(I'm) Stranded

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."{{Cite journal|last=Matera|first=Joe|date=2004|title=I'm Stranded: Ed Kuepper on the Making of the Saints' Classic Debut|url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/iim-strandedi-ed-kuepper-on-the-making-of-the-saints-classic-debut|journal=Australian Guitar|url-access=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.{{cite web | url=https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/the-screen-guide/t/great-australian-albums-series-1-2007/25783 | title=Great Australian Albums series 1 (2007) – The Screen Guide |work=Screen Australia | access-date=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==

{{Album ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|5|5}}

| rev2 = Christgau's Record Guide

| rev2score = B+

| rev3 = Encyclopedia of Popular Music

| rev3score = {{Rating|4|5}}

| rev4 = The Great Alternative & Indie Discography

| rev4score = 6/10{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/greatalternative0000stro|title=The great alternative & indie discography|first=M. C. (Martin Charles)|last=Strong|date=6 July 1999|publisher=Edinburgh : Canongate|via=Internet Archive}}

| rev5 = MusicHound Rock

| rev5score = {{rating|4.5|5}}{{cite book|title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide|editor=Gary Graff|editor-link=Gary Graff|edition=1st|year=1996|location=London|isbn=978-0-7876-1037-1|publisher=Visible Ink Press}}

| rev6 = Q

| rev6score = {{Rating|4|5}}

| rev7 = Record Mirror

| rev7score = {{Rating|5|5}}

| rev8 = Uncut

| rev8score = {{Rating|4|5}}

}}

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."

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 Voice's Robert Christgau wrote, "intermittent hooks, droning feedback, shouted vocals, and oldie about incest, this album from Australia achieves the great mean of punk style".

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".

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."{{cite web|url=https://www.factmag.com/2014/07/14/the-100-best-albums-of-the-1970s/|title=The 100 best albums of the 1970s|website=FACT Magazine|date=14 July 2014|accessdate=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” vinyl single represented a piece of Australian and Queensland music history, influencing generations of bands around the world. {{Cite SLQ-CC-BY|url=https://www.slq.qld.gov.au/blog/im-stranded-no-time-saints-1976-treasure-collection-john-oxley-library|title=(I'm) Stranded / No Time, The Saints 1976: treasure collection of the John Oxley Library|author=Anna Thurgood|date=24 February 2021|website=John Oxley Library Blog|access-date=21 May 2021}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side A

| all_writing = Chris Bailey and Ed Kuepper except where shown{{#tag:ref |

• 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.|group="nb"}}

| title1 = (I'm) Stranded

| length1 = 3:29

| title2 = One Way Street

| length2 = 2:56

| title3 = Wild About You

| length3 = 2:36

| writer3 = Andy James

| title4 = Messin' with the Kid

| length4 = 5:55

| title5 = Erotic Neurotic

| length5 = 4:07

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side B

| title1 = No Time

| length1 = 2:48

| title2 = Kissin' Cousins

| length2 = 2:00

| writer2 = Fred Wise, Randy Starr

| title3 = Story of Love

| length3 = 3:12

| writer3 = Kuepper

| title4 = Demolition Girl

| length4 = 1:42

| writer4 = Kuepper

| title5 = Nights in Venice

| length5 = 5:41

| total_length = 34:33

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = 1997 CD release bonus tracks

| title11 = Lipstick on Your Collar

| length11 = 2:37

| writer11 = George Goehring, Edna Lewis

| title12 = River Deep – Mountain High

| length12 = 3:55

| writer12 = Phil Spector, Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich

| total_length = 41:04

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = 2007 CD release bonus tracks

| title11 = Untitled

| length11 = 2:56

| note11 = out-take

| title12 = This Perfect Day

| length12 = 2:12

| note12 = single version

| title13 = Lies

| length13 = 2:05

| title14 = Do the Robot

| length14 = 2:44

| writer14 = Kuepper

| title15 = Lipstick on Your Collar

| length15 = 2:35

| writer15 = Goehring, Lewis

| title16 = One Way Street

| length16 = 2:52

| title17 = Demolition Girl

| length17 = 1:59

| writer17 = Kuepper

| title18 = River Deep – Mountain High

| length18 = 3:53

| writer18 = Spector, Barry, Greenwich

| total_length = 55:51

}}

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

The Saints members{{#tag:ref |Credits according to album notes:

• 1977 Australian version.
• 1997 CD version.
• 2007 CD version. |group="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)

{{col-2}}

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)

{{col-end}}

{{Refbegin}}

;General

• {{Cite encyclopedia | last = McFarlane | first = Ian | author-link = Ian McFarlane | encyclopedia = Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop | title = Whammo Homepage | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040405231007/http://www.whammo.com.au/index.asp | url = http://www.whammo.com.au/index.asp | archive-date = 5 April 2004 | accessdate = 9 April 2011 | year = 1999 | publisher = Allen & Unwin | location = St Leonards, NSW | isbn = 1-86508-072-1 }} Note: Archived [on-line] copy has limited functionality.
• {{Cite book | title = The Who's Who of Australian Rock | last = Spencer | first = Chris |author2=Zbig Nowara |author3=Paul McHenry | orig-year = 1987 | year = 2002 | publisher = Five Mile Press | location = Noble Park, Vic | isbn = 1-86503-891-1 }}

;Specific

{{Refend}}

{{Reflist|30em|refs=

McFarlane, [https://web.archive.org/web/20040809222017/http://www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=342 'The Saints'] entry. Archived from [http://www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=342 the original] on 9 October 2004. Retrieved 9 April 2011.

{{cite web|url=http://hem.passagen.se/honga/database/s/saints.html |work=Australian Rock Database |title=The Saints |publisher=Magnus Holmgren |last=Holmgren |first=Magnus |accessdate=10 April 2011 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017090810/http://hem.passagen.se/honga/database/s/saints.html |archive-date=17 October 2013 }}

{{Cite book |last = Cockington | first = James |date=August 2001 | title = Long Way to the Top | chapter = Sunshine Sounds | publisher = ABC Books (Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)) | location = Sydney, NSW | isbn = 0-7333-0750-7 | pages = 210–217 }}

{{cite web|url=http://www.howlspace.com.au/en/saints/saints.htm |title=The Saints |work=Howlspace |last=Nimmervoll |first=Ed |publisher=White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd |accessdate=10 April 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20010328130000/http://www.howlspace.com.au/en/saints/saints.htm |archive-date=28 March 2001 }}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

{{Cite book | last = Stafford | first = Andrew | year = 2006 | title = Pig City: from The Saints to Savage Garden | edition = 2d rev. | location = Brisbane | publisher = University of Queensland Press | isbn = 0-7022-3561-X | pages = 57–76 }}

{{Cite book | title = Molly Meldrum presents 50 years of rock in Australia | last1 = Jenkins | first1 = Jeff | last2 = Meldrum | first2 = Ian | author-link2 = Molly Meldrum | year = 2007 | publisher = Wilkinson Publishing | location = Melbourne | pages = 252–253 | isbn = 978-1-921332-11-1 }}

McFarlane, [https://web.archive.org/web/20040823035529/http://www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=497 'The Missing Links'] entry. Archived from [http://www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=497 the original] on 23 August 2004. Retrieved 10 April 2011.

{{Cite book | title = Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 | last = Kent | first = David | author-link = David Kent (historian) | publisher = Australian Chart Book Ltd | location = St Ives, NSW | year = 1993 | isbn = 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.

{{cite web | url = http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/music_specials/s1402503.htm | publisher = Triple J (Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)) | work = J Files Page | title = The Saints | accessdate = 9 April 2011 | date = 30 November 2000 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081118050215/http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/music_specials/s1402503.htm | archive-date = 18 November 2008 | url-status = dead }}

{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=im-stranded-mw0000239104|pure_url=yes}}|title=(I'm) Stranded – The Saints|website=AllMusic|accessdate=21 November 2024|last=Sendra|first=Tim}}

{{cite news|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv11-77.php|title=Christgau's Consumer Guide|newspaper=The Village Voice|location=New York|date=31 October 1977|accessdate=29 April 2013|last=Christgau|first=Robert}}

{{cite book|chapter=The Saints: (I'm) Stranded|chapter-url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=7710|accessdate=29 April 2013|title=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|title-link=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|publisher=Ticknor and Fields|year=1981|isbn=0-899-19026-X}}

{{cite book|chapter=Saints|title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music|title-link=Encyclopedia of Popular Music|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin|publisher=Omnibus Press|edition=5th concise|year=2011|isbn=978-0-85712-595-8}}

{{cite magazine|title=The Saints: (I'm) Stranded|magazine=Q|location=London|issue=171|date=December 2000|page=151}}

{{cite magazine|title=St. Stranded|magazine=Record Mirror|location=London|date=12 March 1977|last=Cain|first=Barry|page=14}}

{{cite magazine|title=The Saints: (I'm) Stranded|magazine=Uncut|location=London|issue=39|date=August 2000|page=99}}

{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/the-saints-iim-strandedi|title=The Saints: I'm Stranded|magazine=ZigZag|location=London|date=May 1977|accessdate=3 April 2019|last=Needs|first=Kris|author-link=Kris Needs|url-access=subscription|via=Rock's Backpages}}

{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/the-saints-iim-strandedi-sire|title=The Saints: (I'm) Stranded (Sire)|magazine=Creem|location=Detroit|date=December 1977|accessdate=3 April 2019|last=Hull|first=Robot A.|url-access=subscription|via=Rock's Backpages}}

{{cite web | last = Ballon | first = John | date = 27 December 2008 | title = The Saints – (I'm) Stranded | work = MustHear | publisher = John Ballon | url = http://www.musthear.com/music/reviews/the-saints/im-stranded/ | accessdate = 24 April 2011 }}

{{cite web|url=http://www.apra-amcos.com.au/APRAAwards/MusicAwards/History/2001Top30Songs.aspx |last=Kruger |first=Debbie |author-link=Debbie Kruger |title=The Songs That Resonate Through the Years |publisher=Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) |date=2 May 2001 |accessdate=19 April 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140401091541/http://www.apra-amcos.com.au/apraawards/musicawards/history/2001Top30Songs.aspx |archive-date=1 April 2014 }}

{{cite web | url = http://nfsa.gov.au/collection/national-collection/sound/sounds-australia/about-registry/ | title = About the Registry | work = Sounds of Australia | publisher = National Film and Sound Archive | accessdate = 16 January 2011 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110217114326/http://nfsa.gov.au/collection/national-collection/sound/sounds-australia/about-registry/ | archive-date = 17 February 2011}}

{{Cite book | title = 100 Best Australian Albums | last1 = O'Donnell | first1 = John | author-link1 = John O'Donnell (music journalist) | last2 = Creswell | first2=Toby | author-link2 = Toby Creswell | last3 = Mathieson | first3 = Craig | author-link3 = Craig Mathieson | publisher = Hardie Grant Books | date = October 2010 | location = Prahran, Vic | pages = 78–79, 124–125 | isbn = 978-1-74066-955-9 }}

{{cite web | url = 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 | title = Works written by: Christopher James Mannix Bailey | work = ACE Title Search | publisher = American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) | accessdate = 23 April 2011}}

{{cite web | url = 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 | title = Works written by: Edmund Kuepper | work = ACE Title Search | publisher = American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) | accessdate = 23 April 2011}}

{{cite web | publisher = Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | title = "Wild About You" at APRA search engine | url = http://www.apra-amcos.com.au/worksearch.axd?q=Wild%20About%20You | accessdate = 23 April 2011 }}

{{cite web | publisher = Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | title = "Kissin' Cousins" at APRA search engine | url = http://www.apra-amcos.com.au/worksearch.axd?q=Kissin%20Cousins | accessdate = 23 April 2011 }}

{{cite web | publisher = Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | title = "Lipstick on Your Collar" at APRA search engine | url = http://www.apra-amcos.com.au/worksearch.axd?q=Lipstick%20on%20Your%20Collar | accessdate = 23 April 2011 }}

{{cite web | publisher = Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | title = "River Deep – Mountain High" at APRA search engine | url = http://www.apra-amcos.com.au/worksearch.axd?q=River%20Deep%20Mountain%20High | accessdate = 23 April 2011 }}

{{cite AV media notes |title= (I'm) Stranded - The Saints |year= 1977 |type= LP |publisher= EMI |id= EMC 2570 |location= Australia}}

{{cite AV media notes |title= (I'm) Stranded - The Saints |year= 1997 |type= CD |publisher= Triple X Entertainment |id= 51243-2 |location= United States}}

{{cite AV media notes |title= (I'm) Stranded - The Saints |year= 2007 |type= CD |publisher= EMI |id= 00371 |location= Australia}}

{{cite web|url=http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/2090055 |title=Who's who of Australian rock / compiled by Chris Spencer, Zbig Nowara & Paul McHenry |work=catalogue |publisher=National Library of Australia |accessdate=9 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614134734/http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/2090055 |archive-date=14 June 2011 }} Note: [on-line] version established at [http://www.whiteroom.com.au/howlspace/whoswho/aboutww.htm White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229232852/http://www.whiteroom.com.au/howlspace/whoswho/aboutww.htm |date=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.

}}

• {{MusicBrainz release group|id=13bc9234-9495-3dee-a803-dc6e54386837}}.
• [http://www.saintsmusic.com/strandedlyrics.html (I'm) Stranded All Lyrics] [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 | State Library Of Queensland]
• [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]

{{The Saints}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:I'm Stranded}}

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