Captain Sensible-Revolution Now

Captain Sensible's third album Revolution Now is probably his masterpiece. When I first bought it back in 1989 it was like nothing I'd heard before. Of course Captain wears his influences on his sleeve and over the years I've picked up a lot of records that inspired the man himself. In particular albums from the Canterbury scene.

Missing The Boat is a sad little song that I thought about this morning after dreaming about a girl who I lost to another guy. It can't really be compared to anything I've heard before. Then there's The Shadows type instrumental Smash It Up Pt. 4 originally demoed for The Damned's Machine Gun Etiquette as a tail piece for Smash It Up itself. The Toys Take Over was released as a single in 1988 and was dedicated to the memory of Captain's daughter Bunty who died in a cot death. It's a nursery song with political points about giving children Action Man to play with alongside Teddy and Dolly. S.2 is a lilting instrumental that makes me think about watching a lost love walk down the aisle with her new man. Side one concludes with the Jimi Hendrix tribute A Riot On Eastbourne Pier.

Wake Up (You're Only Dreaming) is a punk pop hyperdrive classic while Green Light proves Captain knows a way or two with a Motown beat. The high powered soul backing vocals are what makes this song. Lib 2/3 is a surreal kaleidoscopic train journey collage with soundbites of political speeches that lead neatly into the title track which was the album's lead single and last release on A & M back in 1987. It's a rant about people who try to make a name for themselves through gimmickry such as Bob Geldof and Frankie Goes To Hollywood. Phone-In is a backlash to some of the stupid remarks Edwina Currie was coming out with back in the late 80s when she condemned the homeless.

Side Three kicks off with a cover of The Equals' I Get So Excited which features one of its writers Eddy Grant on lead guitar. It's one of the best singles Captain ever released but was sadly a flop. Then there's the curious Vosene that is a condemnation of companies that support arms supplies to foreign countries. It features Captain's brother voicing naive opinions to a monotonous drone. The Kamikaze Millionaire is a dig at Robert Maxwell. It's a pop song that ended up being a live favourite and now and again is supplemented by a mock Maxwell House commercial that apes the Mirror Pension Funds that Robert Maxwell promoted. Exploding Heads and Teapots (Past Their Prime) samples Margaret Thatcher at a Tory Party Conference that leads into another pop vignette.

The Coward Of Treason Cove a side long collage of music, sound effects and samples is often cited as Captain Sensible's pop masterpiece that stands alongside The Damned's Curtain Call as a punk prog classic. It originally appeared on the B side of the 12 inch of Revolution Now.

This album has continued to inspire me over the years as I have used a lot of collage ideas in my poetry performances as a way of telling a story. Revolution Now is like Captain Sensible's life story on an album and features a lot of his friends and family as well as ex Damned band mates Paul Gray and Rat Scabies. A great addition to any record collection.