All Saints - All Saints (LP)

All Saints’ self-titled debut lands like a snapshot of late 90s London R&B, stylish and streetwise, with hooks that still walk into your head uninvited. Released in the UK on 24 November 1997 through London Records, it arrived in a pop moment dominated by bubblegum and answered with something cooler, smokier, and more club-ready. Melanie Blatt, Shaznay Lewis, and the Appleton sisters, Nicole and Natalie, stacked harmonies over beats that nodded to hip hop and trip hop while keeping a clear pop pulse. The secret weapon is Shaznay, who steered much of the writing, and producer K-Gee, whose crisp drum programming gave the record its lean, swingy engine.

The opener, I Know Where It’s At, still slaps, all rubbery bass and shoulder-shrug confidence. It set the tone for what All Saints did so well, that blend of casual swagger and immaculate harmony. Then comes Never Ever, their signature ballad and an absolute monster of a single. It is part confession, part letter, opening with a spoken-word prelude that every 90s kid can still recite. The track builds with organ swells and gospel-tinged backing vocals into a chorus that refuses to age. The public heard it and didn’t want to let go. It hit number one in the UK, cracked the US Top 5, and picked up two BRIT Awards in 1998 for British Single and British Video. Put it on loud and you can see why. It is a slow-burn that still carries an afterglow.

All Saints always had a knack for flipping other people’s songs into their universe. The cheeky double A-side of Under the Bridge and Lady Marmalade could have been a stunt, yet it works. Under the Bridge trades the Chili Peppers’ guitar confessional for an urban twilight shimmer, the harmonies doing the heavy lifting. Lady Marmalade leans into strut and satin, but never tips into pastiche. Together they topped the UK chart, cementing that this wasn’t a one-hit project.

Bootie Call returned them to the top spot as well, a playful, assertive cut that rides a sinewy beat and a whispery hook. The group never sounded tense here, even when the lyrics were sharp. That relaxed confidence carries through the deep cuts, where the production gives them room to layer their voices. If You Want To Party (I Found Lovin’) lifts from the Fatback Band classic and spins it into a late night singalong. It is the kind of track that warms up the room before anyone notices. The closing ballad, War of Nerves, goes inward, letting the harmonies sit on top of sparse keys and strings. It is a quiet exit that lingers.

Commercially, the album went the distance. It peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart and earned multi-platinum status from the BPI, a sign of just how thoroughly it stuck. For anyone who lived through the era, the cover alone can trigger a sense memory, those khaki-and-cargo looks and that photo booth cool. Stylistically, All Saints made R&B the center of the conversation for UK pop groups at the time, and they did it without sanding off the edges. The arrangements feel clean but not sterile, the vocals blend like a single instrument, and the beats snap just enough to keep your head moving.

If you are crate-digging, the All Saints vinyl pressing is worth the shelf space, both for the iconic singles and for how well the low end and layered vocals breathe on wax. I stumbled on a tidy copy at a Melbourne record store, and it has become a go-to side flip on quiet Sunday afternoons. You can still buy All Saints records online with little trouble, and there are reissues floating around if you are not keen on chasing an original. All Saints albums on vinyl tend to reward good speakers, especially on Never Ever, where the organ tones pool out wider and the backing vocals feel like they are in the room. For folks hunting vinyl records Australia wide, this one shows up often enough, and the condition is usually decent thanks to late 90s pressing quality.

More than a nostalgia hit, All Saints still feels alive because the songs are built on solid writing and performances, not just studio gloss. When the harmonies lock and K-Gee’s drums tuck in, it hits that sweet spot where pop and R&B share the same heartbeat. If you are the kind of listener who files your records by feeling, this sits near the section marked “late night city lights,” right between an old Massive Attack 12-inch and that one TLC LP you always pull first. And if you came here searching for All Saints - All Saints vinyl, consider this a nudge. Some albums are time capsules. This one is also a keeper.