Ramp (album)

Ramp
Studio album by
Giant Sand
Released1991
GenreCountry rock
LabelAmazing Black Sand
ProducerHowe Gelb
Giant Sand chronology
Swerve
(1990) 		Ramp
(1991) 		Center of the Universe
(1992)

Ramp is an album by the American band Giant Sand, released in 1991.[1][2] The album was released via frontman Howe Gelb's Amazing Black Sand label, before being picked up by Restless Records.[3]

Production

The majority of the album was produced by Gelb.[4] Victoria Williams contributed backing vocals to the album's second track, "Romance of Falling," the only track produced by Dusty Wakeman.[5][6] Pappy Allen also makes an appearance on Ramp.[7] The album was recorded in Los Angeles and Tucson.[6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Robert ChristgauA−[8]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[9]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[4]
Spin Alternative Record Guide7/10[10]

Robert Christgau wrote: "The first side makes something of the dissociated atmospherics that undermined the band's previous umpteen releases; the second's almost popwise. Together they're what country-rock was never really like, or wanted to be."[8] Trouser Press thought that "Gelb seems to have found a way to propel himself at will into a deconstruction zone where boogie can mutate into pre-rock vocal harmony ('Warm Storm') and Sun Ra can be construed as a lounge lizard (the slurry 'Jazzer Snipe')."[11] The Austin American-Statesman deemed it "the kind of revelatory release that makes one want to search out everything the band has previously recorded."[12] LA Weekly likened the album to "Neil Young hallucinating punk rock... But this time out, the riffs are gentler, the harmonies sweeter."[13]

The Spin Alternative Record Guide opined that the band "has mastered the art of rambling within a loose structure."[10]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Warm Storm" 
2."Romance of Falling" 
3."Wonder" 
4."Welcome to My World" 
5."Anti-Shadow" 
6."Jazzer Snipe" 
7."Z.Z. Quicker Foot" 
8."Neon Filler" 
9."Seldom Matters" 
10."Resolver" 
11."Nowhere" 
12."Always Horses Coming" 
13."Patsy's Blues" 

Personnel

References

  1. ^ The Rough Guide to Rock (2nd ed.). Rough Guides Ltd. 1999. p. 408.
  2. ^ The Mojo Collection: 4th Edition. Canongate Books. November 1, 2007. Archived from the original on August 4, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2021 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ "Arts Journal". Arizona Daily Star. November 15, 1992. p. 11D.
  4. ^ a b MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 482.
  5. ^ a b "Ramp". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2021-08-04. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  6. ^ a b Armstrong, Gene (May 22, 1992). "Cacavas scores big with 'Good Times'; Giant Sand shows improvement on 'Ramp'". Arizona Daily Star. p. 3F.
  7. ^ Cohen, Jason (Jan 1993). "Giant Sand's Wanderlust & Whimsy". Option. No. 48. p. 76.
  8. ^ a b "Giant Sand". www.robertchristgau.com. Archived from the original on 2021-08-04. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  9. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 3. MUZE. p. 736.
  10. ^ a b Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. p. 166.
  11. ^ "Giant Sand". Trouser Press. Archived from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  12. ^ McLeese, Don (19 Mar 1993). "Some Eclectic Evening". Austin American-Statesman. p. B3.
  13. ^ "Giant Sand Ramp". LA Weekly. 17 Dec 1992. p. 105.