It’s easy to forget just how much the Levellers were outcasts when they first burst onto the scene in 1990 with A Weapon Called The Word. Anachronistically punky and unfashionably folky, they attracted fans with fiery live shows, addictive melodies, and intelligent lyrics, but the press at large kept their distance. Even by the time the band unleashed Zeitgeist,their fourth album, with massive sets at Glastonbury under their collective belts, certain sections of the press remained sniffy, despite the fact that the Levellers had achieved every ounce of their success through a combination of blood, sweat, and tears, and without a single hint of compromise along the way.
For fans, however, Zeitgeist was exactly the era-defining monument the name implied. Just one look at the singles, the blazing Hope Street, the folky blast that is Just The One, and the darkly cynical Fantasy (all later followed by a live take on Exodus, which trailed that still unsurpassed document of the Zeitgeist tour, Headlights, White Lines, And Black Tar Rivers) helps to explain the success of Zeitgeist. Not only does the album boast a large number of the band’s best-loved songs, but the production (not exactly a strong point on earlier albums) finally matched the blazing intensity of the band’s incandescent live shows.
The album has sat for so long on my record deck that it’s hard to believe that it turns 30 this year. Not only is it a favourite of mine, but it is also one of a handful albums that first inspired me to play guitar and later became the material from which I learned. As such, it has a special place in my heart and this smart new anniversary edition, boasting all sorts of extras, is most welcome, even if it is a painful reminder of my advancing years. Remixed for 2025, fans can choose from a triple CD edition (reviewed here), which brings together demos, interviews, b-sides and more; or a double blue vinyl), featuring the remixed album and the second disc of b-sides. You can view both track listings at the base of this review.
Disc 1
With Al Scott (Joe Strummer, Asian Dub Foundation) at the helm, Zeitgeist saw a tougher, leaner Levellers tearing through a set of new tracks that felt, to a large extent, like a best of all that had gone before. From the blazing Hope Street to the closing Men-an-Tol, the band were on ferocious form, while their anger at the increasingly overzealous policing of the country was given vigorous life on the likes of Exodus and P.C. Keen. There was hardly any surprise, then, when roughly half the album immediately appeared in the band’s live show, and a good deal of it has remained in place ever since.
Remixed for this release, with Al once again behind the desk, I was initially uncertain if Zeitgeist really needed such treatment, largely because it already sounded pretty damn great. However, with a touch more snarl to the guitars, and the various folk elements shimmering with greater depth (especially on tracks like Men-An-Tol), this edition has a genuinely immersive feel, Al’s deft work behind the desk scraping away the layers to reveal a pristine sound without succumbing to the temptation to engage with modern production fads or damage the original in any way.
It hits you right from the start and, let’s face it, you could hardly ask for a better opening track than Hope Street. One of those songs that positively explodes amidst a welter of crunchy riffs and gnarly slide guitar, even some 30 years later, it sounds utterly vital. Tragically, with its well-constructed and heart-breaking lyric evoking the spirt of austerity, it’s clear that the issues troubling the Levellers in 1995 have hardly diminished in the intervening years, and the lyrics are as relevant now as they’ve ever been: “Everyday I look at you / Dressed up in your ties of blue / Saying there’s not much that you can do / To help the kids on Hope Street.”
With Hope Street having established the tone, The Fear offers little reprieve. Based around a stabbing riff that captures much of the atmosphere suggested by its claustrophobic title, and augmented by layer upon layer of Jon Sevink’s fiddle, it’s a ferocious indictment of the overmedication of mental ill-health leavened only slightly by the band’s innate gift for drawing stunning melodies out of the darkest subject matter. It’s followed by Exodus, which pitches roving sound systems against authoritarian clamp downs over a scattershot backing that interpolates elements of scratching and baggy beats. It builds to a fiery climax and this remixed version sounds a little punchier than I recall, although it still lags behind the excellent live version released as a standalone single – largely because the studio incarnation feels just a tad slow in comparison.
It’s not all blazing guitars. The lovely Maid Of The River is a lilting folk number with some of the most beautiful lyrics the band have ever written and it dovetails nicely with Saturday To Sunday, a sweetly simple moment that predicts the poppier sound to which the band would return on Green Blade Rising. Here, however, it’s soon swept away by the blazing 4AM which, led by Simon Friend, is a full-blooded punk anthem delivered in a haze of distortion and thunderous percussion. Then there’s Forgotten Ground, which catches the listener off guard, emerging as a beautiful folk ballad, only to suddenly explode into life, the band once more tearing at their guitars with ferocious abandon. That fire carries over into Fantasy, a bittersweet track that speaks to the necessary self-delusion most of us have to employ just to navigate the increasing drudgery of the 9 – 5 life, with a chorus for which most bands would happily sell their mothers.
If the likes of Maid Of The River and Saturday To Sunday offer a warmer vision of the world, the dark remnants of Conservative Britain soon rear their ugly heads on P.C. Keen. With the band matching the sinister subject matter to a suitably metallic backdrop it stands, along with Belarus and England My Home, among the band’s heaviest tracks. An alarmingly prescient description of a police state in the making, P.C. Keen is not so much a record of its time as an accurate foretelling of what has now come to pass, making it deeply uncomfortable listening, especially now.
The subject of alcoholism, already tackled with incredible empathy on 15 Years, returns on Just The One, a short punchy number with vibrant folk pulse and a dark message at its core. It gives way to the lovely Haven’t Made It Yet, a sweet song from the road that stands in contrast to the frantic Leave This Town, another track (along with Fantasy) which evokes the sense of apathy that seems to stop so many from chasing their dreams.
The album wraps up with the band heading back to nature to rekindle the flame of their defiance. The result, Men-An-Tol, finds them looking back towards the “civilised” world and not liking what they see at all: “Neon lights and faceless signs / Hide what I hold dear / But it’s there to find if you have the mind / And you don’t live in fear of it.” It’s a wonderful, inspirational conclusion and it leaves the listener
Disc 2
Bringing together the b sides from the three singles from the album – Hope Street, Fantasy, and Just The One, the second disc is a reminder of just how much we’ve lost as fans by forcing bands to abandon singles as a physical format, and every song represented here is absolute gold.
The disc grabs you by the lapels from the off as Joe Strummer drops in to lend a hand on a raucous Just The One. It’s followed by the equally explosive folk of Drinking For England, reminding us that The Levellers, for all the weight of their worries, can never resist a good time once they have their instruments to hand. Easily as good as anything on the album (and beautifully remixed, as are all the tracks here), close your eyes and you’re instantly transported to some smoky bar, beers balanced precariously on the top of an old piano and the band playing way past closing.
Another track that could so easily have slotted straight onto the album, Alive feels like a ferocious riposte to the likes of Fantasy, a snarling riff underpinning Mark’s increasingly frantic assertion that “you’re alive”. Rather more sedate is Searchlights, a very different track with a melancholy undercurrent and a sound that cleaves closer to the likes of Oysterband than the heavier fare that largely defines Zeitgeist. There’s also a sweet acoustic version of Hope Street, which offers a very different take on this well-worn classic. With harmonica taking the strain where ragged slide guitar once dwelt, it draws the track in an unexpected Neil Young direction, and it sounds truly lovely.
Simon Friend focuses on the Criminal Justice bill and urbanisation of England on the acoustic Miles Away but here, instead of raging against the powers that be, he issues a heartfelt plea, questioning whether those in authority have really gone so far as to forget the common humanity that should bind rather than divide. Again, it’s heartbreaking to hear a song written back in 1995 that remains so relevant in the current political climate and it makes you wonder whether we’ve really learnt nothing in the intervening years. The band return on A Promise – a nice enough track that lacks the fire found on the parent album. In contrast, the keening Sara’s Beach is a lo-fi little ditty that sounds all the more personal for the stripped back production employed.
This excellent disc wraps up withYour ‘Ouse a more expansive folk number that finds the Levellers bringing the party to you – acoustic guitars and fiddles in hand – for the sort of knees up that’ll leave you with the furniture upturned on the floor and bodies strewn where they fell.
It says much of the quality of the Levellers’ output during this period that their b sides were easily the equivalent of their album tracks, making this compilation a worthy record in its own right. For those who have the original singles – and therefore know the quality – it’s simply good to have them all in one place. For those who missed out the first time round, these are essential tracks that help to flesh out the story of Zeitgeist.
Disc 3
The final disc in the set (which is only available on the CD version) is rather more of a grab bag of interview segments, surprisingly well recorded demos, and alternate mixes. Oddly sequenced, with the short faux-interview segments scattered between the songs, it’s not the easiest listen, and it’s hard to imagine anyone digging through it too often, although it does go to show just how fully formed these songs were before the band ever got near to the final studio.
While the demos are hardly revelatory, there are a few highlights on the disc for fans to unearth. Hobo is an unexpected little folk ditty in the vein of Tom Waits, while a live run through of Social Insecurity / Is This Art is cool, if fairly badly recorded, capturing the band during an intimate acoustic session. The baggy influences that would come to the fore on both Exodus and, later, a remixed This Garden makes itself known on Basement 23, which sounds like the band chained digeridoo player Steve Boakes to a TR808 and left him there until he came up with something. There’s also Know You, a slight rocker that never really takes off; and Zippo Man, which is the sound of a man with, errr, a Zippo – although this latter track does go to show how the band developed the percussive sounds on the likes of Just The One, which follows immediately after in demo form.
While not exactly essential, the third disc has enough about it to make it a welcome bonus and, while you may find yourself skipping the dubious interview segments that littler the disc, it’s interesting to hear the songs played live in the studio, shorn of production, but with the arrangements largely in place.
Conclusion
With its tightly plotted track list, strong production, and intelligent, articulate lyrics, Zeitgeist has long been a fan favourite, and this remixed version sounds better than ever. The bonus material ranges from the essential (disc two) to the ephemeral (disc three), with the package as a whole an excellent example of what an anniversary reissue should look like when you put the fans first and foremost. Whether you go for the two-disc vinyl (complete with b sides) or the three-disc CD edition, this is a fantastic opportunity to revisit an album that continues to shine, thanks to its indelible melodies and thought-provoking lyrics. 10/10
Disc: 1
1 Hope Street (2025 Remix)
2 The Fear (2025 Remix)
3 Exodus (2025 Remix)
4 Maid of the River (2025 Remix)
5 Saturday to Sunday (2025 Remix)
6 4AM (2025 Remix)
7 Forgotten Ground (2025 Remix)
8 Fantasy (2025 Remix)
9 P.C. Keen (2025 Remix)
10 Just the One (2025 Remix)
11 Haven’t Made It (2025 Remix)
12 Leave This Town (2025 Remix)
13 Men-an-Tol (2025 Remix)
Disc: 2
1 Just the One (feat. Joe Strummer) [2025 Remix] [Single Version]
2 Drinking for England (2025 Remix)
3 Alive (2025 Remix)
4 Searchlights (2025 Remix)
5 Hope Street (2025 Remix) [Acoustic Version]
6 Miles Away (2025 Remix)
7 A Promise (2025 Remix)
8 Sara’s Beach (2025 Remix)
9 Your ‘Ouse (2025 Remix)
Disc: 3
1 Interview 1
2 Alive (Metway Demo 1995)
3 The Fear (Metway Demo 1995)
4 Interview 2
5 Hobo
6 Social Insecurity / Is This Art?
7 Interview 3
8 Maid of the River (Metway Demo 1995)
9 Basement 23 (Maddy Mix)
10 Interview 4
11 Saturday to Sunday (Metway Demo 1995)
12 Exodus (Metway Demo 1995)
13 Interview 5
14 Know You (Metway Demo 1995)
15 Leave This Town (Metway Demo 1995)
16 Interview 6
17 Hope Street (Metway Demo 1995)
18 P.C. Keen (Metway Demo 1995)
19 Men-An-Tol (Metway Demo 1995)
20 Interview 7
21 Zippo Man
22 Fantasy (Metway Demo 1995)
Vinyl Track Listings
Disc 1
Side A
1 Hope Street (2025 Remix)
2 The Fear (2025 Remix)
3 Exodus (2025 Remix)
4 Maid of the River (2025 Remix)
5 Saturday to Sunday (2025 Remix)
6 4AM (2025 Remix)
Side B
1 Forgotten Ground (2025 Remix)
2 Fantasy (2025 Remix)
3 P.C. Keen (2025 Remix)
4 Just the One (2025 Remix)
5 Haven’t Made It (2025 Remix)
6 Leave This Town (2025 Remix)
7 Men-an-Tol (2025 Remix)
Disc 2
Side A
1 Just the One (feat. Joe Strummer) [2025 Remix] [Single Version]
2 Drinking for England (2025 Remix)
3 Alive (2025 Remix)
4 Searchlights (2025 Remix)
Side B
1 Hope Street (2025 Remix) [Acoustic Version]
2 Miles Away (2025 Remix)
3 A Promise (2025 Remix)
4 Sara’s Beach (2025 Remix)
5 Your ‘Ouse (2025 Remix)
