Alot of bands have great first releases because they have been playing the songs on it for awhile and had them pretty much written, just tweaked them some in the studio. Such was the case with King's X. "Out of the silent planet" was an incredible album. But then comes the sophmore effort. Along with trying to come up with ideas, you're touring and more then likely, there is pressure coming from the record company to get the project completed. But King's X came right back with, what could possibly be considered their finest album to date. With great melodies, Ty's amazing lead riffs, driving bass and drums and trademark King's X vocals, another masterpiece was born.If you don't own this cd already and are a fan of the band or just a fan of great rock music, I strongly urge you to go out and purchase this cd.Read full review
Proof that King's X had something to offer the industry
Gretchen, the sophomore effort by Doug, Ty and Jerry, proved that they had the licks, the lyrics and the guts to stick. And thank goodness. An all around fantastic album.
The first song, "Out of the Silent Planet" is monstrous, just gigantic, one of their best ever. Other standouts include: "Over My Head" which Doug later reveals was inspired by his lack of mother and father and a grandmother who raised him but never showed him love, "Summerland" pure and simple perfection, period, "Everybody Knows A Little Bit Of Something", "Pleiades" about the philosopher who was burned at the stake for saying the world was round. All other songs round out the album nicely and do little to detract from the truly great tracks.
If one had to pick 'the most commercial or successful' Kings X album this would be it.. Gretchen contains their so called biggest "hit" in Over My Head.
...but to judge this album by that song alone is to do it an injustice. This is an extremely well crafted and well rounded album, best appreciated by listening from start to finish in one listen. By no means a heavy metal record(or band) this album does draw on those influences as well as '60 rock/pop and the vocal harmonies remenescent of the Beatles.
Listen to this and see why Guitar Player magazine said it's been called the best rock guitar album since Van Halen I. Gretchen Goes to Nebraska was way ahead of its time and includes several of King's X' greatest hits including Over My Head, Summerland and Pleiades. A must-have for any fan of rock.
A great piece of work that perhaps has not aged well
This was my favourite album for a long time. It was so different from anything else that was around at the time. King's X were ahead of their time, but it's almost 20 years later and the time that they were ahead of is now in the past. Aspects of this album that were strikingly different became mainstays of hard rock in the following decade. For example, multi-part vocal harmonies over crunchy hard rock instrumentation was done to death by Alice In Chains, etc., and the use of different guitar tunings isn't so different-sounding after the era of Pearl Jam. It's funny how things that were startlingly unique in the year 1989 had become cliches by the year 2000.
Still, these guys are brilliant musicians and multi-instrumentalists, an amazingly tight band, and have a much broader musical range than their imitators. The styles range from gospel to early music to metal to who-knows-what. And through it all, the rumble of Doug Pinnick's 12-string bass is a unique signature. Why didn't more people ever pick up this instrument?Read full review