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]

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

Production

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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

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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

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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

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References

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  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.