REVOLUTION SAINTS – Eagle Flight

The third album by the star-studded project named Revolution Saints sees a significant change in personnel in that the supremely talented Joel Hoekstra (Whitesnake) and bad-ass bassist Jeff Pilson (ex-DIO, Foreigner) have replaced Doug Aldrich and Jack Blades respectively. Deen Castronovo is still manning the drum stool and handling the vocals, which he obviously excels at, and the outfit’s appealing brand of melodic rock/AOR remains unchanged. Strong melodies, good arrangements, excellent vocals, and just the right amount of finesse are what lie in store for you, and some of the Saints’ finest compositions to date are to be found here, namely ‘Crime of the Century‘, ‘Set Yourself Free‘, ‘Once More‘, and the heartfelt power ballad entitled ‘I’ll Cry for You Tonight‘.

Having said that, the record lacks proper band chemistry and that invigorating and indefinable sense of warmth and organic feel that the best rock albums out there possess, which could be down to the three superb musicians having recorded their parts and tracks at separate studios. The crisp sound and great production are not to be scoffed at, but more spark and dynamics would have done wonders for the output, and the compositions are generally quite catchy and classy but rarely truly brilliant. Then again, all the tunes were written and composed by the Frontiers Records’ in-house songwriting group, which could be why a few of them appear a little short on identity and charisma.

The pedigree, power, and skill of the Castronovo/Hoekstra/Pilson constellation is undeniable, and I definitely enjoyed this LP much more than its two predecessors, but can you imagine how cool it would be if these gentlemen got together in a room, jammed for days, and came up with their own material?