The story behind this album is arguably redolent of the ‘Searching for Sugar Man’ tale. Canadian cult garage band Simply Saucer had emerged from the Rust Belt punk scene of the early 1970s, following in the wake of Stooges, MC5 and Alice Cooper, whilst also absorbing influences from such varied sources as b-movie sci-fi shtick, early krautrock and British psychedelia.
The collection of songs forming ‘Cyborgs Revisited’ started with a long forgotten 1974 studio session; guitarist/vocalist Edgar Breau, keyboardist John La Plante, bassist Kevin Christoff and drummer Neil De Merchant enlisting a then unknown Daniel Lanois (together with brother Bob) at the controls. These tracks were augmented by a live set performed and recorded on the roof of a downtown shopping mall in Hamilton Ontario the following summer. Alas neither saw the light of day during the band’s lifetime, on their break-up in 1979, they’d nothing more than a solitary 7” single as tangible proof of their existence.
You have to fast forward another decade until ‘Cyborgs’ finally garnered its first release, the raw power contained within the studio demos and live performance winning over many, helping it become an instant lost classic, leading to a version of the band reforming who continue to play live to this day. A few ‘Cyborgs’ reissues appeared during the intervening years but it’s the latest incarnation on In the Red records, finally granting this record the belated de-luxe treatment it deserves; a completely remastered double album containing previously unseen photos, plus liner notes from band biographer Jesse Lock.
Despite these recordings being taped almost half a century ago, using presumably low rent equipment, the quartet’s raw energy more than makes up for the roughness around the edges, Lanois deserving credit for bottling that studio vibe so well with limited means; the results making ‘Cyborgs’ reminiscent of 'Raw Power' or 'Kick out the Jams' in places. Centrepiece is undoubtedly the 10-minute epic ‘Illegal Bodies’, a towering tour de force, whilst ‘Electro Rock’ and ‘Nazi Apocalypse’ prove sleazy and dystopian in equal measure. The incendiary space rock of title track ‘Here Come the Cyborgs’ comes in two parts and despite the album being distinct halves, studio and live, you don’t really know the difference, save for a few words uttered by the singer on the live homeward numbers which also include a cover of the Velvet’s ‘Sweet Jane’ and ‘Waiting for the Man’.
Having recently marvelled at the superb lost recordings from The Move’s 1969 Fillmore set, ‘Cyborgs’ is another wonderful find from the long-forgotten vaults of rock and roll. How many more are there out there?
Words - Mike Price
Cyborgs Revisited is re-released on April 6th via In The Red Records