THE REVÖLUTION BY NIGHT

I have a special affinity for the mighty BOC's The Revolution by Night. Their ninth studio album was released at an exciting time in youth when friends and I were beginning to go to every concert we could afford, spending all of our time (and money) in record stores, and spending our precious minutes between classes arguing about our favorite guitarists (as opposed to the jocks who were arguing about girls, football, and cars.) While "Let Go" may have been the corniest of BOC's cheerleading anthems (following in the tradition of stuff like "Dr. Music" and "R.U. Ready 2 Rock"), we felt the message was aimed at outcast teens like us, and we appreciated the lyrical nod. We loved Rev by Night, and we were absolutely stoked to the gills for the Cult to roll into town with that show. I'll never forget that concert.

The album is often disparaged. While there are valid criticisms to be had, I would argue that Rev by Night is not only a successful follow-up to Fire of Unknown Origin, but a sibling of it, nearly Origin, part II. Both share the enigmatic album art of the late Greg Scott, and there are remarkable similarities in the pace and roster of songs. The differences come in sound presentation and production, with Fire being a bit harder-edged and grittier while the late Bruce Fairbairn's take was a glossier one, for sure. He was one of the giants of the slick 1980s terrain, working with Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Van Halen, and Loverboy. I would have instinctively preferred others to produce BOC, yet somehow the strange alchemy worked. Their flawless playing met beautiful construction; their little intricacies and embellishments were layered expertly.

Like Fire of Unknown Origin, more than half of the tracks are top-tier additions to the BOC canon, while a few fall into that less impressive (yet still reasonably enjoyable) rock purgatory that feels a bit like watching your team down big with five minutes on the clock. You know they're not coming back, but you're too dedicated to cut early to beat the rush to the parking lot. On Rev, there's only one or two of those lesser tracks, although, as I've admitted, I'm biased on this album for sentimental reasons. BOC were dealing with the same problem many of their peers were. Veteran bands spent the 1970s not only having the luxury of their strongest creative bursts, but their audience were their peers in age and experience. By the 1980s, all of these rockers were moving through their 30s while their audiences were trending younger, and they were being forced to appeal to kids half their age, kids who were now expecting videos and more elaborate live shows.

Meanwhile, the record companies were not sympathetic to artistic concerns, and there was increasing turmoil in the band line-up in this case. One can imagine the pressure. Despite it all, the anchors here--"Shooting Shark," a strange, dreamy, hard-to-articulate seven minutes, and "Shadow of California," some staunchly standard Cultish doom vibe--support several more solid bangers in "Take Me Away," "Veins," and "Feel the Thunder" (which could have been melded with "Shadow of California" to create a glorious mini-epic--I can hear it!) Even "Eyes on Fire" and "Light Years of Love" have their moments as luxurious melodic change-up. I usually don't appreciate electronic drumming to this degree, but, strangely, it seems to work with Rev. One could even argue that Fairbairn used the temptations of 1980s synths and e-drums more judiciously and wisely here than producers did on releases like Under Wraps, Grace Under Pressure, and 90125, all of which are more heavy-handed with now-dated sounds.

With The Revolution by Night, the Cult had found the new, stable yet still strange terrestrial landscape that began on Fire of Unknown Origin: mature and yet still wildly fun, refined and yet still growling at heart, focused in mood and artwork vision, having seemingly scaled the same transitional peak that Rush had with Signals/Grace Under Pressure, although BOC would prove less adept at sustaining it than Rush were. After all this time, I still find Revolution to be a highly enjoyable spin despite its flaws, despite lacking the teeth of a Holy Diver or Born Again, which we craved. But for my old friends and I--ignoring our teachers as we worked on D&D modules or read sci-fi in their class--we were blissfully blasting Shooting Shark, Veins, and Shadow of California on our Walkman headphones.

Cheers, guys, wherever you are.

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