Long March Through the Jazz Age is the last recorded work by Chris Bailey and The Saints. It’s a moving farewell – a testament to a restless, uncompromising artist who always moved forward, one of rock’s great lyricists and iconoclasts.
From Bailey’s rough demos, Long March Through the Jazz Age grew into a deeply human snapshot of modern times. It marks the end of Chris Bailey and The Saints’ remarkable journey – over four decades of music making and rule defying.
Recorded at Church Street Studios in Sydney, Bailey and longtime Saints drummer Pete Wilkinson flew in from Europe to reunite with guitarist/engineer Sean Carey, who had previously toured and recorded with the band. They were joined by Davey Lane (You Am I) on guitar, plus a handpicked ensemble of Sydney’s most exciting young horn, string and keyboard players.
There are moments of Dylan-esque majesty as chiming guitars and strings widen the panoramic scale, while the title track carries a haunting, poetic intensity, its mournful trumpet break as spine-tingling as anything you’ll hear. And throughout this Long March Through the Jazz Age, Chris Bailey’s distinctive vocal carries the storyline.
Pete Wilkinson remembers it vividly: “When it came to recording vocals, Chris Bailey saved the best until last. His lyrical prowess is well known to those familiar with The Saints, new and old, but these recordings offer a new-found depth and breadth to his voice that surpass anything I had heard before.”
Sean Carey added, “Chris was a true artist, it was like watching someone paint a fresh artwork every single day. This collection of songs and recordings were inspired and felt different to anything else I’d been doing.”
Long March Through the Jazz Age, arrives in November and marks the end of Chris Bailey and The Saints’ remarkable journey – over four decades of music making and rule defying.
“One of the most sporadically brilliant, frustratingly uneven and most undeniably important bands Australia has ever produced” The Guardian
