Formerly a member of Alice Cooper's band, Kip Winger formed his own outfit during the hairband craze of the late 80s. Riding this wave, Winger scored with hits like "Seventeen" and "Headed For A Heartbreak," which reached #26 and #19 in 1989, respectively. Like many melodic rock bands in the early 90s, Winger struggled in the face of grunge. Nonetheless, they managed to score a few more chart appearances, including their biggest hit, "Miles Away," which peaked at #12 in 1991. "Down Incognito" was the first single from their 1993 effort, "Pull." This is a terrific tune that I never grow tired of hearing, and I am puzzled why it didn't attract more attention to this more mature record. Winger has continued to release the occasional album in-between Kip's solo efforts.
Saints of the Underground were a hard rock supergroup that formed in 2006. Former players from Ratt, Alice Cooper, and House of Lords teamed up with ex-Warrant songwriter and vocalist Jani Lane to release a single record in 2008 called "Love The Sin, Hate The Sinner." It was a solid album that failed to generate any chart hits, and remains unjustifiably obscure even among most fans of the genre. The unexpected passing of Jani Lane in 2011 had the band calling it quits. I wish we could have heard more from these guys as their chemistry evolved. "Dead Man Shoes" is one of the standout tracks that demonstrated the promise of the band.
Kane Roberts was a sought after studio musician in the 80s working for artists as diverse as Alice Cooper and Rod Stewart. He also tried his hand at making it big as a solo artist. His debut self-titled album went nowhere, but his follow-up LP, "Saints And Sinners," pulled in some heavy hitters like Desmond Child, Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, and Diane Warren. Together, they scored Roberts his one and only charting single, the power ballad "Does Anybody Really Fall In Love Anymore?" which peaked at #38 in 1991. Roberts couldn't sustain this success and quickly faded away. His record was filled with potential rock anthems that were big in the late 80s, so maybe he was a day late and dollar short. "Fighter" was one that stood out to me.
