Maybe you saw the music video on YouTube or heard his political songs on the radio. If you did, you will know what to expect from Andy Gross’s new CD entitled OIL. Andy writes great, in-your-face, political rock which is complemented by a singing style like no one I can think of. His vocals are the engine that drives the power of his message. And his message is that the oil industry is dragging us into a global death march and that we — not the government — we, the people, are going to have to stand up and shout NO.
OIL is an eclectic collection of ten rock songs which range from emotional ballads (‘Storm in the Night’) to children’s bedtime stories (‘Nava’s Space’). But the heart of Andy’s new CD is its passionate political songs.
The title song ‘OIL’ is a screaming rocker about how the oil companies are “sucking the planet dry” — and that far too many people are “going to die” as a result. He points his finger at our government’s role in the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, conflicts Andy has prophetically written about coming for decades. In ‘Ten More Gallons,’ a powerful and disturbing rock/country/reggae hybrid, he sings “we sell our country’s dream, cause the oil can’t wait.”
In ‘Sacrifice,’ Andy Gross turns the lens on himself and everybody else. It’s not just them, it’s us: “nobody wants to face the fact, the next attack was paid for by your Cadillac.” The obvious theme is that it’s not just the Gulf of Mexico, or previous and inevitable future spills, it’s our gluttony at the oil pump that’s killing the planet — in the meantime, funding the people who are murdering us.
Andy’s songs are hard and to the point, but his message is not apocalyptic; it’s hopeful and urgent. ‘Longshoreman’s Song’ expresses what must be his personal creed: his abiding faith in the collective will of the people. It’s not just the government; he’s cheering, praying for us all. We’ve stood up before when we had to, and Andy Gross believes we’re going to have to do it again. But time is not on our side.
This is mighty music. It’s great Rock n Roll and entertaining as hell. It also has something to say that we should all be thinking about and acting upon. If you care about the Wars in the Middle East, about the future of the planet, about an exciting new sound, OIL the new CD by Andy Gross is a must have.