Strange Times (studio album) by The Chameleons

Strange Times by The Chameleons
Year: 1986
Overall rank: 2,094th   Overall chart historyOverall chart history
Average Rating: 
79/100 (from 135 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution   Average rating historyAverage rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1986 (28th)
Award Top albums of the 1980s (319th)
Award Best albums of all time (2,094th)
Product Details
Availability

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The Chameleons Strange Times (Vinyl) Black Smoke 12" Album (UK IMPORT)
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The Chameleons - Strange Times - 3LP 88gm 45RPM Tourquise & Grey Vinyl [New Viny
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THE CHAMELEONS - STRANGE TIMES NEW VINYL RECORD
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The Chameleons bestography

Strange Times is ranked 2nd best out of 12 albums by The Chameleons on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by The Chameleons is Script Of The Bridge which is ranked number 787 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 2,267.

The Chameleons album bestography « Higher ranked (787th) This album (2,094th) Lower ranked (2,862nd) »
Script Of The BridgeStrange TimesWhat Does Anything Mean? Basically

Upcoming concerts

Aug
09
Fri
20:00
The Chameleons
Space Ballroom, Hamden, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Aug
10
Sat
20:00
The Chameleons
The Sinclair Music Hall, Cambridge, United States. United States
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Aug
14
Wed
19:00
The Chameleons
Town Ballroom, Buffalo, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Discover more upcoming concerts

Listen to Strange Times on YouTube

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Strange Times track list

  Track ratingsTrack ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 81 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Rating/Comments
1.
Rating: 80 (25 votes)Comments: 0
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2.
Rating: 81 (27 votes)Comments: 0
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3.
Rating: 83 (29 votes)Comments: 1
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5.
Track pick
Rating: 86 (45 votes)Comments: 1
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7.
Rating: 78 (24 votes)Comments: 0
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8.
Rating: 79 (25 votes)Comments: 0
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9.
Rating: 79 (24 votes)Comments: 0
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10.
Rating: 77 (21 votes)Comments: 0
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Track pick Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Strange Times rankings

Strange Times collection

Strange Times ratings

Average Rating: 
79/100 (from 135 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 135 ratings for this album.

Sort ratings
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
80/100
 Report rating
4 days ago cicadelic  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 6,45773/100
 
85/100
 Report rating
06/18/2024 14:19 cestuneblague  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 7,37480/100
 
60/100
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05/05/2024 21:21 kriss2012  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 33568/100
 
70/100
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04/13/2024 10:33 Special  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 2,23572/100
 
90/100
 Report rating
01/22/2024 10:48 swed  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 1,15780/100

Rating metrics: Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album is rated in the top 2% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 79.3/100, a mean average of 78.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 79.8/100. The standard deviation for this album is 15.5.

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Strange Times comments

Showing all 8 comments |
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Rating:  
90/100
From 10/23/2022 15:31
Very underappreciated album. Strange Times should be considered as one of the milestones of post-punk/gothic rock/new wave era. Soul in Isolation and Swamp Thing are hauntingly beautiful tracks.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 06/09/2022 15:00
The first half of this record is simply phenomenal with it ending on the groups best ever song in Swamp Thing. It is dark and atmospheric and has some brilliant performances on every track. The vocals throughout the whole record is a massive highlight for me as it suits the style of music they are going for perfectly and the harsher, deeper tone of the vocal appeals to me massively. Instrumentally, it is fantastic with the guitar work being the peak of this. They really take tracks like Mad Jack and Soul In Isolation to another level and it gives the music an edge that is vital for it to stand out. The lyrics are smart as well and are enjoyable to dive into and explore. They deal with difficult and dark themes which suits the mood and environment the group are trying to build. The second half is a little bit weaker than the first and does drag the quality of the record down as the music slows and loses a bit of its punch. Overall, another under rated classic from The Chameleons who deserve more appreciation and this record deserves to be discussed a lot more than it is.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 08/26/2013 13:14
i don't know if they wanted to sound like this or it's just bad production but they sound bloated and messy to me and not in a good way. still mad jack and caution are pretty good songs but the whole album starts to drag somewhere in the middle and gets repetitive.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 12/04/2012 15:13
Unfortunately tracks such as "Seriocity" and "I'll Remember" drag it's rating down a little. Still some other wonderful tracks on this album though. Love the guitars & lyrics!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 08/17/2012 22:17
Truly excellent example of post-punk with sparkling guitars and intelligent lyrics featuring the epic single Swamp Thing.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 11/01/2010 18:12
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -3 votes (0 helpful | 3 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 10/27/2009 01:37
Shuffle brought this up - listening to it now - this is a great great under-recognized and under appreciated album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 06/20/2009 16:31
I have been listening to this band and this album in particular for about twenty years now... i never tire of them or it... so No 1 for me.
One of the greatest underrated bands
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

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Best Albums of 1986
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3. Graceland by Paul Simon
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