Rog & Pip – Our Revolution
Release Date: June 24, 2014
Rise Above Records
Rise Above Records is quickly becoming my favorite label already boasting two of my favorite bands of 2014, The Oath and The Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell. When Rise Above’s latest gem from Rog & Pip showed up on my desk I just asked myself one question. Who the living fuck is Rog & Pip? Well, that didn’t really matter because the minute the opening chords of “Why Won’t You Do What I Want?” filled my room I just found myself unable to stop moving in my chair. “My Revolution” kicked in right behind it and it kind of sounded like a cross between The Sweet and Slade. This was some really great stuff and two songs in I just couldn’t wait to see what was yet to come.
Guitarist Roger Lomas and Singer/Guitarist Pip Whitcher were members of Coventry freakbeat legends The Sorrows in the 60’s and after the group disbanded Rog & Pip continued to write together well into the 70’s. This collection is comprised of mostly unreleased material and also features the Rog & Pip debut 7” of “From a Window/War Lord.” These two songs along with the song “Gold” proved to be the highlights of this collection but that’s not to downplay the rest of this spectacular platter of facemelt. These songs cover so much ground and they really showcase the duo’s ability to capture the true essence of the changing shape of hard rock music at the time. From the Grass Roots boogie rock n’ roll vibe of “Rock With Me” to the best Deep Purple song never recording “Evil Hearted Woman”, Rog & Pip had all the ability, skill, and talent to have songs every bit as good if not better than their more popular peers.
Listening to this collection of songs really had me scratching my head as to why these guys didn’t catch on. I love the versatility, the sonic production, and the stellar delivery of these exceptional songs. “Our Revolution” is a great collection of songs that very well could have been lost forever but thanks to Rise Above Records the world will get to hear these gems and hear them the way they were meant to be heard. Somewhere I can only hope that Rog & Pip themselves might get some joy in knowing that after so many years their songs will now be out there for the world to happily discover. “Our Revolution” is so good and it leaves me wondering just how many great bands from that era were sadly buried alive before being given the chance to show what they were capable of. One can only hope that there are many other bands and that they are all as good as Rog & Pip.
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