Cover Magazine [25th Anniversary Edition]

Giant Sand includes: Howe Gelb (vocals, guitar, harp, piano, bass); Mike Grimes (acoustic & electric basses); John Convertino (drums, percussion).
Additional personnel includes: PJ Harvey (vocals); John Rauhause (pedal steel guitar); Noah Thomas (trumpet); Ari Posner (congas).
Producers include: Howe Gelb, Craig Schumacher, Harland Arelund.
Engineers include: Craig Schumacher, Terje Hellem, Ostein Halvorsen.
Principally recorded at Wavelab, Tucson, Arizona and Brussells Radio Studio, Brussels, Belgium.
Personnel: Howe Gelb (vocals, guitar, harp, piano); Saholy Diavolana (vocals, guitar); Matt Ward (vocals, piano); Kelly Hogan, Sofie Albertsen Gelb, Laureline Prod'homme, Amelie Van Hoorebene, Neko Case, PJ Harvey (vocals); Nick Luca, Jim Fairchild (guitar); Aaron Graham (steel guitar); Kevin Salem (strings); Noah Thomas, Jacob Valenzuela (trumpet); Mike Grimes (upright bass); Aaron Burtch, John Convertino (drums).
Audio Mixers: Craig Schumacher; Howe Gelb.
Audio Remasterer: Jim Blackwood.
Liner Note Author: Howe Gelb.
Recording information: Studio Brussels Radio; Wavelab, Tucson.
Photographers: Bill Carter ; Amy Harrington.
There's no denying that Giant Sand visionary Howe Gelb is an odd duck. Since the mid-'80s his artfully skewed desert rock has occupied a respected, shadowy place in the alt-rock pantheon. With this collection of cover tunes, Gelb lays claim to a larger legacy, encompassing a wide range of American music as filtered through post-war pop culture's funhouse mirror (not to mention the carefully crafted bending and shaping on Gelb's part). He sings the Marty Robbins cowboy classic "El Paso" in a crazed hobo's whisper, and makes the X tune "Johnny Hit and Run Pauline" sound like an acoustic Suicide number with the considerable aid of Polly Jean Harvey.
A twisted take on the Sonny & Cher hit "The Beat Goes On" sounds like the sort of thing you might expect to hear from a lounge band in the depths of Hades. A dust-coated medley of the traditional tune "Wayfaring Stranger" and the Sinatra classic "Fly Me to the Moon" continue the distinctly American theme, effectively mixing outsider and high-living themes for maximum tension. One of the only non-U.S. tunes on offer is Nick Cave's "Red Right Hand," but its author is obsessed enough with Americana for an exception to be made. Take a walk through the dark underbelly of American musical history with COVER MAGAZINE, and you'll probably wind up somewhere unexpected but undeniably interesting.