Saints Are Coming: The Best Of The Skids CD

You don't have to know who "the boys in the river" are (one of many obscure Jobson lyrical references) for this album to work for you. You don't even have to care. Musically, the Skids were branching out and writing some illustrious pop tunes. Admittedly, the ensemble chanting in "Woman in Winter" presaged Adamson's future career in Big Country, but the real joy here is the single "Circus Games." The production by Mick Glossop is razor-sharp too; it's absolute silliness, granted, but great fun if you can overlook the band's much-cited pretensions. However, the band deserves no prizes for calling the bonus disc which was originally issued with the album Strength Through Joy -- a stupid move given the Nazi accusations Jobson had already faced down. ~ Alex Ogg

The Skids were one of the most intelligent and talented Post-Punk to emerge during the late '70s 'New Wave' era. Hailing from Scotland, this quartet was led by vocalist Richard Jobson and guitarist Stuart Adamson (later the leader of Big Country) and released a handful of albums and classic singles before splitting up in 1982. Their track, 'The Saints Are Coming' was covered by U2 and Green Day together in 2006. This collection features the best tracks from their four albums including 'Into The Valley', 'Scared To Dance', 'Working For The Yankee Dollar', 'Charade', 'Woman In Winter', 'The Saints Are Coming' and more. Virgin.

Audio Remasterer: Peter Mew.

Audio Remixers: John Leckie; Bill Nelson; Bruce Fairbairn.

Photographers: Allan Ballard; Paul Slattery.

Arrangers: Richard Jobson; Russell Webb.

2007's Saints Are Coming: The Best of the Skids bests 1995's Sweet Suburbia: The Best of the Skids by three tracks and boasts a significantly better remastering job. The Scottish new wave/punk outfit led by manic vocalist Richard Jobson and future Big Country guitarist/vocalist Stuart Adamson crafted a fair number of ridiculously catchy singles during their late-70s/early-80s heyday, including "Into the Valley," "Sweet Suburbia," and "Working for the Yankee Dollar," all of which appear on Saints Are Coming. Fans looking for the missing link between the Jam, the Motors, and the Adverts will find more than a few new favorites here. ~ James Christopher MongerI-

Skids includes: Stuart Adamson.

Personnel: Stuart Adamson (vocals, guitar, synthesizer, percussion); Richard Jobson (vocals, guitar); Russell Webb (vocals, synthesizer, bass guitar, percussion); Mike Baillie (vocals, xylophone, drums, percussion); Chris Jenkins (guitar); David Batchelor, David Batchelor (piano); Bill Nelson (keyboards); Rusty Egan (drums).

Record Collector (magazine) (p.102) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]heir finest work....Endlessly inventive and perfectly executed, it deservedly became their most successful release..."