Aural Sculpture

Aural Sculpture
The band members standing near a large sculpture of a ear behind a building. The album's title is engraved in large blocks of stone.
Studio album by
The Stranglers
Released5 November 1984[1]
Recorded1984[2]
StudioICP Recording Studios, Brussels
Genre
Length43:10
LabelEpic
Producer
The Stranglers chronology
Feline
(1983) 		Aural Sculpture
(1984) 		Dreamtime
(1986)
Singles from Aural Sculpture
  1. "Skin Deep"
    Released: 24 September 1984[1]
  2. "No Mercy"
    Released: 19 November 1984
  3. "Let Me Down Easy"
    Released: 4 February 1985[3]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [4]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[5]
The Great Rock Discography6/10[6]

Aural Sculpture is the eighth studio album by the Stranglers, released in November 1984 by Epic Records. It was also the name given to a one-sided 7-inch single given free with a limited number of copies of their Feline album in 1983. The "Aural Sculpture Manifesto" on the 7" single was played before the Stranglers appeared on stage during concerts during both the 1983 "Feline" tour and the 1985 "Aural Sculpture" tour.[7][8]

The album featured acoustic guitar as well as a three-piece horn section (trumpet, trombone and saxophone). The horns were the suggestion of producer Laurie Latham, who was brought in after Epic Records rejected the initial demos of the album tracks.[2]

Aural Sculpture reached number 14 in the UK Albums Chart in November 1984.[9] There were three singles released from the album: "Skin Deep" (No. 15 in the UK Singles Chart), "No Mercy" (No. 37 in the UK Singles Chart) and "Let Me Down Easy" (No. 48 in the UK Chart).[9] All were accompanied by 12" single versions, while "No Mercy" had a further two format releases in picture disc and EP.

  1. ^ a b "Melody Maker" (PDF). Melody Maker. 15 September 1984. p. 4. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  2. ^ a b "History - Behold Aural Sculpture!". thestranglers.co.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  3. ^ "Music Week" (PDF).
  4. ^ Rabid, Jack. Aural Sculpture at AllMusic
  5. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Stranglers". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  6. ^ Strong, Martin C. (2002). The Great Rock Discography (6th ed.). Edinburgh: Canongate Books. p. 1012. ISBN 1-84195-312-1.
  7. ^ Robert Endeacott (2014). Peaches: A Chronicle of The Stranglers 1974-1990. Soundcheck Books. p. 119. ISBN 978-0-9575700-4-7.
  8. ^ "The Stranglers playing Aural Sculpture Manifesto". guestpectacular.com. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  9. ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 535. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.