Giant’s two first records – Last Of The Runaways (1989) and Time To Burn (1992) – has today almost become iconic, at least for people in Melodic Rock/AOR circles. A bit strange when you think about the fact that they didn’t exactly set the world on fire when they came out. The latter was more or less dead at birth as the Grunge scene was taking over back in ’92 which in turn led to keyboardist/song writer Alan Pasqua leaving the band with the rest of the band – singer/lead guitarist/main song writer Dann Huff, drummer David Huff, bassist Mike Brignardello – going their separate ways shortly after. Too bad because I love those records. Giant came back as trio without Pasqua in 2001 and released III, an album consisting mostly of old redone demos that went under the radar of most people and nothing more came out that.
In 2010, David Huff and Brignardello gave the band a third go – with Dann Huff’s blessing – and brought in Winger guitarist John Roth and former Strangerways/Slamer singer Terry Brock handling vocal-duties and released the underwhelming Promise Land, an in my opinion half-assed record that didn’t sound much like a Giant album at all – and then it was over once again. Now 12 years later David Huff, Brignardello and Roth has resurrected the band once more, this time with Perfect Plan singer Kent Hilli as the vocalist, a guy they discovered when Perfect Plan released a cover of the Giant song “Stay” from Time To Burn. Hilli has always mentioned Giant as a favorite band of his so this must be a dream come true for him. This time Dann Huff shows up guesting the band on one track as a guitarist which is kinda cool.
The opening title-track is nothing more than a slow, instrumental intro which paves way for the actual opener, the leading single “Let Our Love Win”. The main riff here bears clear resemblance to classic Giant and so does the crunchy guitar sound. It’s an uptempo Melodic Rock belter with glistening melodies that has their hooks in me directly. The chorus is striking and infectious – maybe not so much classic Giant sounding, more in the vein of Perfect Plan to be honest – and brings on a big Stadium Rock vibe. Great song.
Dann Huff lends his guitar to the second single “Never Die Young”, a song that starts slow and laid-back with a smooth AOR arrangement. It goes more upbeat, straight-forward AOR-rock as it goes along and provides us with another immense refrain that’s impossible not to surrender to. Again, not very Giant-y but a real slammer of a refrain. Great stuff. The guys stay on the more straight-forward AOR path with “Don’t Say A Word”. As a whole, this tune is a bit of a patchy, standard AOR number, not bad but sounds a lot like the thirteen-a-dozen AOR projects that has come out of the Frontiers stable in later years.
The pop-rocking “My Breath Away” is also very straight ahead AOR with a slick and glossy outlook. There are traces of old Giant here but also a lot of Perfect Plan, especially in the chorus. It holds a chunky guitar riff but also lots of keyboards with a strong main melody and even though the tune is a bit commonplace, it throws a damn sticky chorus our way. I quite like this one. “Highway Of Love” on the other side sounds as if it could have been an outtake from Time To Burn. It’s slightly blues-tinged with an acoustic guitar that flirts slightly with Country and a Hammond-like sound to fatten things up. It’s a beefy Melodic Rock cruncher with a stellar chorus. A stand-out track without a doubt. Damn good.
The slow and smooth AOR ballad “It’s Not over” takes us back to the very late 80’s/early 90’s. Mellow and a bit saddening, the tune is a bit of a sobber and a lighter-in-the-air song. The big chorus is created in the same template that most power ballads were back in the day, but it’s memorable and sticks right from hello – and it would probably have been all over MTV back when. It’s a good song but it’s not exactly “I’ll See You In My Dreams”, if you catch my drift. The mid-paced, straight ahead AOR-rocker and latest single “The Price Of Love” is one of those smooth and slick pop-rockers that usually shows up on one of all those Frontiers projects. It’s an ok tune with a catchy refrain but it’s nothing out of the ordinary and truth be told, Hilli really saves the tune with his brilliant vocal performance.
“Standing Tall” on the other hand rocks things up again with a riff taken right out of Dann Huff’s back-pocket which brings the classic Giant sound out. It’s rhythmic, it grooves with an underlying Classic Rock swagger and even though the big, hooky chorus is pure AOR, it comes with a smoulder and vigour that Giant had on the two first records – and the chorus hits right where it should as well. Great stuff. “Anna Lee” is another big power ballad, bombastic and large in structure with a musical landscape born in 1990 or something. The chorus is massive and would fit mainstream radio like a charm. It’s not very Giant like but still a pretty good song where Hilli again shines. Good one.
“Don’t Wanna Lose You” brings a bit more of a Hard Rock edge to the table with its crunchy riffage and powerhouse rhythm-section and even though it comes with smoother vocal-melodies, it never turns glossy or silky – it’s more Melodic Hard Rock than AOR. It comes with a spark and a well-needed punch and a refrain that feels more direct and bang-on-target than “hey, let’s make a single”, so to speak. Good one. The album closes with the anthemic semi-ballad “I Walk Alone”, a song that holds a chunky rhythmic flow and a late 80’s outlook sonically. Synth-strings and tearful vocals by Hilli, complete with a well-arranged monster chorus, makes it a bit of a power ballad too. Again, not all that close to classic Giant but a damn fine tune.
First of all, this is not a Giant album. Well, it is, it says so on the cover but sonically and style-wise, it has very little in common with the first two – and the third even – Giant albums, only pieces here and there. There are also traces of Perfect Plan involved but mostly it comes across as one of those all-star Frontiers projects with Kent Hilli fronting. That being said, it is a good album and lots better than most all-star albums from the label in later years. Hilli is, of course, the star of this record – the guy is without a doubt one of the finest vocalists that has come forward in the last few years but I also want to give John Roth some notice – the guy is brilliant and very underrated. But as for a Giant album, Dann Huff is needed for it to actually be Giant – his vocals, guitar sound and song writing is really pivotal for it to sound Giant.
6/10
Tracklist:
1. Shifting Time
2. Let Our Love Win
3. Never Die Young
4. Don’t Say A Word
5. My Breath Away
6. Highway Of Love
7. It’s Not Over
8. The Price Of Love
9. Standing Tall
10. Anna Lee
11. Don’t Wanna Lose You
12. I Walk Alone
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