(I'm) Stranded
Encyclopedia
Stranded is the debut album by Australian punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 group The Saints
The Saints (band)
The Saints are an Australian rock band, which formed in Brisbane in 1974 as punk rockers. Founders were Chris Bailey , Ivor Hay , and Ed Kuepper . Alongside mainstay Bailey, the group has had numerous line-ups...

 which was released by EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...

 on 21 February 1977. Their debut single, "(I'm) Stranded
(I'm) Stranded (song)
" Stranded" is the first song released by pioneering Australian punk rock band The Saints. Issued in September 1976, it has been cited as "one of the iconic singles of the era", and pre-dated vinyl debuts by contemporary punk acts such as the Sex Pistols, Buzzcocks, The Damned and The Clash...

", was issued ahead of the album in September 1976, which Sounds
Sounds (magazine)
Sounds was a long-term British music paper, published weekly from 10 October 1970 – 6 April 1991. It was produced by Spotlight Publications , which was set up by Jack Hutton and Peter Wilkinson, who left "Melody Maker" to start their own company...

 magazine's reviewer, Jonh Ingham
Jonh Ingham
Jonh Ingham is the nom de typewriter for John Ingham, a music journalist best known for writing the first interview with The Sex Pistols for the UK music paper Sounds in April 1976....

, declared was the "Single of this and every week". "Erotic Neurotic" was the second single, which was released in May 1977 and the group relocated to the United Kingdom. In June, bass guitarist Alasdair "Algy" Ward
Algy Ward
Alasdair Mackie "Algy" Ward is an English rock and roll bass guitarist and singer.-Biography:He was first active as a member of the Australian punk band The Saints before joining British group The Damned and playing on Machine Gun Etiquette...

 replaced Bradshaw and the group issued a single, "This Perfect Day" in July, which peaked in the Top 40 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

.

In May 2001, Australasian Performing Right Association
Australasian Performing Right Association
The Australasian Performing Right Association is a copyright collective representing New Zealand and Australian composers, lyricists and music publishers. The association's head offices located in Sydney Australia, and it has branch offices in Auckland, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth...

 (APRA) celebrated its 75th anniversary and named "(I'm) Stranded" in its Top 30 Australian songs
APRA Top 30 Australian songs
APRA's Top 30 Australian songs between 1926 and 2001 was a list created by the Australasian Performing Right Association to celebrate its 75th anniversary...

 of all time. In 2007, "I'm Stranded" was one of the first 20 songs stored on the National Film and Sound Archive
National Film and Sound Archive
The National Film and Sound Archive is Australia’s audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national collection of audiovisual materials and related items...

's Sounds of Australia registry. Their debut album was listed at No. 20 in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums
100 Best Australian Albums
100 Best Australian Albums is a compendium of rock and pop albums of the past 50 years as compiled by music journalists Toby Creswell, Craig Mathieson and John O'Donnell. The book was published on 25 October 2010 by Hardie Grant Books...

, in October 2010.

Background

(I'm) Stranded is the debut album by The Saints
The Saints (band)
The Saints are an Australian rock band, which formed in Brisbane in 1974 as punk rockers. Founders were Chris Bailey , Ivor Hay , and Ed Kuepper . Alongside mainstay Bailey, the group has had numerous line-ups...

 which had formed in Brisbane in 1974 with original members Chris Bailey (singer-songwriter, later guitarist), Ed Kuepper
Ed Kuepper
Ed Kuepper is an Australian guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. He co-founded the seminal punk band The Saints, the experimental post-punk group Laughing Clowns and later the grunge-like The Aints...

 (guitarist-songwriter), and Ivor Hay (drummer). In 1975, Kym Bradshaw joined on bass guitar. Contemporaneous with Ramones
Ramones
The Ramones were an American rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first punk rock group...

, the group were employing the fast tempos, raucous vocals and "buzz saw" guitar that characterised early punk rock. Kuepper explained that they played faster and faster as they were nervous in front of audiences. According to Australian rock historian, Ian McFarlane, they had developed their "own distinctive sound as defined by Kuepper's frenetic, whirlwind guitar style and Bailey's arrogant snarl".

In June 1976, The Saints recorded two tracks, "(I'm) Stranded
(I'm) Stranded (song)
" Stranded" is the first song released by pioneering Australian punk rock band The Saints. Issued in September 1976, it has been cited as "one of the iconic singles of the era", and pre-dated vinyl debuts by contemporary punk acts such as the Sex Pistols, Buzzcocks, The Damned and The Clash...

" and "No Time" with Mark Moffatt producing. Unable to find any interested label, they formed Fatal Records and independently released their debut single in September. Their self-owned Eternal Promotions sent discs to radio stations and magazines both in Australia – with little local interest – and United Kingdom. In the UK, a small label, Power Exchange, issued the single. Sounds
Sounds (magazine)
Sounds was a long-term British music paper, published weekly from 10 October 1970 – 6 April 1991. It was produced by Spotlight Publications , which was set up by Jack Hutton and Peter Wilkinson, who left "Melody Maker" to start their own company...

 magazine's reviewer, Jonh Ingham
Jonh Ingham
Jonh Ingham is the nom de typewriter for John Ingham, a music journalist best known for writing the first interview with The Sex Pistols for the UK music paper Sounds in April 1976....

, declared it, "Single of this and every week". EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...

 head office in London contacted the Sydney branch and directed that they be signed to a three-album contract. Over two days in December, the group recorded their first LP album, (I'm) Stranded (21 February 1977), with Rod Coe producing. It included a cover version of The Missing Links' track "Wild About You". They supported AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...

 in late December 1976 and, early in 1977, relocated to Sydney.

EMI re-issued the single, "(I'm) Stranded" in February and it reached the Kent Music Report
Kent Music Report
The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998...

 Top 100 Singles Chart. In May, the band released their second single, "Erotic Neurotic" and then moved to UK, where they differed with their label over how they should be marketed. EMI planned to promote them as a typical punk band, complete with ripped clothes and spiky hair – The Saints insisted on maintaining a more downbeat image.

In June, bass guitarist Alasdair "Algy" Ward
Algy Ward
Alasdair Mackie "Algy" Ward is an English rock and roll bass guitarist and singer.-Biography:He was first active as a member of the Australian punk band The Saints before joining British group The Damned and playing on Machine Gun Etiquette...

 replaced Bradshaw. Their next single "This Perfect Day" (July) peaked at No. 34 in the UK but further improvement was frustrated by EMI's failure to press enough copies to satisfy demand. The song later appeared on their 1978 album, Eternally Yours
Eternally Yours
Eternally Yours is second album released by the Australian music group The Saints in 1978. For their follow up album the band chose a bigger, more R&B-driven sound, including the addition of a horn section.The original title for the album was to be International Robots and recording initially...

. In September 1977, The Saints released One Two Three Four
One Two Three Four
One Two Three Four was the first 7" EP by Punk band The Saints. The EP contained two covers and two re-recorded versions of tracks that originally featured on their debut album Stranded...

 as a 7" EP which contained two covers and two re-recorded versions of tracks from their debut album. It was originally issued in the UK as both a single disc EP and a double 7" with a gate-fold sleeve.

In 2007, (I'm) Stranded was reissued as a CD with bonus tracks including the EP One Two Three Four and the single version of "This Perfect Day".

Professional reviews

In his review of (I'm) Stranded, Jack Rabid of Allmusic declared that "[T]he Saints sparked the Far East punk rock movement with a blasting, blistering, scorching sound no one had heard before". Although eight of the tracks showed a "heavy, buzzing racket ... borders on unintelligible, they're so cheaply recorded". McFarlane described it as "full of rough, exhilarating rock'n'roll noise, and it remains one of the greatest debut albums of the era". Consumer Guides Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...

, "intermittent hooks, droning feedback, shouted vocals, and oldie about incest, this album from Australia achieves the great mean of punk style". John Ballon of MustHear writes the album is "a devastating listen, loaded with the same irresistible power ... [and] has all the intense purity of a band hell bent on making a racket, regardless of its commercial viability".

Accolades

In May 2001, Australasian Performing Right Association
Australasian Performing Right Association
The Australasian Performing Right Association is a copyright collective representing New Zealand and Australian composers, lyricists and music publishers. The association's head offices located in Sydney Australia, and it has branch offices in Auckland, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth...

 (APRA) celebrated its 75th anniversary and named "(I'm) Stranded" in its Top 30 Australian songs
APRA Top 30 Australian songs
APRA's Top 30 Australian songs between 1926 and 2001 was a list created by the Australasian Performing Right Association to celebrate its 75th anniversary...

 of all time. In 2007, "I'm Stranded" was one of the first 20 songs stored on the National Film and Sound Archive
National Film and Sound Archive
The National Film and Sound Archive is Australia’s audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national collection of audiovisual materials and related items...

's Sounds of Australia registry. Their debut album was listed at No. 20 in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums
100 Best Australian Albums
100 Best Australian Albums is a compendium of rock and pop albums of the past 50 years as compiled by music journalists Toby Creswell, Craig Mathieson and John O'Donnell. The book was published on 25 October 2010 by Hardie Grant Books...

, in October 2010.

Track listing

Personnel

The Saints members
  • Chris Bailey – vocals
  • Kym Bradshaw – bass guitar (tracks 1–10, 11–13 on 2007 release)
  • Ivor Hay – drums
  • Ed Kuepper
    Ed Kuepper
    Ed Kuepper is an Australian guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. He co-founded the seminal punk band The Saints, the experimental post-punk group Laughing Clowns and later the grunge-like The Aints...

     – guitar
  • Alasdair "Algy" Ward
    Algy Ward
    Alasdair Mackie "Algy" Ward is an English rock and roll bass guitarist and singer.-Biography:He was first active as a member of the Australian punk band The Saints before joining British group The Damned and playing on Machine Gun Etiquette...

     – bass guitar (tracks 11–12 on 1997 release, 14–18 on 2007 release)


  • Additional musicians
    • The Flat Top Four – backing vocals (track 7)

    Production
    • Rod Coe – producer (except tracks 1, 6 or bonus tracks)
    • Mark Moffatt – producer (only tracks 1, 6)
    • Bailey, Kuepper – producer (only bonus tracks)
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