Listen to Valley of Rainby Giant Sand on Slacker Radio. Valley of Rain is tougher and scrappier than much of what Giant Sand would release later on. Valley of Rain (25th Anniversary Edition). Valley of Rain (25th Anniversary Edition) Giant Sand. Download your tracks and read our FAQ for more info.

Hyundai Grandeur 2000 Workshop Manual. VALLEY OF RAIN (25 th Anniversary Edition) 2010 marks the 25th anniversary of Valley Of Rain – the debut album by Giant Sand, the ever-shifting alternative rock band overseen by “the Godfather of Alt. Country” Howe Gelb.

With that in mind, the band are celebrating in the only way they know how: with a flurry of great music. This year will see a special one-off show at The Barbican in London on July 22 and a new Giant Sand album, Blurry Blue Mountain, released in October. Fire Records is also proud to announce the start of a Giant Sand/ Howe Gelb series of rolling reissues from September 2010, which will see the re-release of roughly 30 albums starting with the re-release of Valley Of Rain on the 6th of September and culminating in two box sets to be released next year. Each re-issue will be lovingly re-issued in red and silver limited edition digipacks. “Giant Sand is a mood”, says Howe of Giant Sand, as if trying to offer a low-key explanation for his dizzying array of artistic exploration that includes a back-catalogue of some 40 albums as a singer, band-leader and producer. After growing up in Pennsylvania in the 1970’s, it wasn’t until he moved to Tucson, Arizona that he met his musical soul mate, the guitarist Rainer Ptacek. The two formed Giant Sandworms and issued only a handful of recordings before the worms were put to rest: since then, Giant Sand have released 24 albums – an impressive haul when considering Howe’s equally prolific output under other projects including Black Ranchette and Arizona Amp & Alternator as well as his solo releases.

Howe, though, is definitely not content to rest on his laurels. Giant Sand’s 2000 album Chore Of Enchantment has been declared one of the Best 1000 Records Ever Made and scooped up plaudits from NME and The Guardian amongst others, with the former insisting the record cemented his reputation as “a founding father of modern Americana”. His most recent solo project, meanwhile – 2006’s “Sno Angel Like You” – earned a 5 star review in Mojo and was described by Q as “showcasing an immense generosity of spirit and poetic warmth”. Rather than retrospect, then, this is a time for celebration. Howe and his band will be marking the 25th anniversary of the release of Valley Of Rain by hosting a very special evening of brand new collaborations and performances.

As they play some of their choicest cuts from their back catalogue, they’ll be joined by Kristin Hersch, guitarist and founder of the seminal art-rock band Throwing Muses. “I’ll jump at any chance to be on stage with the wild and wacky, kooky and cozy Howe” says Hersch.”With Howe, I never know exactly what will happen, but it’s always great to be a part of it.” As well as The Barbican show, Giant Sand played three other UK dates in July at Winchester, Brighton and Gateshead, before the release of the new album Blurry Blue Mountain in October. And with the re-issues and Giant Sand box set still to come from Fire Records, 2010 will certainly be a celebration to remember for Howe and all of his fans.

The dry, dusty, and rambling sound that became 's trademark isn't much in evidence on 's debut album, 1985's Valley of Rain. Instead, this early edition of the band recalls the distaff branch of the Paisley Underground scene that was still a big part of the Los Angeles scene when arrived there from Tuscon, as if were the oddball high desert cousins of.

Valley of Rain is tougher and scrappier than much of what would release later on, and it rocks noticeably harder, though 's sense of lyrical wanderlust is very much evident here, and even when the guitars wind up and the drums crack, the melodies drift on and off path with an expressive glee. The band's slightly warped country influences are all but invisible here (perhaps because and his pals were cutting a Blacky Ranchette album around the same time), and Valley of Rain sounds more sharply focused than the typical album. And his partners -- bassist Scott Garber and drummers Tom Larkins and Winston A. -- sound admirably tight and together, considering this lineup fell together at the last minute before these sessions began, and the album was recorded on the fly for a mere four hundred bucks.

Valley of Rain isn't classic, but it's a strong and confident starting point and it has weathered the test of time rather well: 'Tumble and Tear,' 'Down on Town,' and 'Death, Dying and Channel 5' are forceful and idiosyncratic rockers, while 'Artists' and 'October, Anywhere' give a clue to where would go in the future. In a long journey full of fascinating detours along the way, 's first album was a rocking pit stop that's lively, smart, and full of nerve. ~ Mark Deming.