The Stranglers - The Stranglers: The Rarities (1988)

A treasure trove for the committed Stranglers fan, Rarities is a worthwhile compilation, though its title should be taken with a pinch of salt. "Choosey Suzie," for instance, had been around on several formats beforehand. Still, it is always nice to hear the group's pseudonymous collaborations with a female singer again -- Celia and the Mutations' version of the Stranglers' spiteful "Mean to Me," and a resolute cover of "Mony Mony" both appear here. In addition, there are foreign-language versions of traditional Stranglers fare and some fairly useless 12-inch mixes. The real treats, however, are the (actually truly rare) radio edits. There's a truncated version of the band's sublime but absurdly lengthy reading of Bacharach's "Walk on By" and a cleaned-up-for-airplay "Peaches," minus the swearing. The CD added seven bonus tracks, drawn mainly from B-sides, the most essential of which is "Old Codger," on which they rope in jazz legend George Melly to sing a bizarre ditty about assaulting choirboys. Very Stranglers.~Alex Ogg