Valley of Rain [25th Anniversary Edition]

Personnel: Howe Gelb (vocals, guitar, piano); Winston A. Watson Jr., Tom Larkins (drums).
Audio Mixer: Eric Westfall.
Liner Note Author: Howe Gelb.
Recording information: Mad Dog, Venice, CA; The Control Center, Hollywood, CA; The Sound Factory, Tucson, AZ.
Valley of Rain is the full-length debut from the band known as Giant Sand. The combo's leader (with an earlier version of the group called Giant Sandworms) had already spearheaded the release of two 7" EPs and a seven-song cassette, but it is here that the documentation of that man -- one Howe Gelb -- and his musical vision truly begins. Landing in Tucson, AZ, via New York and Pittsburgh, PA, the record (actually recorded in Los Angeles) finds Gelb working with bassist Scott Garber and drummers Tom Larkins and Winston Watson, purveying a still-developing version of his starry-eyed desert sprawl that, even at this early date, contained recognizable chunks of Bob Dylan, Gram Parsons, and the Grateful Dead. Certainly the album contains some forgettable material, but the majority of the songs hold at least a germ of what would eventually become Gelb's mature style, and several of them, including "Black Venetian Blind," "Artists," and "Barrio" stand at the chronological head of a long list of stellar Giant Sand creations. Zippo's compact disc reissue adds one track not on the original vinyl release. ~ Patrick Foster