Glum
1994 studio album by Giant Sand
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
| Glum | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1994 | |||
| Studio | Kingsway | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 49:41 | |||
| Label | Imago | |||
| Producer |
| |||
| Giant Sand chronology | ||||
| ||||
Production
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
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [12] |
| The Arizona Republic | [13] |
| Philadelphia Daily News | [6] |
| Rolling Stone |  [14] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 7/10[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
- "Glum" – 5:00
- "Yer Ropes" – 5:06
- "Happenstance" – 5:07
- "Frontage Road" – 4:35
- "1 Helvakowboy Song" – 3:02
- "Painted Bird" – 4:37
- "Spun" – 3:43
- "Left" – 5:01
- "Faithful" – 6:08
- "Bird Song" – 3:38
- "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" – 3:44