Suite XVI - Anniversary Edition

Suite XVI builds on the more traditional trademark sound of The Stranglers that was rediscovered on the commercially successful Norfolk Coast and was further galvanised here by the new, lean, stripped-down four-piece.

Many of the songs - or at least the initial ideas - were conceived when JJ and Baz decamped to Looe in Cornwall, in 2005 to focus on the writing. In Warne, Burnel had found a new partner with whom he had truly gelled. Later returning to their West Country studios, the whole band then developed and recorded Suite XVI which was produced by Louie Nicastro. For Louie, who had worked with The Stranglers for some years by this time, this was his first role at the helm and this fruitful union would see him go on to produce everything by the band since. In this new 2CD Edition, CD1 features the original eleven track album.

The songs cover a real range from the full-on exuberance, bouncy, infectious melody contrasts, to aggression, and topical tracks covering many, sometimes dark, subject matters within the writing and meaning of the song. CD2 includes eight previously unreleased recordings.

There are seven blistering live takes; six of which are previously unreleased on CD. They were mostly recorded in the UK between 2007 and 2019. The three live acoustic tracks include an unreleased solo performance by Baz of Bless You in London in 2011. As well as some previously unreleased tracks and an album Talk Through by the band with Journalist John Robb.