Norfolk Coast (album) explained

Norfolk Coast
Type:Album
Artist:the Stranglers
Cover:Stranglers-norfolk-coast.jpg
Released:16 February 2004
Studio:Good Luck Studios, London
Genre:Rock
Length:40:03
Label:EMI Liberty
Producer:
  • Mark Wallis
  • David Ruffy
  • Peter Glenister
Prev Title:Coup de Grace
Prev Year:1998
Next Title:Suite XVI
Next Year:2006

Norfolk Coast is the fifteenth studio album by the Stranglers, and was released on 16 February 2004 by EMI's Liberty Records label, making it their first new album recorded for the company in 23 years.[1] It was released six years after their last studio album Coup de Grace and was their first official studio album with new guitarist Baz Warne, and also the last album to feature Paul Roberts on lead vocals. Norfolk Coast peaked at No. 70 in the UK Albums Chart in February, for one week's duration in that listing.[2]

The album was well received by reviewers and fans alike, showing a return to form for the band.[3] [4] It also spawned the band's first UK Top 40 hit single for more than a decade, "Big Thing Coming" (No. 31 in February 2004 in the UK Singles Chart), and a smaller Top 75 hit "Long Black Veil".[5]

Background

After four albums in the 1990s where the Stranglers struggled commercially,[6] and with a growing inter-band conflict that left bassist Jean-Jacques Burnel's enthusiasm for the band at an all time low,[7] Burnel decided to step up and regain control of the band.[8] On 1998's Coup de Grace, he had already had a greater writing input than on the previous albums.[9] [10] "At one point we were a bit lost, direction wise, and musically," Burnel said in 2014. "I hadn't contributed much and suddenly I had this revival of interest."[11]

In 1999, Burnel retreated to the secluded Norfolk village of Holme-next-the-Sea, bringing along his guitars and recording equipment, looking for inspiration to write songs.[11] "My marriage was falling apart, the Stranglers were going around in ever-decreasing circles, I wasn’t quite sure what was happening in my life," he said.[12] Inspired by the beautiful coastline, the seclusion, and what was going on in his head at that time, "I just wrote a body of work which we used in the Norfolk Coast album."[13] The title track and "Big Thing Coming" were the first two songs he wrote for the album, in what he described as a "creative frenzy".[11] Burnel spent just over three months in Norfolk, and has stated that it turned everything around for him and the Stranglers.[11]

Guitarist John Ellis left the band in 2000[10] and was replaced by Baz Warne in April the same year.[14] The songwriting partnership of Burnel and Warne started two months after Warne had joined the band. They kept writing and working on songs for the album until 2002-2003, and then the band started recording the album in Mark Wallis' Good Luck Studios in London.[15] [16] The band made the decision to play every song live before recording it, which meant that they were in the studio for very little time, according to Burnel.[17] Although some songs were co-writes, many songs were mainly individual efforts. In addition to "Norfolk Coast" and "Big Thing Coming", Burnel also wrote "Lost Control",[18] and Warne contributed "Long Black Veil", "Dutch Moon", "Into the Fire" and "I've Been Wild",[15] the latter written specifically about Burnel, in the first person and from his point of view. Paul Roberts wrote "Mine All Mine" on his own, his sole songwriting contribution to the album.[18]

The album saw the re-emergence of some of the Stranglers' signature sounds, such as Dave Greenfield's swirling keyboards, in a contemporary setting. The hard-edged title track sets the direction for much of the album, while there are more contemplative moments, such as the atmospheric "Tucker's Grave", a West Country cider house named after local farm worker Edwin Tucker, who committed suicide in 1747. In 1999,[19] the band's manager Sil Willcox bought the farm house in which Tucker died, Charlton Farm,[20] [21] which would house the band's rehearsal and recording studios.[22]

Norfolk Coast was also the name of a short film starring Jean Jacques Burnel, which premiered in March 2006.[23] It is available on the 2006 DVD On Stage on Screen and features rearranged music from the album. Directed by Robin Bextor and co-starring Susannah York, the film won a number of awards.

Album cover

The cover photograph was taken on Hunstanton Beach in Norfolk in the summer of 2003[24] by American music photographer Harrison Funk.[13] [25]

Track listing

Canadian CD bonus track
  • Japanese CD bonus track
  • Personnel

    The Stranglers

    Additional musicians

    Technical

    Bonus tracks

    Notes and References

    1. Web site: STRANGLERS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company. www.officialcharts.com.
    2. Book: Roberts , David . 2006. British Hit Singles & Albums. 19th. Guinness World Records Limited . London. 1-904994-10-5. 535.
    3. Web site: The Stranglers, uncovered . Miles . Jermy . 19 February 2011 . . 2 February 2022.
    4. Web site: The Stranglers: Suite XVI . Michael . Keefe . 25 January 2007 . . 2 February 2022.
    5. Web site: Big Thing Coming . . 5 October 2011.
    6. Book: Buckley, David . 1997 . No Mercy: The Authorised and Uncensored Biography of The Stranglers . 257. Hodder & Stoughton . London . 978-0-340-68062-9.
    7. Web site: The ultimate Stranglers interview - JJ Burnel opens up. Robb . John . Louder Than War. 3 March 2011. 2 February 2022.
    8. Web site: The Stranglers (July 05, 2021). Stork . Adrian . Music Waves. 3 September 2021. 2 February 2022.
    9. Web site: '74-'14: Forty years in photos-part 2 (1998). thestranglers.co.uk. 14 September 2014. 2 February 2022.
    10. Web site: Never To Look Back - JJ interview. thestranglers.co.uk. 11 September 2014. 2 February 2022.
    11. Outten . Emma . July 2014 . Ruby Rockers . Places&Faces . 17. 2 February 2022.
    12. Web site: Ahead of Irish Village gig, The Stranglers' JJ Burnel muses on the politics of punk. Garratt . Rob . The National. 20 November 2016. 2 February 2022.
    13. Web site: Interview: The Stranglers. Garratt. Rob . Norwich Evening News. 14 July 2009. 2 February 2022.
    14. Web site: Interview with The Stranglers' Front Man Baz Warne. Aberrant Perspectives. 16 January 2018. 2 February 2022.
    15. Web site: Baz Warne - Pt3. Punk77. 2006. 2 February 2022.
    16. Web site: Mark Wallis - Record producer video interview. Record Production. 2003. 2 February 2022.
    17. Web site: The Stranglers – Norfolk Coast – Interview. Popoff . Martin. Lollipop Magazine. 13 December 2004. 2 February 2022.
    18. Web site: Norfolk Coast - track by track . Warne . Baz. ratter. 6 October 2014. 2 February 2022.
    19. Web site: Ooh-arr goes all ooh-la la . The Daily Telegraph. 20 September 2008. 2 February 2022.
    20. Web site: Tucker's Grave RIP. Warne . Baz. ratter. 4 June 2011. 2 February 2022.
    21. Book: Davis . Mick. Lassman . David . March 2020 . Somerset: Stone Age to WWII . . . 9781526706188.
    22. Web site: The Stranglers stay in the game. McNair . James . The National. 12 January 2012. 2 February 2022.
    23. Web site: Satanism and gardening' in Norfolk. Welch . Jon. Eastern Daily Press. 25 March 2006. 2 February 2022.
    24. Web site: Track By Track - Norfolk Coast / 2004 . stranglers.skyrock.com. 7 October 2014. 2 February 2022.
    25. Web site: From The Stranglers to The Streets: Five album covers shot in the region. Cooper-Fiske . Casey . Eastern Daily Press. 11 January 2020. 2 February 2022.
    26. Web site: Big Thing Coming . . 2 February 2022.
    27. Web site: The Stranglers - Compilation LP's Pt 3. Scott. Jason. Careful With That Wax Cylinder, Eugene . 1 September 2013. 2 February 2022.
    28. Web site: Laid Back . . 2 February 2022.