Playmate Review 1990

Despite its rather cheeky title, Greatest Hits 1977-1990 is a good place to sample the entire Stranglers output. From the squalor of the late-'70s material, to the smoothed-out gloom pop of songs like "Skin Deep" and other mid- to late-'80s neo-goth rock, this is a solid anthology that values substance over style and exhaustive track selection. For sure, a well-edited Stranglers anthology is the only way to enjoy them; they recorded way too much dross to spend time searching out all of their plentiful, marginal records.

On this album, Was (Not Was) explores various blends of funk, rock, dance and pop styles with delightful results. There is much quirky humour in a song like I Feel Better Than James Brown, an addictive tune with a hypnotic beat that pays tribute to James Brown's masterpiece I Feel Good. The lyrics are just priceless! Unusually for Was (Not Was), they also explore the dark side of life in Maria Novarro, a powerful song with a nervous beat and disturbing lyrics about domestic violence: "In the city of Angels, there's no mercy and there's no tomorrow for Maria Novarro …". Adding to the charms of this multifaceted album is Leonard Cohen who contributes the main vocal on Elvis' Rolls Royce over a jazzy background. The next track Dressed To Be Killed is a jerky rap number with lovely sax infusions, whilst Just Another Couple Broken Hearts is a mellow ballad.