| Unduly derided at the time of release (1979) for being unnecessary and superfluous (but a Top Ten album nonetheless), the Stranglers' Live X Cert now stands as one of the few contemporary documents of a British New Wave band in action, and serves to draw a line beneath the band's tenuous associations with the rudimentary musical mechanics of the UK punk scene (their next album The Raven marked a huge stylistic departure). Captured at the height of the band's commercial success and tabloid disreputability, Live X Cert--recorded in 1977 and 1978 at shows in Battersea Park and the Roundhouse--is a frank, ragged and savage account of the Stranglers' stage menace and arch musicality. Truthfully, only the accelerated stomp through the classic "Hanging Around" and the bruising vigilantism of "Five Minutes" get close to the studio versions. Even so, Live X Cert is worth hearing for the sneery condescension of singer Hugh Cornwell, who shrugs-off audience flak ("Did someone just say 'wanker'? C'mon, let's geddim to own up, then") and stage-bound phlegm ("Good to see you've all been reading your News of the Worlds and are all spitting just like punks are supposed to be") with the mastery of a heckle-proof alternative comedian. --Kevin Maidment |
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