The Stranglers: The Raven Alternate Format Discography

Alternate Format Discography

ORIGINAL VINYL LP
The first 20,000 UK copies of The Raven featured a lenticular 3D print of the titular bird on the front cover. This was more difficult to make than envisaged, however, and eventually a stuffed raven's head was couriered to a company in Japan which had the necessary technology.

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There was also a problem with the inner sleeve. Among the artwork and lyrics was a cartoon image of Joh Bjelke-Petersen, the subject of 'Nuclear Device (The Wizard Of Aus)', set behind a map of Australia. He insisted that the image be removed on subsequent pressings.

The offending inner sleeves were included in both the 3D and the standard covers [pictured above] of the initial 1979 pressing. Both versions were on United Artists with the same catalogue number, UAG 30262. The Italian 3D and standard cover [United Artists, UAL 24083] and the Japanese 3D and standard versions [UA GP 765] came out that year.

The 1979 Spanish LP was subtitled 'El Cuervo' [United Artists, 10 C 064-082.740]. A Yugoslavian LP was released in 1980, by United Artists in conjunction with Zagreb-based label Jugoton, now Croatia Records [LSUA 73106, UAG 30262]. The US LP came out in 1985 on EMI America, with a plain inner sleeve [SQ-17190].

A picture disc in a limited edition of 2000 was released in the UK in 2004 on the Let Them Eat Vinyl label [LETV001PD]

CASSETTE
The original UK cassette was released in 1979 with grey shells and off-white labels. It was then re-released in 1985 in this format on Dolby X in the UK on the EMI/Music For Pleasure subsidiary, Fame [A 4131314], and in the US on EMI America, with the original front cover artwork set on a grey background [4XQ-17190].

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FIRST CD
The Raven debuted on silver disc in the UK on EMI in 1987 [CDP7 46615 2], with the LP inner sleeve artwork as an insert. The 1980 single 'Bear Cage' was included as a bonus track. A 2001 reissue for UK and Europe also included B-sides 'Fools Rush Out' and 'Yellowcake UF6' (here misspelt 'UFO') and the single 'N'Emmènes Pas Harry'. Another reissue, in 2018, for European territories and Australia featured these tracks plus a live version of 'In The Shadows' and 12in versions of 'Bear Cage' and 'Shah Shah A Go Go' [Parlophone 0190295892487].

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AUDIOPHILE VINYL
In 2016, The Stranglers released a 180g remastered double LP of The Raven in a limited edition of 1500 on their own label [Not On Label, CGLP4] . This included a 10x10in artwork of the cover. The second LP, named 'Treasures Captured', was pressed on red vinyl and consisted of the extra studio tracks featured on the 2018 Parlophone CD plus BBC Radio 1 session versions of 'Nuclear Device' and 'Genetix'.

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