Giant Sand
Ballad of a Thin Line Man

In the '80s, some critic comes up with this "desert rock" thing to try and define groups like Giant Sand and Thin White Rope.

Just to speak plainly, the music offered is a reinterpretation of the purest Americana, with psychedelic shades and a decidedly acidic aftertaste; but "desert rock" is way cooler, you’ll agree.

And so, "desert rock" it is.

Maybe it’s Howe Gelb’s fault, the mastermind behind Giant Sand, who declares: «What fascinates me about the desert is the factor of erosion. On these surfaces, you have a rapid rate of erosion, a little thing and the environment is different, it changes, it’s not the same anymore. If it rains, it’s instantaneous. So, the sound of my band is related to the concept of erosion, it changes every day, it seems the same but if you look closely, it's not at all.»

Or maybe it all depends on the cover of «Ballad Of A Thin Line Man», the second, splendid album by Giant Sand, following the 1985 debut «Valley Of Rain», where in the distance stands a poor soul on the back of a nag, lost in a place forgotten by God and men.

And everything is clear, from the title that pays homage to Dylan who twenty years earlier revolutionized folk by injecting heavy doses of electricity into it.

Let's start right here, with the tributes present in «Ballad Of A Thin Line Man».

The first is «All Along The Watchtower», still Dylan but also Hendrix but most of all them, because the version given by Giant Sand in this circumstance is a relentless rock filled with electricity and distortions, after a violin at the start suggests something else entirely, soon giving way to the feedback of the guitar: we are in a territory equally distant from Dylan and Hendrix's universes, facing an original reinterpretation of a rock classic, and I believe that a better appreciation from the authors is not possible. It is a form of profound reverence towards Dylan and Hendrix but far from sterile, drawing new life from inanimate matter: simply splendid.

The second is «You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory», a pledge of love for Johnny Thunders and all those who have given their lives to rock'n'roll. And even in this case, we are far from the original: the moving piano and voice intro gives chills, reminding us that rock can be a damned serious matter; but then, since rock is also (and mostly) joy shouted at the top of your lungs, a riff begins as if few have heard and as Springsteen at the time is already too old to do. The song that has marked the name of Giant Sand in my heart is this «You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory».

But the best is yet to come, encased between the riffs to commit to memory of the hymn-like «Thin Line Man» and «Desperate Man», electric rides announcing there is life beyond Paisley and that a new sound is possible (and surely someone with a bizarre name will emerge to define it, maybe "desert rock"); but also among «Graveyard», «Last Legs», and «Who Am I» to remind us that the roots are still firmly set in blues, folk, and even jazz (!), the important thing is to adapt them to the times to maintain their spirit (yes, exactly like Dylan did starting with «Bringing It All Back Home», with the due distinctions); just like the fury of «Body Of Water» and «A Hard Man To Get To Know» or the opposite calmness of «The Chill Outside», fragments traceable back to traditional rock styles, however little sense it makes to talk about tradition in the case of Giant Sand at the time of «Ballad Of A Thin Line Man».

Traditional(ly) they are, perhaps, when they are still called Giant Sandworms and in 1983 release the original version of «Body Of Water», risking the anonymity that befell many other groups of the time (raise your hand if Van Christian's Naked Prey didn’t come to mind).

Only three years later, having rid themselves of the worms, they are one of the few bands around (accompanied by the mentioned Thin White Rope, Died Pretty, and a few others) on which the future of rock rests: it's not little.

And anyway, if you listen to music of the kind contained in «Ballad Of A Thin Line Man» in the desert, I found the ideal place to live, without needing to go to hell.