5 Minutes" (Non-album single, 1978)Burnel3:18
Total length:41:19
1996 CD reissue bonus disc (EMI)
Disc two
No.TitleLead vocalsLength
1."Straighten Out" (Double A-side with "Something Better Change")Cornwell2:46
2."5 Minutes" 3:18
3."Rok It to the Moon" (B-side to "5 Minutes")Cornwell2:47
Total length:8:51
2001 CD reissue bonus tracks (EMI)
No.TitleLength
12."Straighten Out"2:46
13."5 Minutes"3:18
14."Rok It to the Moon"2:47
Total length:47:09
2018 CD reissue bonus tracks (Parlophone)
(Associated recordings)
No.TitleLead vocalsLength
12."Straighten Out" 2:46
13."In the Shadows" (B-side to "No More Heroes")Cornwell4:37
14."5 Minutes" 3:17
15."Rok It to the Moon" 2:47
16."No More Heroes" ( Promo single edit) 2:56
Total length:54:52

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

ChartPeak

Position

Certifications

(sales thresholds)

UK Albums Chart [15] 2UK: Gold [16]
Australian Charts 79
Dutch Charts [17] 20

Year-end charts

Chart (1977)Position
UK Albums (OCC) [18] 32

Singles

SingleChartPeak

Position

"Something Better Change" UK singles chart [19] 9
Irish Charts 29
"No More Heroes"UK singles chart8
Dutch Charts [20] 25

Personnel

The popular hack and slash video game series No More Heroes by Grasshopper Manufacture got its name from the album. [21]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Raven</i> (The Stranglers album) Album by The Stranglers

The Raven is the fourth studio album by English new wave band the Stranglers, released on 21 September 1979, through record label United Artists.

<i>Rattus Norvegicus</i> (album) 1977 album by The Stranglers

Rattus Norvegicus is the debut studio album by English punk rock band the Stranglers, released on 15 April 1977.

<i>Fire & Water (Ecoutez Vos Murs)</i> 1983 studio album by Dave Greenfield and Jean-Jacques Burnel

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<i>Black and White</i> (The Stranglers album) 1978 studio album by the Stranglers

Black and White is the third studio album by English new wave band the Stranglers. It was released on 12 May 1978, through record label United Artists in most of the world and A&M in America.

<i>Live</i> (X Cert) 1979 live album by the Stranglers

Live (X Cert) is the first live album by the Stranglers, released in February 1979 by United Artists. It contains tracks recorded at The Roundhouse in June and November 1977 and at Battersea Park in September 1978.

<i>The Gospel According to the Meninblack</i> 1981 studio album by the Stranglers

The Gospel According to the Meninblack is the fifth album by English rock band the Stranglers, an esoteric concept album released 9 February 1981 on the Liberty label. The album deals with conspiratorial ideas surrounding alien visitations to Earth, the sinister governmental men in black, and the involvement of these elements in well-known biblical narratives. This was not the first time the Stranglers had used this concept; "Meninblack" on the earlier The Raven album and subsequent 1980 single-release "Who Wants the World?" had also explored it.

<i>La folie</i> (album) 1981 studio album by the Stranglers

La folie is the sixth studio album by English new wave band the Stranglers. It was released on 9 November 1981, through the EMI record label Liberty.

<i>Nosferatu</i> (Hugh Cornwell and Robert Williams album) 1979 studio album by Hugh Cornwell and Robert Williams

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<i>Feline</i> (The Stranglers album) 1983 studio album by the Stranglers

Feline is the seventh studio album by the Stranglers and was released on 14 January 1983 on the Epic record label, their first for the label. The first edition came with a free one-sided 7" single "Aural Sculpture Manifesto". Feline drew heavily on two of the dominant musical influences in Europe of the time, by using primarily acoustic guitars and electronic drums as well as synthesizers. The American edition of the album included the British hit single "Golden Brown" as the closing track on side one of the original vinyl.

<i>Greatest Hits 1977–1990</i> 1990 greatest hits album by the Stranglers

Greatest Hits 1977–1990 is a compilation album by the Stranglers, released in November 1990 by Epic Records. It contains hit singles selected from their back catalogue from both EMI and Epic Records.

<i>10</i> (The Stranglers album) 1990 studio album by the Stranglers

10 is the tenth studio album by English rock band the Stranglers, released in March 1990 by Epic Records. It was the last to feature guitarist/lead singer Hugh Cornwell. 10 peaked at No. 15 and spent four weeks in the UK Albums Chart.

<i>Aural Sculpture</i> 1984 studio album by The Stranglers

Aural Sculpture is the eighth studio album by the Stranglers, released in November 1984 by Epic Records. It was also the name given to a one-sided 7-inch single given free with a limited number of copies of their Feline album in 1983. The "Aural Sculpture Manifesto" on the 7" single was played before the Stranglers appeared on stage during concerts during both the 1983 "Feline" tour and the 1985 "Aural Sculpture" tour.

<i>About Time</i> (The Stranglers album) 1995 studio album by the Stranglers

About Time is the twelfth studio album from the Stranglers and the second one from the Black, Burnel, Greenfield, Roberts and Ellis line-up. The album was released in 1995 through the When! label. It was co-produced, engineered and mixed by Alan Winstanley, who had worked with the Stranglers on their first four albums. Nigel Kennedy plays electric violin on "Face", and a string-quartet is used on three of the eleven tracks.

<i>Euroman Cometh</i> 1979 studio album by J.J. Burnel

Euroman Cometh is the debut solo album by the Stranglers' bassist J.J. Burnel, released in April 1979 by United Artists. It is a concept album, as most of the songs concern the ideal of a united Europe, both culturally and economically. Upon release, the album was a contrast to the more melodic songs of the Stranglers, containing what Pat Gilbert of Record Collector describes as "a collection of dark, atmospheric soundscapes, embroidered with Burnel's intense, monotone theorising about a united Europe."

<i>IV</i> (The Stranglers album) 1980 compilation album by the Stranglers

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<i>Un Jour Parfait</i> 1988 studio album by Jean-Jacques Burnel

Un Jour Parfait is the second solo album by the Stranglers' bassist Jean-Jacques Burnel, released on 23 September 1988 by Epic Records. The album was aimed at the French market and its release limited to certain territories, but was available in the UK as an import. All songs were written in French, except "Garden of Eden".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)</span> 1977 single by the Stranglers

"Grip", or "(Get A) Grip ", is a single by the Stranglers from the album Rattus Norvegicus. It was the Stranglers' first single, released as a double A-side with "London Lady" in January 1977, and reached number 44 on the UK Singles Chart.

"Something Better Change", is a single by the Stranglers from the band's second album No More Heroes. It was released as a double A-side with "Straighten Out" in July 1977, and reached number 9 on the UK Singles Chart.

"Goodbye Toulouse" is a song by The Stranglers, appearing as the second song on their 1977 debut album Rattus Norvegicus. The lyrics were written by Jean-Jacques Burnel and the music by Hugh Cornwell, although it was credited to the band as a whole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No Mercy (The Stranglers song)</span> 1984 single by the Stranglers

"No Mercy" is a song and single written by Hugh Cornwell, Dave Greenfield, Jet Black and Jean-Jacques Burnel performed by the Stranglers and released in November 1984.

References

  1. ↑ Robert Endeacott (1 July 2014). Peaches: A Chronicle Of The Stranglers 1974-1990. Soundcheck Books. pp. 19, 32–33. ISBN   978-0-9575700-4-7.
  2. ↑ Carne, Owen (3 January 2018). "40th anniversary of 1977 – part 2". thestranglers.co.uk. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  3. ↑ Robert Endeacott (1 July 2014). Peaches: A Chronicle Of The Stranglers 1974-1990. Soundcheck Books. p. 35. ISBN   978-0-9575700-4-7.
  4. ↑ Robert Endeacott (1 July 2014). Peaches: A Chronicle Of The Stranglers 1974-1990. Soundcheck Books. p. 32. ISBN   978-0-9575700-4-7.
  5. ↑ The Freakier Zone. 29 September 2012. BBC 6.
  6. 1 2 Dougan, John. "No More Heroes – The Stranglers". AllMusic . Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  7. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Stranglers". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN   978-0-85712-595-8.
  8. ↑ Strong, Martin C. (2002). The Great Rock Discography (6th ed.). Edinburgh: Canongate Books. p. 1012. ISBN   1-84195-312-1.
  9. ↑ Peacock, Tim (April 2018). "The Stranglers – Rattus Norvegicus, No More Heroes, Black And White, Live (X Cert), The Raven, The Gospel According to the Meninblack, La Folie". Record Collector . No. 478. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  10. ↑ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 677.
  11. ↑ "Rock & Jazz". Oakland Tribune. 13 November 1977. p. 16E.
  12. ↑ Denselow, Robin (11 October 1977). "New punk for old". The Guardian. p. 8.
  13. ↑ Robbins, Ira. "Stranglers". Trouser Press . Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  14. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2000). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 157. ISBN   0-7535-0493-6.
  15. ↑ "Rattus Norvegicus". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  16. ↑ "Stranglers – No More Heroes". bpi. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  17. ↑ "The Stranglers". Dutch Charts. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  18. ↑ "Top Albums 1977" (PDF). Music Week . 24 December 1977. p. 14. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021– via worldradiohistory.com.
  19. ↑ "Stranglers". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  20. ↑ "The Stranglers". Dutch Charts. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  21. ↑ "What is No More Heroes based on?". Vintageisthenewold.com. 11 November 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
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