Too Much, Too Late

The goal for the complete Revelation Records collection is in many ways a futile one to chase, but one that I have been chasing none the less. Pretty much every month I take more steps forward, but then the rate at which they crank out the new releases and represses puts me right back where I started, miles from the goal. Still, some steps forward mean a lot more than others, and this one is a super important record for me. A test press for Revelation 69... Farside 'The Monroe Doctrine'.

I clearly remember this album coming out back at the end of the 90s. I was already a huge fan of Farside, and so the release of a new full length was super exciting, especially back then as all music was generally more exciting from a position of youth. A lot of people consider this to be their best record, and I can see why, although for me that's not the case. A couple of the songs on here are the best they ever wrote, but I feel that the greatness of the record is slightly lessened by the 'non traditional' songs that kinda break the flow of the record a little. But that's just me. And whilst I'd always put 'Rochambeau' as the best Farside record, this is a close second.

At some point in the past there was a thread on a message board about what people's top 10 Rev wants were, and my top 10 was Into Another, Farside and Sensefield test presses. I haven't made much of a dent into that list in the last ten years or so, but this is a particularly satisfying one to get. The number of test presses made is not known, but it is likely to be either 4 or 8, as those seem to be the common numbers of tests that Rainbo Records would send out. Either way, this is a nice one to have and I am honoured to be able to give it a home.

Well, after I picked up the test press I also wanted to get hold of the other two repress colours that I was missing. The red came out in 2015 and there were over 1000 copies made.

The green vinyl came out in 2020 and there were around 450 copies. The main thing I notice about this one is how the colours on the label have changed slightly from previous pressings.

So this one represents an almost complete collection. Although as ever there are more copies that I still need... most notably a new test press for the 2020 version. But that's the game I play... endless.