Silver Gorilla
Studio album by
The Gravel Pit
Released1999
GenrePower pop
LabelQ Division Records[1]
ProducerMike Denneen
The Gravel Pit chronology
Favorite EP
(1998)		 Silver Gorilla
(1999)		 Mass Avenue Freeze Out
(2001)

Silver Gorilla is an album by the American power pop band the Gravel Pit, released in 1999.[2][3] It was nominated for three Boston Music Awards.[4]

Production

The album was produced by Mike Denneen.[5] Among the album's guest musicians are Jen Trynin, Kay Hanley, and John Linnell.[6][7] Silver Gorilla includes a three-song suite, tracks 10–12, dubbed "An American Trilogy".[8] Many of the album's songs had been in the band's live set for years.[9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[11]

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."[11] 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."[6] The Boston Herald called the album "hard-edged pop that's aggressively tuneful."[12]

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."[13] 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."[14] 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."[15]

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."[10]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
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

  1. ↑ "Reviews". CMJ New Music Report. CMJ Network, Inc. March 8, 1999 – via Google Books.
  2. ↑ "The Gravel Pit Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. ↑ Hay, Carla (Mar 6, 1999). "Pit Stop". Billboard. 111 (10): 24.
  4. ↑ Keilty, Tom (9 Mar 2000). "GRAVEL PIT DIGS IN AGAIN". The Boston Globe. CAL. p. 9.
  5. ↑ McLennan, Scott (15 Apr 1999). "Gravel Pit seeking perfect balance". Telegram & Gazette. p. C6.
  6. 1 2 "SXSW Records". www.austinchronicle.com.
  7. ↑ Savio, Amanda (February 25, 1999). "Enjoy". Record-Journal. p. A13.
  8. ↑ "Music For Alpha Males and Females". MTV News.
  9. ↑ Catlin, Roger (25 Feb 1999). "GRAVEL PIT RETURNS TO NEW HAVEN, WHERE IT ALL BEGAN". Hartford Courant. Calendar. p. 5.
  10. 1 2 "The Silver Gorilla - The Gravel Pit | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  11. 1 2 March 19, Doug Brod Updated; EST, 1999 at 05:00 AM. "Silver Gorilla". EW.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ↑ Lozaw, Tristram (December 31, 1999). "Boston Beat - Hub bands score with CDs". Boston Herald. p. S27.
  13. ↑ "Clubs". The New Yorker. 76: 14. May 20, 2000.
  14. ↑ "Gravel Pit". Trouser Press. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  15. ↑ Putre, Laura. "Night & Day". Cleveland Scene.
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