ARMORED SAINT has released a brilliant rendition of “One Chain (Don’t Make No Prison)”. The classic track was originally written by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter and was first released by PEOPLE in 1970. Additional covers include THE FOUR TOPS (1974),SANTANA (1978) and THE DOOBIE BROTHERS (1989).
Comments ARMORED SAINT vocalist John Bush: “[Bassist] Joey [Vera] came up with the idea of doing the song. We’ve always been huge fans of old-school soul and R&B music, so it was a no-brainer. It’s got a great groove, perfect for our rhythm section, and Jeff‘s [Duncan] and Phil‘s [Sandoval] guitars are screaming. Plus, the cool lyrics make it ideal for the SAINT style. Levi Stubbs [THE FOUR TOPS] was such a rad singer; I just tried to do him justice. I think this would make him a metal fan.”
Watch ARMORED SAINT‘s video for “One Chain (Don’t Make No Prison)”, directed by My Good Eye: Music Visuals, below.
“One Chain (Don’t Make No Prison)” was produced by Joey Vera, mixed by Jay Ruston and mastered by Maor Applebaum.
In a recent interview with “THAT Rocks!”, Vera stated about ARMORED SAINT‘s cover version of “One Chain Don’t Make No Prison”: “We kind of went for this ’70s retro R&B thing. There’s this tune called ‘One Chain Don’t Make No Prison’ by the FOUR TOPS, and it’s been one of my favorite songs forever. I always imagined it with John singing it, so I just did this demo, kind of like a more heavier version of the song. And then we did this demo, and we said, ‘Wow, this is, this is amazing. We should just do this as a one-off.’ Not really associated with a record per se, but just for fun, kind of. We’ve never done a single before. It’s always been, record 10, 11 songs, put out an album. So all the kids nowadays are doing singles. So we’re, like, ‘Let’s do a single.'”
Added John: “It’s cool. It’s a really cool version of the song. And I was trying to really pay tribute to Levi Stubbs, who’s one of the best R&B singers from that era. He just has a cool soulful, powerful, almost a rock voice, and I think a lot of people — Glenn Hughes probably in particular — would admire his singing. And he just had this vibe. And so I was, like, ‘Okay, I’d better pull it out of me.’ But we did a great job.”
On the topic of the music video for ARMORED SAINT‘s version of “One Chain Don’t Make No Prison”, Bush said: “I’m kind of wearing these suits. It’s not quite campy, but it does look kind of cool and retro, and it just kind of shows a little different side of the band.”
In March, Bush told Nikki Blakk of the San Francisco radio station 107.7 The Bone about ARMORED SAINT‘s cover of “One Chain Don’t Make No Prison”: “[It came out] really cool. It’s kind of a throwback. I love that sound from — especially [FOUR TOPS] in the ’70s was really cool. That’s when they got a little bit more edgy. The ’60s stuff was, of course, great, but Levi Stubbs, the main singer, was awesome. He had a cool, just soulful, powerful voice. So Joey had this idea of doing it. We did the song. I don’t know when for sure it’s coming out. We did a video for it that we’re all wearing suits. So it’s pretty funny. It’s a little different for us. It was really aesthetically looking pretty cool. We filmed it at somebody’s house somewhere here in Hollywood. The guy had all these crazy decorations inside of his house that he lived in. So, the director found it. And so we shot it kind of in a circle, which is really cool. It was fun.”
ARMORED SAINT was inducted into the Metal Hall Of Fame last July at the legendary Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California.
More than a year ago, ARMORED SAINT‘s long-awaited documentary, Armored Saint: Band Of Brothers”, had its world premiere in the band’s hometown at the Harmony Gold Theatre in Hollywood, California.
ARMORED SAINT‘s eighth full-length album, “Punching The Sky”, came out in October 2020 via Metal Blade Records.
ARMORED SAINT released the “Symbol Of Salvation Live” CD/DVD in 2021 via Metal Blade Records. The release came in celebration of the seminal album’s 30th anniversary. “Symbol Of Salvation Live” was a combination live album and video of the band playing the album in its entirety at New York City’s famed Gramercy Theatre during its 2018 tour.
ARMORED SAINT recently wrapped up a successful North American tour with QUEENSRŸCHE and is currently working on music for its upcoming full-length album. Next month, the band will return to European stages for a 16-date run of shows, which will include appearances at Headbangers Open Air, Wacken Open Air, Fezen, Brutal Assault and more.
Photo by Stephanie Cabral