Reverend Horton Heat- Revival

Revival is the 8th studio album from Reverend Horton Heat. It was released in 2004, two years after Lucky 7.

Let's start with the title track, because I find the instrumental opener (The Happy Camper) too twee. The song Revival sets a great mood. Perhaps it wanders around aimlessly at times, but the driving energy combined with the ebbs and flows make it an enjoyable listen. Rumble Strip uses a similar approach to good effect. It creates a solid rock'n'roll song (about a car, of course!) with a nice hint of country music stylings.

None of the four ballads (Someone in Heaven, Honky Tonk Girl, Lonesome Man and We Belong Forever) appeal at all. I'm not sure how they're different to the fantastic Or Is It Just Me (from It's Martini Time), yet I somehow find them worlds apart. If It Ain't Got Rhythm is a bit more upbeat musically, however the awful chorus is a deal-breaker for me, and the stop-start nature makes it more of a novelty than a song you can properly get into. My final whinge(!) is New York Girls. In isolation, it's not a bad song. However, I find it to be a poor cousin of Hurts Your Daddy Bad from their previous album.

The news is better regarding recording quality, with the CD sounding pretty good and the instruments being very nicely balanced. Minor quibbles is that the bass guitar is a bit boomy and the kick-drum lacks some meat. Otherwise, the guitar has wonderful character and the cymbals are sweet little punctuations.

Now for the fast stuff! My favourite songs on this album are all simple upbeat numbers. Nothing very innovative, but great fun. The rock'n'roll energy of Callin' in Twisted gets me bouncing every time. Similarly, Octopus Mode is highly infectious (I suspect it is a cover, but apparently the internet says not). The fantastic lyrics lead to mental images of very immature dance moves!  

Indigo Friends leans more towards headbanging psychobilly, and executes it very well, although it does drag out a bit at the end. Goin' Back Home would be a riot in a moshpit, unfortunately this energy doesn't translate well to the CD. Back to the rock'n'roll, Party Mad is another derivative yet highly enjoyable tune, with the piano part working well to give it a unique element.

Favourite songs

Callin' in Twisted, Indigo Friends, Octopus Mode, Party Mad

Worthwhile?

Hmmm. There's a much narrower range of enjoyment than the other Reverend Horton Heat albums. I really dig their style, but this album wouldn't really be missed.