The Stranglers Feline

In the '70s, The Stranglers hitched their reputation to the emerging U.K. punk scene, which favored short, concise, and catchy songs. Yet Hugh Cornwell and company were always more ambitious, and that ambition led to highly experimental works that either sent the band soaring to new heights or crashing into a barrage of confused, often negative reviews. Many of The Stranglers' records are considered "concept albums," yet few fans have been able to figure out what those concepts are. Feline, however, is a tour de force, an album far removed from punk; it's orchestrated with acoustic instruments and synthesizers for a deliberately low-key vibe that's best expressed in songs such as "Let's Tango in Paris" and "The European Female (In Celebration Of)." The addition of "Golden Brown" was an attempt by the U.S. record label to have a hit with a song from The Stranglers' previous album, La Folie, which at the time hadn't been released in the States.