After the Day-Glo punk band
the Rezillos split, the group's 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 "Where's 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 didn't 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, 1980's Rev Up; both mixes of their second album, Attack (1982's 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. It's 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, it's still a huge dose of the band's music collected in one handy place, and that's useful. It's likely that Rev Up will be given the lion's 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. It's educational to compare the different mixes, and the 12" versions included here show that even the weirdest bands of the '80s weren't immune from making them. The live sets aren't 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