Stranglers Greatest

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.

The Stranglers are an English rock band who emerged via the punk rock scene. Scoring some 23 UK top 40 singles and 17 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning four decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving and most "continuously successful" bands to have originated in the UK punk scene…

Greatest Ever Punk & New Wave brings together some of the most important tracks from this unique period of musical history. Taking material mainly from 1977 to 1982, the album features classic punk, new wave, ska and pop on 3CDs. From the scorching social commentary of Stiff Little Fingers 'Alternative Ulster', to the spooky groove of The Specials 'Ghost Town', Greatest Ever Punk & New Wave pays tribute to the artists - and the music - that shaped a new dawn of popular culture.

Simply the great 100 tracks compilation! Not only the well-know and classic hits (Otis Redding - My Girl, Ben. E. King - Stand by me, Tina Turner - The Best, Sheena Easton - Morning Train (Nine to Five), Solomon Burke - Everybody Needs Somebody to Love, Sister Sledge - We are Family, Deep Purple - Black Night etc.), but as well Ramones, Jethro Tull, Paolo Nutini, Birdy, Biffy Clyro, Randy Crawford, Twisted Sister, The Stooges, Dr. Feelgood and many many more. Just excellent!

The Stranglers worked better as a singles band than they did as album artists, but that doesn't mean that the double-disc, 43-track retrospective The Hit Men 1977-1991 is consistently engaging. Considerably older than their punk peers, the Stranglers nevertheless knocked out several terrific songs in their first records, including "(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)" and "Hanging Around," but by the mid-'80s they had become a little bland and predictable, as evidenced by covers of "96 Tears" and "All Day and All of the Night."…