Not familiar with Australia's Simon Chainsaw? Well neither was I and, to my utter shame, if this retrospective compilation is anything to go by I shall give myself forty lashes and write an essay for teacher on possibly how this guy managed to escape my normally reliable underground radar for cool bands! Maybe I need to trade said radar in as all I can think is it must be faulty.

Seeing that he played in Brazil with my favourite Brazilian band the Forgotten Boys on some of his records I'm surprised I'd never heard of him and seeing the names checked in his biography - which also happen to be some of my faves like Kevin K, Sonny Vincent, Freddie Linx, the Ramones, the Pistols, Social Distortion, Motorhead, Cheap Trick etc etc etc - raised my eyebrows in nervous anticipation but it was a relief as the needle hit the groove (metaphorically speaking of course) - 'tis a rare treat these days of easy access to new bands and the world's music available at the click of a few buttons on a PC to come across an artist who's been at it for over a decade and to not have come across their work but hey, I'm not perfect, I can admit that I fucked up and missed out for so long but that's changed now; it's a case of catch up on the wonderful world of Simon Chainsaw and his eight albums worth of music but better late than never, right?

From album opener 'Deaf Ears' through to the fifteenth track 'One For The Road', this is a damn fine collection culled from his eight albums and, considering it's a compilation, this beast flows really well. If I were to say Ginger of Wildhearts fame knows how to marry power with a catchy melody in a rocking sort of way then you know what ball park I'm in when I say 'Eight Times Lucky' is choc full of snotty punk rock delivered in a way not too dissimilar to the mega talented Ginger but more punk to Ginger's rock, if you know what I mean?

The influences shine through in some of the material; opener 'Deaf Ears' has the feel of the Replacements or Husker Du even as does 'Be Your Drug', whilst a hint of Motorhead can be heard on songs like 'You Ain't Me' and 'Born To Die'. It's the turn of The Ramones on 'Get Some' whilst Iggy's 'Tv Eye' must have been playing when the title track 'Eight Times Lucky' was being recorded. The overall quality of the songwriting is top notch and there isn't a duff track out of the lot, simple as that. This isn't rocket science here and some people have just got 'it' and it would appear that Simon Chainsaw understands just what it takes to pen a shit hot song and produce such a fine body of work and remain consistent over a decade (no easy task).

The only thing left for me to do is go find an online retailer who will take my hard earned in exchange for some shiny plastic discs that will make this scribe a very happy bunny indeed; if these songs are anything to go by it'll be a no brainer. The only thing left is for me to advise you to follow suit and grab yourself an excellent addition to any self respecting Über Röcker's collection. Simon Chainsaw rocks like fuck! and 'Eight Times Lucky' is all killer.

www.myspace.com/simonchainsaw