When Glam Metal started to spread its talons to the musical parades in the first half of the 80's, many bands appeared and tried their chance to become great. But many factors made good and promising names go into the limbo of existence, and their efforts came to an end. It happens in every musical genre you can think of, and one of these names (into Hard/Glam scene) is STEPHEN CRANE & DUANE SCIACQUA, as this reissue of "Big Guns" states clear.

As early work of Stephen gained praise in the late years due Glam Metal and AOR rebirth, Georg Siegl (of AOR Heaven Records) looked for Duane, who gave a hand with his archives, and this reissue was possible. On it, the most honest, pure and hooking Glam Metal/AOR form you can think of, with all those elements the fans love, as catchy and accessible melodies, great vocals fuelled by excellent guitars and supported by a vibrating and solid work from bass guitar and drums. Yes, it's really excellent, full of energy and deserves to be spin again and again, and again! The sonority of "Big Guns" is great. Obviously that one will hear that it's something that belongs to the 80's or 90's, but the remastering done with the songs made them sound alive, full of energy and actual as any band. Yes, this album sounds great and alive.

After all these years, "Big Guns" still speaks with a strong voice to the hearts of the fans, with ten excellent songs. So surrender yourself to "Gangland" (a great and powerful work from bass guitar and drums can be heard, along with a great chorus), "Crazy in Love" (the melodic and elegant aesthetics used on this one creates a great ambience for the guitars, with excellent riffs and arrangements), "Bad Girls" (the power of Country Rock and Blues influences can be heard on this one, and the vocals are amazing), "Waiting for the Night" (the melodic appeal used on this one could put it on a soundtrack of any film of those days), "Love for Sale" (that shares the same elements from the previous one), "Touch of Magic" (a charming and elegant ballad, based on vocals, pianos and clean chords), and...well, from this point on, the best thing to do is to listen to all the songs. All of them are excellent!

It's a pity that the band didn't get the success it deserved back in the past, but for us all, this reissue of "Big Guns" comes to show how music can be unfair sometimes...