Rattus Norvegicus (album)
Encyclopedia
Rattus Norvegicus is the first studio album by The Stranglers
, released on 17 April 1977. The album was originally to be entitled "Dead on Arrival" but was changed at the last minute. It was one of the highest-selling albums of the punk era in Britain, eventually achieving platinum record sales.
The album's title is the taxonomic
name for the common brown rat
. It was produced in one week by Martin Rushent
, and was basically a snapshot of the band's live set at the time.
The first 20,000 copies of the original vinyl release included a free 7" single, containing "Peasant in the Big Shitty (live)" and "Choosie Susie". Two singles were taken from the album: "Grip", and "Peaches" (released as a double A-side with the non-album track "Go Buddy Go"), which gave the band their first major hit single, reaching No.8 on the UK chart. A remastered version of the album was reissued on CD in 2001, including these three additional tracks.
The album peaked at No.4 in the UK album chart, eventually spending 34 weeks on the chart.
2. "Goodbye Toulouse" (3:12)
3. "London Lady" (2:25)
4. "Princess of the Streets" (4:34)
5. "Hanging Around" (4:25)
7. "(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)
" (3:55)
8. "Ugly"(4:03)
9. "Down in the Sewer" (7:30)
11. "Go Buddy Go" (3:58)
12. "Peasant in the Big Shitty (Live)" (3:42)
The Stranglers
The Stranglers are an English punk/rock music group.Scoring some 23 UK top 40 singles and 17 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are the longest-surviving and most "continuously successful" band to have originated in the UK punk scene of the mid to late 1970s...
, released on 17 April 1977. The album was originally to be entitled "Dead on Arrival" but was changed at the last minute. It was one of the highest-selling albums of the punk era in Britain, eventually achieving platinum record sales.
The album's title is the taxonomic
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
name for the common brown rat
Brown Rat
The brown rat, common rat, sewer rat, Hanover rat, Norway rat, Brown Norway rat, Norwegian rat, or wharf rat is one of the best known and most common rats....
. It was produced in one week by Martin Rushent
Martin Rushent
Martin Rushent was an English record producer, best known for his work with The Human League, The Stranglers and The Buzzcocks.- Early life :Rushent was born on 11 July 1948 in Enfield, Middlesex. His father was a car salesman...
, and was basically a snapshot of the band's live set at the time.
The first 20,000 copies of the original vinyl release included a free 7" single, containing "Peasant in the Big Shitty (live)" and "Choosie Susie". Two singles were taken from the album: "Grip", and "Peaches" (released as a double A-side with the non-album track "Go Buddy Go"), which gave the band their first major hit single, reaching No.8 on the UK chart. A remastered version of the album was reissued on CD in 2001, including these three additional tracks.
The album peaked at No.4 in the UK album chart, eventually spending 34 weeks on the chart.
Side 1
1. "Sometimes" (4:56)- Written by Hugh Cornwell, describes a violent argument with a girlfriend. The same girlfriend is the subject of Strange Little GirlStrange Little Girl"Strange Little Girl" by The Stranglers was released in the UK in 1982 as their last single while signed to Liberty Records . By the time of release, the band had already decided to leave the label for Epic Records, and this last single was part of the severance deal, along with the compilation...
which was written earlier by Cornwell and Hans WärmlingHans WärmlingHans Wärmling was a Swedish musician and songwriter, and was a founding member and keyboardist of the British rock band, The Stranglers. His most notable achievement was as co-writer of the 1982 UK Top 40 release "Strange Little Girl"...
.
2. "Goodbye Toulouse" (3:12)
- Music by Cornwell, lyrics by Burnel. Describes the destruction of ToulouseToulouseToulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
predicted by NostradamusNostradamusMichel de Nostredame , usually Latinised to Nostradamus, was a French apothecary and reputed seer who published collections of prophecies that have since become famous worldwide. He is best known for his book Les Propheties , the first edition of which appeared in 1555...
.
3. "London Lady" (2:25)
- Music by Cornwell, lyrics by Burnel. Loosely based on a contemporary female journalist.
4. "Princess of the Streets" (4:34)
- Written in 6/8 time, music and lyrics by Burnel. Penned 'pre-Stranglers'.
5. "Hanging Around" (4:25)
- Music by Burnel, lyrics by Cornwell. Describes the characters found in the London pubsPublic houseA public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
that the band played live at.
Side 2
6. "Peaches" (4:03)- Burnel/Cornwell. The Stranglers influenced by Reggae musicReggaeReggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
.
7. "(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)
(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)
" Grip " is a single by The Stranglers from the album Rattus Norvegicus. The Stranglers' first single, it reached number 44 in the British Singles Chart. The song was written by Hugh Cornwell, and featured Welsh coal miner Eric Clarke on saxophone.Cheap Trick references the song in "Go For the...
" (3:55)
- Music and lyrics by Cornwell. Based on band life in their ChiddingfoldChiddingfoldChiddingfold is a village and civil parish in the heart of The Weald in the Waverley district of Surrey, England. It lies on the A283 between Milford and Petworth...
squatSquattingSquatting consists of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have permission to use....
, featured Eric Clarke, a Welsh coal miner, on saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
.
8. "Ugly"(4:03)
- Music and lyrics by Burnel. Described as 'abstract psychedelia' by Cornwell, the poem OzymandiasOzymandias"Ozymandias" is a sonnet by Percy Bysshe Shelley, published in 1818 in the January 11 issue of The Examiner in London. It is frequently anthologised and is probably Shelley's most famous short poem...
is featured.
9. "Down in the Sewer" (7:30)
- Has four sections: Falling/Down In The Sewer/Trying To Get Out Again/Rat's Rally. Music by Burnel, lyrics by Cornwell. The 'sewer' refers to London.
2001 Bonus Tracks
10. "Choosey Susie" (3:14)- Music and lyrics by Burnel, describes the same girl as "Princess of the Streets".
11. "Go Buddy Go" (3:58)
- Music and lyrics by Burnel, middle 8 by Cornwell. Uses verseVerse-chorus formVerse-chorus form is a musical form common in popular music and predominant in rock since the 1960s. In contrast to AABA form, which is focused on the verse , in verse-chorus form the chorus is highlighted...
chord structure of Hey JoeHey Joe"Hey Joe" is an American popular song from the 1960s that has become a rock standard and as such, has been performed in a multitude of musical styles by hundreds of different artists since it was first written. "Hey Joe" tells the story of a man who is on the run and planning to head to Mexico...
by Jimi HendrixJimi HendrixJames Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
for the chorus. Written 'pre-Stranglers'.
12. "Peasant in the Big Shitty (Live)" (3:42)
- Music and lyrics by Burnel, written in 9/4 time. Another observation on life in a city. Recorded for Rattus Norvegicus.
The Stranglers
- Hugh CornwellHugh CornwellHugh Alan Cornwell is an English musician and songwriter, best known for being the vocalist and guitarist for the punk/new wave group, The Stranglers, from 1974 to 1990.-Career:...
– Guitars, lead vocals (1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9) and backing vocals - Jean-Jacques BurnelJean-Jacques BurnelJ. J. Burnel , is a Franco-English musician producer and songwriter, best known as the bass guitarist with the British rock band The Stranglers.-Life and career:...
– Bass guitar, lead vocals (3, 4, 8, 10, 11) and backing vocals - Dave GreenfieldDave GreenfieldDave Greenfield is the keyboard player with English rock band, The Stranglers.-Biography:He is noted for his trademark style of playing rapid arpeggios...
– KeyboardsSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
(Hammond L100 OrganHammond organThe Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
, Hohner Cembalet electric pianoElectric pianoAn electric piano is an electric musical instrument.Electric pianos produce sounds mechanically and the sounds are turned into electrical signals by pickups. Unlike a synthesizer, the electric piano is not an electronic instrument, but electro-mechanical. The earliest electric pianos were invented...
, MinimoogMinimoogThe Minimoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer, invented by Bill Hemsath and Robert Moog. It was released in 1970 by R.A. Moog Inc. , and production was stopped in 1981. It was re-designed by Robert Moog in 2002 and released as Minimoog Voyager.The Minimoog was designed in response to the use of...
synthesizer), lead vocals (12) and backing vocals - Jet BlackJet BlackJet Black is an English drummer and founder member of punk rock / new wave band The Stranglers.-Early years:...
– PercussionDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Additional Musician
- Eric Clarke – Guest tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
(track 7)
Production
- Martin RushentMartin RushentMartin Rushent was an English record producer, best known for his work with The Human League, The Stranglers and The Buzzcocks.- Early life :Rushent was born on 11 July 1948 in Enfield, Middlesex. His father was a car salesman...
– Producer - Alan WinstanleyAlan WinstanleyAlan Kenneth Winstanley is a British record producer active from the mid-1970s onwards. He usually works with Clive Langer.-Notable studio albums produced by Alan Winstanley and Clive Langer:* One Step Beyond... – Madness...
– Engineer - Benny King – Assistant and mixing engineer
- Doug Bennett – Mixing engineer
- Trevor Rogers – Photography
- Paul Henry – Art direction, artwork, sleeve design