Revelation: Revolution '69 is the fifth and final studio album (and seventh album overall) by the Lovin' Spoonful, released in late 1968.[5]
| Revelation: Revolution '69 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 7, 1968[1] | |||
| Genre | Pop, folk rock | |||
| Length | 32:06 | |||
| Label | Kama Sutra | |||
| Producer | Bob Finiz, Chip Douglas | |||
| The Lovin' Spoonful chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Revelation: Revolution '69 | ||||
History
Revelation: Revolution '69 is the final studio album by the group. It features Joe Butler as lead singer on most tracks, following the departure of former lead vocalist and songwriter John Sebastian.[6] Almost all the songwriting for the album is divided fairly equally amongst three songwriting teams: Garry Bonner and Alan Gordon (notable for their earlier compositions for The Turtles); Ralph Dino and John Sembello; and producer Bob Finiz and Joe Butler. Butler also wrote one song on his own. The album also included "Never Going Back", which was written by John Stewart and had been released in 1968 as a single.
Revelation: Revolution '69 was reissued on CD in 2008, in Japan only, with three bonus tracks—two edited versions of the title track, and the remixed single edit of "Me About You". It was also reissued in 2011 in the UK as part of the box set The Lovin' Spoonful: Original Album Classics. Both reissues include three bonus tracks.
Track listing
Side one
- "Amazing Air" (Bonner, Gordon) – 2:50
- "Never Going Back" (John Stewart) – 2:48
- "The Prophet" (Finiz, Butler) – 2:45
- "Only Yesterday" (Dino, Sembello) – 2:43
- "War Games" (Butler) – 7:02
Side two
- "(Till I) Run With You" (Gordon, Bonner) – 2:52
- "Jug of Wine" (Dino, Sembello) – 2:31
- "Revelation: Revolution '69" (Butler, Finiz) – 2:29
- "Me About You" (Bonner, Gordon) – 3:48
- "Words" (Dino, Sembello) – 2:18
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [6] |
| MusicHound Rock | 1/5[7] |
Reviewing the album for the British music magazine New Musical Express, the critic Richard Greene disparaged the album when compared to the Lovin' Spoonful's previous output. He concluded that the only valuable elements of the LP were the track "Only Yesterday" and "the nude lady on the cover".[8]
AllMusic gave the album two out of five stars, saying "this flawed gem came out of left field," and praising the songs "Never Going Back" and, to a lesser extent, "Run With You" while strongly criticizing the tracks that Joe Butler wrote, especially "War Games."[6]
References
- ^ a b Ruppli & Novitsky 1998, p. 396.
- ^ Ruppli & Novitsky 1998, p. 405.
- ^ Billboard Review Panel (February 1, 1969). "Spotlight Singles". Billboard. p. 79.
- ^ "Bubbling Under the Hot 100". Billboard. February 1, 1969. p. 64.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, p. 195.
- ^ a b c "The Lovin' Spoonful - Revelation Revolution '69 Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". Retrieved 19 December 2022.
- ^ Rucker, Leland (1996). "Lovin' Spoonful / John Sebastian". In Graff, Gary (ed.). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Detroit, Michigan: Visible Ink Press. pp. 422–423. ISBN 0-7876-1037-2 – via the Internet Archive.
- ^ Greene, Richard (June 7, 1969). "Lovin' Spoonful: Revelation: Revolution '69". New Musical Express. p. 11 – via Rock's Backpages.
Sources
- Boone, Steve; Moss, Tony (2014). Hotter Than a Match Head: My Life on the Run with The Lovin' Spoonful. Toronto: ECW Press. ISBN 978-1-77041-193-7.
- Ruppli, Michel; Novitsky, Ed, eds. (1998). The MGM Labels: 1961–1982. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-30779-9 – via Google Books.