Ramp (album)

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Ramp
Studio album by
Giant Sand
Released1991
GenreAlternative rock, alternative country
LabelAmazing Black Sand
ProducerHowe Gelb
Giant Sand chronology
Swerve
(1990) 		Ramp
(1991) 		Center of the Universe
(1992)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic4/5 stars[1]
Robert ChristgauA-
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music3/5 stars[2]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide3.5/5 stars[3]
Spin Alternative Record Guide7/10[4]

Ramp is an album by the American alternative rock band Giant Sand, released in 1991.[5][6] The album was released via frontman Howe Gelb's Amazing Black Sand label, before being picked up by Restless Records.[7]

Production[]

The majority of the album was produced by Gelb.[3] Victoria Williams contributed backing vocals to the album's second track, "Romance of Falling," the only track produced by Dusty Wakeman.[1][8] Pappy Allen also makes an appearance on Ramp.[9] The album was recorded in Los Angeles and Tucson.[8]

Critical reception[]

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."[10] 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]

The Spin Alternative Record Guide opined that the band "has mastered the art of rambling within a loose structure."[4]

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[]

  • Joey Burns - bass
  • John Convertino - drums
  • Howe Gelb - guitar, vocals

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Ramp - Giant Sand | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  2. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Volume 3: MUZE. p. 736.CS1 maint: location (link)
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 482.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. p. 166.
  5. ^ The Rough Guide to Rock (2nd ed.). Rough Guides Ltd. 1999. p. 408.
  6. ^ "The Mojo Collection: 4th Edition". Canongate Books. November 1, 2007 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ "Arts Journal". Arizona Daily Star. November 15, 1992. p. 11D.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b Armstrong, Gene (May 22, 1992). "Cacavas scores big with `Good Times'; Giant Sand shows improvement on `Ramp'". Arizona Daily Star. p. 3F.
  9. ^ Cohen, Jason (Jan 1993). "Giant Sand's Wanderlust & Whimsy". Option (48): 76.
  10. ^ "Robert Christgau: CG: Giant Sand". www.robertchristgau.com.
  11. ^ "Giant Sand". Trouser Press. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  12. ^ McLeese, Don (19 Mar 1993). "SOME ECLECTIC EVENING". Austin American-Statesman. p. B3.
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