Customer Reviews

Revolution Now

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This CD will be one of your best purchases ever. Seriously, the whole range of Captain Sensible's many talents are on display on Revolution Now. Captain is one of the most underrated musicians/song writers around. But I am encouraged. Word of his genius is increasingly getting around.

Captain's thrid album very good worth the cash full of syths and poppy toons.

The thing I like about Captain Sensible albums is the fact that sensible is the last thing they are. They are mad in a good sense, not 'wacky' or 'goofy' but genuinely crackers on a level (I think) with Beefheart and Zappa, though not sharing much musically with the album-addicted duo.
His influences are obviously Hendrix and crazy trippin' bands like ? and the Mysterians and the Electric Prunes, but the music he launches at us, is sort of unique in that underground, compulsive-after-two-listens style..

He plays spectacular rock guitar in a LOUD fashion, he's got vast banks of power-synth, and he's usually got a rumbustious bass and drums which drive his exquisitely melodic, spirited songs to their rich and rewarding conclusions.

He's a bit political at times, and he's covering a lot of ground on 'Revolution Now'. He has fierce but funny downers on the likes of meat-eating, racism, fur, religion and especially war. He's a committed soul is our Captain, but he's NEVER boring; the trademark red beret at a tilt, and a drunken swagger hide the plain and un-arguable fact that here is somebody highly amusing, but properly worth a listen.
Talk about hiding your light under a bushell, Sensible is off most people's radar. (This is because most people are FAR TOO SERIOUS about music, and tend to avoid genuine eccentrics, however talented they may be) This is very foolish indeed.
For reasons lost to me, yer average music fan seems reluctant to try him out. They see 'the Damned', and it's: "OMG it's a punky, shun him quick" but I fancy him to have the last laugh (I'm so naïve and misguided, I believe talent will out eventually. No job with Simon Cowell for me I'm afraid...).

Take 'Revolution Now' (and he's even having us on with the title), he has a Hank Marvin-style instrumental, samples the Stranglers (!) and the Teardrop Explodes (among MANY others), totally rips off Townshend on one number, and even delves into the murky world of prog with the closing 15 minute 'Coward of Treason Cove'; a stupendous finale, split into 3 or 4 (I can hardly bring myself to say it!) suites, each on the money, in the cohesive-heart-of-the-album terms.

He tosses out so many threads, then cleverly draws them all together at the end. Not a concept album, but the majority of songs are connected in some way, and many are interspersed with bleeping radio extracts and bizarre interviews with the public: "Our abattoir's awlroight, yeah our country's awlroight!" etc. 'Sensible' doesn't cover it in all honesty, though one song is credited to 'Captain Stupid'. Every-one's a critic.

In an earlier review I suggested the only way to approach Sensible was seriously and that he's better than Springsteen. I stand by both statements, but by 'seriously' I mean he's fun(ny) but NOT ridiculous. Humour is a serious business, and his playfulness is tempered by barbs of outrage and indignation. He cares, so what?

So, satirical, steely and looney, all ciggie butts and gone-off milk. Tower Hamlets and toilet cleaning, baked beans and poppadoms. 'Revolution Now' isn't a rebel without a cause, it's a misfit with a mission. A subversive without a bacon buttie.
Not a (real) threat....!?