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Rating: On the Tracks of the Black Panther...
Here came The Stranglers in the early '80s after the brilliant "La Folie" and the more experimental "The Meninblack." The punk era has now given way to more varied artistic expressions, and even for The Stranglers, the energy and adrenaline-fueled races of the beginnings already seem a distant memory. However, they have not settled anywhere; they have simply continued their sound exploration with a keen eye on what was happening around them.
So why not invent an album like this, so nocturnal, velvety, yet at the same time so enigmatic, inaccessible at first listens, as the semi-recited incipit of "Evening Summer Dream" clearly suggests: soft keyboards, almost whispered voice, and a rhythm section serving six minutes of meditative atmosphere. Many early followers remain puzzled; "Feline" is undoubtedly different from anything conceived before by our band. The total absence of electric guitars, replaced by acoustic ones, is immediately noticeable, but even the drums have virtually been left in the basement, in favor of pads and drum machines; a peculiarity that could not be the result of chance, but of an undoubtedly courageous choice, especially for those times: that of bringing together acoustic and electronic without going through electric.
The coordinates shift from tracks dealing with themes of travel, love, and discovery, such as "Ships That Pass In The Night", "Let's Tango in Paris", or the more hermetic "All Roads Lead To Rome", where Greenfield's magical keyboards set the main scene, replacing the lost verve with dreamy atmospheric melodies. One wonders where, screams and guitars apart, those creative impulses that had graced the quartet until recently have gone, but at the same time, one can get lost, and over time be charmed in this new play of balances made of electronics and whispers, in a perpetual late-night scenario. The little masterpiece is undoubtedly "European Female", which musically encapsulates the entire spirit of the work, aided by its discreet electronics and a Spanish-hearted essence that emerges from the skillful touches of acoustic guitar. The video made for it is also emblematic, with the group in black attire in a cold underground, now dealing with a sinuous female presence, now with a roaring black panther. Two sides of the same coin, after all. Perhaps here lies the explanation of the aesthetics and genesis of an intentionally "womanly" album: elegant, refined, and enveloping yet at the same time icy and mysterious in its electronic guise and without the anchorage of the so familiar electric guitars; an album that never fully reveals itself until it receives a truly attentive listening.
In conclusion, "Feline" is not to be recommended to someone who deliberately approaches The Stranglers for the first time; they would certainly be misled; there are other works that have consecrated the group in the music hall of fame, particularly the first four albums. But "Feline", in its peculiarity, should still be remembered as a pleasantly successful new wave experiment. That's why I recommend it to everyone else, even to those, not among the acolytes, who are seeking something soft, enigmatic, and fascinating, whether it be music, a woman, or... a large feline.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Midnight Summer Dream (06:18)
Woke up on a good day
And the world was wonderful
A midnight summer dream had me in its spell
I dreamt about an old man
Sat and watched the rain all night
He couldn't sleep a wink as all the drops fell
He told me of the beauty
Hidden in our foreheads
He told me of the ugliness
We show instead
And when we put a foot wrong do we learn
From all the pain
A midnight summer dream as he watched the rain
Then at midnight he poured another drink
And bent my ear
After midnight we sat up half the night
Or maybe more
And he began to tell me what it was all for
I woke up in an armchair
He had gone I don't know where
Left me there to sit and look at the rain
Don't remember much at all
But his words were echoing
A midnight summer dream and then wake again
Maybe I'll never find him
Maybe he's gone forever
Maybe I'll have to sit here
Watching the weather
One thing's pretty certain helped me
Make it in the night
Showed me somewhere else between wrong and right
And at midnight if you can't sleep
Then I can bend your ear
After midnight we'll sit up half the night
Or maybe more
And I'll begin to tell you what it is all for
Wake up on a good day
And the world feels wonderful
Midnight summer dream has me in its spell.
07 All Roads Lead to Rome (03:57)
The streets of tarmac are straight as a die
With steel fingers clawing at the sky
Inside the wall of the citadel
Yellow chariots race
Peasants and their peasants' smells
Hungry enough to touch your face.
The beasts from the end of the century
Adorn themselves with jewellery
Inside the wall of the citadel
Yellow chariots race
Peasants and their peasants' smells
Hungry enough to touch your face.
Their eyes they change colour from grey to green
And when they're blue they weigh the scene
The endless games played in the timeless zone
Remind me all roads lead to Rome.
Inside the wall of the citadel
Yellow chariots race
Peasants and their peasants' smells
Hungry to touch your frightened face.
All roads lead to Rome
All roads lead to Rome
All roads lead to Rome
All roads lead to Rome
08 Blue Sister (04:13)
Blue sister please don't cry
Blue sister dry your eyes
Your lover's been taken away by some friends
That he met in the night
That scene's not a new one to you
You've seen it a million times too
The players, their lines are old too
Blue sister know that I care about you
Blues sister are no cure
For you sister that's for sure
Your eyes have been shouldering pain
And the tears show emotion so pure
That scene's not a new one to you
You've seen it a million times too
The players, their lines are old too
Blue sister know that I care about you
Blue sister you'll survive
Blue sister's inner drive is
Your man don't drive him away
If you want him here staying alive
That scene's not a new one to you
You've seen it a million times too
The players, their lines are old too
Blue sister know that I care about you
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