Ever since rockabilly master Jim Heath/The Rev stopped recording for Interscope Records after 1998's Space Heater, all of his records since (Spend a Night in the Box, Lucky 7, and this album) have lacked his manic sure-fire gusto and have started to sound the same. Don't get me wrong, The Rev is still one of the premier guitar slingers in all of music. I recently had the opportunity to see him live, and I have to say he is far more than simply competent in the realm of wielding an axe. Revival, however, is his third album in a row where it simply feels like he's running out of ideas. Over half of the songs here, such as "Callin' In Twisted," "If It Ain't Got Rhythm," "Party Mad," "Honky Tonk Girl," etc. all feel like any bar band could have written and performed them. They are so simple and without any sort of original feel whatsoever that they just come off sounding completely lackluster and mundane.

But even though about three fourths of this album is absolutely forgettable, there is still about a fourth that is worth recommending. The instrumental opener "The Happy Camper" is simply a clinic in guitar playing. The way every note comes crystal clear off Heath's fingertips is a thing of beauty. "New York City Girls" is a swingin' good time, and "Someone in Heaven" is a fine country-western tune in the same vein as Hank Williams Sr. But the one standout track by far on Revival is without a doubt "Indigo Friends." Being serious is usually not in The Rev's repertoire of emotion, but the topic of heroin addiction and loss of friends to said drug is what "Indigo Friends" is all about. Indigo Friends is the single track on Revival where Heath seems completely focused, and I'd dare say that it's one of the best songs he's ever done in his career. Let's hope for his sake that in two years from now when he releases the next Reverend Horton Heat album that reflections on life and the past are revived more frequently than the usual run-of-the-mill topics like drinking and partying.