THE REVÖLUTION BY NIGHT

Considered by many to be the true end of an era for this band, The Revolution By Night was mostly greeted with indifference by the music industry and fans alike, evidenced by the sudden waning of interest, from which they would never recover.

The album is the first without the original lineup, Albert Bouchard having left midway through, beginning a rotating door of new rhythm players, none of which add anything to their sound. The biggest issue I have with the album is that it very clearly sounds of its time (1983) where the other albums had a more timeless quality. Most of this is due to the very 80s sounding synth drums used throughout, however Lanier synths feel dated as well.

Not sure what they were going for with this album, it sounds as if they needed a hit to follow up 'Burnin' For You' off the previous release. Unlike their previous attempt to recreate a successful formula (the wildly uneven Spectres which tried to follow the formula of Agents Of Fortune) this one seems to lack energy and creativity throughout. 'Eyes Of Fire', 'Veins', 'Let Go' and 'Dragon Lady' are all perfunctory songs, but completely fail to live up to their legacy. 'Feel The Thunder' revisits their love for biker culture, and 'Shadow Of California' is a strong number with some menace to it., yet both have been done much better on previous albums. The high points are 'Take Me Away', a very decent rocker and the gorgeous 'Shooting Shark', which I would rank up there as one of their finest songs.

On the whole, this is a disappointing album because it is the first that doesn't take chances. BOC settled for the bland sound of the time and their career suffered as a result. As 'Take Me Away' and 'Shooting Shark' are on the decent Workshop Of The Telescopes compilation, this album can only be ranked as for collectors or fans only.