How many of you like your rock bluesy? If ZZ Top and Stevie Ray Vaughn all became Christians, would you listen to their music? If you answer yes to both of these questions, you'll love Stevie and The Saints. Their debut release on Victoria Ltd, the same label as Malachia, is a hot, blistering taste of midwestern rock and roll. If you want to impress some bikers with Christian music, use this tape. Guitarist Steve Olson plays with an authority that a seasoned veteran of the bar scene would acquire. Stevie's promo sheet asks the dubious question: "Who says you gotta be skinny, pretty and under 21 to be totally rad?" Steve is over 200 pounds and over 30 - the perfect stereotype for this style of music. The thing that makes this band hot is the fact that they play genuine boogie rock. They've got the guts, feeling guitar riffs and boogie rhythm. You have to succeed in this genre not to get laughed at and this band does it - all without borrowing too much from others, a common problem with blues. "Saint's Boogie" does start out with a rhythm similar to ZZ Top's "La Grange," but then flies into some high end rhythms and stays there for this instrumental. "Don't Knock the Rock" is a great apologetic song about, you guessed it, Christian rock. "Don't knock the rock/ it makes the demons run/ don't knock the rock/ it's a weapon in our hand." It carries a neat storyline in it about a rocker that gets brought to a Christian rock concert and meets Jesus. The music on this tape is so refreshing that it may sell great. It's rock that has all the guts you'd want, yet still is very fun. For real fun, play "Jehovah Jirah" for your pastor. The blues rendition of this popular worship song will get even the most stiff necks dancin'. Overall, I'd say this is a must, for its originality and performance.
