I'm Stranded [Extra tracks, Import]

Saints | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 16, 2007)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks, Import
• Label: Emd Int'l
• ASIN: B000RY029S
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #86,202 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. (I'm) Stranded

2. One Way Street

3. Wild About You

4. Messin' with the Kid

5. Erotic Neurotic

6. No Time

7. Kissin' Cousins

8. Story of Love

9. Demolition Girl

10. Nights in Venice

11. This Perfect Day [Single Version][*]

12. L-I-E-S [*]

13. Do the Robot [*]

14. Lipstick on Your Collar [*]

15. One Way Street [*]

16. Demolition Girl [*]

17. River Deep Mountain High [*]

Editorial Reviews

2007 digitally remastered and expanded reissue of the Australian Punk band's 1977 debut album now featuring an additional eight bonus tracks featuring outtakes, B-sides and all four tracks from their One Two Three Four EP.. Never purposely fashionable, The Saints were Garage rockers caught up in the Punk scene, but their raw dirty sound fit perfectly into the Punk aesthetic.. This release is coinciding with a monumental occasion in Aussie musical history: the three surviving members of The Saints (Chris Bailey, Ed Kuepper and Ivor Hay) are reuniting for a one-off historical performance in Brisbane in July of 2007. 18 tracks. EMI.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best garage band punk records of its time., April 25, 2011

By 

Red Eyes - See all my reviews

This review is from: I'm Stranded (Audio CD)

I was a young, head strong punk rocker when The Saints released their excellent records : they were a high adrenalin, nervous energy driven band, with a guitar sound that roared -- like a machine.

It has to be said though, they went wrong on a number of fronts.

Firstly, they didn't have any image at all : that shouldn't matter of course, but to a teenager, looking sharp and good,surely does matter. The Saints looked like a local garage band, and made little effort in the style stakes.

Secondly, they ( inexplicably ) signed to Harvest for God's sake, a well known progressive rock label which symbolised everything and summed up an entire world view that the young punks were trying to get away from.

Thirdly, their artwork presentation left much to be desired -- punk rock was fuelled by Dada-like invention and art school innovation : meanwhile, The Saints record covers had second rate art work, emblazoned with dumb sticker labels in fluorescent colours that screamed messages like "original punk", and featured a picture of a safety pin -- just in case we didn't get the message...

Fourthly, just as punk rock was hardening its sound, toughening up, stripping down, getting more austere and mean -- The Saints went on to release their second album --which featured horns and softer, trad rock arrangements !

No one warmed to any of the above, and the band disappeared.

The truth was that The Saints were really an r n' b pub rock band, who, it is true, did foresee the punk revolution happening in advance -- but ironically, the band got left behind in its turbulent wake.

The truth is also, that -- seen in retrospect -- the Saints were far, far better than so much of the more fashionable competition, and far far harder and rougher than many of the more fashionable and well presented bands. The Saints also faithfully retained a certain thug-mod psychedelic atmosphere to their sound, which was lost in much of the punk movement's rush to level everything down to a 'year zero ' approach.

"Stranded" is an impeccable, lean, raw power-machine-driven record -- every track is amphetamine led -- and original punk rock.

Though it has been overlooked and forgotten by so many -- it is one of the best records of its time.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars if you are reading this then you should buy this record, November 26, 2009

By 

William K. Cronin "electrifying mojo co." (cleveland rocks, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I'm Stranded (Audio CD)

i'm afraid i have no interest in judging tracks on this album but it is a strong album. you can listen to the samples and judge for yourself. it is classic that anyone who like punk, or rock music, should own. it is really that simple.also check out Eternally Yours

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The most seminal of the punk pioneers. Essential. 85/100, September 3, 2009

By 

dfle3 (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I'm Stranded (Audio CD)

Unfortunately for The Saints, they released their album after The Ramones self-titled debut, which brought their worst fear to bear...that they would be thought of as being derivative of them. That characterisation is manifestly false. You can hear their punk origins in the 1995 release "The most primitive band in the world" which literally captures their garage days, in 1974. In a recently published interview with Joey Ramone, in "Classic Rock" magazine(the alternative history of metal edition), Joey claims that The Ramones influenced every punk band band which came after them, including The Saints. Again, there is no basis to that claim. The Saints are one side of the foundational punk triangle, along with The Ramones and The Sex Pistols. It's hard to imagine there being a British punk scene without the intervention of The Ramones, but even if The Ramones had never recorded anything, The Saints would still have released "(I'm) Stranded", as is.

The Saints debut album has within it, I think, the seeds of the shape of punk and music to come...whereas The Ramones made many pop and pop-punk songs, The Saints were less mainstream, and they anticipated, it seemed to me, movements in music like speed, thrash and grunge. A band like Nirvana is more closely related to The Saints, musically, than The Ramones could be. After initially finding The Ramones' debut to be superior when listening to it recently, on second listen, The Saints album strikes me as being much more important. The Ramones really bury their punk guitar sound in their debut, unlike The Saints who put it right where it should be...in your face.

Anyway, my thoughts on the songs/album:


The best tracks:


Messin with the kid - surprisingly long, at 5:55 minutes. Has a nice jangly melody, which reminded me, say, of Guns'n'Roses version of "Knockin' on Heaven's door" or, perhaps, David Bowie's song "Ziggy Stardust".

Erotic neurotic - like the song above, this song demonstrates that The Saints were their own band and sounded nothing like The Ramones. This song anticipates thrash/speed punk music with its rhythm and bass guitar. Has blistering lead guitar solos and sounds modern even now.


Next best:


No time - grating lead guitar and a groovy bass guitar. It's good when the rhythm guitars kick in with their cool, new grating sound. Has some funky piano playing on it too.

Story of love - the intro to this song reminded me of Nirvana for some reason...maybe they referenced it somewhere? Kurt is on record as listing a certain Saints song as one of the all time greats, so he was familiar with them. The song in question is "Know your product", which I rate as the greatest punk song of all time. Must check out the album which that came off of, Eternally Yours. Anyway, Story Of Love is melodically good, but with a toned down sound. Noticeable bass guitar, and this track has an excellent guitar solo in it.

Untitled - one of the bonus tracks from this re-release. Has a more refined, polished sound. The intro actually reminds me of Nirvana's "Smells like teen spirit". A mid-tempo track with some nice moments where the guitar is spotlighted.


Best of the rest:


Nights in Venice - another long track, at 5:46, for a punk song. Has a heavy metal kind of chugga chugga riff going on. Don't think I've heard heavy metal which sounded as heavy as this, or as metal as this. You could also call this song "noise rock", I suppose. Has good up and down bass guitar playing and sometimes the song sounds a bit Nirvana-ish, when they're in their punk mood.

This perfect day - uptempo bonus track, with a raw sound to it...a grinding punk guitar features here.

One way street - has a punk/heavy metal type of intro. The drums really get hammered in this song, before settling into punk mode.



Other songs of interest:


(I'm) Stranded - perhaps 'true' punk fans would rip into me for not having this as the best song on the album. It's probably their best known song, at least internationally. Released as a single before the album was made, and released before any British punk band had released any single or album, this song is regarded as a defining punk song. It has a driving rhythm and a guitar sound akin to nails being run down a blackboard. Bassy too. Whereas a band like The Ramones had their urban concerns, this song is a classic suburban take on life. It's real punk, before The Sex Pistols hijacked the genre with their Romantic philosophical notions which they wore like a mask...the phoniness of it all!

One way street - has nerve jangling guitar. Reminds me of U2's "Desire" in some ways! The drumming is quite tough on this track, but it sounds like it was recorded in a bunker or something!

Wild about you - beefy, distorted guitars and a sort of updated 1950s style rock'n'roll song. A love song with a prominent bass guitar and long guitar solos.

Kissin' cousins - another song with it's roots in 1950s music. Has a touch of Hush's "Bony Moronie" to it, I think, or something by The Georgia Satellites, which post-dated The Saints. Features hand claps and Lou Reed type lyrics. Amusing rationalisation for the activity mentioned in the title.

Demolition girl - has punk/grunge sounding guitars which feature solos. The narrator of this song sounds like a nasty piece of work. The Damned's debut album also had a song with a touch of menace about it. Both bands released their debut albums in the same month...February 1977. Think that The Saints may have beaten them to the punch though.

L-I-E-S - a bonus song (as are the songs discussed below) in which the guitars have a different sound to them...fuzzy and sort of synthy...sort of Led Zeppelin territory. Bass noticeable.

Do the robot - has a big, fuzzy/synth guitar sound, a la Led Zeppelin. A punk Led Zeppelin, if you will. Features a classic/cliche punk riff. Sounds like a punk song for parties.

Lipstick on your collar - another cover of a 1950s song. The Saints are drawing on different sources for their inspiration compared to The Ramones. This cover has a catchy bass guitar melody. Some of the melody reminds me of Paul Anka's "Diana", I think. Like Bob Dylan, the singer here doesn't modify the lyrics...taken literally, they're a little freaky now, with a man singing them! Not sure, but I think that maybe this song sounds rawer here than when I listened to it on The Saint's compilation album, "Know your product".

Demolition girl - an alternative version of this song. Has backing vocals and much cooler drum fills than the original version. It even sounds less muffled than the original album version. The outro is novel too...sort of sounds like extras from a George A Romero movie!

River deep mountain high - another cover song which mixes punk riffing with the lead guitar playing the original version's melody. Enjoyed the staccato syllables and beats of this song.



Recommendations:

The first wave of punk had many solid albums, like The Ramones' debut, The Damned's debut and the explosive debut of The Sex Pistols.

Check out Australian contemporaries of The Saints, Radio Birdman. Their debut album, Radios Appear is another solid punk album. Have heard US band Television described as punk, which doesn't sit well with me. If Television were a punk band, they might sound like Radio Birdman. This Aussie punk pioneer (their debut album came out in 1977 too) brought something fresh to the table...a dual guitar attack, Oi! punk type songs, as well as some jazzy, very un-punk kind of songs. I bought their re-released album, which unfortunately messed with the track listing order, but did provide bonus songs. Wish I'd bought the original version, not the messed with version, as bonus songs should only be tacked onto the end of the regular album, I think, not spread throughout it.

Basically, this Saints album is an essential purchase for those who want to explore punk. They are The Ramones rowdy twin brother. Unlike The Ramones, The Saints knew to have the guitars as annoyingly loud and abrasive as possible.