Giant Sand - Storm (25th Anniversary Edition) (2010)

1988’s Storm, Giant Sand’s third album, is another step forward for the rambling spirit of its leader, Howe Gelb. The country stirrings are more pronounced with the addition of Neil Harry’s pedal steel and Gelb’s rockabilly-to-punk rock-guitar stylings. The loose, improvisatory nature of the tunes gives everything a spontaneous beat generation feel, as if Jack Kerouac had found himself front and center in a lean and mean rock group. “Uneven Light of Day,” “Town Where No Town Belongs” and the title track come banging out of the gate like a rusty old car with plenty of velocity. “Back to Black and Grey” strips things down to a piece of street-level poetry with a devil-may-care attitude leading the pace. “Bigger Than That” plays like a pounding piece of garage rock with Gelb again settling into a monologue in the verses. The cover of the Band’s “The Weight” is an apt decision, as it gives Gelb a chance to show off his emotional economy and Harry’s pedal steel accents. The 25th Anniversary Edition includes an alternate take of “Uneven Light of Day” that’s surprisingly close to the official take.