by Stephen M.H. Braitman

                                                                                                                          
GIANT SAND - proVISIONS
(Yep Roc Records)
Release date: Sept. 2, 2008

Collectors who focus on the greatest American music band since at least the late '80s have been kept busy on both the vinyl and digital fronts. Just like their previous 35 records, proVISIONS by Giant Sand will be generally ignored by the public at large and damned with faint praise by reviewers who lazily make clichéd references to Southwest desert imagery, Neil Young guitar, a shambolic approach to recording, and all the famous friends. But collectors will greet this release with delight.

For one thing, there's already a genuine rarity out there. The initial promotional CDs contained a long exploration called "The New Romance of Falling." This was an update to "Romance of Falling" from their classic 1992 album, Ramp. However, at the last minute, the man behind the screen, Howe Gelb, "uncovered" a new track that he felt fit better with the mood of the album. Out went "New Romance of Falling" and in went "Belly Full Of Fire." New promos were made, and the deleted track is in limbo. However, advance orders of the CD and the LP will get two bonus download tracks - live versions of "Stranded Pearl" and "Dead Horse Blues."

The promo CD will likely remain the only physical artifact with the original song.

UPDATE: "New Romance of Falling" will also be offered by Yep Rock as a bonus download.

Gelb's judgment was sound, however, because proVISIONS is stronger now. The album is acutely focused with a subdued yet precise quality. The publicity machine will shout out guests like Neko Case, M. Ward, and Isobel Campbell (Belle & Sebastian), but their participation merely adds texture and color to the jangle and jags of this insinuating music. The broad range traverses a Nancy Sinatra-Lee Hazelwood vibe (with more twang) of "Stranded Pearl," to the Cash-worthy truckstop jaunt of "Can Do," to the disarming resolution of cascading hope in "Well Enough Alone." This is an album of tarnished, resilient emotions expressed in ringing guitars, fluid piano, and an instinctual rhythm section. They swing, they rock, they swoon.

 

If you don't know Giant Sand by now, would this be the place to start? Probably not, unless you're inclined to let the album drive you through its angularly odd and endearing journey. Seems like there's a need with every new Giant Sand album to introduce them, yet again, to the willful public. With a sublime beauty like proVISIONS, perhaps we should just keep this one to ourselves.

LINKS

Giant Sand - www.GiantSand.com

Yep Roc Records - www.YepRoc.com

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