Giant Sand was the primary outlet for the stylistic curveballs and sun-damaged songcraft of
Howe Gelb, a Pennsylvania-born singer/guitarist who formed the four-piece Giant Sandworms after relocating to Tucson, Arizona in the mid-'70s. After releasing the EP Will Wallow and Roam After the Ruin in 1980,
Gelb fired everyone but bassist Scott Gerber (although founding guitarist Rainer Ptacek returned to the fold many times in the future) and started over as simply
Giant Sand, essentially a one-man band backed by a revolving cast of players.
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Giant Sand was the primary outlet for the stylistic curveballs and sun-damaged songcraft of
Howe Gelb, a Pennsylvania-born singer/guitarist who formed the four-piece Giant Sandworms after relocating to Tucson, Arizona in the mid-'70s. After releasing the EP Will Wallow and Roam After the Ruin in 1980,
Gelb fired everyone but bassist Scott Gerber (although founding guitarist Rainer Ptacek returned to the fold many times in the future) and started over as simply
Giant Sand, essentially a one-man band backed by a revolving cast of players.
The first
Giant Sand LP, 1985's Valley of Rain, earned
Gelb comparisons to
Neil Young for his reedy vocals and
country-flavored, grungy guitar aesthetic; like
Young,
Gelb also proved to be a restless creative spirit, a notice served by 1986's Ballad of a Thin Line Man, an acoustic effort which featured the harmony vocals of ex-
Go-Go (and
Gelb's then-girlfriend) Paula Jean Brown. In 1988,
Giant Sand issued a pair of new LPs, the equally diffuse Storm and The Love Songs.
By 1989's raw, improvisational Long Stem Rant, the group consisted only of
Gelb and drummer John Convertino, while 1990's
Swerve featured guests like
Juliana Hatfield and
Poi Dog Pondering.
1991's
Ramp and 1992's
Center of the Universe returned to the ragged desert-rock of their earliest material, but with 1994's Glum (the band's first and only effort for major label Imago),
Giant Sand's music turned unexpectedly moody and restrained. Backyard Barbecue Broadcast, released in 1995, culled material from a pair of live radio sets.
In addition to
Giant Sand,
Gelb occasionally recorded under the guise of
the Band of Blacky Ranchette, an outlet for his
country leanings; in 1991, he also issued a solo album, Dreaded Brown Recluse. In addition, longtime drummer Convertino moonlighted in the lounge revival group
Friends of Dean Martinez, and frequent collaborator Ptacek often performed as a solo artist prior to his cancer-related death on November 12, 1997.
Chore of Enchantment, the first
Giant Sand release on noted indie Thrill Jockey, followed in early 2000. That was followed by the all covers
Cover Magazine in 2002 and a new studio album called All Over the Map in 2004. They made the switch to Yep Roc for 2008's
Provisions. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
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