I’m Stranded (1977) is the most famous but perhaps least interesting Saints platter. Yes, the title track is a classic, but aside from its B-side No Time, the rest was rushed out in two days of recording, and it shows. The two slow songs are standouts and the closer Nights in Venice shows some unhinged Stooges-level ferocity, but the other tracks are pretty mediocre. Proof that this could’ve been a much better album if they’d taken more time are the much tighter, vastly improved versions of “One Way Street” and “Demolition Girl” re-recorded for the 1234 EP several months later. B

Eternally Yours (1978) is a vast improvement, a deserved punk classic heralded as one of the great Down Under LPs of all time, and the one Saints album to own if you can only have one. Still very punk but they add horns and a few acoustic ballads for variety. And Chris Bailey is a helluva underrated vocalist. The opening track sounds exactly like Midnight Oil and that’s a good thing! A-

Prehistoric Sounds (1978) - they completely abandon punk in favor of an odd, downbeat bluesy Stax/Volt post-punk vibe that really defies genre description. It’s certainly their most unique album in that while the first two LPs were just really good punk rock, this music really sounds like nothing else going on at the time. Obviously a huge influence on Nick Cave, who like many Australian youths was inspired to form his own band by seeing these guys in concert. The songwriting is a tad inconsistent because the two songwriters were moving in different directions. Guitarist Ed Kuepper clearly wanted to wander into weirder, experimental post-punk waters, while Bailey was morphing into a hard R&B Memphis-beat soul belter (and honestly his Aretha and Otis covers I could do without). There’s a woozy, claustrophobic vibe to the album, exemplified by tracks like “Brisbane (Security City)” and “The Prisoner” almost Joy Division-ish numbers that reek of stifled isolation and bitter paranoia. B+

Paralytic Tonight, Dublin Tomorrow (1980) - The Saints broke up right before the release of the third album and Bailey rehoisted the Saints name with an entirely new band a few years later. This is a 6 song EP showcasing a hot little rock’n’roll band, no more or less. I honestly don’t remember any of the songs except for “Simple Love” which was repeated on their 4th LP, so I guess you don’t really need this? Need to give it another spin or two sometime to see if I’m missing anything.

The Monkey Puzzle (1981) - This is a really good straightforward mainstream rock album, with the guitars jangling like Byrds rather than sawing like Ramones. There’s some good ol’ rock’n’roll (cover of “Dizzy Miss Lizzy”), pointed ballads (“Let’s Pretend”), and Church-y (as in the band) jangle-pop (“Always”). Best track: “In the Mirror”, really love that one. The battle for #2 best Saints album is a bit of a draw: Prehistoric Sounds is certainly a lot more interesting and innovative, but Monkey Puzzle goes down easier on the ears. B+

Out in the Jungle (1982) - a definite step down, but not a drastic one. The first thing I noticed was that the production sucked, with a distant, muffled sound distracting from the songs. Bailey’s lead guitarist bailed and so he had to rely on his adequate guitar skills, so he introduces horns again to help cover up. The first couple of songs are good and the next couple of songs are drags and the rest are decent. He employs a GBV-ish trick of starting and ending the album with a fragment of a promising song that never comes to fruition. A low B

A Little Madness To Be Free (1984) - A pretty good Van Morrison album, which considering that Van himself has been a complete bore since 1974, is welcome. Bailey really slathers on the horns and strings on this one - there’s really not very much guitar in sight. It is a bit overproduced but only a bit; this doesn’t feel at all dated the way most mid-80s pop albums do. The songs themselves....well, I can’t honestly remember most of them, but I do remember them sounding pretty good. So maybe I need to give this more than three spins or maybe the songs just aren’t too memorable in the first place? The exception is the closer “Ghost Ships”, an elegiac musing on aging that has become Bailey’s signature solo song (he’s recorded it thrice). Another low-ish B

All Fools Day (1986 - A Little Madness Pt. II but better, with a lot more guitars and more memorable songs. The opener “Just Like Fire Would” was good enough for Springsteen himself to cover, and the punchy “Temple of the Lord” gained them their first American hit. All in all this is the best Graham Parker album since he broke up the Rumour. This is the most professional, polished, and accomplished Saints album - which does not mean the best. This adult alternative rock just can’t match the excitement of the first 4 Saints LPs. A low B+ compared to the high B+ of Monkey & Prehistoric

Prodigal Son (1988) - As we all know, Pt. IIIs often lamely rehash territory better already covered on previous releases, and this is the Godfather Pt. III of their late ’80s trilogy. The opening track “Grain of Sand” was the single and best track, and even it’s not all that great. The sound is even more generically Adult Alternative and overproduced, with nothing to distinguish the Saints sonically from any other late ’80s alternative band like World Party or Crowded House. And the songs just aren’t there. A bad cover of an Easybeats song that wasn’t that good in the first place and a pointless remake of “Ghost Ships” are especial low points. C

Bailey stopped using the Saints name for several years in favor of more singer-songwritery solo albums, and then formed a new band under the Saints banner for several more albums starting in the late 90s up until 2012, and then he died a decade later from undisclosed circumstances (but his bandmate Ed Kuepper has suggested that it was due to long-term alcoholism - he had lost a kidney and had gout so bad he had trouble walking). I’ve never heard any of those and it’s not a priority right now. Maybe someday I’ll finish a complete discography run of solo Bailey/Saints.