Good Purchase I'm Liking It!
Rude Boy 1979 | Today I'm in Ybor City | 07/04/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"After playing the Stranglers Greatest Hits and Feline CD's for about 2 years, I decided to get the whole set of releases (well as many as I could find here at amazon). I just got 10 in (the 1990 release not the remaster) and I'm very cool with it. I like Feline better but this was a great pickup for the cheap price. If this is one of their worse releases (as another reviewer wrote) I can't wait till the others that I ordered arrived! I liked 96 Tears, Let's Celebrate (thats a cool song, a happy sounding song for a party!), and I'm really liking Never To Look Back. Finally the cover art has I guess the group dressed up like some powerful international types (circa 1990) without China's leader! Whats up with that?
"
Climb on board the funmobile
Dave Portola | the airport | 11/23/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Not the pinnacle of their career, but certainly one of their best and worth purchasing. Look closely at the cover for a clue about the overall tone of this release. It's silly, fun, and there's some masterfully subtle comedy going throughout. The production is very "80s" with a big drum sound and bright tones. This record grows on you and is very enjoyable. Highly recommended."
Has its charms
Comedy Album Fanatic | Western New York | 01/24/2008
(3 out of 5 stars)
"I've heard all the Stranglers CDs with Hugh Cornwell as lead singer. I saved buying "10" until last because I think the general critical consensus is that the band was running out of energy at the point that they recorded "10". Hugh left after the CD was completed. I have to say though that although this CD is hardly essential, it's not without its charms.
The negatives: The CD is overproduced and some of the songwriting is slight. It's a very upbeat CD, kind of like Radio Disney mixed with The Stranglers. There's one song called "Celebrate", and that's basically what it's about, "C'mon, celebrate!" When I first heard that lyric I thought, "Man, have I wasted my money." You want dark themes and aggression from The Stranglers, not a call to party.
The positives: Getting back to the song "Celebrate", although it is insanely upbeat, at one point in the song Hugh says something like, "Child, I want to taste your honey", and you can hear a little something menacing and sexual in his voice. Although the CD might be too radio-friendly overall, there are moments like that when you can hear a bit of the Stranglers' personality. Also, I have to admit the producer knew how to churn out radio ga-ga. Almost every song has some additional instrument or harmony that helps keep the songs interesting. I don't know if I'll be cranking this one up in my car, but it's fine for background music around the house.
If you're going to purchase one of the band's late period CDs with Hugh ("Aural Sculpture", "Dreamtime", or "10"), you should get "Aural Sculpture" before you get "10", and for that matter buy "Dreamtime" first also... but if you're already got those CDs, "10" might be worth you hearing.
(Also, see my "So you'd like to know..." list on Amazon devoted to The Stranglers.)
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Track Listings (18) - Disc #1