Gravitational Forces

Robert Earl Keen | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 11, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Lost Highway
• ASIN: B00005NWOX
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #63,532 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Bad Sign, September 15, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Gravitational Forces (Audio CD)

Lost Highway, the new MCA-Universal imprint championing alt.country music, better get its act together. Or, it will get a reputation of being the label where alt.country acts go to die.

Lucinda Williams's debut for the label was a disappointment, and I hear Ryan Adams's new one isn't much better. Like those two CDs, GRAVITATIONAL FORCES does not represent Mr. Keen's finest moments on disk. Despite the fact that it's been more than 3 years since his last CD, Robert Earl manages to come up with only five new songs here. (I'm not counting the title track, which has neither lyrics or a discernable turn, as a song.) The lack of fresh originals ain't a good sign for a singer-songwriter who's more the latter than the former.

What's good here: Actually, the cover of "Hall of Fame" is very nice -- it sounds like a REK song. "Hello New Orleans" is a good addition the Keen catalog, and Townes Van Zandt's "Snowing on Raton" is just flat one of the best songs ever written.

What's not so good: The cover of "I Still Miss Someone" is bad, bad, bad. What is Keen doing with his voice, why does he sound so stiff? And, couldn't he find some sheet music for this so he could at least get the lyrics right? "Gravitational Forces" is an unfunny monologue describing boredom at a sound check. Dude, when it takes you three years to come up with a "song" about how sound checks take too long, it's time to buy either a book or a clue.

What's mysterious: Why include yet another version of "The Road Goes on Forever"? This is the third time Keen has committed this song to disk. It's a great song, mind you, but the other versions are still available. And, the arrangement here is a carbon copy from 1996's Number 2 Live Dinner.

We're treading on dangerous ground here. Robert Earl Keen can make a nice living playing the fratboy/ex-Texas circuit and never write another decent song again. I'm afraid with GRAVITATIONAL FORCES, we're seeing hints that this just might be what he's fixing to do.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Keen in his sleep is still better than most., September 12, 2001

By 

Marty Clark "martyclark" (Kuna, Idaho) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gravitational Forces (Audio CD)

Robert Earl Keen's Gravitational Forces is a very good CD, but it is a bit uneven, sounding as if the idea for the album was perhaps conceived during brief pauses between relentless nights on the road the REK band is famous for. Gravitational Forces shows the Earth is slightly off axis when Robert puts his spin on it. Overall, the down sides of this album are; 1)Probably not the best effort REK could have given us. 2) The drums are mixed too LOUD. 3) No Duckworth. 4) Could have used a live recording of any one of the thousand times the band has performed The Road Goes On Forever, and it would have sounded better than the remake on this album. The upsides are: 1)Unique and crafty songwriting 2)Good choices for cover songs, as always. 3) Rich Brotherton provides super guitar licks, as always. 4)The song "Wild Wind" alone makes this CD worth buying. 5) Hey it's Robert Earl..... And as a side note, you ain't lived until you've seen a live Robert Earl Keen show.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Spoiled, October 20, 2001

By 

bloodhoundlover (colleyville, tx USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gravitational Forces (Audio CD)

REK - you've spoiled us. You put out those first 5-6 albums where every song is killer. Just put it on random and listen all day. Now with these last two you give 3-4 cuts that are the best yet, by far (Feelin' Good Again, Hall of Fame, Wild Wind, Not A Drop, Down That Dusty Road) but start pluggin' in the filler for the other cuts. I guess that's to be expected - can't be absolutely brilliant each and every cut. Problem is - you used to be. I'll still buy everything you ever do and see you live every place you go ('ceptin Billy Bob's fight club) but the total package has gone downhill. And I'm not one of those Road Goes On, Merry Christmas, Copenhagen, Pissin' In The Wind guys, either.

By the way, Roger Craeger is doin' a hell of an imitation of you on his latest CD. Everclear and Fun All Wrong shoulda been yours.