Feline is now 40 years old and to celebrate that fact BMG have re-issued Feline as a double cd or Pink and Red Vinyl double album. The second album of Outtakes and B-sides etc has been previously issued as part of the Coursegood vinyl re-issue in a limited edition of 1000 copies. Feline was the first album The Stranglers put out with there new label Epic at the start of 1983. Most of the album was written at Jet Blacks house a disused railway station in Gloucestershire before they recorded the album in Brussels. The rest of the line-up was Hugh Cornwell, Jean-Jacques Burnel and Dave Greenfield. I love the fact that the bands website proudly boasts that it was produced by Steve Churchyard who has also worked with Taylor Swift.
I'll admit here that the only other album I own by The Stranglers was given to me by my mum, so apart from knowing the hits most of this is fresh to my ears.
The first cd opens with Midnight Summer Dream that has soft synths that seem to echo an Virginal or Celeste before the deadpan story telling vocals come in to tell us about the man in his dream. This is rather reflective laid-back synth pop single.
It's A Small World isn't the soundtrack to a Disney ride, although the vocals do have a nursery rhyme quality to them as synth drums underpin this shiny tale, as they try to solve the crossword puzzle that is life on the road.
Ships That Pass in The Night has a sinuous bass line with synths seemingly rising as this road worn tale of the Ships That Pass In The Night it sounds forlorn and downbeat, the acoustic guitar almost sounds out of place next to all the synths.
The European Female was the big hit from the album as it combines Spanish guitar and those delightful synth and keyboard touches as well as the wonderfully romantic lyrics, this still sounds extremely good as a laid back song of lust and hope.
Let's Tango In Paris is super slow and has more of a 17th century quadrille feel to it, musically than a tango beat, making this gothic in the earliest sense of the term. I'm not sure if Hugh's less than enthusiastic sounding vocals would convince you to tango with him though.
Paradise is the song, that Chris Twomey who wrote the liner notes, thought should have been a big hit, well it doesn't sound like it to me, the only thing to really lift it are the female backing vocals singing about ruins all round and the sparse percussion.
All Roads Lead To Rome sounds like Yello re-working Kraftwerk but with super deadpan vocals about Roman times and chariot races, it is synthpop with half an eye towards the dancefloor.
Blue Sister has a classical keyboard figure played on synth set against the synth drums as Hugh hopes to stop Blue Sister's tears, a sad tale well told with some very cool guitar bits that come in later on.
The album and first cd close with Never Say Goodbye one last dark tale to wish the listener adieu until next time, with more of the classically influenced synth enveloping you in its warm embrace.
The bonus cd opens with European Female (Radio Edit) that sounds brighter than the standard album version, the backing vocals also seem more upfront, easy to understand why this was such a big hit in Europe.
Midnight Summer Dream (Special Single Mix) edits out the intro, while again sounding brighter and lighter than the album version as the deadpan tale unfolds of that dream and the man he's dreaming of.
Paradise (7" Edit) is built around the sparse percussion and the magnificent female backing vocals from Anna Von Stern and France Lhermitte gawping at all the ruins that were created by world war 2, as Hugh tells us paradise doesn't exist.
Pawsher was the b-side to the Paradise single, it has exploratory guitars and the song title being repeated over the very basic drum track.
Permission was on the b-side of the 12" single of Paradise this has a Casio tone feel to the almost dubby synths as Hugh discusses the need for permission to make sure things are consensual, lyrically this chimes more with our times than the early 80's.
Midnight Summer Dream (Special 12" Mix) has the full intro as this extends and expands the sound of the original album version this allows you to really get into that dream Hugh is having and the guy he's fixated on until this almost feels like you've had the full 8 hours sleep with him.
Savage Breast was the b-side of European female and is almost a spoken word piece adorned with odd percussion and synths, the emotions and soothing sounds to the fore.
The Strange Circumstances Which Lead To Vladimir & Olga Requesting Rehabilitation In A Siberian Health Resort As A result Of Stress In Furthering The Peoples Policies is listed as being by The Upper Volga Corngrowers Co-Operative Association Choral Dance Troupe Ensemble this is the absolute highlight of the second cd and album as a whole, this tale that takes us deep into The Ukraine with odd goings on in Odessa, as there have been for centuries, the quavering synth perfectly punctuates this rather involved story of Soviet misdeeds and rampaging Cossacks.
Midnight Summer Dream/European Female is recorded live at Le Zenith in Paris, it has a long synth intro like the rest of the band are still to get onstage before it bursts into life, yet another version of this dream unfolds, Hugh is as ever dreaming of that man and what he gets up too in the rain. The bass solo as the song transitions rumbles and shakes as the synths do all sorts of odd stuff as the Spanish guitars come in et voila the European Female is here in all her glory, they use a few vocal tricks but this is a slinky sensuous version.
The album closes with Aural Sculpture Manifesto that was originally a one sided 7" bonus single that came with first pressings of the feline LP or as a bonus track on the cassette version. This is a spoken word tract expressing the bands thoughts on how to describe the music they are making as the keyboards come in to accent the narration you get a feeling for modernity based on the classical forms they musically mine throughout.
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