Gas Food Lodging (album)
| Gas Food Lodging | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1985 | |||
| Label | Enigma | |||
| Producer | Paul B. Cutler | |||
| Green on Red chronology | ||||
| ||||
Gas Food Lodging is an album by the American band Green on Red, released in 1985.[1][2] It was the band's only album for Enigma Records.[3] George Pelecanos references the album in his novel A Firing Offense.[4]
Production[edit]
Recorded in five days, Gas Food Lodging was produced by Paul B. Cutler.[5][6] Chuck Prophet joined the band prior to the recording sessions for the album.[7] The band incorporated a more pronounced country sound on many of the songs.[8] "We Shall Overcome" is a cover of the gospel anthem.[9] "Sixteen Ways" is about an old man who outlives his many children.[10]
Critical reception[edit]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [11] |
| Robert Christgau | B−[12] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [13] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+[14] |
| MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide |  [6] |
| Martin C. Strong | 8/10[15] |
Robert Palmer, in The New York Times, wrote that, "musically it's perhaps the most distinctive and accomplished of all the recent 60's-rooted albums"; he later listed the album among the best of 1985.[16][17] The Ottawa Citizen determined that "the roughness lends the music a measure of down-homeiness, but its stories do not reflect down-home attitudes... This is a bleak view of the American heartland."[18]
The Sunday Times called the album "clanging road music, the driven sounds of Californian boredom."[19] The Omaha World-Herald noted that "the bleak power of a record like Gas Food Lodging [is] akin to New York art bands like Television or the Velvet Underground."[9]
AllMusic concluded: "Gas Food Lodging is too loose and deliberately ramshackle to support the title of masterpiece, but calling it Green on Red's best album will do nicely."[11] Reviewing a reissue, Entertainment Weekly opined that the music could be likened to "garage Americana."[14]
Track listing[edit]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "That's What Dreams" | |
| 2. | "Black River" | |
| 3. | "Hair of the Dog" | |
| 4. | "This I Know" | |
| 5. | "Fading Away" | |
| 6. | "Easy Way Out" | |
| 7. | "Sixteen Ways" | |
| 8. | "The Drifter" | |
| 9. | "Sea of Cortez" | |
| 10. | "We Shall Overcome" |
References[edit]
- ^ Palmer, Robert (9 Sep 1985). "Green on Red, Rock as American Folk". The New York Times. p. C17.
- ^ DeLuca, Dan (8 July 2018). "Mix Picks". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. H7.
- ^ "Green on Red Biography by Denise Sullivan". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
- ^ Pelecanos, George (2011). A Firing Offense. Little, Brown.
- ^ Vaziri, Aidin (November 1, 2009). "S.F.'s Chuck Prophet looks back". San Francisco Chronicle. p. Q34.
- ^ a b MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 507.
- ^ Gilbert, Barry (29 May 2008). "'Every song like a movie' Chuck Prophet sees his songs as cinema". Get Out. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 6.
- ^ "Green on Red". Trouser Press. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
- ^ a b Catlin, Roger (June 2, 1985). "One of the most solid bands...". Entertainment. Omaha World-Herald.
- ^ Tomashoff, Craig (Sep 1985). "Spins". Spin. 1 (5): 27.
- ^ a b "Gas Food Lodging Review by Mark Deming". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
- ^ "Green on Red". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 3. MUZE. p. 886.
- ^ a b Brunner, Rob. "Gas Food Lodging/Green on Red". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
- ^ Strong, Martin C. (2003). The Great Indie Discography (2nd ed.). Canongate. p. 355.
- ^ Palmer, Robert (2 June 1985). "Psychedelic Rock Stages a Comeback". The New York Times. p. A23.
- ^ Palmer, Robert (29 Dec 1985). "The Year's Best: Rock Flexed Its Social and Political Muscles". The New York Times. p. A23.
- ^ Erskine, Evelyn (3 Apr 1987). "Rock". Ottawa Citizen. p. F5.
- ^ Frith, Simon (July 14, 1985). "Rock". The Sunday Times.
