1977 Punks @ 30 (first in a series): The Saints, punk down under
So 1977 is considered by me at least as the pinnacle of "Real Punk Rock". Whether it's "Never Mind the Bollocks" or "The Clash" in the UK or "Blank Generation", "Young Loud & Snotty" or "Marquee Moon" in the US, '77 was the year Punk exploded, with no apologies, no feelings, and with a genuineness that managed to grab attention away from the high budget Rock Elephants the likes of ELP and King Crimson. You may not like it. Or understand it. But you had to deal with it.
The Saints were a band from Australia that heard the call, as many did, from the early Ramones and Sex Pistols releases and sped their sound up to make a brilliant raucous ruckus. Here are two great songs by them.
They are both on one of the CDs that I would include on the short list of utter must-haves (for a punk or any other rock music collection, really), an incredibly consistent double CD Wild About You which collects all of their studio recordings from 1976-1978. This has apparently become incredibly rare since I picked it up a couple years ago. The only listings on Amazon have it for $54!! No sign on ebay. Don't know about itunes. But really, you should hear their stuff, it's amazing!
