(I'm) Stranded

April 2019 (I'm) Stranded studio The Saints Im Stranded.jpg 21 February 1977 June, December 1976 Window Studios, Brisbane Punk rock 34:33 EMI (Australia)Harvest (original UK release)Sire (original US release)Captain Oi! (1999 UK CD release)4 Men with Beards (2003 US LP reissue) Mark Moffatt, Rod Coe Eternally Yours 1978 (I'm) Stranded studio (I'm) Stranded September 1976 Erotic Neurotic May 1977 (I'm) Stranded is the debut album by Australian punk rock group The Saints which was released by EMI on 21 February 1977. Their debut single, "(I'm) Stranded", was issued ahead of the album in September 1976, which Sounds magazine's reviewer, Jonh Ingham, 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 May 2001, Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) celebrated its 75th anniversary and named "(I'm) Stranded" in its Top 30 Australian songs of all time. In 2007, 'I'm Stranded' was one of the first 20 songs added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia registry. Their debut album was listed at No. 20 in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums, in October 2010. Background The Saints formed in Brisbane in 1973 with original members Chris Bailey (singer-songwriter, later guitarist), Ed Kuepper (guitarist-songwriter), and Ivor Hay (drummer). In 1975, Kym Bradshaw joined on bass guitar. Contemporaneous with Ramones, 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" and "No Time" with Mark Moffatt producing. Unable to find an interested label, they formed Fatal Records and independently released the two tracks as their debut single in September 1976. Their self-owned Eternal Promotions sent discs to radio stations and magazines both in Australia – with little local interest – and the United Kingdom. In the UK, a small label, Power Exchange, issued the single. Sounds magazine's reviewer Jonh Ingham declared it, "Single of this and every week". EMI 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. Kuepper said later that the album was "basically our live set and were also the oldest songs. And in particularly with 'Nights In Venice' and 'Messin' With The Kid', they were the first two songs we ever did."Matera Joe 2004 I'm Stranded: Ed Kuepper on the Making of the Saints' Classic Debut https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/iim-strandedi-ed-kuepper-on-the-making-of-the-saints-classic-debut Australian Guitar subscription It included a cover version of The Missing Links' track "Wild About You". On the single tracks "(I'm) Stranded" and "No Time", Kuepper's guitar was tuned up a semitone, to emulate Bo Diddley. The other eight tracks were recorded over a weekend in December 1976. Kuepper used Mark Moffatt's 1960 Fender Super amp with no effect pedals on (I'm) Stranded and No Time. On the remainder of the album he used a vocal PA as his guitar amp, after his live amp had "blown up", and an MXR Distortion Plus pedal. The band recorded the tracks live, though with the guitar amp in the corridor to avoid spill. The band supported AC/DC in late December 1976 and, early in 1977, relocated to Sydney. EMI re-issued the single "(I'm) Stranded" in February 1977 and it reached the Kent Music Report Top 100 Singles Chart. In May 1977, the band released their second single, "Erotic Neurotic" and then moved to the 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 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". In August of that year band members Bailey and Kuepper described their work for SBS-TV's documentary Great Australian Albums.https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/the-screen-guide/t/great-australian-albums-series-1-2007/25783 Great Australian Albums series 1 (2007) – The Screen Guide Screen Australia 11 November 2022 In November 2024, the album is scheduled for a limited edition 4× vinyl box set featuring the Original LP, alternate versions and live recording from Sydney and London, recorded in 1977. Reception AllMusic 5 5 Christgau's Record Guide B+ Encyclopedia of Popular Music 4 5 The Great Alternative & Indie Discography 6/10http://archive.org/details/greatalternative0000stro The great alternative & indie discography M. C. (Martin Charles) Strong 6 July 1999 Edinburgh : Canongate Internet Archive MusicHound Rock 4.5 5MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide Gary Graff Gary Graff 1st 1996 London 978-0-7876-1037-1 Visible Ink Press Q 4 5 Record Mirror 5 5 Uncut 4 5 Contemporary reviews Kris Needs in ZigZag May 1977 called it a "rip-snorter of an album" and "one hell of an album, although it's a bit patchy." Rolling Stone said it was, "an LP so coarse, brutal and maggot-infested it probably could excite only future archaeologists." Rolling Stone Eternally Yours Mitchell Schneider 13 July 1978 Robot A. Hull in Creem December 1977, reviewing the US edition released on Sire, said the Saints "easily match the savage revolt of bands like the Clash and the Jam" and called (I'm Stranded) "a pistol shot of an album worth getting stewed over". The Village Voices Robert Christgau wrote, "intermittent hooks, droning feedback, shouted vocals, and oldie about incest, this album from Australia achieves the great mean of punk style". Retrospective reviews In his review of (I'm) Stranded, Tim Sendra of AllMusic declared that the album "is the band's statement of purpose: it's three-and-a-half minutes of post-teenage angst wrapped in barbed wire that floors the listener right away while also setting the scene for the bruised and battered songs that follow.". McFarlane described it as "full of rough, exhilarating rock'n'roll noise, and it remains one of the greatest debut albums of the era". 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 (APRA) celebrated its 75th anniversary and named "(I'm) Stranded" in its Top 30 Australian songs of all time. In 2007, "I'm Stranded" was one of the first 20 songs stored on the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia registry. The album was listed at No. 20 in the book 100 Best Australian Albums in October 2010. Fact ranked it the 20th best album of the 1970s in 2014, calling it "easily one of the best – and probably the noisiest – albums to emerge from punk's first wave."https://www.factmag.com/2014/07/14/the-100-best-albums-of-the-1970s/ The 100 best albums of the 1970s FACT Magazine 14 July 2014 12 September 2020 The State Library of Queensland named its copy of "(I'm) Stranded" as one of the treasures from its John Oxley Library collection, citing the 7 in on cm vinyl single represented a piece of Australian and Queensland music history, influencing generations of bands around the world.https://www.slq.qld.gov.au/blog/im-stranded-no-time-saints-1976-treasure-collection-john-oxley-library (I'm) Stranded / No Time, The Saints 1976: treasure collection of the John Oxley Library Anna Thurgood 24 February 2021 John Oxley Library Blog 21 May 2021 Track listing Side A Chris Bailey and Ed Kuepper except where shown Song writing credits for Chris Bailey and Ed Kuepper adapted from American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). "Wild About You" was written by Andy N J Anderson (aka Andy James) for his 1960s band, The Missing Links. "Kissin' Cousins" was written by Fred Wise and Randy Starr and performed by Elvis Presley for the 1964 film Kissin' Cousins. "Lipstick on Your Collar" was written by Edna Lewis and George Goehring, and was issued as a single in 1959 by Connie Francis. "River Deep – Mountain High" was written by Phil Spector, Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, and was issued as a single in 1966 by Ike & Tina Turner. "nb" (I'm) Stranded 3:29 One Way Street 2:56 Wild About You 2:36 Andy James Messin' with the Kid 5:55 Erotic Neurotic 4:07 Side B No Time 2:48 Kissin' Cousins 2:00 Fred Wise, Randy Starr Story of Love 3:12 Kuepper Demolition Girl 1:42 Kuepper Nights in Venice 5:41 34:33 1997 CD release bonus tracks Lipstick on Your Collar 2:37 George Goehring, Edna Lewis River Deep – Mountain High 3:55 Phil Spector, Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich 41:04 2007 CD release bonus tracks Untitled 2:56 out-take This Perfect Day 2:12 single version Lies 2:05 Do the Robot 2:44 Kuepper Lipstick on Your Collar 2:35 Goehring, Lewis One Way Street 2:52 Demolition Girl 1:59 Kuepper River Deep – Mountain High 3:53 Spector, Barry, Greenwich 55:51 PersonnelThe Saints membersCredits according to album notes: 1977 Australian version. 1997 CD version. 2007 CD version. "nb" Chris Bailey – vocals Kym Bradshaw – bass guitar (tracks 1–10, 11–13 on 2007 release) Ivor Hay – drums Ed Kuepper – guitar Alasdair "Algy" Ward – 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) In popular culture The song "(I'm) Stranded" is used as the theme music in the supernatural comedy drama TV series Spirited'', which features the ghost of a 1980s punk rock star. "(I'm) Stranded" was used by the Black Label Skateboards company in their video "Black Out" for skateboarder Ragdoll's part.The Five Coolest TV Theme Songs https://themusic.com.au/news/the-five-coolest-tv-theme-songs/UBdDQkVER0Y/11-02-14 24 October 2025 themusic.com.au 11 February 2014 Notes References General McFarlane Ian Ian McFarlane Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop Whammo Homepage https://web.archive.org/web/20040405231007/http://www.whammo.com.au/index.asp http://www.whammo.com.au/index.asp 5 April 2004 9 April 2011 1999 Allen & Unwin St Leonards, NSW 1-86508-072-1 Note: Archived [on-line] copy has limited functionality. The Who's Who of Australian Rock Spencer Chris Zbig Nowara Paul McHenry 1987 2002 Five Mile Press Noble Park, Vic 1-86503-891-1 Specific 30em McFarlane, 'The Saints' entry. Archived from the original on 9 October 2004. Retrieved 9 April 2011. http://hem.passagen.se/honga/database/s/saints.html Australian Rock Database The Saints Magnus Holmgren Holmgren Magnus 10 April 2011 usurped https://web.archive.org/web/20131017090810/http://hem.passagen.se/honga/database/s/saints.html 17 October 2013 Cockington James August 2001 Long Way to the Top Sunshine Sounds ABC Books (Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)) Sydney, NSW 0-7333-0750-7 210–217 http://www.howlspace.com.au/en/saints/saints.htm The Saints Howlspace Nimmervoll Ed White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd 10 April 2011 dead https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20010328130000/http://www.howlspace.com.au/en/saints/saints.htm 28 March 2001 medic Stafford Andrew 2006 Pig City: from The Saints to Savage Garden 2d rev. Brisbane University of Queensland Press 0-7022-3561-X 57–76 Molly Meldrum presents 50 years of rock in Australia Jenkins Jeff Meldrum Ian Molly Meldrum 2007 Wilkinson Publishing Melbourne 252–253 978-1-921332-11-1 McFarlane, 'The Missing Links' entry. Archived from the original on 23 August 2004. Retrieved 10 April 2011. Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 Kent David David Kent (historian) Australian Chart Book Ltd St Ives, NSW 1993 0-646-11917-6 Note: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1974 until Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) created their own charts in mid-1988. In 1992, Kent back calculated chart positions for 1970–1974. http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/music_specials/s1402503.htm Triple J (Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)) J Files Page The Saints 9 April 2011 30 November 2000 https://web.archive.org/web/20081118050215/http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/music_specials/s1402503.htm 18 November 2008 dead album im-stranded-mw0000239104 yes (I'm) Stranded – The Saints AllMusic 21 November 2024 Sendra Tim http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv11-77.php Christgau's Consumer Guide The Village Voice New York 31 October 1977 29 April 2013 Christgau Robert The Saints: (I'm) Stranded http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=7710 29 April 2013 Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies Christgau Robert Robert Christgau Ticknor and Fields 1981 0-899-19026-X Saints The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Encyclopedia of Popular Music Larkin Colin Colin Larkin Omnibus Press 5th concise 2011 978-0-85712-595-8 The Saints: (I'm) Stranded Q London 171 December 2000 151 St. Stranded Record Mirror London 12 March 1977 Cain Barry 14 The Saints: (I'm) Stranded Uncut London 39 August 2000 99 https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/the-saints-iim-strandedi The Saints: I'm Stranded ZigZag London May 1977 3 April 2019 Needs Kris Kris Needs subscription Rock's Backpages https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/the-saints-iim-strandedi-sire The Saints: (I'm) Stranded (Sire) Creem Detroit December 1977 3 April 2019 Hull Robot A. subscription Rock's Backpages Ballon John 27 December 2008 The Saints – (I'm) Stranded MustHear John Ballon http://www.musthear.com/music/reviews/the-saints/im-stranded/ 24 April 2011 http://www.apra-amcos.com.au/APRAAwards/MusicAwards/History/2001Top30Songs.aspx Kruger Debbie Debbie Kruger The Songs That Resonate Through the Years Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) 2 May 2001 19 April 2011 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20140401091541/http://www.apra-amcos.com.au/apraawards/musicawards/history/2001Top30Songs.aspx 1 April 2014 http://nfsa.gov.au/collection/national-collection/sound/sounds-australia/about-registry/ About the Registry Sounds of Australia National Film and Sound Archive 16 January 2011 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20110217114326/http://nfsa.gov.au/collection/national-collection/sound/sounds-australia/about-registry/ 17 February 2011 100 Best Australian Albums O'Donnell John John O'Donnell (music journalist) Creswell Toby Toby Creswell Mathieson Craig Craig Mathieson Hardie Grant Books October 2010 Prahran, Vic 78–79, 124–125 978-1-74066-955-9 http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?requesttimeout=300&mode=results&searchstr=1837870&search_in=c&search_type=exact&search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v&results_pp=25&start=1 Works written by: Christopher James Mannix Bailey ACE Title Search American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) 23 April 2011 http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?requesttimeout=300&mode=results&searchstr=5727360&search_in=c&search_type=exact&search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v&results_pp=25&start=1 Works written by: Edmund Kuepper ACE Title Search American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) 23 April 2011 Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) "Wild About You" at APRA search engine http://www.apra-amcos.com.au/worksearch.axd?q=Wild%20About%20You 23 April 2011 Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) "Kissin' Cousins" at APRA search engine http://www.apra-amcos.com.au/worksearch.axd?q=Kissin%20Cousins 23 April 2011 Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) "Lipstick on Your Collar" at APRA search engine http://www.apra-amcos.com.au/worksearch.axd?q=Lipstick%20on%20Your%20Collar 23 April 2011 Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) "River Deep – Mountain High" at APRA search engine http://www.apra-amcos.com.au/worksearch.axd?q=River%20Deep%20Mountain%20High 23 April 2011 (I'm) Stranded - The Saints 1977 LP EMI EMC 2570 Australia (I'm) Stranded - The Saints 1997 CD Triple X Entertainment 51243-2 United States (I'm) Stranded - The Saints 2007 CD EMI 00371 Australia http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/2090055 Who's who of Australian rock / compiled by Chris Spencer, Zbig Nowara & Paul McHenry catalogue National Library of Australia 9 April 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20110614134734/http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/2090055 14 June 2011 Note: [on-line] version established at White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd https://web.archive.org/web/20120229232852/http://www.whiteroom.com.au/howlspace/whoswho/aboutww.htm 29 February 2012 in 2007 and was expanded from the 2002 edition. As from September 2010, [on-line] version appears to have an Internal Service Error. External links 13bc9234-9495-3dee-a803-dc6e54386837. (I'm) Stranded All Lyrics (I'm) Stranded / No Time, The Saints 1976: treasure collection of the John Oxley Library | State Library Of Queensland (I'm) Stranded / No Time, The Saints 1976: treasure collection of the John Oxley Library Category:1977 debut albums Category:The Saints (Australian band) albums Category:EMI Records albums Category:Harvest Records albums Category:Sire Records albums Category:Captain Oi! Records albums