Long Stem Rant [25th Anniversary Edition]

Personnel: Howe Gelb (vocals, guitar, piano); Jim McGrath (guitar, percussion); Paula J. Brown (guitar); Chris Cacavas, Robert Boyd (accordion); John Convertino (drums).
Audio Mixer: Eric Westfall.
Audio Remasterer: Jim Blackwood.
Liner Note Author: Howe Gelb.
Photographers: Rex Anderson; Steve Left.
This 1989 album was the fifth in five years by this prolific Arizona band, which is led by songwriter Howe Gelb. He and his cohorts bring an honest exuberance to everything they do. There are raucous rock & roll numbers, desert-inflected country weepers, folkish workouts, and vast soundscapes of feedback.
Giant Sand is related to the reckless abandon of Neil Young & Crazy Horse, but Gelb's personality makes the music his band's own. One example is the chugging "Searchlight," a track that is rich with piano thrills and loopy gang vocals. There's also a cathartic element to LONG STEM RANT, which may have been due in part to the fact that Gelb had been recently divorced from his former singer partner, Paula Jean Brown (who came on board wonderfully with 1986's BALLAD OF A THIN LINE MAN).