Aural Sculpture

Aural Sculpture is the eighth album recorded by The Stranglers. 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.

Aural Sculpture
Studio album by
The Stranglers
Released17 November 1984
Recorded1983–1984
StudioICP Recording Studios, Brussels
GenreNew wave, post-punk, punk rock
Length43:10 (LP)
LabelEpic
ProducerLaurie Latham, The Stranglers
The Stranglers chronology
Feline
(1983)		 Aural Sculpture
(1984)		 Dreamtime
(1986)
Singles from Aural Sculpture
  1. "Skin Deep"
  2. "No Mercy"
  3. "Let Me Down Easy"
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [1]

The album featured acoustic guitar as well as a three-piece horn section (trumpet, trombone and saxophone). The horns were the suggestion of producer Laurie Latham, who was brought in after Epic Records rejected the initial demos of the album tracks.

Aural Sculpture reached number 14 in the UK Albums Chart in November 1984.[2] There were three singles released from the album: "Skin Deep" (No. 15 in the UK Singles Chart), "No Mercy" (No. 37 in the UK Singles Chart) and "Let Me Down Easy" (No. 48 in the UK Chart).[2] All were accompanied by 12" single versions, while "No Mercy" had a further two format releases in picture disc and EP.

Track listing

All tracks composed and arranged by The Stranglers

  1. "Ice Queen" - 4:01
  2. "Skin Deep" - 3:53
  3. "Let Me Down Easy" - 4:10
  4. "No Mercy" - 3:38
  5. "North Winds" - 4:03
  6. "Uptown" - 2:57
  7. "Punch & Judy" - 3:46
  8. "Spain" - 4:13
  9. "Laughing" - 4:12
  10. "Souls" - 2:41
  11. "Mad Hatter" - 4:00

Bonus Tracks on the 2001 CD release:
12. "Here and There" 4:21
13. "In One Door" 2:53
14. "Head on the Line" 3:08
15. "Achilles Heel" 2:54
16. "Hot Club" (Riot Mix) 3:04
17. "Place de Victoires" 4:09
18. "Vladimir and the Beast (part 3)" 3:56
19. "Vladimir Goes to Havana" 5:28

The tape version of the album had a ZX Spectrum computer program called Aural Quest at the end of the tape, which could be loaded using the Spectrum's usual tape loading method. The program was an adventure game written using a framework called The Quill. Preceding the program was a short explanation of the following squeal, which was voiced by Dave Greenfield.

Personnel
The Stranglers

with:

  • Tim Whitehead - saxophone on "Ice Queen", "Punch and Judy" and "Mad Hatter"
  • Paul Spong - trumpet on "Ice Queen", "Punch and Judy" and "Mad Hatter"
  • Paul Nieman - trombone on "Ice Queen", "Punch and Judy" and "Mad Hatter"
  • Carmen Franco - female vocals on "Spain"
  • George Chandler, Jimmy Chambers, Tony Jackson - backing vocals on "Let Me Down Easy", "No Mercy" and "Mad Hatter"
Technical
  • Christian "Djoum" Ramon, Erwin Autrique - additional engineering
  • Simon Cantwell - art direction
  • John King - artwork (ear sculpture)
  • John Kisch - front cover photography

References
  1. Rabid, Jack. Aural Sculpture at AllMusic
  2. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 535. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.


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