Revelation Reef

• 1 Revelation 02:59
• 2 My Sweet Love 04:23
• 3 Provide 04:53
• 4 How I Got Over 04:07
• 5 Don't Go Changing Your Mind 03:49
• 6 Precious Metal 03:46
• 7 Just Feel Love 03:54
• 8 Ball and Chain 03:54
• 9 First Mistake 05:37
• 10 Darling Be Home Soon 03:01
• 11 Lone Rider 04:12
• 12 Like a Ship (Without a Sail) 04:31
• Total Runtime 49:06

Info for Revelation

Spawned in Glastonbury, the British center of music festivals, Reef were born to deliver. The band found together in 1994, the height of brit-pop. Nevertheless, their sound was less like the Beatles and more accredited to The Rolling Stones and The Black Crows. It was a formula that payed, and which resulted in four incredibly well-received studio albums Replenish (UK #9, silver), Glow (UK #1, silver in first week, 38 weeks in charts), Rides (UK #3) and Getaway (UK #15). Their success and steadfast fan base can not only be credited to their great musical talent and signature style, but also to years and years of touring which earned them opening slots for The Rolling Stones or Soundgarden. Reef split ways in 2000 only to reunite again in 2010. Their return was well-overdue and the band nowhere near faded. In 2016, the band released the single 'How I Get Over' which made it to the Top 20 most played songs on BBC Radio 2 that year - all without being signed to a label..

“We didn’t want to just make a good record, we wanted to make a great record,” says Reef vocalist Gary Stringer of ‘Revelation’. “We were writing the songs for two and a half years, road-testing them when we were on tour. We’d play four or five new songs every night, really watching the crowd. If their eyes glazed over or they went to the bar, then we dropped those songs! But if a song engaged with them – a melody they can hook into, a guitar riff – then that was a real pointer for how we went about it. Hopefully that’s helped make the album is as strong as it is.”

“Recording in Ireland was really special,” adds guitarist Jesse Wood. “It’s always been a magical place for me and we spent a few great weeks there with George. I already can’t wait to make the next album!”

“It's a better world with Reef in it, their love for life and music is infectious,” says producer George Drakoulias. “A real privilege to be on this journey with them.”

In 2016, Reef returned with their first single since 2003, ‘How I Got Over’, which was A-listed at BBC Radio 2 and saw the band perform live on Chris Evans’ radio show and on The One Show on BBC1. Reef were personally invited by Chris Martin to support Coldplay at Wembley Stadium, and also released their live album ‘Reef: Live At St Ives’, recorded over two sold-out nights at St Ives Guildhall.

Gary Stringer, vocals
Jesse Wood, guitar
Jack Bessant, bass
Dominic Greensmith, drums

Reef
Emerging at the height of Brit-pop, Reef had little in common with their British peers; instead of sounding like an amalgam of the Beatles, the Jam, and Stone Roses, they were indebted to the Stones and the Black Crowes. But, through constant touring, as well as being featured in a television commercial for Sony's Minidisc player, they managed to cultivate a large fan base that expanded significantly with the release of their breakout album Glow.

Comprised of Gary Stringer (vocals), Kenwyn House (guitar), Jack Bessant (bass), and Dominic Greensmith (drums), Reef formed in Street, England, a small town outside of Glastonbury. Initially named Big Talk, Stringer and Bessant were the core members of the group and House rejected their initial overture to join the band. Big Talk relocated to Cornwall, where they merged with the Glastonbury-based No Smoke, who were looking for a new singer since their previous vocalist had left to become a Hare Krishna. The new band became Chief. After a few months, Chief broke up; its drummer, Paul Winterhart, would later join Kula Shaker. Stringer and Bessant split temporarily as they traveled the world to find themselves. Bessant returned to England, where he began studying music at the West London Institute and met House and Greensmith. Shortly afterward, Stringer returned to London, and all four musicians formed Naked. The band recorded a handful of demos in the fall of 1993, sending the results, titled "The Purple Tape," to S2, a subsidiary of Sony Records. S2 signed the group but asked them to change their name; the group settled on Reef. The label had Reef tour the U.K., and after a few months, the group graduated to headlining appearances, eventually opening for Paul Weller at the Royal Albert Hall in 1994.

Replenish In March of 1995, the group released their debut single, "Good Feeling," which climbed into the Top 20. A few months later, Reef contributed "Naked" for a television commercial for the Sony Mini-Disc player. The commercial substantially increased the size of Reef's audience, and shortly afterward, "Naked" reached number 11. Both singles were from their 1995 debut, Replenish, which climbed into the U.K. Top 10 and received good reviews from British metal publications. Following performances at summer festivals, the band released the non-LP "Weird," which became their third Top 20 hit. On the strength of constant touring, including opening slots for the Rolling Stones and Soundgarden, Replenish reached the U.K. Top 10 in early 1996.

Reef returned with the new single "Place Your Hands" in the fall of 1996. Unexpectedly, "Place Your Hands" became a huge hit, rocketing into the Top 10 and laying the groundwork for their second album, Glow. The album entered the charts at number one upon its January 1997 release, going silver in its first week. "Come Back Brighter," which was released two weeks before the LP, and "Consideration" both followed the album into the Top 10. Glow was released in the U.S. in the spring.

Rides Recording soon began for Reef's third album, Rides, at Ocean Way Studios in Los Angeles, again with George Drakoulias. Released in 1999, Rides peaked inside the Top 5 in Great Britain. Fourth album Getaway appeared in 2000, produced by Al Clay (Pixies, Stereophonics), and reached number 15. The band financed their own recordings, getting back to basics with a rawer sound, but Sony disliked the results, and only a handful of songs appeared on the compilation Together: The Best of Reef. Greensmith then left the band, replaced by Nathan Curran, but Reef dissolved soon after.

Other projects abounded for the bandmembers, though, with House playing in a band called McArthur, and Greensmith forming Kubb and also playing in punk supergroup Carbon/Silicon with the Clash's Mick Jones and Generation X's Tony James. Meanwhile, Stringer and Bessant played in a group called Them Is Me.

Revelation In 2010, Reef reunited for a brief tour, including appearances at the Isle of Wight Festival and Glastonbury. Occasional live dates during 2011 and 2012 followed, but House left the band, replaced by Jesse Wood. The group recorded a single in early 2016 titled "How I Got Over," and opened for Coldplay at Wembley Stadium in June 2016. Over the next few years, the group began road testing new material before heading to Ireland with Drakoulias to start recording. The resulting fifth album, Revelation -- coming some 18 years after the release of Getaway -- was issued at the beginning of 2018. (Source: AMG)

This album contains no booklet.