Album Review: REEF - Revelation

01.Revelation
02. My Sweet Love (feat. Sheryl Crow)
03. Provide
04. How I Got Over
05. Don't Go Changing Your Mind
06. Precious Metal
07. Just Feel Love
08. Ball and Chain
09. First Mistake
10. Darling Be Home Soon
11. Lone Rider
12. Like a Ship (Without a Sail)

Revelation is Reef's fifth record, and their first in eighteen years. I remember when they came out, and I picked up their debut album purely for the awesome song Naked. I didn't really like much of what came afterwards, and particularly disliked their smash hit Place Your Hands which infected Rock nights across the UK for years to come like a disfiguring cold sore that just won't go away. I hadn't listened to them since. Anyway, I thought I'd give this new Reef record a whirl for old times' sake.

The opener and title track Revelation sounds like Reef made a conscious decision to write and record a song that sounds as much like 'Bon Scott era AC/DC' as possible. It's enjoyable for what it is but lacks anything distinctive. Next up is the single My Sweet Love which, in stark contrast, sounds more like a Country and Western song. Has Reef's fan base gone from being rockers to tobacco chewing, middle American rednecks? It's well written and performed, but for my tastes, I found it lame, cringe-worthy and will hopefully never listen to it again.

Revelation is very much a mixed bag. They still have that '90's take on Free and Led Zeppelin' thing going on, but have lots of country, blues, and other influences in the mix. How I Got Over is pure Soul and sounds like something that would have fitted on the Blues Brothers soundtrack. In contrast, some tracks have some fat 70's heavy riffs such as on Precious Metal and Ball and Chain.

Overall, I found the album to be quite 'ballad-heavy' with way too much Country infused throughout, and a distinct lack of Rock music. It's all well crafted for what it is, but Revelation isn't really for me.