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Live (X Cert)
Live album by
the Stranglers
Released23 February 1979[1]
RecordedJune 1977 – September 1978
VenueThe Roundhouse and Battersea Park, London[1]
GenrePost-punk
Length42:39 (Original vinyl)
LabelUnited Artists
ProducerMartin Rushent
The Stranglers live albums chronology
Live at the Hope and Anchor
(1977) 		Live (X Cert)
(1979) 		The Stranglers & Friends Live in Concert
(1980)

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.

It captures the raw punk sound of the band prior to the more experimental music of their fourth album, 1979's The Raven. It also contains some amusing between-song audience baiting and provides a fairly accurate picture of the Stranglers' live sound during this period.

CD reissues were augmented with extra live tracks recorded at The Nashville, West Kensington in 1976, and The Hope and Anchor, Islington in 1977.

The album spent ten weeks on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at No. 7.[2] It was the band's fourth album release, and their fourth consecutive UK top ten album.[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]
The Great Rock Discography5/10[5]
NME[6]
Record Collector[7]
Smash Hits4/10[8]
Sounds[9]

The album received a mixed reception at the time of release. Nick Kent of the NME remarked that those who have the band's first three studio albums "don't need inferior versions of the same,"[10] while Ronnie Gurr, reviewing the album for the same magazine, said, "Played alongside the studio tracks, the quality, power and gut ... shines through and leaves Rattus Norvegicus, No More Heroes and Black and White as mere cut-outs in the deletion bin of life."[6]

Retrospectively, Ira Robbins of Trouser Press wrote that the "high-tension ambience" and Hugh Cornwell's audience banter "make it an effective dual-function live/greatest hits album."[11] John Dougan, writing for AllMusic, wrote, "Live (X Cert) is worthy if only to hear Hugh Cornwell bait and insult the audience (very punk!). Plus the band sounds pretty good, loads of aggression and volume add to the fun. Not essential but a very interesting snapshot of an era."[3]

Track listing

All tracks are written by the Stranglers

No.TitleRecording date and locationLength
1."(Get a) Grip (on Yourself)"The Roundhouse, London, 5 November 19773:46
2."Dagenham Dave"The Roundhouse, 5 November 19773:12
3."Burning Up Time"The Roundhouse, 5 November 19772:35
4."Dead Ringer"The Roundhouse, 6 November 19773:24
5."Hanging Around"The Roundhouse, 26 June 19774:09
6."I Feel Like a Wog"The Roundhouse, 5 November 19773:27
7."Straighten Out"The Roundhouse, 5 November 19772:50
8."Curfew"Battersea Park, London, 16 September 19783:50
9."Do You Wanna"/"Death and Night and Blood (Yukio)"Battersea Park, 16 September 19785:35
10."5 Minutes"The Roundhouse, 5 November 19774:12
11."Go Buddy Go"Battersea Park, 16 September 19785:39
Total length:42:39
2001 CD reissue bonus tracks (EMI)
No.TitleLength
12."Peasant in the Big Shitty"3:38
13."In the Shadows"4:26
14."Sometimes"4:46
15."Mean to Me"3:24
16."London Lady"2:19
17."Goodbye Toulouse"3:09
18."Hanging Around" (different version)4:02
Total length:69:26
2018 CD reissue bonus tracks (Parlophone)
(Associated Recordings)
No.TitleLength
12."Down In The Sewer"7:21
13."Something Better Change"3:31
14."Bring on the Nubiles"2:48
15."Bitching"4:09
16."Peaches"3:37
17."Nice 'n' Sleazy"5:17
18."Ugly"4:13
19."London Lady"2:28
Total length:78:29

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album liner notes.[14]

The Stranglers
Technical

References

  1. ^ a b Twomey, Chris (1992). The Stranglers - The Men They Love To Hate. EMI Records Ltd. p. 76.
  2. ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 535. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  3. ^ a b "Live (X-Cert) - The Stranglers | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  4. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Stranglers". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  5. ^ Strong, Martin C. (2002). The Great Rock Discography (6th ed.). Edinburgh: Canongate Books. p. 1012. ISBN 1-84195-312-1.
  6. ^ a b Gurr, Ronnie (1979). "NME review". punk77.co.uk. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  7. ^ Peacock, Tim (27 March 2018). "Rattus Norvegicus, No More Heroes, Black And White, Live (X Cert), The Raven, The Gospel According To The Meninblack, La Folie - The Stranglers". Record Collector. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  8. ^ Starr, Red. "Albums". Smash Hits (22 March - 4 April 1979): 31.
  9. ^ Gushell, Barry (10 February 1979). "Sounds review". punk77.co.uk. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  10. ^ Buckley, David (1997). No Mercy: The Authorised and Uncensored Biography of The Stranglers. London: Hodder & Stoughton. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-340-68062-9.
  11. ^ Robbins, Ira. "The Stranglers". Trouser Press. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  12. ^ Live (X Cert) (Album liner notes). The Stranglers. EMI. 2001.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. ^ Live (X Cert) (Album liner notes). The Stranglers. Parlophone. 2018.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  14. ^ The Stranglers (1979). Live (X Cert) (LP sleeve). United Artists. UAG 30224.
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