Written in Red

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1997 studio album by the Stranglers

Written in Red

Studio album by

the Stranglers

Released| 27 January 1997
Studio| Parr Street Studios
The Greenhouse
Gemini Studios
Intimate Studios
Mixed at September Sound, Matrix Studios and Greenhouse Studios.
Genre| New wave
Length| 40:51
Label| When!
Producer|

* Andrew Gill
* The Stranglers
* Cenzo Townsend

The Stranglers chronology
| About Time
(1995)  | Written in Red
(1997)  | Coup de Grace
(1998)

|
|

Singles from  Written in Red

1. "In Heaven She Walks"
Released: February 1997[1]

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic|  [2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music| [3]
The Great Rock Discography| 4/10[4]

Written in Red is the thirteenth studio album recorded by the Stranglers, released in January 1997 through the When! label. It was co-produced by Gang of Four's Andy Gill.[5]

The media launch-party for Written in Red was held on 13 December 1996 at EuroDisney in Paris, and featured live performances of tracks from the effort. Other tracks performed at the event include "Always the Sun", "Golden Brown" and "Let Me Introduce You to the Family".

The week the album was released, the band performed at several HMV branches including those located in Birmingham, Nottingham, Sheffield and Leeds.

"In Heaven She Walks" was the only single to be taken from the album, released on 3 February 1997. The single was in two parts: the first CD featured a sleeve similar to the Written in Red cover, with a track listing of: "In Heaven She Walks", a live version of "Golden Brown" from 1995, and an extended version of "In Heaven She Walks". The second CD sleeve featured a still from the video; the tracks were "In Heaven She Walks", and live versions of "Grip" and "Something Better Change" (also from 1995).[6]

It was the first Stranglers studio album that failed to reach the Top 40 in the UK Albums Chart,[7] peaking at No. 52 in February 1997.[8] In his review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that though the Stranglers sound "tight and professional," the album "lacks strong songs, making Written in Red an utterly undistinguished album."[2]

In 2014, bass player Jean-Jacques Burnel said of the album, "...it had nothing to do with me apart from one or two songs. I've got no feelings about it as an album as I was disconnected from it all. I had given up on the band, it wasn't a band anymore, just John and Paul and a guy with Protools."[9]

## Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by the Stranglers, except where noted

No.| Title| Writer(s)| Length

|
|
|

1.| "Valley of the Birds"|  | 3:15
2.| "In Heaven She Walks"|  | 3:49
3.| "In a While"|  | 3:19
4.| "Silver into Blue"|  | 3:28
5.| "Blue Sky"|  | 3:41
6.| "Here"|  | 4:21
7.| "Joy de Viva"|  | 3:39
8.| "Miss You"|  | 3:52
9.| "Daddy's Riding the Range"|  | 4:19
10.| "Summer in the City"| John Sebastian, Mark Sebastian, Steve Boone| 3:27
11.| "Wonderful Land"|  | 3:41
Total length:| 40:51

2014 expanded vinyl edition

Written in Red was reissued as a 2-LP limited edition by Let Them Eat Vinyl, including 2 bonus tracks.[10]

Side oneNo.| Title| Length

|
|

1.| "Valley of the Birds"| 3:15
2.| "In Heaven She Walks"| 3:49
3.| "In a While"| 3:19
4.| "Silver into Blue"| 3:28

Side twoNo.| Title| Length

|
|

5.| "Blue Sky"| 3:41
6.| "Here"| 4:21
7.| "Joy de Viva"| 3:39
8.| "Miss You"| 3:52

Side threeNo.| Title| Writer(s)| Length

|
|
|

9.| "Daddy's Riding the Range"|  | 4:19
10.| "Summer in the City"| John Sebastian, Mark Sebastian, Steve Boone| 3:27
11.| "Wonderful Land"|  | 3:41

Side fourNo.| Title| Writer(s)| Length

|
|
|

12.| "Golden Brown" (live at the Kentish Town Forum, London, December 1995)| Hugh Cornwell, Jean-Jacques Burnel, Dave Greenfield, Jet Black| 3:27
13.| "In Heaven She Walks" (extended version)|  | 4:45

* Tracks 12 and 13 are taken from the "In Heaven She Walks" CD single.[11]

## Personnel

[edit]

The Stranglers

* Paul Roberts – lead vocals, percussion, production
* Jean-Jacques Burnel – bass, vocals, production
* John Ellis – guitar, vocals, production
* Dave Greenfield – keyboards, vocals, production
* Jet Black – drums, production

Additional musicians

* Dave Billows – vocals

Technical

* Andy Gill – production, mixing (5, 9)
* Cenzo Townsend – additional production, engineering assistance, mixing (1, 2, 4–11)
* Mike 'Spike' Drake – mixing (3)
* Jock Loveband – engineering
* Peter Schweir – engineering
* Pete Woodruff – engineering
* Chris Madden – engineering
* Mitsou Tate – engineering assistance, additional programming
* Andrea Wright – engineering assistance
* Gordon Vicary – mastering
* Trevor Dawkins – equipment co-ordination
* Ichiro Kono – photography
* Joe Wright – design, direction

Vinyl edition bonus tracks

* Max Bisgrove – mixing (12)
* George Allen – mixing assistant (12)
* Cenzo Townsend – remixing (13)[11]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Never to Look Back: 14. In Heaven She Walks" (PDF). thestranglers.co.uk. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
2. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Stranglers: Written in Red" at AllMusic. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
3. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Stranglers". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
4. ^ Strong, Martin C. (2002). The Great Rock Discography (6th ed.). Edinburgh: Canongate Books. p. 1012\. ISBN 1-84195-312-1.
5. ^ "David Buckley interviews John Ellis". Chanoyu Records. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
6. ^ "Written in Red Album - The Stranglers". Lyrics. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
7. ^ "The-Stranglers-Written-In-Red". Discogs. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
8. ^ "OFFICIAL ALBUMS CHART RESULTS MATCHING: WRITTEN IN RED". Official Charts. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
9. ^ "Never To Look Back - JJ interview". thestranglers.co.uk. 11 September 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
10. ^ "Written in Red (Vinyl)". Discogs. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
11. ^ a b "In Heaven She Walks CD single". Discogs. Retrieved 5 January 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* http://www.stranglers.net

* v
* t
* e

The Stranglers

* Jean-Jacques Burnel
* Baz Warne
* Jim Macaulay
* Toby Hounsham

* Jet Black
* Hugh Cornwell
* Hans Wärmling
* Dave Greenfield
* John Ellis
* Paul Roberts

Studio albums|

* Rattus Norvegicus
* No More Heroes
* Black and White
* The Raven
* The Gospel According to the Meninblack
* La folie
* Feline
* Aural Sculpture
* Dreamtime
* 10
* Stranglers in the Night
* About Time
* Written in Red
* Coup de Grace
* Norfolk Coast
* Suite XVI
* Giants
* Dark Matters

Live albums|

* Live at the Hope and Anchor
* Live (X Cert)
* All Live and All of the Night
* Saturday Night, Sunday Morning
* The Stranglers and Friends – Live in Concert
* Friday the Thirteenth
* Live at the Hammersmith Odeon '81
* Live at the Apollo
* Apollo Revisited
* Coast to Coast: Live on Tour
* Live at the Apollo 2010 (DVD & CD)

Compilations|

* IV
* The Collection 1977–1982
* Off the Beaten Track
* Singles (The UA Years)
* Greatest Hits 1977–1990
* The Early Years '74 '75 '76 Rare Live and Unreleased
* Strangled from Birth and Beyond
* The Sessions
* The Hit Men
* Collection
* The Stranglers
* The Masters
* Lies and Deception
* Peaches: The Very Best of The Stranglers
* Rarities (2002)
* Out of the Black
* Sweet Smell of Success – Best of the Epic Years
* Live 'n' Sleazy
* Gold
* The Very Best of The Stranglers
* Decades Apart

Singles|

* "(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)"
* "Peaches"
* "Something Better Change"
* "No More Heroes"
* "5 Minutes"
* "Nice 'n' Sleazy"
* "Walk On By"
* "Duchess"
* "Nuclear Device (The Wizard of Aus)"
* "Bear Cage"
* "Who Wants the World?"
* "Thrown Away"
* "Let Me Introduce You to the Family"
* "Golden Brown"
* "La Folie"
* "Strange Little Girl"
* "European Female"
* "Skin Deep"
* "No Mercy"
* "Always the Sun"
* "All Day and All of the Night"
* "96 Tears"
* "Always the Sun (Sunny Side Up Mix)"
* "Golden Brown" (Re-issue)
* "Lies and Deception"
* "Big Thing Coming"
* "Spectre of Love"

Other songs|

* "Goodbye Toulouse"
* "Hanging Around"
* "Tramp"

DVD releases|

* The Collection 1977–1982
* Live At Alexandra Palace
* Friday the Thirteenth
* Euro Live
* On Stage on Screen
* Rattus at the Roundhouse
* Live at the Apollo 2010

Related|

* Discography
* Soulsec
* Celia and the Mutations

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

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