Simply Saucer - Cyborgs Revisited

Simply Saucer were a Canadian group of the wasteland period (post-psych, pre-punk). Like a few of the other kick ass bands of the period, they were almost completely unique. And completely invisible.

I've heard this record compared to Syd's Floyd quite a bit. I can dig it, but only if we're talking about the Syd of Vegetable Man and Scream Thy Last Scream. There's no See Emily Play pop structure going on here at all.

I think a more apt comparison is the very earliest of Pere Ubu. The one with Peter Laughner. This has that same damaged sense of song structure - there are very few verse/chorus things going on here. Even the solo sections have a crazy non-standard structure to them. Also like the Ubu, there is that ubiquitous non-musical electronics that really sells it for me.

But unlike Floyd or Ubu, this is a space *rock* band, meaning that the singer is got that garage punky snarl to him. This is the piece that takes this band from being part of a group to being flat out unique.

If you haven't written songs before, it may be hard to truly appreciate how difficult this type of song construction is (don't you hate it when reviewers say this kind of shit...). Most songs are written as groove A (aka verse), groove B (chorus), and maybe C or D (bridge, coda, intro, etc). Each piece needs to fit somewhat, but as long as they are similar keys, it works OK. Simply Saucer might go A, B, C, D, semi-A, C backwards, E, Q, freak-out, B with each part melting into each other, rather than abrupt transitions. Good stuff.
Manic CBGB's era electro-punk from Canada. Recorded in 1974 by Daniel and Bob Lanois and bolstered by demos, live tracks, and later day singles.

Tracks :
1. Instant Pleasure
2. Electro Rock
3. Nazi Apocalypse
4. Mole Machine
5. Bullet Proof Nothing
6. Here Come The Cyborgs (Part 1)
7. Here Come The Cyborgs (Part 2)
8. Dance The Mutation
9. Illegal Bodies
10. Low Profile (Demo)
11. Little Sally (Demo)
12. Get My Thrills (Demo)
13. I Take It (Demo)
14. Yes I Do (Live)
15. Bullet Proof Nothing (Live)
16. Now's The Time For The Party (Live)
17. I Can Change My Mind (1978 45 rpm Single)
18. She's A Dog (1978 45 rpm Single)

This expanded reissue contains material from a two-song single, a recording session from 1974,
a live set from 1975, and the 1978 single "She's A Dog".

Simply Saucer :
Edgar Breau (vocals, guitar, Theremin)
Ping Romany (keyboards)
Kevin Christoff (bass, background vocals)
Neil DeMerchant, Tony Cutaia (drums)