You Gotta Sin to Get Saved

After the splintering of her band Lone Justice in the late 1980s, singer Maria McKee took some years to find her way artistically. *You Gotta Sin To Get Saved* (1993) was more than a return to form — it marked her full emergence as an artist in command of her talents. While the album reunited her with former bandmates Marvin Etzioni and Don Heffington, its approach was a step away from the neo-L.A. country rock of her Lone Justice days. McKee wades into steamy R&B terrain on “I’m Gonna Sooth You” and rises to glorious gospel heights on “I Forgive You.” Much of the album invokes the Woodstock-era sounds of the Band and Van Morrison — “My Girlhood Among The Outlaws” in particular strikes a roots-rock note. (The sonic link with Morrison is made explicit by a pair of well-rendered Van the Man covers as well.) The title track is a fiercely woozy New Orleans sing-along that lets Maria wail with the abandon of a not-quite-sorry sinner. And, yes, there is a honky-tonk tune (“Only Once”) to please her older fans. An ambitious creative stretch, *You Gotta Sin To Get Saved* remains McKee’s best-realized work.

Discover You Gotta Sin to Get Saved by Maria McKee released in 1993. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic.