The Stranglers

La Folie - Liberty 1981

Tracks: 1. Non Stop / 2. Everybody Loves You When You're Dead / 3. Tramp / 4. Let Me Introduce You To The Family / 5. Ain't Nothin' To It / 6. The Men They Love To Hate / 7. Pin Up / 8. It Only Takes Two To Tango / 9. Golden Brown / 10. How To Find True Love And Happiness In The Present Day / 11. La Folie / 12. Cruel Garden* / 13. Cocktail Nubiles* / 14. Vietnamerica* / 15. Love 30* / 16. You Hold The Key To My Love In Your Hands* / 17. Strange Little Girl

Comments:

After a couple of albums with declining commercial success, The Strangler's hired producer Tony Visconti to produce their sixth album "La Folie". Visconti is known as a producer for bands like T. Rex with whom he achieved great success. The success of "La Folie" was not immediately noticeable, only when the second single from the album, "Golden Brown" rose high on the charts, interest in the whole album grew.

There is, like on the predecessor, some experimentation on "La Folie", but the group's characteristic sound is present on most of the album. The opening number "Non Stop" is classic Stranglers with a great keyboard line and a sound typical for the group - a highlight on the album. Among the three singles from the album, I find "Let me Introduce you to the Family" disappointing. On the other hand, both "Golden Brown" and the title-track "La Folie" are fine - the latter quite grand with French recitation; allegedly inspired by a cannibal murder committed in Paris. I also love "The Man They Loved to Hate" - fast, heavy, quite melodic and reminding me of another of my favorite groups, Flash and the Pan. I have it with "La Folie" as with most Stranglers albums - a handful of great tracks and some that never really catches on.

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