GIANT SAND
Cover Magazine (Thrill Jockey)
Reviewed by John Sekerka

---

Everyone covers "Iron Man." Everyone. But when Howe Gelb tackles the Black Sabbath staple, he turns it completely inside out, stripping away all the metal and leaving all the heavy. It becomes a creepy piano piece, some muted trumpet, Gelb's parched delivery and an odd assortment of percussive sounds, some apparently of a drain. If this is Giant Sand's threatened swan song, then they go out on the right foot. The rhythm section of John Convertino and Joey Burns, better known as Calexico, supply a startling cinematic backdrop for Gelb and some guests to ply their magic. A covers record where the covers are so mauled and twisted and reborn that they are all but unrecognizable. Giant Sand continues to be the sound of their native Arizona desert. That's just all there is to it.

© 2002 - John Sekerka