The Revelons are known to punk provocateurs one of the best “lost bands” of the CBGB era who simply released one earth-moving 7” single on Ork Records in 1979, didn’t get signed to a major, and shuffled back into the shadows of an ever-growing scene. Fronted by Gregory Lee Pickard, the band dug into the trenches of New York City’s seedy Bowery life and were frequent players alongside most of the top-tier punk bands of the time, becoming mainstays at not only CBGB but Mudd Club, Danceteria, Hurrah’s and Max’s as well as incorporating a rotating cast of members that at times featured Richard Lloyd of Television and Jay Dee Dougherty of the Patti Smith Group in the lineup.
Incorporating a brash and aggressive pop sound with a vicious edge, The Revelons teetered between Television-like sparkling minimal artistic flourishes, but with more raw & primitive delivery. To which, they solidified their street-level prowess with a tenderized toughness not many other bands could match. The Revelons also were pretty hard to pigeonhole sound-wise then as they are now, with Talking Heads comparisons generally falling short, but there were some genuine Doo Wop moments that sneak in as well, showing their deeper roots to the NYC of days long past.
But the real crime here is that this previously unreleased collection of recordings has never appeared in the vinyl LP format, as it surely would have escalated The Revelons’ profile much higher in the timeline of New York Punk, and in the minds of rock’n roll historians across the globe. Its a fully-realized album overloaded with massive cuts that’s sadly been forgotten for far too long, so of course, we felt like it was our responsibility to make that happen, and we hope you enjoy this instant-classic album of 1977-82 material from one of New York City’s overlooked gems.
Check out the entire live set from 1980 at CBGB right here, and order the Revelons 1977-82 Archival LP right HERE.
