The Reverend Horton Heat: 25 To Life [Box Set]

The Reverend Horton Heat
25 To Life [Box Set]
Yep Roc Records [2012]
(2CD/1DVD Set)








Fire Note Says: 25 years and still kicking some rockabilly ass!

Album Review:
If you have never seen the rockabilly event that is a Reverend Horton Heat show then you are in for a treat on this new box set release 25 To Life that consists of a concert on DVD, a live CD version of the show and a greatest hits CD that covers all 25 years of their existence. The collective of music here all showcases the groups tight musicianship right down to the last strum of the stand up bass.

The Reverend Horton Heat: 25 To Life DVD was filmed and recorded live at the legendary Fillmore Theater in San Francisco in 2010 and includes live concert footage, band interviews, crew interviews and more. The live album of this show contains 16 of the 20 tracks featured in the film and delivers on each and every track. The shear energy that leader Jim Heath and the band put out during a show translates well to the live album format because you can feel it right through your speakers. You can also sense that during the scorching solo on "The Devil's Chasin' Me" that sweat is flying and the crowd is in a frenzy. You get the feeling and just know that at any moment Heath is going to jump up on Jimbo's laid down stand up bass and shred it out on his guitar even though you can't see it when it happens the crowd response to these showmen lets you know it is going on. What also makes 25 To Life work from a live album standpoint is that the newer material works well with the classic Sub Pop tracks and flow seamlessly back n forth.

The hits compilation is nice as it is the first ever, career spanning "best of" from the band's studio recordings. I don't think the selection here is as strong as the previous collection Holy Roller [1999] but it does cover the 00' material from the band however mysteriously it is absent of any material from 2009's Laughin' And Cryin' release. I am not sure why this was the case especially since that album was also on Yep Roc.

This set is housed in a collectible box that includes a 52 page booklet featuring images and stories from the band's 25 year span.The live album plus DVD is the real attraction here on 25 To Life and if anything it shows that The Reverend Horton Heat have not slowed down one bit and still put out a killer show each and every night. If you have no experience with The Reverend Horton Heat you can easily start here with the live album and then I guarantee that you will be hooked and going back into their catalog which is highly recommended!

Key Tracks: "The Devil's Chasin' Me", "Jimbo Song", "Psychobilly Freakout"

Bands With Similar Fire:
Dale Hawkins
Supersuckers
The Amazing Royal Crowns

The Reverend Horton Heat: Laughin' And Cryin' With The Reverend Horton Heat [Fire Note Review 9/1/09]

The Reverend Horton Heat Website
The Reverend Horton Heat Facebook
Yep Roc Records

-Reviewed by Christopher Anthony