Gravity Talks

Description

The best album by Green on Red, and an excellent example of the California "western" sound of the mid-80s. A blend of psychedelia, 60s folk, and 70s country-rock, but with the drone of the Velvet constantly creeping in and with down-to-earth lyrics. Dan Stuart wrote lyrics with immediacy while aspiring to the poetry of Lou Reed. On this album, Stuart's voice sounds a bit like a more strident, intense (and less melodic) Neil Young. Meanwhile, Chris Cacavas provided keyboards that evoked the best of 1960s psychedelia. There is a lot of complexity in "Gravity Talks," and it builds from start to finish, from the jagged and unpolished (but still charming) opening/title track through the reflective "Old Chief" and onto the very western "5 Easy Pieces." This stuff completely holds up.