Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Reef, earMUSIC 2018.
When a band release new material after an 18-year hiatus I’m always tempted to have a listen.
Often I’m disappointed but occasionally I’m pleasantly surprised, and that’s the case with this album.
Reef are a British solid rock band that burst onto the scene back in the 1990s with a string of top 40 singles, most famously Place Your Hands, which charted in the top 10, and they followed this success with four studio albums including the platinum selling number one, Glow, and a gold accredited greatest hits album, Together, before they disbanded in 2003.
Their absence came to an end in 2010 when they reformed for a short tour.
In 2014 Jesse Wood, (son of Ronnie) the guitarist from the Ronnie Wood band/Faces/Red Racer joined them and they resumed a solid touring schedule.
Revelation is their first new album since 2000’s Getaway. It was recorded in Ireland and produced by long-time collaborator George Drakoulias (The Black Crowes, Primal Scream, Tom Petty & The Heart Breakers).
Vocalist Gary Stringer explained their approach to recording the album by saying “We didn’t want to make a good record, we wanted to make a great record. We were writing songs for two and a half years, road testing them on tour, and watching the crowd reaction. If their eyes glazed over or they went to the bar we dropped the song but if a song engaged them that was a pointer forward that’s hopefully made the album as strong as it is.”
There’s an interesting mix of songs on the album.
Songs like Precious Metal and the title track Revelation have more than a sprinkling of ACDC DNA in their makeup while the track My Sweet Love (featuring Sheryl Crow) has country rock overtones, and How I Got Over is a thumping gospel screamer.
Reef are a good band and they move effortlessly between music styles, handling quiet ballads and stadium anthems with aplomb.
Many influences are present in their songs and sometimes they bubble to the surface. I Just Feel Love could easily be a Zeppelin song.
Revelation is an apt title for the disc because that’s just what the album is, a revelation.
It’s good to have Reef back with us.
