Jean Lee and the Yellow Dog

Aussie legend Kuepper was missed during the six years he stopped recording (after his plethora of LPs over 15 years), but 2007 has seen his revival. First, three-fourths of the original 1973-1978 Saints played their triumphant (from a recording) first reunion concert since their split, in July in front of 7,000 in their native Brisbane. (And to further mark the thawing of their long cold war, Saints singer Chris Bailey further joins Kuepper on a song here, their first studio collaboration in 29 years since Prehistoric Sounds. Their voices singing in and around each other on the mesmerizing Eastern drone pop of "That Depends, Pt. 3" is thrilling!) Finally, there's this ambitious loose concept album, based on the only hanging of a woman in Australian history, in 1951, of prostitute/alleged murdered Jean Lee. It's full of Kuepper's eclectic Saints/Laughing Clowns/Aints melodic rock-as-guitar-art statements (aside from the harsh, gnashing, Aints-like rocker "Hang Jean Lee"), with further key help from old Clowns drummer Jeffrey Wegener, ex-Go-Betweens' John Willsteed (Kuepper contribution to Grant McLennan's new tribute LP, Finding You, is also here), Dirty Three's Warren Ellis, Sunnyboys' Peter Oxley, and lyrics from wife Judi Dransfield Kuepper. Long, varied, constantly and effectively surprising and involving, it's just plain fabulous.