Released: 1993
Tracks: My Way; Love Don’t Grow; You Killed Loneliness; Mrs. Babbaloo; Parade; Father; Airplane; What’s the Point; Part 1; Green; Too Tall
Best tracks: Father, What’s the Point, Part 1 (I can’t decide!)
Tracks to skip: Airplane & Green. Airplane is just boring and Green bites, but it does mention the “Woods Mobil”, which is about 1/2 mile from the house I grew up in, and that’s pretty sweet. Doesn’t save the song though.
This a Dallas band that you’ve probably never heard of. Or will besides this review. I did some searching and I only found 2 references to the band, one from a studio they recorded in and the other an online CD store. The main reason why you don’t know who the group is: they’ve been broken up since ’95 or so. I just happen to have this in my collection and enjoy it.
Gypsy Tree is an acoustic guitar centered jam band with lotsa funky stuff thrown in. The guitarists (Ezra Vancil and Fil Taylor, who are the main songwriters. Kirk Sonnenberg (Drums) and Bart Sweazea (Bass) round out the group) like to use a lot of open chords, which makes everything really full sounding. I use a lot of open chords in my own writing as well. The faster songs are all right, but it’s the slower ones that are just excellent, like Father. It’s hard for me to describe this music in a manner that would make most people run out and buy it. Regardless, I enjoy it immensely. I think this is the only CD the band recorded.
Keep an eye out for Ezra Vancil, the primary songwriter and vocalist. I know a few years after GT, he was in a group called Dogma and the Universe. I have their demo, it rocks. He’s now fronting and writing the songs in Ezra Thomas, and they rock too. Anyway, if you can find this CD anywhere (you’ll have better luck in used CD stores in Texas) grab it up, it’s excellent.
Rating: 86
July 29, 2009, 
6:19 pm
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