Search - Reverend Horton Heat :: Revival

Blistering set captures Heat's live energy in the studio

hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 12/21/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Working with his tour soundman, Heat's captured the fire of his live set on this studio album. His trademark rhythm/lead combo playing fuels a surprisingly full sound from his trio, barely ever slowing down to catch their breath. Heat's songs (he wrote all fifteen selections) range from western-influenced guitar raves to swing-styled rockabilly and punk-influenced psychobilly. The few ballads, "Someone in Heaven," "Lonesome Man" and the torchy "We Belong Forever" provide a brief respite from the manic energy, but it's driving rock 'n' roll that is Heat's forte and it's fully evident on this fine LP. The bonus DVD provides a look at the trio's performance on three additional tracks, "Galaxy 500," "Like a Rocket" and "Party in Your Head," as well as a 17-minute interview/documentary on Heat's early days in the business."

Revival is great! Home run for the Rev.

M.D. | 01/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Rev. Horton Heat is one of my favorite artists for many reasons, so I can't help but expect a lot out of any album, and I do my best to egg him on in any direction he goes off into with each release. I defend almost every one of his records(Space Heater is hard to muster up a good defense for) when someone dogs his music, but I really, really like this record. I bought it the first day it was released and eagerly popped it in. I don't like to admit that it took me a while to get into his last two releases(Night in the Box and Lucky Seven), and I still like his first few albums more, but I immediately loved this record. His return to Deep Ellum, the death of his mother, the producing of Ed Stasium?- I don't know why he wised up, but I loved what the Rev did. The effort to make it as live as possible with a miniscule amount of overdubs enchants me to think about while I'm listening to it. I'm glad he let go of his odd fascination with Jimbo songs to make room for some other stuff. "We belong Forever" and "Someone in Heaven" are incredible, and have turned many of my friends heads who gave up on the Rev. after Space Heater, impressed to hear that his peaceful, introspective style works so well. "The Happy Camper" is a wonderful instrumental that sets the tone. And call me crazy, but I'm a sucker for the simple rowdy country tunes like 'Rumble Strip','Honky Tonk Girl' and'Party Mad'. The stripped down style works for me, but I understand people's plight who are frustrated at this less aggressive album; However, you're just nuts if you liked the Rev. before and don't like "Indigo Friends". I for one have felt confused listening to parts of the Rev's past releases(and "Pet Rock" is the only song that makes me feel this way on this album; Although "Octopus Mode" gets kinda close), as if he was trying to find a way to mix his loud side, his jazzy influences, and his country and rockabilly background(That hasn't stopped me from listening to every album relentlessly). With Revival, I think he finally found a balance that works."

Enhanced?

mattsal23 | Raytown, MO United States | 11/01/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"After getting a second copy of this disc from Amazon and not finding anything other than the music tracks on it, I suspect that the "enhanced" version has been discontinued and only the non-enhanced version is available. Hopefully they will update their website to reflect that.



Other than that, this is typical Horton Heat- a lot of great songs, with one or two mediochre songs."