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Glum
Studio album by
Giant Sand
Released1994
StudioKingsway
GenreRock
Length49:41
LabelImago
Producer
Giant Sand chronology
Stromausfall
(1993) 		Glum
(1994) 		Goods and Services
(1995)

Glum is an album by the American band Giant Sand, released in 1994.[1][2] It was the band's first album to be distributed by a major label.[3] Giant Sand supported it with a North American tour.[4]

Production[edit]

Recorded at Daniel Lanois's New Orleans home studio, the album was produced by Malcolm Burn, Howe Gelb, and John Convertino.[5] Gelb wrote "Bird Song" with his young daughter.[5] "Frontage Road" is about characters living in a subdivision.[6] Pappy Allen sang on the cover of Hank Williams's "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry"; the album is dedicated to him.[7][8] Victoria Williams contributed vocals to "Spun".[9] Chris Cacavas, of Green on Red, played keyboards on "1 Helvakowboy Song".[10] Rainer Ptacek played a dobro on "Left"; Peter Holsapple contributed slide guitar to "Yer Ropes".[11][12] "Painted Bird" was inspired by the Jerzy Kosiński novel.[9]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[12]
The Arizona Republic[13]
Philadelphia Daily News[6]
Rolling Stone[14]
Spin Alternative Record Guide7/10[15]
The Tampa Tribune[3]
The Virgin Encyclopedia of Nineties Music[16]

The Philadelphia Daily News wrote that "Gelb writes and growls the glum, surreal sagas of life on the edge with the passion of a man possessed."[6] Rolling Stone said that the title track "trails an especially gnarled solo with an Ivory-soft surf-guitar finale as its lyrics twist from contempt to confusion."[14] Newsday concluded that "if music this genuinely idiosyncratic can penetrate the mainstream, then there truly has been an alternative revolution."[17] Trouser Press opined that Gelb's "unilateral rejection of form can get a bit tiring, especially when the meandering 'Frontage Rd.' runs smack into the stoner fusion of '1 Helvakowboy Song'."[18]

The Vancouver Sun praised "Gelb's idiosyncratic electric guitar style—something like getting Crispin Glover drunk and setting him loose with Neil Young's gear."[19] The Washington Post deemed the album a "self-indulgently slapdash effort."[10] The Times Colonist determined that "Glum sounds like an electric and electrifying soundtrack for a modern Heart of Darkness, if Kurtz were holed up in a broken-down trailer in the California desert instead of the jungle."[20] The Arizona Republic stated that the album "blends the experimental and obscure with twangy, insistent rock beats."[13]

Mojo considered Glum to be "an obscure gem" and Giant Sand's "masterpiece".[21]

Track listing[edit]

  1. "Glum" – 5:00
  2. "Yer Ropes" – 5:06
  3. "Happenstance" – 5:07
  4. "Frontage Road" – 4:35
  5. "1 Helvakowboy Song" – 3:02
  6. "Painted Bird" – 4:37
  7. "Spun" – 3:43
  8. "Left" – 5:01
  9. "Faithful" – 6:08
  10. "Bird Song" – 3:38
  11. "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" – 3:44

References[edit]

  1. ^ Jasperson, Brian (February 2, 1995). "Anti-Commodity Fetishism". Missoula Independent. p. 18.
  2. ^ Schoemer, Karen (September 12, 1994). "Cheatin' hearts, flannel shirts — Glum by Giant Sand / Palace Brothers by Palace Brothers". Newsweek. Vol. 124, no. 11. pp. 57–58.
  3. ^ a b Ross, Curtis (December 30, 1994). "Year-end closeout". Friday Extra!. The Tampa Tribune. p. 21.
  4. ^ Buckingham, Brooker (October 30, 1994). "Giant Sand". Calgary Herald. p. E2.
  5. ^ a b Russell, Deborah (August 13, 1994). "Imago excited about future of Giant Sand's 'Glum' set". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 33. pp. 7, 14.
  6. ^ a b c Takiff, Jonathan (September 2, 1994). "Glum Giant Sand". Features Yo!. Philadelphia Daily News. p. 58.
  7. ^ Ohler, Shawn (July 24, 1997). "'Like three radio stations playing at once'; Band's style defies description". Edmonton Journal. p. D3.
  8. ^ Curry, Paul (February 4, 1995). "Reviews". Scene. Courier Journal. p. 6.
  9. ^ a b Terrell, Steve (October 7, 1994). "Terrell's Tune-Up". Pasatiempo. The Santa Fe New Mexican. p. 1.
  10. ^ a b Jenkins, Mark (November 4, 1994). "Reliable Buffalo, Self-Indulgent Sand". The Washington Post. p. N16.
  11. ^ Armstrong, Gene (August 26, 1994). "Giant Sand's 'Glum' album packs massive, rhythmic wallop". Arizona Daily Star. p. 6E.
  12. ^ a b "Glum Review by Tom Demalon". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  13. ^ a b Caputo, Salvatore (September 23, 1994). "Record Reviews". The Arizona Republic. p. E8.
  14. ^ a b Drozdowski, Ted (September 8, 1994). "Glum by Giant Sand". Rolling Stone. No. 690. p. 78.
  15. ^ Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. p. 166.
  16. ^ Larkin, Colin (2000). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Nineties Music. Virgin Books. p. 174.
  17. ^ Herndon, David (September 24, 1994). "Giant Sand Storms In". Newsday. p. B5.
  18. ^ "Giant Sand". Trouser Press. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  19. ^ Armstrong, John (October 13, 1994). "Recordings". The Vancouver Sun. p. C8.
  20. ^ Blake, Joseph (November 10, 1994). "Glum Giant Sand". News. Times Colonist. p. 1.
  21. ^ The Mojo Collection (4th ed.). Canongate Books. 2007. p. 601.
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