Gravitational Forces is an album by Texas-based country/folk singer-songwriter Robert Earl Keen. It was first released in the United States on August 7, 2001, on Lost Highway Records.

One reviewer described this album, Keen's ninth, as being "just a hair more to the country side of the folk-rock-country axis than ever before."

As usual, Keen's songwriting is full of narrative stories and character sketches. A review in Performing Songwriter magazine described the characters found in Gravitational Forces as "everyday people pulled, led, and sometimes dragged by some outside strength."

Keen began recording the album after his previous label, Arista Austin had closed down, and before finding his new, albeit brief, home on Lost Highway Records. "When we started this project I hadn't made a deal with any record company," Keen says, "I just knew I would have a deal one way or another." It peaked at No. 10 on Billboards Top Country Albums chart, later matched by his 2015 album Happy Prisoner:The Bluegrass Sessions as Keen's highest ranked albums on that chart.

Song selection

The songs on the album that Keen did not write range from Johnny Cash's often-covered classic, "I Still Miss Someone" to Townes Van Zandt's more obscure "Snowin' on Raton". Keen and his band also cover the traditional blues, "Walkin' Cane" in what has been described as a "rowdy, back-porch take,"

The cover that reviewers most recognize as a choice pick to match Keen and his career outside of mainstream music is Joe Dolce's "Hall of Fame". and its structure eschews the traditional verse/chorus/verse song structure.

Keen's "Goin' Nowhere Blues" has been described as "chilling"

Track listing

  • All tracks written by Robert Earl Keen, except where noted.
  1. "My Home Ain't in the Hall of Fame" (Joe Dolce) – 3:04
  2. <small>Robert Earl Keen — lead vocals</small>
  3. <small>Rich Brotherton — acoustic & electric lead guitars</small>
  4. <small>Bill Whitbeck – bass guitar & harmony vocals</small>
  5. <small>Gurf Morlix — steel, electric & baritone guitars and harmony vocals</small>
  6. <small>Tom Van Schaik – drums</small>
  7. "Hello New Orleans" – 3:01
  8. <small>Robert Earl Keen – lead vocals</small>
  9. <small>Rich Brotherton – acoustic, electric & 12-string guitars</small>
  10. <small>Ian McLagan — Hammond B-3 organ</small>
  11. <small>Gurf Morlix — beer bottle slide guitar</small>
  12. <small>Bill Whitbeck — upright bass & harmony vocals</small>
  13. <small>Tom Van Schaik – drums</small>
  14. "Wild Wind" – 5:12
  15. <small>Robert Earl Keen – lead vocals</small>
  16. <small>Rich Brotherton – acoustic guitar & harmony vocals</small>
  17. <small>Bill Whitbeck – bass guitar, harmony vocals, harmony concept & vocal arrangement</small>
  18. <small>Gurf Morlix – acoustic & baritone guitars</small>
  19. <small>Cody Braun – harmonica</small>
  20. <small>Tom Van Schaik – drums</small>
  21. "Not a Drop of Rain" – 4:09
  22. <small>Robert Earl Keen – lead vocals</small>
  23. <small>Rich Brotherton – acoustic guitar</small>
  24. <small>Bill Whitbeck – bass guitar & harmony vocals</small>
  25. <small>Bryan Duckworth — mandolin</small>
  26. <small>Gurf Morlix – beer bottle slide guitar</small>
  27. <small>Ian McLagan – Hammond B-3 organ</small>
  28. <small>Tom Van Schaik – drums</small>
  29. "I Still Miss Someone" (Johnny Cash, Roy Cash) – 3:19
  30. <small>Robert Earl Keen – lead vocals</small>
  31. <small>Rich Brotherton – acoustic & electric guitars and harmony vocals</small>
  32. <small>Bill Whitbeck – bass guitar & harmony vocals</small>
  33. <small>Bryan Duckworth — fiddle & mandolin</small>
  34. <small>Tom Van Schaik – drums</small>
  35. "Fallin' Out" – 3:25
  36. <small>Robert Earl Keen – lead vocals</small>
  37. <small>Rich Brotherton – acoustic guitar</small>
  38. <small>Bill Whitbeck – bass guitar & harmony vocals</small>
  39. <small>Gurf Morlix – electric & lap steel guitars and harmonium</small>
  40. <small>Tom Van Schaik – drums & percussion</small>
  41. "High Plains Jamboree" (Terry Allen) – 3:10
  42. <small>Robert Earl Keen – lead vocals</small>
  43. <small>Rich Brotherton – acoustic, electric & baritone guitars</small>
  44. <small>Bill Whitbeck – bass guitar & tic-tac bass guitar</small>
  45. <small>Tommy Delamore – steel guitar</small>
  46. <small>Byran Duckworth – fiddle</small>
  47. <small>Tom Van Schaik – drums</small>
  48. <small>"Bar Room Party Sound" — Kathy Brotherton, Rich Brotherton, Gurf Morlix, Laurie Galbraith & Robert Earl Keen</small>
  49. "Walkin' Cane" (traditional, arranged by Robert Earl Keen) – 4:43
  50. <small>Robert Earl Keen – lead vocals</small>
  51. <small>Rich Brotherton – slide, electric & National slide guitars guitars and harmony vocals</small>
  52. <small>Bill Whitbeck – upright bass & harmony vocals</small>
  53. <small>Bryan Duckworth – fiddle</small>
  54. <small>Gurf Morlix – mandolin</small>
  55. <small>Tom Van Schaik – drums & percussion</small>
  56. "Goin' Nowhere Blues" – 4:47
  57. <small>Robert Earl Keen – lead vocals</small>
  58. <small>Rich Brotherton – acoustic guitar</small>
  59. <small>Bill Whitbeck – upright bass</small>
  60. <small>Ian McLagan – Hammond B-3 organ</small>
  61. <small>Gurf Morlix – acoustic & electric guitars</small>
  62. <small>Tom Van Schaik – drums & percussion</small>
  63. "Snowin' on Raton" (Townes Van Zandt) – 5:01
  64. <small>Robert Earl Keen – lead vocals</small>
  65. <small>Rich Brotherton – electricguitar & harmony vocals</small>
  66. <small>Bill Whitbeck – bass guitar & harmony vocals</small>
  67. <small>Marty Muse – steel guitar</small>
  68. <small>Freddie Fletcher — pizza box percussion</small>
  69. "Gravitational Forces" – 2:41
  70. <small>Robert Earl Keen – lead vocals</small>
  71. <small>Rich Brotherton – acoustic guitar</small>
  72. <small>Bill Whitbeck – bass guitar</small>
  73. <small>Tom Van Schaik – drums & percussion</small>
  74. "The Road Goes On Forever" – 7:10 †
  75. <small>Robert Earl Keen – lead vocals</small>
  76. <small>Rich Brotherton – electric & baritone guitars and mandolin</small>
  77. <small>Bill Whitbeck – bass</small>
  78. <small>Ray Kennedy — electric guitar</small>
  79. <small>Marty Muse – steel guitar</small>
  80. <small>Tom Van Schaik – drums</small>

Credits

Production

  • Produced by Gurf Morlix & Robert Earl Keen
  • Recorded by Stuart Sullivan at Arlyn Studios, Austin, Texas
  • Mixed by Gurf Morlix at Arlyn Studios, Austin, Texas
  • Mastered by Hank Williams and Gurf Morlix at MasterMix, Nashville, Tennessee
  • † "The Road Goes on Forever" produced by Ray Kennedy
  • Recorded by Ray Kennedy at Arlyn Studios, Austin, Texas
  • Additional recording at Room and Board Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
  • Mixed by Chuck Ainlay in BackStage at Sound Stage Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
  • Mastered by Hank Williams at MasterMix, Nashville, Tennessee

Management

  • Management – Rosetta Management, Bandera, Texas
  • Booking — Monterey Peninsula Artists, Inc.

Artwork

  • Art direction — Robert Earl Keen, Jim Kemp & Karen Naff
  • Design – Karen Naff
  • Photography – Glen Rose

Chart performance

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

! Chart (2001)

! Peak<br />position

|-

| align="left"| U.S. Billboard Top Heatseekers

| 1

|-

| align="left"| U.S. Billboard 200

| 111

|-

| align="left"| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums

| 10

|}

References