Year : 1991 (Bad Reputation Records Remastered Edition 2021)
Style : Melodic Hard Rock , Female vocals
Country : United States
Audio : 320 kbps + scans
Size : 134 mb
Bio:
Saraya was an American hard rock band, based in New Jersey and featuring singer Sandi Saraya, guitarist Tony "Bruno" Rey, keyboardist Gregg Munier, bassist Gary Taylor, and drummer Chuck Bonfante. The band is best known for their 1989 song "Love Has Taken Its Toll," and for being one of the few female-fronted rock bands of the 1980s. In 1987, Sandi Saraya and keyboardist Gregg Munier began performing under the name Alsace Lorraine. They eventually travelled to Los Angeles in search of stardom, changing their name to Saraya, because Sandi was the face of the band.After a short stint in LA, the band returned to New Jersey where Saraya and Munier spent the next year writing material for their debut album.Later in 1987, Saraya and Munier were joined by former Danger Danger guitarist Tony "Bruno" Rey, bassist Gary Taylor, and drummer Chuck Bonfante.Saraya released their self-titled debut on PolyGram Records in 1989. Executives at PolyGram hoped to eventually develop Sandi Saraya into a sex symbol, making her the "Next Bon Jovi". Promoters wanted to establish Saraya as a good rock band and gradually establish Sandi's sex appeal as the band received more exposure.The debut album saw some success, spending 39 weeks on the Billboard 200, peaking at No. 79. Their first single, "Love Has Taken Its Toll" reached No. 64 on the Billboard 100, on the week of August 12, 1989 and their followup "Back to the Bullet" peaked at No. 63.,on the week of December 2, 1989.After the first album, Saraya experienced several line-up changes. Barry Dunaway (formerly of Yngwie Malmsteen) replaced Gary Taylor on bass. Munier recorded keyboards and backing vocals on the second album, When the Blackbird Sings, but was unhappy with the direction of the music as it was more guitar driven.He later left the band and was replaced with guitarist John Roggio.Gregg Munier died on February 3, 2006, at the age of 44, from complications of pneumonia.He is survived by his two sons, Shayne and Lucas.Tony Rey has been the most prolific of all the band members, playing, writing and recording with, as well as producing, many prominent artists in the music industry, from Joan Jett to Enrique Iglesias to Rihanna.In October 2010, Saraya planned to reunite for the Firefest Music Festival in the UK. Issues between Sandi Saraya and the Firefest Team, however, prevented the band from performing at the festival.
Album:
Long time out of print, Bad Reputation Records have just reissued / remastered SARAYA‘s stunning second album “When The Blackbird Sings…“. While not successful in sales as their self-titled debut, “When The Blackbird Sings…” is even better in many aspects, elaborated and mature female fronted Melodic Hard Rock of the highest order.The band – from New Jersey – formed around vocalist Sandi Saraya and keyboard player Greg Munier in 1987 and they debuted on Polydor in 1989 when they were called ‘the new Bon Jovi’. The band’s second album ”When The Blackbird Sings” consolidated their sound which blended elements of the best female-fronted rock with out-and-out rock swagger.What’s more, this album sounds better now than it ever did. The guitars (Tony Bruno) are fantastic, the songs immediate yet durable, and of course Sandi’s vocals are a standout. She was influenced by Chrissie Hynde and Ann Wilson of Heart.In a Kerrang interview in 1989, she also cited Glenn Hughes as a major influence and in particular the album ‘Hughes Thrall’.This second album “When The Blackbird Sings…”, released in May 1991 and produced by Peter Collins (Queensryche, Rush), was more polished than the debut but Munier had left the band during recording, disagreeing with the the more guitar-oriented direction.Barry Dunaway who had played with Yngwie Malmsteen and Joe Lynn Turner replaced Gary Taylor on bass.Tracks like ‘Queen of Sheba’ grab your attention from the first guitar chords, and Saraya’s vocals juxtaposed with Bruno’s chorused figures evoke Chrissie Hynde in a hard rock band.‘Bring Back The Light’ has a Whitesnake-esque ‘Still Of The Night’ feel to it, ‘Hitchin’ A Ride’ starts with a bluesy motif before Bruno’s chunky chords cut in. And there are echoes of Joan Jett and The Runaways in ‘When You See Me Again’.‘Lion’s Den’ has all the swagger of prime-time Aerosmith with the musicality of Romeo’s Daughter. ‘In The Shade Of The Sun’ is simply wonderful, dramatically building to another stinging Bruno guitar solo and arguably one of the finest songs of the late hair metal era.‘The Seducer’ was released as a single and drew attention via MTV, to Sandi Saraya’s photogenic qualities although this was surprisingly played down for the band’s debut release.After this album Sandi Saraya disappeared from the music business. She get married and raised five kids and home schooling them, and “has devoted her life to God”. One other reason for distancing herself from the music is that – sadly – band co-founder Munier died of a pneumonia-related illness in 2006.Of the band members, Bruno – who co-wrote the album with Sandi Saraya – has played with Danger Danger and Joan Jett.The now-defunct Firefest festival (UK) attempted to effect a band reformation in 2010 but this fell down in financial negotiation. However, in 2019 there was news that Sandi Saraya and Tony Bruno were preparing material for a new album, apparently a natural successor to their sophomore release.Any female-fronted melodic hard rock band should look to Saraya as the blueprint, and you, as fan of the genre, need both their albums in your collection.This Bad Reputation reissue does the trick: a fresh, vibrant remastered sounding disc.
Line-Up:
Sandi Saraya – lead vocals
Tony Bruno – guitar, vocals
Barry Dunaway – bass, vocals
Chuck Bonfante – drums, vocals
Tracklist:
01. Queen of Sheba
02. Bring Back The Light
03. Hitchin’ A Ride
04. When You See Me Again…
05. Tear Down The Wall
06. Seducer
07. When The Blackbird Sings
08. Lion’s Den
09. In The Shade of The Sun
10. White Highway
11. New World
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
