So Many Things compiles the on-hiatus outfit’s rather large array of 7″s and B-sides, charting a chronological musical, and to some extent sonic, growth. “Don’t need your boobies, don’t need your cute little bum,” is just one example of the endearingly childlike lines on the too-sweet-to-be-vicious title track, with frontman Brendan Suppression laying down the first instance of his characteristic ad-lib ranting.
Primitive versions of album cuts such as We’ll Be Turned On and You Let Me Be Honest With You aren’t too far removed from their more polished counterparts, with the distinctive fuzzed-out bass and crisp drums proving as vital as the championed one-two punch of Brendan’s vocals and Mikey Young’s guitar. Though not present on any LPs, live staples such as That Time Of Day and Wet Cement hold up just as well in the recorded format.
Not exactly a gateway for the uninitiated, So Many Things offers a convenient package for those wanting to possess such rarities through legitimate means – a fittingly perfunctory and to-the-point record.
Key Track: You Let Me Be Honest With You
If You Like These You’ll Like This: Best Of The Saints THE SAINTS, ’74 Jailbreak AC/DC
In A Word: Boobies