The Gospel According to The Meninblack

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The Gospel According to The Meninblack is an esoteric concept album made by The Stranglers and released in 1981. It is sometimes referred to simply as The Meninblack or, by fans of the band, The Gospel. The album deals with conspiratorial ideas surrounding alien visitations to Earth, the sinister governmental Men in Black, and the involvement of these elements in well-known biblical narratives, including the life of Jesus.

The album is an elaboration of concepts first introduced by the band on a track from their preceding LP, The Raven. The Meninblack showcases the ideas and moods of the band at a time when they were able to utilise the creative and intellectual freedom gained from the commercial success of their previous releases. The music is unformulaic throughout: progressive, macabre and abstract, powered by hypnotic drum and synthesiser loops — while the cohesive lyrical content is dark and witty. The original gatefold LP release features as its inside artwork a reproduction of The Last Supper, altered to depict a solemn Maninblack standing watchfully behind Jesus.

Hugh Cornwell, former singer-songwriter and guitarist with the group, has stated his belief that the album is the pinnacle of The Stranglers' artistic and creative output, and he cites it as his favourite album by the band. The Stranglers' bassist, Jean Jacques Burnel, regards the album as often techno in essence. The Meninblack pre-dates the emergence of that genre by some years.

In the UK, the choice of single releases from the album reflected its experimental flavour, and sales were consequently poor. As a reaction to this, the band were forced to write a more commercially viable follow-up in La Folie, heralding another radical change in musical direction.

Parts of the distinctive opening instrumental Waltzinblack were later used as the theme music for Keith Floyd's BBC TV series, Floyd on Food. The Stranglers have developed a tradition of opening their live performances with recorded excerpts of Waltzinblack.

[The Stranglers - Waltzinblack excerpt] ([file info])
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* Problems listening to the file? See [Media helpmedia help].

Track listing

"Waltzinblack"
"Just Like Nothing On Earth"
"Second Coming"
"Waiting For The Meninblack"
"Turn The Centuries, Turn"
"Two Sunspots"
"Four Horsemen"
"Thrown Away"
"Manna Machine"
"Hallow To Our Men"

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