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The Revels
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There have been two groups calling themselves The Revels:
1) The Revels were an early ’60s instrumental rock group. While they were not a surf group, since they pre-dated surf music, they were a big influence on the later surf groups. The Revels’ most famous song, “Church Key”, became a surf music staple that was covered by countless surf groups. The group had a raunchy saxophone-oriented sound.
2) A Doo-Wop group called The Revels scored a minor hit in 1959 with a rhythm and blues version of a Totentanz, titled “Midnight Stroll.” In fact, the song was originally titled “Dead Man’s Stroll,” which is a near-literal translation of Danse Macabre, if you remember that the stroll was a popular dance of the 50s. The title was reportedly revised after complaints, but the content of the song remains untouched, and it might as well simply be a description of a Medieval Memento mori illustration. Over a sharp, funereal drum percussion and echoing church bells, the Revels sing a repetitive, mournful descending motive, telling of witnessing a top hatted corpse pull himself out of his grave and shimmying down the street. By the end of the song, as is the tradition with the Danse Macabre, our narrator discovers the he has also joined in the dance, presumably headed toward his own coffin.
1) The Revels were an early ’60s instrumental rock group. While they were not a surf group, since they pre-dated surf music, they were a big influence on the later surf groups. The Revels’ most famous song, “Church Key”, became a surf music staple that was covered by countless surf groups. The group had a raunchy saxophone-oriented sound.
2) A Doo-Wop group called The Revels scored a minor hit in 1959 with a rhythm and blues version of a Totentanz, titled “Midnight Stroll.” In fact, the song was originally titled “Dead Man’s Stroll,” which is a near-literal translation of Danse Macabre, if you remember that the stroll was a popular dance of the 50s. The title was reportedly revised after complaints, but the content of the song remains untouched, and it might as well simply be a description of a Medieval Memento mori illustration. Over a sharp, funereal drum percussion and echoing church bells, the Revels sing a repetitive, mournful descending motive, telling of witnessing a top hatted corpse pull himself out of his grave and shimmying down the street. By the end of the song, as is the tradition with the Danse Macabre, our narrator discovers the he has also joined in the dance, presumably headed toward his own coffin.
Top Albums
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Blow, Ye Winds, In The Morning
The Revels
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Homeward Bound: Sea Songs, Ballads, and Chanteys
The Revels Buy- Download Album
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The Wild Mountain Thyme
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Celtic Roads: Through Ireland, Scotland and…
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Top Tracks
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Comanche
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To Portsmouth
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Rolling Down To Old Maui
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Shoutbox
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SignGuy wrote:
Interesting. The oldies comp I have "Midnight Stroll" on does not seem to make that distinction. Thanks.
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SillyMusicLover wrote:
The doo-wop band's name is The Re-Vels
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SignGuy wrote:
I like the surf-flavoured Revels, but the other Revels' version of "Midnight Stroll" owns.
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corban321 wrote:
INTOXXICAAA.
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YeahLikeTotally wrote:
Dead Man's Stroll is just great.
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Wiggy81 wrote:
You hear me Hillbilly boy, I ain't done with you yet by a long shot!
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ThePhantomFour wrote:
http://www.last.fm/group/Surf+Music a group dedicated to surf music
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corban321 wrote:
CHHUURRRCCHHH KEEEYYYYY.
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SillyMusicLover wrote:
Other Revels did doo wop
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zabethgirl wrote:
there are two groups with this name. the revels (apart from apparently being a band used in pulp fiction) are a folk-singing group based in Cambridge, MA. they do great christmas stuff.
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Tjabe wrote:
Such a shame, they have a lot more superb surf tunes.
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Klatsnek wrote:
similar artists are all pulp fiction related :D
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Opferblut wrote:
Comanche is definitely my favorite song to listen to while sodomizing black men.
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Ollemann wrote:
Only know 'em from Pulp Fiction, yeah. :/
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dearambellina33 wrote:
Did anyone know of this band outside of Pulp Fiction? Just curious...
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dancetoska wrote:
Comanche's a damn good song.
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Recent Activity
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Anttikristus tagged The Revels with american, classic rock, rock and one other tag. Friday morning
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sergiocristian added The Revels to sergiocristian’s library. last month
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Hexoctahedron tagged The Revels with ‘classic rock’. last month
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ningirlangel09, Langstable, odoriferouscand and 1 other person added The Revels to their libraries. last month
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grey_shadow tagged The Revels with jazz and surf. last month
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GarbaUpTheCreek tagged The Revels with surf rock, jazz and surf. last month
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dmarquee, nokado, mignonettes and 2 other people added The Revels to their libraries. last month
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L57NT tagged The Revels with ‘english folk’. last month
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Setheler, sjs87mjs, lazyking09 and 1 other person added The Revels to their libraries. October 2009
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Pankoff tagged The Revels with ‘surf’. October 2009
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