Search - Gas Giants :: From Beyond the Back Burner

Gas GIANTS

Thomas W. Mahr | CT | 12/28/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Whoa...what can I say. This is equal to or better than any Blossoms stuff. Close your eyes and it is the 3rd Blossoms album. It is the best new stuff I have heard in 1999. Ranks up there w/ Chance Gardener as the best stuff of the year not heard on the radio. Why is it this is receiving NO AIRPLAY in NYC or CT?"

CLASSIC ROBIN!! NOW, DON"T FORGET THE POPPIN WHEELIES!!

Larry Davis | NYC/Long Island, NY | 09/18/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Always been a Robin Wilson fan, as it seems he was the focal point of both the much-loved Gin Blossoms and his followup band here, the Gas Giants. His vocal style is just CLASSIC powerpop, and here, Robin is in VERY fine form. I just love the Gin Blossoms records, and their mix of great Big Star-ish powerpop, jangly REM/Byrds riffs, and a drop of alt-country for flavour.Now, I love harder-edged powerpop too, like Cheap Trick, and here, on this flat-out FANTASTIC Gas Giants record, Robin and his pals seem to merge Robin's trademark vocal stylings of his Gin Blossoms days, with more of a Cheap Trick-ish setting, and it totally works. It's like the Gin Blossoms live attack but in the studio. And the reason it works is cuz of Robin's spot-on powerpop songwriting and pure passionate yet understated vocals, plus their sense of fun. Robin is just great and he seems to not be able to do any wrong moves, classic!!There are at LEAST 3 classic tunes here: "In Between Two Worlds", "Quitter" and "Tonight Won't Let Me Wander", and all the others are almost in the same excellent realm. I also rally dig "Circus Of Stars" and the way it changes form mid-song without losing any melody or momentum, quite inventive really, even genius.Now, here's a tip: there IS a SECOND Gas Giants record out, but not under that name, but the POPPIN WHEELIES!! They sell it here on Amazon.com, but no one seems to know about it here, and that's a shame, because it's CLASSIC ROBIN (Dan and Phil AND Scotty Johnson are on there too)!! It's Robin + his pals doing a Gorillaz-like project, aka a CARTOON, but it's still the same voice and style, like classic Gin Blossoms, the Gas Giants edge, just more powerpop sugar piled on, a VERY good thing. It was produced by Robin, most of the tunes WRITTEN by Robin, along with 3 Tommy Keene covers (attention powerpop enthusiasts), including a killer "Places That Are Gone"!! Imagine ROBIN WILSON SINGING "PLACES THAT ARE GONE" (with Scotty Johnson on lead guitar), and believe me, it's as drop-dead amazing as you would imagine. TOTALLY cool!! Sooo, order this Gas Giants record AND the Poppin Wheelies CD (and Jesse's solo record, "Tunes Young People Will Enjoy"), and you are set!!Robin rules, what can I say?? Helluva nice guy too..."

A GREAT CD!

Richard J. Goldschmidt | Oak Lawn, IL USA | 07/11/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Many of these previous reviews hit it on the nail. ROBIN has a wonderful voice and makes this project, POPPIN' WHEELIES and now recording with the GIN BLOSSOMS again....reason to BUY this and the other ROBIN WILSON CDs! A CLASS act!"