Swerve by Giant Sand (CD, Nov-1992, Restless Records USA)

many intriguing tracks on Swerve..don't let the title sway you from going after it, perhaps the title isn't the best title of a Howe Gelb/Giant Sand recording after all but i've purchased the Restless Records edition that has a different sequence from a previous Demon Records edition that i sold to another right here on ebay (a good intuition that this Restless sequence is the right throw down). 'Cant Find Love' is first off on the Restless cd and it's a good little music story about realizing that finding love is not an easy thing to set in motion 'at the end of the night/ya wanna hold on tight' states a singin' Howe Gelb & his female backing vox..there's alot more on Swerve to grasp through Howe's lyrical lip flips; those examples are on tracks like 'Trickle Down System' & 'Former Version Of Ourselves'. Giant Sand on this outing are essentially guitarist Howe Gelb & drummer John Convertino; an early example of the now popular duo unit. Steve Wynn, Julianna Hatfield & Paula Jean Brown add to the strength of the not so simple serve of Swerve. 'Angels at Night' is a big peculiar beaut that features the vox of Falling James Morland (Leaving Trains) & it's a let's wind it up, no, let's wind it down kinda mood. You'll also hear Giant Sand re-work Bob Dylan's 'Every Grain Of Sand' & it's worked hard, leaving an epic grandiose flavour lingering from the listen. Haven't experienced the recording coming out from a car/truck stereo speakers but it'd be a sweet audio companion in fairly busy city driving. Don't let the name Julianna Hatfield turn you off as some of her recordings didn't totally make the cut but she is way above those solo efforts working w/ Giant Sand on Swerve.

-oddrays