Silver Gorilla
| Silver Gorilla | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1999 | |||
| Genre | Power pop | |||
| Label | Q Division[1] | |||
| Producer | Mike Denneen | |||
| The Gravel Pit chronology | ||||
| ||||
Silver Gorilla is an album by the American band the Gravel Pit, released in 1999.[2][3] It was nominated for three Boston Music Awards.[4] The band supported the album with a North American tour.[5]
Production[edit]
The album was produced by Mike Denneen.[6] Among the album's guest musicians are Jen Trynin, Kay Hanley, and John Linnell.[7][8] Silver Gorilla includes a three-song suite, tracks 10–12, dubbed "An American Trilogy".[9] Many of the album's songs had been in the band's live set for years.[10]
Critical reception[edit]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [11] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A−[12] |
Entertainment Weekly praised the "power and prowess of this Boston quartet, whose inordinately catchy Farfisa-streaked pop is instantly familiar yet, in this age of alternanonymous posing, remarkably daring."[12] The Austin Chronicle thought that "the Pit explodes with the furor of Elvis Costello's first few sneering albums and brims with the pure pop perfection of the rest."[7] The Boston Herald called the album "hard-edged pop that's aggressively tuneful."[13]
The New Yorker deemed the album "highly inventive organ-fuelled pop," and noted the "clever lyrics, catchy melodies, and arrangements that are more complex than you'd expect."[14] Trouser Press concluded that, "for all of the pushing of musical boundaries, Silver Gorilla contains the Pit’s most accessible straight-ahead pop song, 'Favorite'... Sailing along on a bouncy organ groove, it became a genuine hit in Boston."[15] The Cleveland Scene opined that the band provides "melodic yet rough-edged tunes that falter only occasionally, when the song gets lost in repetitive chord changes."[16]
AllMusic wrote that "this Boston foursome's loud pop-punk recalls the early days of Cheap Trick, when loud (not just fuzzy, but loud) guitars could exist in catchy pop songs."[11]
Track listing[edit]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Climb (Up His Tree)" | |
| 2. | "Bolt of Light" | |
| 3. | "The Mosquito" | |
| 4. | "Where the Flying Things Go" | |
| 5. | "Stumbling Sideways" | |
| 6. | "Favorite" | |
| 7. | "Free to Be Me and Thee" | |
| 8. | "When Will Our Bucket Come Up Dry" | |
| 9. | "Millions of Miles" | |
| 10. | "The Ballad of Ezra Messenger" | |
| 11. | "The Rise of Abimelech DuMont" | |
| 12. | "The Marchers Wander In" | |
| 13. | "Get Tangled!" |
References[edit]
- ^ "Reviews". CMJ New Music Report. CMJ Network, Inc. March 8, 1999.
- ^ "The Gravel Pit Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
- ^ Hay, Carla (Mar 6, 1999). "Pit Stop". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 10. p. 24.
- ^ Keilty, Tom (9 Mar 2000). "Gravel Pit Digs In Again". Calendar. The Boston Globe. p. 9.
- ^ Haymes, Greg (7 Jan 1999). "Mini Mall Theater celebrates jazz history". Times Union. p. P9.
- ^ McLennan, Scott (15 Apr 1999). "Gravel Pit seeking perfect balance". Telegram & Gazette. p. C6.
- ^ a b "SXSW Records". The Austin Chronicle.
- ^ Savio, Amanda (February 25, 1999). "Enjoy". Record-Journal. p. A13.
- ^ "Music For Alpha Males and Females". MTV News.
- ^ Catlin, Roger (25 Feb 1999). "Gravel Pit Returns to New Haven, Where It All Began". Calendar. Hartford Courant. p. 5.
- ^ a b "The Silver Gorilla". AllMusic.
- ^ a b Brod, Doug. "Silver Gorilla". Entertainment Weekly.
- ^ Lozaw, Tristram (December 31, 1999). "Boston Beat – Hub bands score with CDs". Boston Herald. p. S27.
- ^ "Clubs". The New Yorker. Vol. 76. May 20, 2000. p. 14.
- ^ "Gravel Pit". Trouser Press. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
- ^ Putre, Laura. "Night & Day". Cleveland Scene.