Well, welcome back Kane Roberts! Listening to some of the interviews online Kane has made it pretty clear he took a break from being creative within the artistic media of music for about eight years while he honed skills and understanding in expressing his creative soul though other media such as his short sci-fi movie Embryo released in 2003 and various acting opportunities such as 'Shocker' with Wes Craven and John Carpenter's 'Prince Of Darkness' and also designing graphics and programming for video games.

So now, having explored these creative media and with the new backing and support of Universal Music Germany, Kane has returned to music and has re-released his 1991 'Saints And Sinners' album on Yesterrock. It has been re-mastered and is a standard ten track CD with a limited edition 14 track CD also on offer. Only 500 of these goodies are available so if you are a Kane aficionado then you better hurry as I suspect they will shift pretty quickly.

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So, 1991 'Saints And Sinners', back catalogue check, yup, still there, listened to recently, ummm, no and can't think why not either. New 'Saints And Sinners' 2012- what's it like – pretty damn good – I know many of us have the original version of this but for those who haven't then here is a review – and some links so you can have a listen for yourself.

Opener 'Wild Nights' is a bit atmospheric in the beginning, quite really as it sounds all "walking in the rain by yourself". But don't be fooled as there is A GREAT BIG GUITAR hiding just around the corner waiting to jump out and save you from the rain/loneliness/introspection.

This is proper 80s rock guitar and very welcome it is to hear it again. Those of us lucky enough to have seen Kane play live (Edinburgh Playhouse, 1st April 1988 with Alice Cooper to be exact, support act Chrome Molly – remember them?!) will already know he is a top rate guitarist but his vocals are good too. He is also responsible for keyboards on this album.



'Twisted' is more guitar and this time with A Big Chorus 80s style. In interviews Kane has said that most of his early pre-Alice Cooper career was spent playing in strip bars and card dens, there is a cross over into his lyrics which is no bad thing but most Metalheads like to know these details on the artist's influences and life experiences... and there definitely is a carry over from these times into ideas for songs and lyrics and this sounds like one of them.



'Does Anyone Really Fall In Love Anymore' is probably one of the best known Kane Roberts songs as it has been covered by Cher and Pat Travers amongst others and was written by Jon Bon Jovi. It is a big rock ballad – remember those? This is still a wee bit on the wonderful side and brings back a hint of nostalgia for cheerful 80s orientated rock. I am just going to listen to this again... and maybe just once more...



'Dance Little Sister' and 'Rebel Heart' are pure unadulterated late 80s rock – go on have a listen and remind yourself how good it all was... little bit of guitar that would be on track with Motley Crue or Van Halen, keyboards all mixed up but firmly grounded by bass n drums; you can't go wrong with this really.





'You Always Want It' starts out with some early but short lived blend of early rock/funk but gives way to be defined by the guitar which is what you would expect from a guitarist and the kind of multi-layered vocals you find yourself singing along to.



'Fighter' is a bit Bryan Adams meets Bon Jovi at the chorus with another big guitar solo followed by another Big Chorus: its good and very listenable.



'I'm Not Looking For An Angel', 'Too Far Gone' and 'It's Only Over For You' are more examples of excellent rock with lyrics to tug on your heart strings from a much respected musician who has been MIA. The music here is all good, lots of fantastic guitar, songs to sing along to and happy memories.

This has been re-mastered and the results are simple but effective with Kane's vocals being clearer and the back up over the big choruses is fantastic – all complete rock songs they way it used to be done. There are lots of good music moments on this and it is an excellent representation of the time it was written and produced in – late 80s/very early pre-grunge 90s.

There are four additional goodies for those of you who purchase the limited edition version but I'm not mean enough to spoil that for you by posting links here.

There is another positive – Kane has been working on his new album since 2006 so if this re-mastered edition is a reminder of his previous excellence and to make us look out for his next album then it is a well timed and welcome reminder of Kane and his contributions over four decades to the music scene.

Tracklisting

Wild Nights
Twisted
Does Anybody Really Fall In Love Anymore?
Dance Little Sister
Rebel Heart
You Always Want It
Fighter
I'm Not Lookin' For An Angel
Too Far Gone
It's Only Over For You
House Burning Down (Bonus Track)
Waiting For You (Bonus Track)
Dirty Blonde (Bonus Track)
White Trash (Bonus Track)

17.7.12