Despite being one of the most exciting and unpretentious of punk's earliest acts, the Saints never got much love from fans of either side of the '70s rock coin. Too primal and direct to appeal to the mainstream, the long-haired, R&B loving Australians were conversely seen by the more parochially minded members of the punk scene as too establishment-loving (they had guitar solos, for God's sake!) to be truly down with the revolution. Interestingly, both sides were probably correct to a degree, narrow-minded though the assessment may have been. While the band's excellent debut from 1977, (I'M) STRANDED, bristles with angsty energy, snotty vocal stylings, and a defiant primitiveness, it also shows a love of classic early-rock sounds and an attention to pop song constructions. Relatively agenda-free, the Saints' debut is a punk classic if for no other reason than that it fully embraced the movement's anything-goes attitude; here that means playing rock & roll at an adrenaline-OD clip, with a heart on-the-sleeve youthfulness. The one-two punch of songwriters Ed Kuepper and Chris Bailey would deliver a knockout on the band's follow-up, ETERNALLY YOURS, but (I'M) STRANDED remains an inspired transmission from Down Under to this day.
Additional Tracks
The Saints (Punk): Chris Bailey (vocals); Ed Kuepper (guitar); Kym Bradshaw (bass guitar); Ivor Hay (drums).Q (12/00, p.151) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...This is mean, visceral, feral stuff....a perfect reissue..."
Uncut (8/00, p.99) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...10 sheet metal tracks full of Stoogeish rifferama....It still sounds unbelievably potent..."
Mojo (Publisher) (3/03, p.76) - Ranked #14 in Mojo's "Top 50 Punk Albums" - "...The Saints' kerosene rock'n'roll would sound great in any age....Thrilling stuff..."
Saints - (I'm) Stranded Songs
(I'm) Stranded Music Review
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