Moroni's Review of The Reiver's "Second Story"

As a teen, I spent a few Spring Breaks going to see a friend who lived outside of Austin, Texas.  The thing I liked about Austin was that it had a personality all of it's own.  In 1986, my friend Matt introduced me to a local band called Zeitgeist.  I liked them so much that I went and bought the cassette, which I still have.

Zeitgeist was a lot like the Austin I came to know, walking evenings down Sixth Street.  The singer, John Croslin, sang with a Texas twang with Kim Longacre's powerful voice echoing in the background.  They were down home, earthy, and yet hip.  I took this cassette home to Arizona with me and fell in love with it.

There is a distinct memory of getting ready for school in 1986, and I had Zeitgeist playing.  My dad came into  my room and listened for a bit, and then he started to laugh.  Zeitgeist was doing a rendition of Willie Nelson's "Blue Eyes".  He was laughing to see that the weird pop bands that I was listening to in the '80s were paying homage to the country music he listened to in his younger years.  I think Zeitgeist was paying homage to the rolling hills they haled from, as evidenced in the song "Hill Country Theme."

Zeitgeist was definitely part of the multifaceted soundtrack of my youth "Araby", "Legendary Man", "Freight Train Rain"...  The quality of the recordings was not that great.  This was in the Age of Analog, before music was digital.  But it gave it a gritty feel.  It added to the Americana vibe of this album.

The story goes that Zeitgeist was sued by a movie company that owned the film rights to that name, and so they changed their name to "The Reivers", after a Faulkner novel.  Their sophomore release - "Saturday" - came out in 1987.  They had honed their skills, and the engineering was better on this album.  This album truly became iconic to me.  I used to teach my four year-old brother lyrics to this song so that he could sing along with me.  "Electra", "In Your Eyes", Secretariat", Ragamuffin Man" - these songs came to define what I loosely have come term as "My Type Of Music".

They released a couple of albums after that that didn't quite have the same flare, and they broke up in 1991.

Since then, I have downloaded the digitally re-mastered "Translate Slowly", and I have searched desperately for "Saturday" in digital format.  But sadly, it is nowhere to be found.  I just ordered a CD copy from Amazon, and I am happily awaiting it's arrival.  John Croslin did not disappear from the music scene, but when on to produce such acts like Austin's Spoon.

Imagine my surprise when I learned that the Reivers reformed and are releasing their first new album in twenty-two years.  I downloaded "Second Story", and the first song, "All Drunks Say Amen" played.  I was relieved to hear this band back in form.  Kim Longacre's voice dominates the song, with John Croslin's twang singing backing vocals.

The album is very pleasant.  There are some funky songs like "Liar" and "Jo and Joe".  There are some rocking tunes like "When She Sings", "Setting Son", and "Back At You".  But my favorites are the ballads that they sing together like "Please Don't Worry".

This album will never be as iconic and moving for me as "Translate Slowly" or "Saturday".  And yet I am comforted by this album.  It is like having an old friend come back in your life, and you don't want them to leave again.