I have to say from the outset, I love this Saints And Sinners album. It’s got a lot of balls, and it’s furious in the same way that got runs on the board for bands like Skid Row and Spread Eagle.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Saints And Sinners
ALBUM: Saints And Sinners
LABEL: Savage (USA), Aquarius (Canada)
SERIAL: 74785-50207-2, Q2-567
YEAR: 1992
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Canada
LINEUP: Rick Hughes – vocals * Stephane Dufour – guitars * Jesse Bradman – keyboards, vocals * Martin Buldic – bass * Jeff Salem – drums
TRACK LISTING: 01 Shake * 02 Rip It Out * 03 Walk That Walk * 04 Taking My Chances * 05 Kiss The Bastards * 06 Wheels Of Fire * 07 Lesson Of Love * 08 We Belong * 09 Frankenstein
Background
Saint And Sinners are the amalgamation of a few Canadian musos plus Californian keyboard hero Jesse Bradman. Rick Hughes had a previous past with Canadian HM band Sword, while Bradman was better known as a studio muso, a touring keyboardist for Night Ranger, including those well copied demos with David Sikes (ex Giuffria, Boston) simply named Bradman/Sikes.
I have to say from the outset, I love this Saints And Sinners album. It’s got a lot of balls, and it’s furious in the same way that got runs on the board for bands like Skid Row and Spread Eagle.
I’m sure that this is not the typical fodder that you’d associate with Mr Bradman, but I ain’t gonna complain now that he’s got it recorded. It’s a stormer. The mainstream rock approach is at the fore, and brings home reminders of artists like Kane Roberts, XYZ, and even Kiss at their very best!
The Songs
You can’t go wrong with absolute barnstomers such as ‘Wheels Of Fire’ (helter skelter..) plus ‘Kiss The Bastards’. Not far behind are the bravado and swagger of ‘Shake’ and ‘Walk That Walk’. One of my favourites is the killer ‘Rip It Up’, hard as nails, but a chorus of rich vocals washed down with ‘a shot of tequila’ as Rick so lovingly suggests.
Another is the incredible acoustic fuelled ballad ‘Takin My Chances’, which would shoot a band like Guns & Roses out of the water. I also have to mention the very AOR-ish ‘We Belong’, mainly because it stands out so much on what is a purists heavy rock CD. Added to this, we’ve got scorchers like ‘Lessons Of Love’ and one toward the end there, ‘Frankenstein’. Whew!
In Summary
A good deal of the credit goes to the heavier than thou guitarwork of Dufour, a talented six-string bender. He manages to push the sonic boundaries, but still keeps the band in that early 90’s mainstream melodic rock groove.
The band didn’t account for much after this release, despite the great reviews it got in the press. Bradman did work with MTM signing Jesses Powertrip, plus writing and production stints. Hughes returned to Sword, while Dufour did session work and released two solo albums in 2000 and 2008.
Do yourself a favour, track this down. It’s entertaining, as it is heavy, well, for this site’s readership at least. GDM approved.
Saints And Sinners on Video
Click to go to YTM album page.
