Whitesnake-Saints and Sinners-Review

   Released in 1982, Saints and Sinners is Whitesnake's fifth studio album. Nowhere near as well-known as their later 1980s output, the album is nonetheless regarded as one of their best. Let's take a look at an album many consider to be classic.

   The album opens with Coverdale heading into full-on "horn-dog" mode with "Young Blood".  An ode to females just of age, the song is obviously quite shallow, lyrically speaking. However, the song certainly sounds good. Coverdale's vocals on this album had matured since his Deep Purple days, and by 1982, he had clearly become comfortable with filling the role of a rock star on his own. Purple drummer "Ian Paice" sounds fantastic as usual on this track and indeed the whole album, a true highlight. The solo is pretty short, but decent enough. However, those expecting John Sykes-like leads will have to wait until later in the decade. A decent song, if a little shallow and repetitive in terms of the chorus. The bluesy "Rough an' Ready" comes next. Very Purple-like, Ian Paice and Jon Lord add essential ingredients of the Purple sound with their respective keyboards and drums on board Whitesnake. However, former Purple bassist/singer Glenn Hughes is obviously missed, and the song sounds like Deep Purple-lite. Not a bad song, but a fairly standard-sounding blues song that is a little over-processed in terms of production for my taste.

    "Bloody Luxury" is a honky-tonk type song. I have never been a huge fan of the song. The keyboards sound thin and brittle, and the guitar tone quite "blocky". The lyrics are pretty darn goofy, and seem to repeat endlessly. The guitar leads feel anti-climatic, and never reach the virtuosic heights that both John Sykes and Steve Vai would later reach with the band, a true filler song. "Victim of Love" picks up the pace.   The guitars lack grit however, and feel neutered and lifeless in the mix.  Coverdale's vocals dominate the song, and allow little room for any instrument besides the drums to be evenly heard. The solo here is certainly more impressive than previous songs, but is somewhat predictable and quite short. Again, the chorus repeats the same words over and over, very dull.

    "Crying in the Rain" is an earlier version of the song from 1987's Whitesnake. I prefer the 87 version, as it is brighter and has much heavier guitars. But this version is more than decent, and it is interesting to hear an earlier take on the massively well-known later hit. Obviously a very good song.The album also contains an earlier version of 1987's massive Whitesnake hit, "Here I Go Again".  This version uses organs instead of synthesizers and has a few different lyrics, but sounds rawer and purer. I like the soul and clarity in Coverdale's voice, and this version can easily stand beside the 87 version, just very different sounding.

     "Love an' Affection" is another bluesy, horny song. Not bad, but not a huge fan of the guitar sound, very thin and chunky, a far cry away from the very thick, almost organ-like sound of Deep Purple/Rainbow six-string wizard "Ritchie Blackmore". Also, Jon Lord does solo, but only for a very brief amount of time. Whitesnake starts to feel more the David Coverdale show, rather than having a true band dynamic. "Rock an' Roll Angels" is very similar to the previous song. Another bluesy ode to loose women, the song at least doesn't seem to take itself too seriously. It is quite clear how Whitesnake both influenced and was influenced by "hair metal", as most of the album contains lyrical matter entirely devoted to the pursuit of women. While this is loose and fun, it tires. These songs are very filler-like, pretty boring and too similar to each other both lyrically and musically.

     "Dancing Girls" is quite good, and redeems the second half of the album. I love the clavinet keyboards from Jon Lord, very funky, a la Deep Purple. The song is the closest link to Deep Purple, and Lord even gets to let loose on a solo, but is quickly interrupted by Coverdale. For fans of Deep Purple (MK. 3), this album has a Purple-like feel, but suffers from pretty lame guitars, shortened solos, and a lack of Glenn Hughes. However, I do really like this track. The album closes with the title-track. "Saints and Sinners". Atop a funky riff, Coverdale delivers a very gritty and ballsy vocals about the supposedly good and bad elements of society. The song is biting, and is a nice move away from all of the "pillow talk" earlier on the album. Finally, a long solo happens, and duals leads are traded, very nice. A good track.

   "Saints and Sinners" is certainly not bad, but feels like Deep Purple, but at the same time very different from Purple. This causes the listener to feel somewhat "ripped off", given the magic of Deep Purple, especially the Coverdale-fronted "MK.3" line-up, which happens to be this author's famous version of Deep Purple. For people that are casual rock fans, this album will likely entertain you, but I would suggest that Purple maniacs listen with caution, as this album will be a tease for you, as three members of Deep Purple play together.

Rating-6.5/10