Fire Records has announced the reissue of Giant Sand’s ‘Chore Of Enchantment’, a quarter of a century after its original release on Thrill Jockey / Loose. The final output of the trio, the album features main man Howe Gelb along with Joey Burns and John Convertino with support from an array of musicians including Paula Brown, Jim Dickinson and David Mansfield amongst others. It was recorded in Tucson, Memphis and New York with respectively John Parish, Dickinson and Kevin Salem in the producer’s chair although some of the tracks had been recorded some years earlier. The songs themselves are all penned by Gelb with the exception of ‘Shiver’ written by the late and much-missed Rainer Ptacek.
This deluxe reissue features restored artwork and newly penned liner notes from MOJO’s Dave Henderson. Five of the tracks are tagged as ‘bonus’ but all have been released in previous iterations. The release date is 12th April 2024 and can be pre-ordered here.
Simultaneously, Fire is reissuing the latter period Giant Sand album ‘Blurry Blue Mountain’ (2010). AllMusic describes it as “An album full of heart, soul, and wit… [with] some very real magic to be found in [its] elegant force”.
Giant Sand have announced some UK tour dates for April which begin next month in Newcastle:
22 April: Cluny, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
23 April: Broadcast, Glasgow
24 April: YES Pink Room, Manchester
27 April: Forty Years Of Fire – The Giant Syndicate, EartH, London
28 April: Ramsgate Music Hall, Ramsgate
The show at London’s EartH is a celebration of Fire Records’ 40th anniversary and also features Steve Wynn and Kristin Hersh. Tickets are available here.
great to hear about these reissues