Gravy Train is the 1970 debut album by
progressive rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
band
Gravy Train.
Reception
Dave Thompson of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
praised the album, writing of its influences, "
Jethro Tull and
Comus
In Greek mythology, Comus (; grc, Κῶμος, ''Kōmos'') is the god of festivity, revels and nocturnal dalliances. He is a son and a cup-bearer of the god Dionysus. He was represented as a winged youth or a child-like satyr and represents ana ...
had a baby, and they named it Gravy Train." He compared the track "Think of Life" to
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...
due to its flute part. Thompson noted that, "If Gravy Train has any faults whatsoever, the fascination with peculiar vocal effects can grow a little wearing, especially as frontman Norman Barrett
icalready appears to have a fabulous range of his own – "Dedication to Sid", in particular, glories in such trickery, although the heartbeat bassline that runs through the number is so hypnotic that it's easy to forget everything else that's going on." He concluded that the album was "a genuine minor classic."
Track listing
Personnel
*Norman Barratt – guitar, vocals
*Barry Davenport – drums
*J.D. Hughes – keyboards, vocals, wind
*Lester Williams – bass, vocals
References
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1970 debut albums
Gravy Train (band) albums
Vertigo Records albums
Polydor Records albums
Repertoire Records albums
Albums with cover art by Hipgnosis