Aural Sculpture

Aural Sculpture
Aural Sculpture
Studio album by The Stranglers
Released	5 November 1984
Recorded	1983–1984
Studio	ICP Recording Studios, Brussels
Genre	New wave, post-punk
Length	43:10 (LP)
Label	Epic
Producer	Laurie Latham, The Stranglers
The Stranglers chronology
Singles from Aural Sculpture
	"Skin Deep"; "No Mercy"; "";

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[2]

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.

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.^[3] 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).^[3] 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

"Ice Queen" - 4:01
"Skin Deep" - 3:53
"Let Me Down Easy" - 4:10
"No Mercy" - 3:38
"North Winds" - 4:03
"Uptown" - 2:57
"Punch & Judy" - 3:46
"Spain" - 4:13
"Laughing" - 4:12
"Souls" - 2:41
"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

Hugh Cornwell - vocals, guitar
Jean-Jacques Burnel - bass, vocals
Dave Greenfield - keyboards
Jet Black - percussion

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

Charts[]

Weekly charts[]

Chart (1984–1985)	Peak position
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[4]	31
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[5]	17
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[6]	13
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[7]	37
UK Albums (OCC)^[8]	14

Year-end charts[]

Chart (1985)	Position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[9]	75

References[]

^ "Melody Maker" (PDF). Melody Maker. 15 September 1984. p. 4. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
^ Rabid, Jack. Aural Sculpture at AllMusic
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 535. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
^ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Stranglers – Aural Sculpture" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
^ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Stranglers – Aural Sculpture" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
^ "Charts.nz – The Stranglers – Aural Sculpture". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
^ "Swedishcharts.com – The Stranglers – Aural Sculpture". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
^ "Stranglers | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 7 June 2021.

External links[]

Aural Sculpture at Discogs (list of releases)

This 1980s punk rock album–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

[1] "Melody Maker" (PDF). Melody Maker. 15 September 1984. p. 4. Retrieved 11 January 2021.

[2] Rabid, Jack. Aural Sculpture at AllMusic

[British_Hit_Singles_&_Albums-3] Jump up to: ^a ^b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 535. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.

[ac_Netherlands_The_Stranglers-4] "Dutchcharts.nl – The Stranglers – Aural Sculpture" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 June 2021.

[ac_Germany4_The_Stranglers-5] "Offiziellecharts.de – The Stranglers – Aural Sculpture" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 7 June 2021.

[ac_New_Zealand_The_Stranglers-6] "Charts.nz – The Stranglers – Aural Sculpture". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 June 2021.

[ac_Sweden_The_Stranglers-7] "Swedishcharts.com – The Stranglers – Aural Sculpture". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 June 2021.

[ac_UK_Stranglers-8] "Stranglers | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 7 June 2021.

[9] "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 7 June 2021.

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hide v t The Stranglers
Jet Black Jean-Jacques Burnel Baz Warne Jim Macaulay Hugh Cornwell Dave Greenfield Paul Roberts John Ellis Hans Wärmling Ian Barnard
Studio albums	Rattus Norvegicus No More Heroes Black and White The Raven The Gospel According to the Meninblack La folie Feline Aural Sculpture Dreamtime 10 Stranglers in the Night About Time Written in Red Coup de Grace Norfolk Coast Suite XVI Giants Dark Matters
Live albums	Live at the Hope and Anchor Live (X Cert) All Live and All of the Night Saturday Night, Sunday Morning The Stranglers and Friends – Live in Concert Friday the Thirteenth Live at the Hammersmith Odeon '81 Live at the Apollo Apollo Revisited Coast to Coast: Live on Tour Live at the Apollo 2010 (DVD & CD)
Compilations	IV The Collection 1977–1982 Off the Beaten Track Rarities (1998) Singles (The UA Years) Greatest Hits 1977–1990 All Twelve Inches The Early Years '74 '75 '76 Rare Live and Unreleased Strangled from Birth and Beyond The Sessions The Hit Men Collection The Stranglers The Masters Lies and Deception Peaches: The Very Best of The Stranglers Rarities (2002) Out of the Black Sweet Smell of Success – Best of the Epic Years Live 'n' Sleazy Gold The Very Best of The Stranglers Decades Apart
Singles	"(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)" "Peaches" "Something Better Change" "No More Heroes" "5 Minutes" "Nice 'n' Sleazy" "Walk On By" "Duchess" "Nuclear Device (The Wizard of Aus)" "Bear Cage" "Who Wants the World?" "Thrown Away" "Just Like Nothing On Earth" "Let Me Introduce You to the Family" "Golden Brown" "La Folie" "Strange Little Girl" "European Female" "Midnight Summer Dream" "Paradise" "Skin Deep" "No Mercy" "Let Me Down Easy" "Nice in Nice" "Always the Sun" "Big in America" "Shakin' Like a Leaf" "All Day and All of the Night" "Grip '89" "96 Tears" "Sweet Smell of Success" "Always the Sun (Sunny Side Up Mix)" "Golden Brown" (Re-issue) "Heaven or Hell" "Sugar Bullets" "Lies and Deception" "In Heaven She Walks" "Big Thing Coming" "Long Black Veil" "Spectre of Love" "Retro Rockets" "Mercury Rising" "And If You Should See Dave" "If Something's Gonna Kill Me (It Might As Well Be Love)"
Other songs	"Tramp"
DVD releases	The Collection 1977–1982 Live At Alexandra Palace Friday the Thirteenth Euro Live On Stage on Screen Rattus at the Roundhouse Live at the Apollo 2010 (DVD & CD)
Related	Discography Soulsec Celia and the Mutations