Description
Rockin’ Revival is the sophomore album by the Canadian rock band Servant, released on Tunesmith Records in April 1981, a division of Praise Industries. The album was recorded and mixed by Bob Rock assisted by Mike Fraser at Little Mountain Sound Studios in Vancouver, Canada; executively produced by Bob Brooks for Signature Productions. Adding the keyboard sounds of new band member Matt Spransy made for a richer, fuller sound than heard on their debut album. Featuring “I’m Gonna Live,” a song written by Doug Pinnick (a founding member of King’s X).
Servant is Bob Hardy and Sandie Brock on lead vocals (as well as percussion); Matt Spransy on acoustic piano, Hammond organ, and synthesizers (Polymoog, Prophet 5, and Oberheim); Bruce Wright on lead guitar and talk box; Owen Brock on rhythm guitar and vocals; Rob Martens on bass and vocals; and David Holmes on drums and vocals.
A second album, this is apparently Servant’s attempt to present timeless rock’n’roll musical forms accompanied by lyrics focussed on Christian social-consciousness. Musically, the tunes mirror rhythmic and melodic styles oft-repeated throughout the last, say, 20 years, such as the refrain, “shubie-doo-wah, doo-wah, doo wha” («Suburban Josephine»).
For the most part, the lyrical p.o.v. here reflects the group’s origins in modern, rural Christianity – i.e. Christian communal subculture – as well as its strong ties to the genuine era of social protest («Ad Man», «Look Out Babylon») which whimpered to a close almost 15 years ago. The lyrics dominate and rely heavily on the social criticism that has always typified grassroots rock’n’roll; yet the Word it thoroughly presents.
The “we” overshadows the personal here except in «Heidleberg Blues» (which serves as the lost rock’n’roller’s lament) and in «Isolated» (a much-needed message to Sunday-only, oh-too-hip churchies). «Rockin’ Revival» and «I’m Gonna Live Forever», lack distinctive markings musically, but provide upbeat, high-energy pop-rock.
Produced by Bob Brooks and Signature Productions, the sound on this LP is a decided improvement over the band’s first disc, but remains a long way from drawing accusations of over-production from rock purists. Sandy Brock’s vocals are better than on the band’s last LP, and Matt Spransy’s synthesizers, piano and organ add much to the simple Servant sound.
(Best cuts: «Isolated», «Heidleberg Blues», «Look Out Babylon») [Karen Marie Platt, CCM, May 1981]
No sophomore slumps here, the band rocking hard through statements like «Look Out Babylon», «Jealousies» (from Eddie Money’s first album) and «I’m Gonna Live» (co-written by future King’s X man Doug Pinnick). Contains some of their loudest moments on record, rivaling the intensity of Resurrection Band on «Heidelberg Blues» (boy that Sandie can really belt it out). Keyboardist Matt Spransy joins the lineup – his Polymoog, Prophet 5, Oberheim synthesizers, piano and Hammond organ bring welcome art-rock touches here and there. Retro Grease-y doo-wop provides inspiration for the routine life of «Suburban Josephine», while «Ad Man» takes a swipe at commercial advertising, making use of that Frampton talking-guitar whatcharnacallit. The original cover has a fish-eye photo of a worship gathering in a farmhouse, later replaced with an on-stage picture of the band in concert. [Ken Scott, The Archivist, 4th edition]
Rockin’ Revival, Retroactive Records CD re-issue, 2006
Two years on from their debut album, Servant’s follow up was originally released in 1981 and is now re-released for the first time on CD. For this album the band had expanded from six to seven members with the addition of keyboardist Matt Spransy and consequently the sound of the band also changed. This is most notable on songs like «Jealousies» and «Heidelberg Blues» where the keyboards come into their own. 25 years after release, there are moments when this still sounds thoroughly contemporary. Opening cut «Look Out Babylon» contains the line “Soldiers in Afghanistan, sanctions to Iran/ Shortage of diplomacy, we’re running out of time.” Other highlights include the fabulous talk box on «Ad Man», another song where the passage of time hasn’t diluted the poignancy of the message. Servant’s biggest radio hit, the poppier «I’m Gonna Live» closes the album and amazingly it was co-written with Doug Pinnick many years before he found success with King’s X. This is classic Christian rock and personally I can’t wait for the rest of Servant’s back catalogue to make it onto CD. [Mike Rimmer, Cross Rhythms, July 2006]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/rockin-revival/1767457662)
LP tracklist:
Side One
A1. “Babylon” – 4:03
A2. “Rockin Revival” – 4:18
A3. “Isolated” – 4:13
A4. “Heidleburg Blues” – 4:17
A5. “Listen” – 3:00
Side Two
B1. “Jealousies” – 3:47
B2. “Suburban Josephine” – 3:53
B3. “Ad Man” – 3:33
B4. “I’m Gonna Live” – 5:33
Note: Simultaneously released on 8-track tape, cassette, and 12-inch vinyl LP by Tunesmith Records. Originally issued featuring a brown cover of meeting house shot with a “fishbowl” lens. (“The Revival that rocked our community in the fall of 1979 produced aftershocks of conviction which inspired us to reach beyond ourselves. As a result we were compelled to open our homes and share our lives with refugees from Southeast Asia and Haiti. Our growing family is pictured here during a community celebration.” – Note printed on the back of the original album sleeve.) Later re-issued featuring new cover artwork; various photos of the band live in concert. Digitally remastered and re-issued on CD by Retroactive Records in 2006, distributed by Brutal Planet Distribution.
Re-issue Cover Artwork
Photo: Phil Keaggy Band, Live at Creation Festival 1980; (L-R) Phil Madeira (keyboards, member of the original Phil Keaggy Band), Peter York (guitar, York played together with Phil Keaggy as a duo for awhile after Phil left Glass Harp, also a member of 2nd Chapter of Acts’ touring band; later President of Sparrow Communications Group), Phil Keaggy (guitar), Jerry Gaskill (drums, later a founding member of King’s X), Doug Pinnick (bass, later a founding member of King’s X), Greg X. Volz (guitar, lead vocalist of Petra).
Phil Keaggy & Band, Live at the Akron Civic Theatre, Akron Ohio (6-30-80):
https://philkeaggy.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-the-akron-civic-theatre-akron-ohio-6-30-80
Phil Keaggy & Band, Live from Wheeling Civic Theatre, Wheeling, West Virginia (6-24-1980):
https://philkeaggy.bandcamp.com/album/live-from-wheeling-civic-theatre-6-24-1980
In the mid seventies, Doug Pinnick (originally a member of the gospel group, Bob Dempster & The Caravelle Singers based in Florida; later a founding member of the hard rock trio King’s X) formed a band called Servant with keyboardist Matt Spransy. (Spransy actually did play on the multi-artist album ‘Lonesome Stone‘, a rock musical that premiered at the Rainbow Theatre in London, England, July 1973.) They were described as a progressive Art Rock type of band along the lines of Yes and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. The band played all over the midwest and even put together a demo of original songs. Oddly enough, there was a band from Canada that also called themselves Servant who had actually scored a recording contract. Spransy ended up joining the Canadian version of Servant in the late seventies, and that band recorded a song that he and Pinnick had written together called «I’m Gonna Live», featured on their 1981 album Rockin’ Revival.
Pinnick was also part of Alpha as well as his own Doug Pinnick Band shortly after Spransy joined the Canadian Servant. In 1979, Pinnick was invited to join a band that was forming in Springfield, MO, fronted by singer Greg X. Volz of Petra fame. He accepted the offer and re-located, only to have the band dissolve within a month of his arrival. He was soon offered a spot in guitarist Phil Keaggy’s touring band, along with the drummer from the failed Volz project, Jerry Gaskill. (Pinnick actually has a co-writing credit on the track «Just A Moment Away» from Keaggy’s 1980 album Ph’lip Side.) Pinnick toured with Keaggy for about a year before returning to Springfield and set about looking for a new musical project. Later Pinnick and Gaskill joined with guitarist Ty Tabor to form a power trio, later to be called King’s X. Pinnick and Tabor actually also wrote most of the songs featured on Morgan Cryar’s 1986 album Fuel on the Fire, and did as well support Cryar on the following promotional tour.
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