Rev-Ola Records is like no other record label. It’s a treasure trove of hidden gems, unique jewels and unearthed goods from the innermost core of music. Formed by Creation Records co-founder Joe Foster Ruiz in 1990, Rev-Ola is a label that meticulously handpicks its treasures, through its excavation of sharp screening and selective sieving. This is a label that conserves, and preserves the origins of Americana, the legacy of grass-roots music, the evolutional shift of rock n roll, its wider cultural exploration born from revolution and relived in the present.
Like a time capsule of trailblazers, pioneers and unsung heroes, Rev-Ola revives and represents all those artists who are authentic, influential, true to their art-form, that reaches out to all the musical connoisseurs who cultivate a rich and diverse collection of records. Here is a label that has an encyclopaedic and expansive knowledge of music, that leaves no stone unturned in its pursuit of digging up artistic artefacts that are vastly under-rated, undervalued and, in some cases, completely ahead of their time.
It’s a label that is the subsidiary of Poppy Disc Records, primarily representing reissues as well as selling some ancestral albums linked to the origins of Creation Records. Thanks to Joe Foster Ruiz and his instincts, his impeccable taste in music and penchant for all things heart-felt, quirky, and original, Rev-Ola has gained a reputation amongst the musical communities as the ultimate independent label, a label that serves die-hard, eclectic music lovers, who appreciate music in its full gamut and technicolour spectrum. Moreover, Rev-Ola is a label that honours the true artistry, the innovation and devotion of music, whilst inviting the collective conscience of all the mavericks, dreamers, poets and misfits to join its cult.
With such a wide range of records to choose from, Rev-Ola covers a whole range of genres and sub-genres, from rhythm & blues, jump blues, rock n roll, New Orleans R&B, rockabilly soul, Americana, gospel, doo-wop, soul, boogie-woogie, jazz, vocal jazz, cabaret, swing, shock-rock, psychedelic rock/pop/folk, freak beat, sunshine pop, acid-rock, garage rock, bossa nova, Brazilian jazz, samba, satire, spoken word, comedy rock, trad jazz, avant-garde, novelty, teen-pop, progressive rock, soft rock, dance, power pop, indie pop/rock, blue-eyed soul, post-punk, new wave, jangly pop/rock, noise rock/pop, avant-funk, dance-punk, dance-funk, and many more!!!!
So, choosing an album from Rev-Ola Records to review has been a difficult task, but being a big Velvet Underground fan and appreciating their legacy and influence to this day, I decided that Moe Tucker’s second solo album Life In Exile After Abdication, was my first starting point. Originally released in 1989, Life In Exile After Abdication was re-issued in CD format in 1993 and has been selling out ever since. With a new stock in-house, Life in Exile After Abdication has been selected as The Manc Review’s “Classic Album Of The Month”.
Life in Exile After Abdication by Moe Tucker
Moe Tucker may have found international fame as the drummer of The Velvet Underground, but her solo work should never be overlooked. After releasing her debut album Playin Possum, in 1981, Tucker went on to release her 2nd solo album Life in Exile After Abdication in 1989. It’s an amazing album, comprised of 10 tracks and 4 bonus tracks, that reinforces Tucker’s diversity, multi-faceted skill at blending genres and creating music that is aloof and intimate in equal measures. It’s an album that also sees Tucker’s vocals subtly shift style, alternating between her soft lo-fi vocals with an uncompromising commentary of deadpan punk. Along with the dual harmonies, Tucker has an understated cool that manages to simultaneously provoke and revoke the angst and blue-collar blues that are thematically tinged throughout. Released when Tucker was a single mother in her mid-forties, Life in Exile After Abdication, is an impressive catharsis that captures the earthy grit, and ethereal escapism that bestows her journey.
Enriched with an array of sinewy strums, rickety riffs, zig-zag preening and ramshackle nonchalance, Life in Exile After Abdication, side-saddles down the wide wilderness of post-punk, like a cosmic cowgirl, drifting and stomping through the hazy daze of garage-rock, new wave, neo-psychedelica, neo-folk, neo-blues, alt-country, noise-rock, proto-punk and art-rock.
It’s a mesmerising album, whose fire-camp-collective includes backing vocals from Lou Reed, Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon and Daniel Johnston, as well as guitar and drum strumming from both Moore and Gordon. It’s a fully-fledged affair, whose opening track, Hey Mersh!, kick-starts like a real badass survivor of rock n roll, and life as a grounded earth mother. It’s a feisty firebrand, that bounces from the heartbeat of Diddley-rock, whilst preening from the plectrum of psych-rock. Through the clatter of claps and overlapping vocals, Hey Mersh! is a tirade of gritty lyrics, delivered in a new-wave, art-punk spoken word rap. Catchy and playful, Hey Mersh! is testament to Tuckers skill at gracefully putting poetry back in music, whilst grabbing the bull by its horns.
Spam Again is a jam under the skies of neo-blues, garage rock, alt-country and neo-folk, in an urban collective of rickety riffs and spin of stripped down strums. Through the chamberous harmonies, Spam Again, lies in the doldrums of twee-pop, whilst heading towards an indie-pop horizon. Along with the cacophony of washboard and tin-can acoustics, Spam Again encompasses the chaotic, rambunctious and nocturnal ambience of noise-pop, whilst remaining delightfully upbeat.
Goodnight Irene is an infectious, sentimental track, whose dual vocal and harmonies, strums from the darkness of loss, whilst exuding warm sentiments. Through the stripped down acoustics and collective vocals, Goodnight Irene, is a beautiful fusion of folk and neo-blues, whose contrasting lyrics of: “Goodnight Irene…I will kiss her in my dreams”, and “Sometimes I have a great notion to jump into the river and drown.”, encapsulates the raw range of emotions and Tucker’s skill at creating dark poetry, that penetrates the soul.
Chase is a vocally free, extended dialogue of interlocking riffs and drums, that drones from the archives of art-rock and pulsates from the tribal heart of post-punk. It’s a primal prowler, a thriller-chiller, circling its prey whilst angle-grinding through the misty mayhem of neo-psychedelica.
Andy strums from the soul of alt-country, whilst time travelling through the wonky trippy clouds of neo-psychedelica. It’s a hypnotic track, whose relay of crestfallen vocals and heartfelt lyrics, drift through the reverie realms of neo-folk, whilst rinsing the rain from the lofty heights of art-rock.
Work crashes and burns from the embers of new wave and rants from the riotous platform of spunky-punk. It’s a feisty number, that flies the flag for societal angst, whilst feeding from its own survival instinct. Through its direct lyrics, cacophony of strums, and inflamed riffs, Work ignites the ethos of DIY Punk, whilst jamming in the basement of garage-rock.
Covering The Velvet Underground’s Pale Blue Eyes, Tucker does a wonderful job at resurrecting a classic from its ghostly past and making it sound like a contemporary original. Featuring the faint backing vocals of Lou Reed, Pale Blue Eyes aches from the lone drone of art-rock, whilst lingering in the chamber of cavernous folk. It’s a ghostly visitation, levitating freely, whilst feeling the breeze of the jangly riffs and a connection with its lucid lineage.
Bo Diddley does what it says on the tin and plays homage to the great father of rock n roll and blues. Through the combustion of riffs and dual vocals, Bo Diddley captures the bona-fide showmanship of the legend himself. It’s a superb track that redefines Tucker as a maximist musician, as well as minimalist maverick.
Talk So Mean, is a straight-talking, no nonsense exchange of jangly riffs, that slithers and swaggers to the dead end bar of neo-blues. Lyrically raw, Talk So Mean is a shot in the dark, where words are like bullets and delivery is deadpan. It’s an intoxicating mix of post-punk punch, spiked by the swirling strums of neo-psychedelica and distilled by the dusky darkness of garage rock. Along with the honky-tonk piano, whirling beats and wonky riffs, Talk So Mean, descends into a sprightly saloon of extended experimentation, that staggers and backtracks between the realms of spaced out art-rock.
Do It Right rambles and resides in the languid lounge of neo-jazz, in an all night slam and jam of neo-blues. It’s a hauntingly beautiful track, whose dual vocals of both Tucker and Johnston, evoke a sense of sonic solidarity and authentic camaraderie. Along with the departing trail of translucent tinkles, Do it Right, evokes a sense of dark romanticism that lingers in the piano shores of baroque-rock.
The album also has 4 bonus tracks:
Guess I’m Falling In Love (Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, Moe Tucker.)
Baby What You Want Me To Do (Jimmy Reed)
Why Don’t You Smile Now? (Lou Reed, John Cale, Vance, Phillips)
Hey, Mr. Rain (Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, Maureen Tucker)
For anyone interested in purchasing this amazing album, please see the link below.
Moe Tucker – Life In Exile After Abdication – CD (Album, Reissue), 1993 [r14983539] | Discogs