''Revolution Now'' is the third solo

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by Captain Sensible. It was released on CD and double LP in July 1989 on his own Deltic Records. It was Sensible's first album release in six years since 1983's '' The Power of Love''. The album features contributions from

Eddy Grant Edmond Montague Grant (born 5 March 1948) is a Guyanese-British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known for his genre-blending sound; his music has blended elements of pop, British rock, soul, funk, reggae, electronic music, Afr ...

and former the Damned members Rat Scabies, Paul Gray and

Henry Badowski Henry Badowski (born October 1958) is a British multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and composer, who was a member of several punk rock bands in the 1970s before embarking on a solo career. Career Badowski's apprenticeship started in several U ...

, among others. The album was reissued in 2013 by Easy Action Records in a redesigned gatefold card sleeve.

Background

After leaving his previous record label A&M following the release of his "Revolution Now"

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in 1987, Sensible formed his own label, Deltic Records. His first release on the label was the single "Toys Take Over" in June 1988, followed by "I Get So Excited" in October. All three singles were included on ''Revolution Now'', which was recorded in a number of different studios. Sensible wrote in the album's liner notes: "Why so many? Possibly due to the fact that being a bit of a perfectionist I spent a fair amount of time painstakingly putting this album together and would rapidly run out of credit wherever I happened to have the escalating bill that week - requiring frequent, and occasionally speedy relocation." The album includes the 15 minute epic "Coward of Treason Cove", which consists of a montage of different songs and musical styles. It was co-written with former bandmate

during a visit to Sensible's home in December 1986. Badowski: "He was in the process of putting together a mini rock opera and I was given a bottle of whiskey and a pen and paper and was ordered to write the words to a bunch of tunes he'd written." "Coward of Treason Cove" was originally released as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

to the "Revolution Now"

12" single The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...

Reception

''Revolution Now'' received less favourable reviews upon release and did not chart in the UK. In a review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Richie Unterberger Richie Unterberger (born January 19, 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' ...

wrote that the album is hard to categorize musically, and that "the result sounds more irritatingly confusing than impressive." He described the music as "'80s British

dance rock Dance-rock is a dance-infused genre of rock music. It is a post-disco genre connected with pop rock and post-punk with fewer rhythm and blues influences. It originated in the early 1980s, following the decline in popularity of both punk and dis ...

neo-psychedelia Neo-psychedelia is a diverse genre of psychedelic music that draws inspiration from the sounds of 1960s psychedelia, either updating or copying the approaches from that era. Originating in the 1970s, it has occasionally seen mainstream pop su ...

, and White-boy soul, sometimes in the same song". Unterberger added that "there are some nice bits of melody here and there, but you get the uneasy feeling that eclecticism is being used as a cover for the lack of killer material or a compelling lyrical thread." In a more positive review, Ira Robbins of ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...

'' wrote that Sensible "reached some sort of artistic peak" on ''Revolution Now'', although it was "hampered a bit by Sensible's minimalist singing and the obvious use of synthesizers where real instruments would have sounded better". He felt that the album was "full of catchy melodies and nearly serious left-field lyrics" and added that "there isn't a bad song here, and the best ones ... cover amazing stylistic ground with ease and flair."

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. ;Musicians * Captain Sensible - vocals, instruments * Rachel Bor - vocals ("Missing the Boat", "Toys Take Over") *

Mark Ferda Savage Progress was a pop group in the 1980s from England that had hits in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The band was founded by Rik Kenton (b. 31 October 1945, in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England) Glynnis (voc) Ned Morant (perc.) Carol ...

- instruments ("Toys Take Over", "I Get So Excited") *Belva Haney - vocals ("Green Light", "I Get So Excited") *Andy Boucher - keyboards ("Missing the Boat", "Wake Up (You're Only Dreaming)", "Green Light") *

- guitar ("I Get So Excited") * Rat Scabies - drums ("Riot on Eastbourne Pier") * Paul Gray - bass ("Riot on Eastbourne Pier") *Howard Turner - backing vocals ("Riot on Eastbourne Pier") *The Soultanas - backing vocals ("Revolution Now") *Captain Stupid - lead vocal ("Vosene") * Howlin' Wilf - harmonica ("The Kamikaze Millionaire") *

Martin Newell Martin Newell may refer to: *Martin Newell (computer scientist), British computer scientist, creator of the Utah teapot *Martin Newell (musician) (born 1953), British singer-songwriter, poet and author * Martin Newell (priest) (born 1967), English ...

- backing vocals ("The Kamikaze Millionaire") *

- vocals ("The Coward of Treason Cove") *Claire Gilligan - vocals ("The Coward of Treason Cove") *Fred Burns - voice ("The Coward of Treason Cove") ; Production *Captain Sensible - producer *Mark Ferda - producer ("Toys Take Over", " I Get So Excited") *Team Esselle - producer ("Missing the Boat", "Green Light") *

The Flowerpot Men The Flowerpot Men were a British electronic music group active in the 1980s. This group featured electronic musician Ben Watkins (of Juno Reactor), Paul N. Davies (of Naked Lunch), and cellist Adam Peters. Works They recorded several EPs ...

- producer ("Revolution Now")

References

{{Authority control 1989 albums Captain Sensible albums Pop rock albums by English artists