Review Summary: Under fire from their record label, a huge mis-step is delivered...
By the release of Gene's third album in 1999, the popularity of the Brit-pop wave had all but dried up. Many of the band's peers had already headed off on a one way ticket to the great beyond, and Gene were generally considered to be the next victims. It really didn't help that the band's record company had recently gone through a buy-out, and the label were in the process of shedding acts left and right.
Thus, after spending a lot of time and money on Gene's sophomore album 'Drawn To The Deep End' with very little financial return, the label only gave the band a paltry four weeks to record the following LP 'Revelations'... And if that wasn't enough of a burden alone, Gene also decided to completely change their image and musical style.
The huge quiffs were shaved off, the grandad suits were swapped for Burberry polo shirts and the emotive, understated music of yore was thrown out for a set of rough and ready pop songs. It was a difficult and confusing time for the band's loyal fans, with the change seemingly supporting everything that Gene had once stood against (perhaps in order to rebel against the constant tag of being a Morrissey clone).... And then there was the disappointment of the album itself.
But perhaps we're getting off on the wrong foot here, because 'Revelations' isn't a total train wreck. In fact, it contains some of Gene's greatest ever songs. Big ballad 'Angel' demonstrated that beneath all the bravado, the band still had a soft side, whilst the stomping autopilot glide of 'Something In The water' was a pleasant hark back to the early years. The power-pop guitars of 'Mayday' also provided something of a mild thrill.
And then there was the album's highlight in the form of the epic closing track 'You'll Never Walk Again'. Building up from tinkling piano, the track accumulates layer after layer until the whole thing finally erupts in a fountain of distorted guitar and fist-in-the-air anthemnics. It's a wonderful moment and among the band's best.
But these tracks sit side-by-side with some of the band's worst. 'The Looker' is a slab of hookless guitars and clumsy lyrical odes to prostitutes. 'Little Child' has a lovely lyric about parenting but is framed by an over-cluttered acoustic rock backing that murders the whole thing.... Talking about murder; what's with the lyrics of 'The Police Will Never Find You', with once fey-softie Martin Rossiter growling "Here's a note and a forecast / Because you hurt me too much / Those kneecaps look tender / Is a hammer enough?" This being from the same man who once crooned "I'll wait for the day / When you creep through the window and hold me / Don't let me go." GOOD LORD! The remainder of the tracks on the LP range from quite good ('Fill Her Up', 'In Love With Love') to completely mediocre ('Love Won't Work', 'As Good As It Gets').
In the end 'Revelations' turned out to be a mildly entertaining pop album that was nowhere near as good as the band's previous work. But at least they got the whole 'hardman' thing out of their system and moved on... Although it didn't help them much because the label still dropped them shortly afterward.
