Browse by Artist: GIANT SAND

Artist:	GIANT SAND
Title:	Long Stem Rant
Label:	FIRE (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$16.50
Catalog #:	FIRE 171CD

"Long Stem Rant was originally released in 1989 and is the fifth reissue from Fire Records. This album, marked a turning point for the band, more improvisational and less structured than previous efforts, it features some of Howe's best songs. For the past 25 years the Tucson-based Giant Sand (originally Giant Sandworms as a nod to the Dune books) has been one of the most consistently innovative in the American music scene. A recipe that could perhaps be best described as 1 cup well-executed grunge aesthetic, 1 cup downtown New York, 1 cup troubadour, and a dash of country outlaw. Although its membership has shifted greatly over the years, singer/songwriter (as well as guitarist and pianist) Howe Gelb has remained at the helm to help fill the coffers of what could be called the new American folk song."

Artist:	GIANT SAND
Title:	Swerve
Label:	FIRE (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$16.50
Catalog #:	FIRE 172CD

"Swerve was originally released in 1990 and is the sixth reissue from Fire Records. Featuring a variety of guest performers throughout, including Green on Red's Chris Cacavas, Juliana Hatfield, Steve Wynn, and a fair hunk of Poi Dog Pondering, Swerve features the then duo of Gelb and Convertino on a fine slew of songs. Recorded at a number of different locations, from Boston to Los Angeles, Swerve found Gelb reaching the ten-year point with his band in fantastic style. Gelb's fractured vision of roots music meets modern times sounded distinct and enjoyable enough at the time of Swerve's release, and still holds up excellently in later years. His ear for aggressively weird soloing in particular is just great (check 'Dream Stay' for one of his best Neil Young nods yet), while his straight playing remains quite accomplished."

Artist:	GIANT SAND
Title:	Center Of The Universe
Label:	FIRE (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$16.50
Catalog #:	FIRE 173CD

"Carrying on with the rolling reissues of Giant Sand/Howe Gelb which will see the re-release of roughly 30 albums. Center Of The Universe, originally released in 1992, is the eighth Giant Sand reissue in the series. Howe holds Center Of The Universe close to his heart, explaining the record '...could be my favorite record...written in a one room cabin at the end of the road in the high desert around Joshua tree where I lived for a few years...recorded back in Venice, California with the same slant as was in-stilled in the writing...adorned with the 'psycho sisters' who show where the melodies in these songs were hiding...now through the miracle of remastering, these tracks sound more vibrant and alluring.'"

Artist:	GIANT SAND
Title:	Ramp
Label:	FIRE (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$16.50
Catalog #:	FIRE 175CD

"Ramp was originally released in 1991 and is the seventh Giant Sand reissue in the series from Fire Records. For Ramp, Giant Sand ushered in several new members to the fold, including young bassist Joey Burns, the stunning voice of 74-year-old Pappy Allen, and our sweet, sweet friend Victoria Williams. They had begun recording in Tucson and finished it back in Venice, CA at Mad Dog studio. The first track was produced by Dusty Wakeman and features the late great Duane Jarvis."

Artist:	GIANT SAND
Title:	Glum
Label:	FIRE (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$18.50
Catalog #:	FIRE 176CD

"1994's Glum was to be Giant Sand's largest record and in order to make it so, Howe Gelb invited everyone along to the party. This carnival helped create Giant Sand's best record to date and is now proudly re-issued by Fire (25th Anniversary Edition). Howe Gelb explains Glum's story, 'This was our best record for a long time. It had Malcolm Burn producing it with me and it was done up at Daniel Lanois' studio in New Orleans. Since it was our first big budget session, I tried to get everyone who ever took part on a Giant Sand record to come to Dan's mansion and stay and be on the record somewhere. This made the atmosphere in the house more entangled then it had to be, but seemed like the way it should be. For some reason I began singing like an old man on this record, or maybe was inspired too much from my new talking distortion pedal on my guitar.'"

Artist:	GIANT SAND
Title:	Goods And Services
Label:	FIRE (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$18.50
Catalog #:	FIRE 178CD

"1995's Goods And Services was another for German ears only. It's re-issue will bring it to the attention of new fans as part of the series. Once not remembered fondly by Giant Sand's Howe Gelb, time has been kind and his perception has softened with the memories of Vic Chesnutt's contribution. 'Another live record, but this sound was bloated from Euro touring and was supposed to be a creation of only how it was sounding then. Later, that made less sense to me since every tour the band sound would change anyway. So, I am not in love with this record and thusly never made it available for the states. But now, looking back on it, it brings a smile and also moistens the eye with the missingness of Pappy and Vic Chesnutt.'"

Artist:	GIANT SAND
Title:	Black Out
Label:	FIRE (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$18.50
Catalog #:	FIRE 190CD

"Fire Records re-issues the rare and regarded Black Out recording from 1993. Forged from the embers of the recording session which was Purge & Slouch, and wholly acoustic, this collection of takes was originally released only in Germany. Black Out sits proudly amidst the Giant Sand re-issue project. 'When we gathered for the grand experiment of Purge & Slouch, Howe Gelb recalls, 'the idea of which was to record without having written anything prior for it. Some actual songs did pop out perhaps for the sake of warm-up or while mics were being wired, maybe just for the sake of vigorous deployment, re-living some old songs there and then, we bundled em up after the fact for what would become 'stromausfall' instead. This was a limited batch release on a small German label that took my original title Black Out and translated it. The idea being that this is the sound that would happen during one; songs without electricity attached."

Artist:	GIANT SAND
Title:	Blurry Blue Mountain
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	PIC. DISC
Price:	$35.00
Catalog #:	FF 1610LP

Limited edition picture disc version. "2010 marks the 25th anniversary of Valley Of Rain -- the debut album by Giant Sand, the ever-shifting alternative rock band overseen by 'the Godfather of Alt. Country' Howe Gelb. With that in mind, the band are celebrating in the only way they know how: with a flurry of great music, including the release of this new Giant Sand record. This special edition is being released in a limited edition of 500 copies on picture disc. Says Howe Gelb of Blurry Blue Mountain: 'On this album, it happened that every session we were able to record came between workloads that rendered us at that point of sleeping and waking. Like the poppy fields in Wizard Of Oz, we went in and out of consciousness at various times during recording. This is not a bad thing. Nor does it make the record sound like we're asleep. It has the momentum of that place between sleep and being awake. And in that narrow slip of existence lies a landscape of reason that most of us hurry past in daily lives. This record is planted firmly there. Between the crystal clear focus of your day to day and the luxury of sweet fuzzy sleep, we welcome you to the blurry blue mountain.'"

Artist:	GIANT SAND
Title:	Valley Of Rain
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	LP
Price:	$31.00
Catalog #:	FF 162LP

"This HQ vinyl reissue on Fire Fidelity commemorates the 25th anniversary of Valley Of Rain - the debut album by Giant Sand, the ever-shifting alternative rock band overseen by 'the 'Godfather of Alt. Country', Howe Gelb. 'Giant Sand is a mood,' says Howe of Giant Sand, as if trying to offer a low-key explanation for his dizzying array of artistic exploration that includes a back-catalogue of some 40 albums as a singer, band-leader and producer. After growing up in Pennsylvania in the 1970s, it wasn't until he moved to Tucson, Arizona that he met his musical soul mate, the guitarist Rainer Ptaceck. The two formed Giant Sandworms and issued only a handful of recordings before the worms were put to rest: since then, Giant Sand have released 24 albums - an impressive haul when considering Howe's equally prolific output under other projects including Black Ranchette and Arizona Amp & Alternator as well as his solo releases. Howe, though, is definitely not content to rest on his laurels. Giant Sand's 2000 album Chore Of Enchantment has been declared one of the 'Best 1000 Records Ever Made' and scooped up plaudits from NME and The Guardian amongst others, with the former insisting the record cemented his reputation as 'a founding father of modern Americana'. His most recent solo project, meanwhile - 2006's Sno Angel Like You - earned a 5 star review in Mojo."

Artist:	GIANT SAND
Title:	The Love Songs
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	LP
Price:	$31.00
Catalog #:	FF 170LP

"For the past 25 years the Tucson-based Giant Sand (originally Giant Sandworms as a nod to the Dune books) has been one of the most consistently innovative in the American music scene. A recipe that could perhaps be best described as 1 cup well-executed grunge aesthetic, 1 cup downtown NY, 1 cup troubadour, and a dash of country outlaw. Although its membership has shifted greatly over the years, singer / songwriter (as well as guitarist and pianist) Howe Gelb has remained at the helm to help fill the coffers of what could be called the new American folk song. Often called Giant Sand's best album of their early period, 1988's Love Songs features an expressiveness and songwriting maturity that rivals Bob Dylan." 180 gram vinyl.

Artist:	GIANT SAND
Title:	Center Of The Universe
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	LP
Price:	$32.00
Catalog #:	FF 173LP

"Center Of The Universe was originally released in 1992, and is part of a series of Giant Sand reissues from Fire Fidelity. Giant Sand front man, Howe Gelb, holds Center Of The Universe close to his heart explaining that the record, 'Could be my favorite...written in a one room cabin at the end of the road in the high desert around Joshua Tree where I lived for a few years...recorded back in Venice, California with the same slant as was instilled in the writing...adorned with the "psycho sisters" who show where the melodies in these songs were hiding...now through the miracle of remastering, these tracks sound more vibrant and alluring.' What was a common approach to record making for Howe and Giant Sand, Center Of The Universe would be the last of a kind, 'it marks the last time I could work like this, before the advent of family life was to take over and populate the day...this record marks the final time of isolation with a happy careless abandon and an immediate urgency delivered by a wired up acoustic guitar with stomp box distortion ready and willing.' The experiment: to record a vocal in fragments while intentionally singing differently each time on the same song, then combining the takes instantaneously. The result was 'Loretta And The Insect World.'" Includes download code.

Artist:	GIANT SAND
Title:	Purge & Slouch
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	2LP
Price:	$48.00
Catalog #:	FF 174LP

"After the commercial and critical success of 1992's Center Of The Universe, Giant Sand looked to lay down the instinctive and impulsive spark of the band onto record, 'Believing in recording in "the moment of impact" to result in a "perfect harvest," where a song gets captured the first time it ever gets played, and this record marks the moment where 98.5 % of it was done like this.' Howe was planning on it being his Metal Machine Music album, but instead, 'some real songs happened too many times in the process...songs I have never learned.' Originally released in 1993." Includes download code.

Artist:	GIANT SAND
Title:	Ramp
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	LP
Price:	$32.00
Catalog #:	FF 175LP

"Ramp was originally released in 1991 and continues the program of Giant Sand reissues from Fire Fidelity. For Ramp, Giant Sand ushered in several new members to the fold, 'including young bassist Joey burns, the stunning voice of 74-year-old Pappy Allen, and our sweet, sweet friend Victoria Williams. We had begun recording in Tucson and finished it back in Venice, CA at Mad Dog Studio again...the first track was produced by Dusty Wakeman and featured the late great Duane Jarvis.' Howe describes that the experiment with Ramp was 'to record an electric song live in the studio and have the pre-recorded acoustic bridge be slotted in by DAT machine while then starting up again with the electric part live at the same pace as before the DAT take was applied with its different beat. What made this tricky was the mechanical delay of the play button on the state of the art day machine...you can hear the result in 'Warm Storm.'" Includes download code.

Artist:	GIANT SAND
Title:	Glum
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	LP
Price:	$31.00
Catalog #:	FF 176LP

"1994's Glum was to be Giant Sand's largest record and in order to make it so, Howe Gelb invited everyone along to the party. This carnival help create Giant Sand's best record to date and Glum is now proudly re-issued by Fire Fidelity. Howe Gelb explains Glum's story, 'This was our best record for a long time. It had Malcolm Burn producing it with me and it was done up at Daniel Lanois' studio in New Orleans. Since it was our first big budget session, I tried to get everyone who ever took part on a Giant Sand record to come to Dan's mansion and stay and be on the record somewhere. This made the atmosphere in the house more entangled then it had to be, but seemed like the way it should be. For some reason I began singing like an old man on this record, or maybe was inspired too much from my new talking distortion pedal on my guitar.'" Includes download code.

Artist:	GIANT SAND
Title:	Backyard Barbeque Broadcast
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	LP
Price:	$31.00
Catalog #:	FF 177LP

"Recorded and broadcast way back when...an actual back yard barbeque that an old buddy and WFMU radio host Nick Hill had set up to broadcast and record live on air at the radio station...watermelon and everything! This BBQ record nicely captures the sweetness of the season when Giant Sand were turning into something else. This collection of songs was recorded by WFMU over two live sessions for 'The Music Faucet' show in the summer of 1994 and 1995." Includes download code.

Artist:	GIANT SAND
Title:	Goods And Services
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	2LP
Price:	$48.00
Catalog #:	FF 178LP

"1995's Goods and Services was originally made for German ears only. Its re-issue will bring it to the attention of new fans as part of the series. Once not remembered fondly by Giant Sand's Howe Gelb, time has been kind and his perception has softened with the memories of Vic Chesnutt's contribution. Howe Gelb: 'Another live record. But this sound was bloated from Euro touring and was supposed to be a reaction of only how it was sounding then. Later, that made less sense to me since every tour the band's sound would change anyway. So I am not in love with this record and thusly never made it available for the States. But now, looking back on it, it brings a smile and also moistens the eye with the missingness of Pappy and Vic Chesnutt." Includes download card.

Artist:	GIANT SAND
Title:	Chore Of Enchantment
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	2LP
Price:	$48.00
Catalog #:	FF 179LP

"Realized through tragic circumstances, the passing of Rainer Ptacek and the birth of Calexico, it all came together at the end for Giant Sand. Arguably Giant Sand's finest album, the fruits of an astounding story and the mesmerizing high point of the 25th anniversary reissue series. 1999's Chore Of Enchantment features a collection of bonus tracks and includes a download card for all other bonus material."
"What does the title mean? Well, it's just the effort that it takes hanging on to the things that tend to enthrall. The exhausting act of keeping happy"-- Howe Gelb.

Artist:	GIANT SAND
Title:	Cover Magazine
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	LP
Price:	$31.00
Catalog #:	FF 180LP

"2002's Cover Magazine is a much less cryptic, typically literal title for one of Giant Sand's lighter alternative offerings. A collection of covers which says as much about Howe Gelb's personal musical taste as it does the friends he has made on his musical journey. Being in the fortunate position of looking back on Giant Sand's output with the 25th Anniversary reissue series, we are able to see the influences which have shaped the existence of the band at each turn and chapter. Neil Young, Johnny Cash, Nick Cave and of course Rainer Ptacek have all made an impression and the tables are turned as Giant Sand give thanks with renditions of Young's 'Out On The Weekend', Cash's 'I'm Leaving Now' and Rainer's touching 'The Inner Flame'. More contemporary takes on PJ Harvey and Goldfrapp show Giant Sand are forever keen and willing to listen. With Giant Sand's clattering percussion and Howe's meandering vocals, nothing should be assumed before listening. Each track is taken from a new (alternative, strange, weird, interesting, unexpected, intriguing) angle, so surprises are aplenty. A Black Sabbath lounge ballad anyone?" Includes download code.

Artist:	GIANT SAND
Title:	Black Out
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	LP
Price:	$31.00
Catalog #:	FF 190LP

"Fire Fidelity re-issues the rare and regarded Black Out recording from 1993. Forged from the embers of the recording session which was Purge & Slouch, and wholly acoustic, this collection of takes was originally released only in Germany. Black Out sits proudly amidst the Giant Sand re-issue project. 'When we gathered for the grand experiment of Purge & Slouch, Howe Gelb recalls, 'the idea of which was to record without having written anything prior for it. Some actual songs did pop out, perhaps for the sake of warm-up or while mics were being wired maybe just for the sake of vigorous deployment. Re-living some old songs there and then, we bundled 'em up after the fact for what would become Stromausfall instead. This was a limited batch release on a small German label that took my original title Black Out and translated it. The idea being that this is the sound that would happen during one... songs without electricity attached.' Since then, most of that original pressing made in Germany has mysteriously self destructed so it is with pleasure we have the opportunity to release the album." Includes download code.

Artist:	GIANT SAND
Title:	Is All Over the Map
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	LP
Price:	$31.00
Catalog #:	FF 191LP

"In 2004 Giant Sand had changed beyond recognition. The revolving door of band members that so invaluably contributed to a prolific and gifted past was now, literally, all over the map, and so were Giant Sand. Bassist Joey Burns and drummer John Convertino had now moved to pastures new with Calexico, in their place were a new Scandinavian backline which would enable Howe and Giant Sand to release the first original material since 2000's Chore of Enchantment. The reaction produced a record which at points harked back to the more rowdy and aggressive tones of Giant Sand of old, seemingly in search for the familiarity of earlier times, stretching in to new surroundings, distortion being the tool. The songs of course are great, Gelb's often whispered and crackly in-ear vocals, pretty piano, acoustic guitar (and with peppering of that distortion) all play their part to continue the Giant Sand train moving, um, all over the map." Includes download code.

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