One of the benefits of writing for AUK is that, on occasion, one gets to bang on about a favourite act as opposed to reviewing the latest flavour of the month (not that there’s anything wrong with that). So, when it came time to consider my latest contribution to our classic clips feature I gravitated towards the man who The Guardian once described as “the godfather of alt-country,” Howe Gelb. It’s a description which seems to amuse Gelb. He jokingly referred to it last time I saw his band Giant Sand a few months back and it dates back to when he compered a stellar lineup at London’s Barbican way back in 2001.
Since kicking off in the early 1980s, initially under the moniker of Giant Sandworms, Gelb has been prolific, primarily recording with the moveable feast that is Giant Sand along with solo ventures and numerous collaborations under various names. He can rock as hard as Neil Young, sing off-kilter country rock songs or toss off a Thelonious Monk-like piano piece, all in the space of one evening. For the aficionados, this is part of the attraction but his eclectic leanings are not for everyone it has to be said.
This clip finds Gelb firmly seated in classic alt-country/desert rock/guitar rock territory. Recorded on the occasion of his 60th birthday, it’s basically a Giant Sand lineup, albeit a fairly unique one, featuring four guitarists. Gelb himself is the super cool lead (check out his casual dexterity when he unstraps his guitar towards the end) while Brian Lopez and Gabriel Sullivan (of Tucson rockers XIXA) and Annie Dolan thrash away over the rock-solid beat of Winston Watson (a survivor of Dylan’s never-ending tour) on drums and Thoger Lund (a long time member of the Scandinavian end of Giant Sand) on bass. This is elemental Gelb. The song is plucked from the 1985 Giant Sand album “Valley Of Rain” and is given a ferocious delivery with elements of LA punk evident amidst the thrash and fury, tossing aside any notions of alt-country, desert rock or what have you. This just simply rocks.
