Revillos - Stratoplay: The Box Set - Import 6 CD

Credits:

Revillos

Description:

After the Day-Glo punk band the Rezillos split, the groups two singers Fay Fife and Eugene Reynolds quickly re-formed as the Day-Glo new wave band the Revillos. Kicking off with the insanely hooky Wheres the Boy for Me? single in 1979, the group combined the energy of punk with the swagger of rockabilly and the glamour of girl groups, then gave it a jolt of snarky humor as they rocked and rolled their way through a too-brief, often stormy career. Label issues, lineup changes, and shifting tastes meant they didnt last very long, but as Stratoplay shows, they made some incredibly catchy and fun records. The box set gathers up their early singles; their classic debut album, 1980s Rev Up; both mixes of their second album, Attack (1982s bootleg version and the band-approved 2002 mix); and a handful of radio sessions. It also has their two officially released live albums, which were recorded during their mid-90s reunion (Live and On Fire in Japan and Totally Alive), along with two shows captured on a cheap recorder in 1981. Its not a complete set of the Revillos recordings as it omits the two rarities collections they released, and it also uses the old mix of Live and On Fire instead of the more up-to-date mix used on the 2019 album Live from the Orient. That being said, its still a huge dose of the bands music collected in one handy place, and thats useful. Its likely that Rev Up will be given the lions share of the spins, but Attack proves to be an interesting proposition that finds the group stuck between the giddy, motorbike-tough rock & roll of their early days and a slicker new wave sound that relied more on Fife singing songs that, with the right break, could have made it on the radio next to Tracy Ullman or Culture Club. Its educational to compare the different mixes, and the 12 versions included here show that even the weirdest bands of the 80s werent immune from making them. The live sets arent too essential, but as with everything else the band ever did, they are loads of frothy fun. The two sets from 1981, rough as they are, will make the set essential for Revillos completists. The faithful will want it, too, since the sound and packaging and the wealth of singles and sessions combine to make this a near-perfect collection. ~ Tim Sendra

Tracklisting:

1.Secret of the Shadow
2.Rev Up!
3.Rock-a-Boom
4.Voodoo
5.Bobby Come Back to Me
6.Scuba Boy Bop
7.Yeah Yeah
8.Hungry for Love
9.Juke Box Sound
10.On the Beach
11.Cool Jerk
12.Hippy Hippy Sheik
13.Motorbike Beat
14.Where's the Boy for Me?
15.The Fiend
16.No Such Luck
17.Scuba Scuba
18.Voodoo 2
19.Hip City ? You Were Meant for Me [John Peel Session March 17, 1980]
20.Rock-a-Boom [John Peel Session March 17, 1980]
21.Scuba-Scuba [John Peel Session March 17, 1980]
22.Voodoo [John Peel Session March 17, 1980]
23.Caveman Raveman [John Peel Session May 13, 1981]
24.(She’s Fallen in Love With A) Monster Man [John Peel Session May 13, 1981]
25.Snatzomobile [John Peel Session May 13, 1981]
26.Man Attack! [John Peel Session May 13, 1981]
27.Rock-a-Boom [Live at the Ritz, Feb 22, 1981]
28.Rocking Goose [Live at the Ritz, Feb 22, 1981]
29.Cool Jerk [Live at the Ritz, Feb 22, 1981]
30.Yeah Yeah [Live at the Ritz, Feb 22, 1981]