GRAVITY

In my not so humble opinion, RIO is probably the most inventive, and certainly the most experimental of all of the subgenres of prog rock that we celebrate here. RIO albums are usually strange to the ear, but can also be beautiful, eerie, disturbing, and even sometimes unlistenable. This one falls into all the above categories except the last one.

First of all, my copy of this album, the ESD release, has six bonus tracks, so it is about 25 minutes longer than the tracks listed here. All the better.

At times, this album recalls Frith's work in the group Henry Cow (Hands Of The Juggler), at other times, you can hear a Zappa influence (Norrgarden Nyvla, the bonus track Moeris Dancing) or Captain Beefheart (Crack In The Concrete and Dancing In Rockville Maryland). There is even a song that sounds like The Residents (What A Dilemma).

This is a treat for any RIO fan.