SP Records (2011)
I couldn't possibly explain why it took so long for me to finally buy this CD. I love Reverse. They had a string of 7"s that came out on Damaged Goods in the mid 90's that are among my favorite 7"s in my collection. Not quite as remembered as some of the other titans of the UK scene of the time, this Stoke-on-Trent band was one that I've always wanted to hear more from. I vividly remember trying to convince Dave, the trombone player from Snuff, to give me the Reverse shirt he had when Snuff toured America one time. He wouldn't part with it (though he did end up giving me a really excellent Letherface 'Mackem Bastards' shirt, so nothing but good feelings towards Dave).
A little bit prior to this CD, SP records had released a CD of Reverse singles as well as some previously unheard songs they had amassed. The fact that they had another seventeen songs hanging around after that release kind of boggles my mind. Why didn't any of these come out back then? I will say this, while there are some truly fantastic songs on this record, they don't quite live up to my favorite songs from the 7"s. I'm sure that has a lot to do with the fact that I've been listening to the 7" ones for about twenty years while I haven't lived with the songs on this CD for anywhere near as long.
Still, there's something about songs like "Denial," when the band is just tearing through their chorus with tons of vocal harmonies and energy to spare. Some of the slower songs on this CD don't grab me the same way, but Reverse still has a way of drawing me in with their gravely vocals and unabashed pop hooks. I can't really explain why they've been lost to history, but both this CD and the singles comp, Glance Sideways, are overlooked gems that deserve more attention than they get.
Reverse - Chasing Ghosts (4 songs sampler):
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