Autor: Kinho | Publicado: 2011-06-14T22:34:00-03:00

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In a genre of music where survival of the fittest is not just a cliché  but a way of life, Jani Lane embodies the spirit of a decade of excess,  hedonism, and rock &amp; roll. As the lead singer of Warrant, he helped  to propel the band into the upper stratosphere with such hits as  "Heaven," "Down Boys," and "Cherry Pie."

Born John Kennedy Oswald in Ohio, he played in several local metal bands  in the late '70s before landing in Los Angeles in the mid-'80s. His  band Plain Jane became a staple on the wild L.A. glam rock circuit. He  and bandmember Steven Sweet were invited by Erik Turner to join his band  Warrant. The group was signed by Columbia Records, and in true heavy  metal fashion, Lane bought and smashed a black Corvette with his share  of the money from the band's advance. 

The group began to work on their legendary debut, Dirty Rotten Filthy  Stinking Rich, a process which led Lane into a psychiatric hospital for a  nervous breakdown after he caught his best friend having an affair with  his girlfriend. Once he fully recovered, Lane recorded his vocals and  the album went on to be one of the biggest selling records of the glam  metal era.

The band's follow-up Cherry Pie failed to meet their debut's success;  this, combined with the emergence and popularity of grunge, led to  Warrant's being dropped by their label. Lane left Warrant in 2002 to  pursue a solo career. He released Back Down to One in 2003, but shortly  after was admitted to a rehab center for alcohol and drug-related  exhaustion. He rebounded, and after a few acting roles and appearances  on compilations, attempted to restart his own version of Warrant.  Lawyers for the original band quickly struck this down. He was most  recently seen on VH1's reality series Celebrity Fit Club&nbsp;&nbsp;Is a completed album that got shelved when Jani returned to Warrant in  '93 There are some demos of some songs and the finished master was  leaked in 2005 with a newly recorded version of "Washington Square" and  was due for release in 2005 but then Jani decided to shelve the entire  project(again) and record what became "Back Down To One" The 2005  mastered/completed w/the bonus track is available in the bootleg  community.Tracklisting:1. All You Had To Say2. Private Blue World3. One More Fro The Road4. Unrealistic5. Washington Square6. Comfortable With Sad7. This Town8. Pretty On The Inside9. The Deeper End10. Stained11. House Of Cards12. Washington Square (2005 Version)
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From day one Warrant were looked upon by rivalling bands and press as  some kind of joke but that didn’t stop the band from releasing two  highly successful albums and ruling MTV at the tail end of the  80’s/early 90’s with classic videos such as “Heaven”, “Sometimes She  Cries” and “Cherry Pie”.
With the onset of grunge however the  original Down Boys decided to go with the flow and cut an album that  showed they could do more than just rock ‘n roll all nite and party  everyday. The end result was 1992’s “Dog Eat Dog”: a darker and far more  mature release that definitely won the band some credibility amongst  journalists and such but didn’t shift nowhere near as much copies as its  predecessors. Personally I think its an undiscovered gem and if you  ever come across it while going through the bargain section I strongly  advise you to simply buy it or at least give it the ear test. “Dog Eat  Dog” was also the last album to be recorded by the original line-up of  Jani Lane (vocals), Jerry Dixon (bass), Erik Turner (guitar), Joey Allen  (guitar) and Steven Sweet (drums). For the recordings of 1995’s “Ult  raphobic” Jani, Jerry and Erik were joined by Rick Steier (guitar),  James Kottak (drums) and David White (bass) but a mere 12 months later  James and David were already out of picture and in came drummer Bobby  Borg. More line-up changes followed as were more albums but apart of the  odd new cut here and there the guys haven’t released a disc with all  new songs since 1996’s “Belly To Belly”. According to their website a  new album is in the pipelines and to tie the fans over until the album  is actually released frontman Jani put out his very own solo album in  the States last year. Just like most of the band’s releases “Back Down  To One” has been criminally overlooked by the European press and  hopefully Z Records will back this one up with the right amount of  promotion so it gets the attention it deserves. Those hoping for an  album choke full of Warrant style rockers will be disappointed to know  that mister Lane has recorded a collection of songs that fit in  perfectly amongst current MTV faves Blink 182, Sum 41 and Good  Charlotte. I too had hoped that Jani would make a glorious return to the  sound of classics such as “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, “Mr. Rainmaker” or “So  Damn Pretty” but I have to admit that while I only found the album  “interesting” at first I have come to actually like the bugger a whole  lot! And that is simply due to Jani’s unmistakeable talent for writing a  fine tune. Take for example the punchy “Better Than You” with a hook  big enough to catch a whale and a melody line that once it has settled  in your skull refuses to leave for days on end. If this gets released as  single it should be all over MTV in no time. But “Better Than You”  isn’t the only track with hit potential. The highly melodic title track  “Back Down To One”, the acoustically driven “Hooked” and the  tongue-in-cheek “6 Feet Under” are all tailor made for the American  charts. 
So don’t be turned off when you give this one a spin the  first time but give it time to mature and grow on you cause it’s very  much like fine, vintage claret.

Tracklist
1. Funny
2. Better Than You
3. Nothing
4. How A Girl
5. Back Down To One
6. Hooked
7. Oh Yeah
8. Don't Trust Me
9. Twilight
10. 6 Feet Under
11. Sick&nbsp;         





SAINTS OF THE UNDERGROUND
LOVE THE SIN, HATE THE SINNER
Released 2008 (Warrior Records)       

Track List:         01. Dead Man's Shoes
02. Tomorrow Never Comes
03. All In How You Wear It
04. Good Times
05. Exit
06. American Girl
07. Signs Of Life
08. Bruised
09. Moonlight Mile
10. Jimmy
                                Band:

Jani Lane - vocals
Keri Kelli - guitars
Robbie Crane - bass
Bobby Blotzer - drums
      Additional Musicians:
Chuck Wright - bass
Rick Flores - keyboards
      Production:
Produced by Bobby Blotzer, Keri Kelli and Jani Lane.  Mixed by Andy Johns and Saints Of The Underground.             Review:
For those who aren't aware of just who Saints Of The Underground are, the band consists of Warrant front-man Jani Lane, Alice Cooper guitarist Keri Kelli, and Ratt's dynamic rhythm section of Robbie Crane on bass and Bobby Blotzer  on drums.  While most 'supergroups' fall short of delivering what you  would expect from their collective talents, this debut album DOES NOT!  Love The Sin, Hate The Sinner  easily has my vote for 2008's 'Album Of The Year'!  I just hope that  when schedules permit that the band will tour and record more Saints Of The Underground albums in the future!  Time will tell...  
&nbsp;&nbsp;The album kicks off with "Dead Man's Shoes", an up-tempo rocker showcasing Jani's killer vocal layering, a solid bass groove, a sweet albeit short solo from Keri, and Blotz'  best drumming of the disc (with the exception of "Bruised", but that's a  whole different animal that we will touch on later).  Some people may  remember this song from Blotzer's previous side project Twenty4Seven with John Corabi.  While still faithful to the original, some lyrics and melodies were changed by Jani.  "Tomorrow Never Comes" sounds vocally as if it could have been on Warrant's Dog Eat Dog with some tastefully aggressive vocals in the verses complimented by Keri's brilliant leads, this is by far my favorite track on this album.    
&nbsp;&nbsp;"All In How You Wear It" just smells of attitude, from the lyrics to the playing.  "Good Times" is another track from Blotzer's aforementioned Twenty4Seven project, complete with Jani's 'Beatles-esque' harmonies in the choruses and an effects-laden solo from Keri, I could easily picture this track on the radio.  "Exit" really showcases the chemistry between Jani and Keri as songwriters and musicians, and judging from this CD and Jani Lane's  solo album, the duo can craft some amazing hook-laden pop-rock tunes  that should be all over radio (if it wasn't for the fact that most  Program Directors are deaf or just plain stupid).  S.O.T.U. really take Tom Petty's "American Girl" and make it their own while remaining true to the original, Blotzer's hyper drumming really sets the pace for this track.  
&nbsp;&nbsp;"Signs Of Life" starts of with some bludgeoning riffs and powerhouse drums.  Yet another one of Jani's vocals that could have been on Dog Eat Dog or Belly To Belly,  this track features a really bluesy solo.  On "Bruised" the rhythm  section really shines, laying down a galloping groove through the verses  before the track kicks into high gear during the chorus.  My second  favorite cut on this album comes by way of S.O.T.U.'s beautiful rendition of The Rolling Stones'  "Moonlight Mile".  Starting off with some amazing acoustic work weaving  together with the keyboards, this track slowly picks up tempo. Jani  is at the top of his game vocally while the entire band is right there  with him.  This track is truly epic and the keys and orchestration  really bring it to another level.  Interestingly enough, Andy Johns, who mixed this album was also responsible for engineering the original version.    
&nbsp;&nbsp;Love The Sin, Hate The Sinner ends with "Jimmy", a track that fans of Warrant  have been hearing since at least 1987, yet was never put on an album.   It is a straight-ahead rocker featuring harmony laden vocals and my  favorite solo of Keri's from this disc blended brilliantly with the solid groove from Crane and Blotzer.    
&nbsp;&nbsp;There isn't a dud in this batch of songs and everyone is at the top of their game vocally and musically. I just hope that S.O.T.U. gets together in a year or two and hammers out another album, the chemistry between Jani, Keri, Robbie and Bobby is all-to-evident!!  This is what an album should be...all killer, no filler!!    
&nbsp;&nbsp;www.myspace.com/saintsoftheunderground - www.warriorrecords.com


Warrant :&nbsp;  &nbsp;&nbsp;          &nbsp;&nbsp;          &nbsp;