Saints
(Shock)
Along with Sydney's Radio Birdman, the Saints, from Brisbane, the northernmost city on Australia's east coast, formed a devastating one-two punch that lit a fire under an impressive conga line of younger Down Under big guitar combos that included the Scientists, Lime Spiders, Sunnyboys, Screaming Tribesmen, Hoodoo Gurus, Died Pretty, Someloves, Hard-Ons, Celibate Rifles, New Christs, Eastern Dark, Stems, Wet Taxis and Zimmermen - to name just a few.
So for rabid devotees of Aussie punk rock circa 1977, the original lineup's 2007 reunion (and a just released document of the event) is the musical equivalent of King Tut's other tomb having been found and subsequently coughing up an amazing artifact. Live At Pig City Brisbane 2007 (Shock Records), however, won't even require carbon-dating.
From all the tales I've heard, getting the Saints to reform has always been the impossible dream of anyone this side of Don Quixote touched by their buzzsaw sound. The original band exploded in '78 in a hailstorm of bad vibes after releasing three monumental albums by core members singer Chris Bailey, guitarist Ed Kuepper and drummer Ivor Hay. Retaining the Saints moniker, Bailey has issued a string of fine albums over the years and was last seen in California in 2003, warming up the house for Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Likewise, Kuepper's excellent series of solo albums from the '90s are essential listening, if you can find them. He last toured the U.S., far as I can tell, in 1995.
Here at last, thanks to their July 14, 2007 "Pig City" appearance at the Queensland Music Festival before an adoring mob of 6,000 disbelieving, forehead-slapping fans, is live evidence of what we should have heard 30 years ago. This 65-minute set has plenty of meat on those creaking bones, including an uncredited horn section to play the charts first employed on Eternally Yours, the Saints' thrilling '78 sophomore longplayer that featured eye-poppers like "Know Your Product." For further insight into the soulful roots of the Saints, check out their unreleased '74 demos, including an ear-splitting cover of Eddie Floyd's Stax classic "Knock On Wood," on The Most Primitive Band in the World (Hot/Restless). Of course, it's their debut LP, (I'm) Stranded, with its heart-pounding single of the same name, that causes cardiac flip-flops in anyone who still reveres the garage rock class of '77. No fears, "Stranded" creates enough steam here to remove the lavender wallpaper from your daughter's bedroom. The terminally cranky may wail at the omission of brain-melters like "Lipstick On Your Collar," "Do The Robot," "Kissin' Cousins" and "Demolition Girl," but there's more than enough here to chew on.
Like Birdman, the Saints rolled the dice by moving to London in the late '70s to get a foothold in the northern hemisphere, crapped out and flew home to lick their wounds. Meaning, the U.S. never got to see either combo in their prime on a full-blown tour. Birdman has recently rectified that three-decade oversight, and here's hoping the Saints will soon do the same; they tentatively tested the waters in Australia earlier this year when they did four shows, including performing the entire (I'm) Stranded album in Melbourne as part of the ATP "Don't Look Back" series. But even if this album is all we ever get, it's plenty good enough to warm the cockles of the hardcore Oz-rock contingent on a chilly autumn night. It's as much a meatball sandwich from the heavens as if Roger McGuinn, David Crosby and Chris Hillman buried the hatchet and decided to give the Byrds one last shot.
If Sir Bob Geldof really did say that "rock music of the '70s was changed by three bands, the Sex Pistols, the Ramones and the Saints," then it's high time the Saints returned to the scene to swing for the crime.
Standout Tracks: "(I'm) Stranded," "Know Your Product" JUD COST
