Giant Bear

Giant Bear | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 14, 2007)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Red Wax Music
• ASIN: B000U1ZKU4
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #427,263 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Out of Memphis, home of the blues and rock n' roll, explodes a bold experience named Giant Bear. And giant it is. This tightly produced musical extravaganza will find close friends in both rock and folk circles. Giant Bear has dynamic breadth, mixed with a complex layering of instrumentation to grab the listener and spin its yarns of seduction, loneliness, and unrequited love. Combining those attributes with smart, storied lyrics leads to a great sophomore effort for this eclectic band running the gamut from Trent Reznor's ""Head Like A Hole"" to the plaintive melancholy of ""I Miss You"". And then there's the cello, yes the cello, which deftly adds its dark, smoky warmth to the mix. Accomplished diversity seems to be the norm for this talented group. Here is an album that musically weaves itself into you as it's weaving a tapestry. It starts with up-beat tracks like Nashville and slowly wraps itself around you like an old friend, a giant, old friend.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A rich, roots-infused romp, October 2, 2007

By 

loce_the_wizard "loce_the_wizard" (Lilburn, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Giant Bear (Audio CD)

The name Giant Bear strangely suits this Nashville-based combo. This self-titled release stands clearly on its own, a rich, roots-infused romp that benefits from a variety of instruments--banjo, horns, accordion, electric, acoustic, and pedal steel guitars, great bass and percussion, and the cello. It's the latter that one notices at once, something different yet melding in seamlessly. (I suppose one could say there is always room for cello.)

Then there are the great vocals, both the stirring leads vocals and the strong harmonies that underpin and accent the leads. With a trio of singers, Giant Bear can bring something new to each song, keeping the sound fresh and adding unexpected flourishes.

It's easy to like the rocking numbers, but the slower, stranger tunes yield their own pleasure from repeated listening. The usual fare of murder, mayhem, magic, mystery, and love gone wrong never sounded so inviting.

A quick glance to see what I could find out about Giant Bear revealed that most folks who comment on their sound like to compare this with other groups. Even Frank Zappa's name is thrown about. Though it's tempting to join in this sort of musical version of "Twister" and offer that "Giant Bear comes across like an amalgam of Drive-by Truckers and Cowboy Junkies," such comparisons miss the point.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really Good, August 16, 2007

By 

K. Sage "Red Wax Music" (Memphis, TN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Giant Bear (Audio CD)

This album has some great guests on it...Luther Dickinson from the North Mississippi Allstars, keyboard great Rick Steff fresh off his tour with Cat Power and Scotty Gerardy who is a sax phenom from Shreveport, LA band Dirtfoot.

Giant Bear is a super talented band from Memphis, TN - playing multiple instruments and writing insightful but fun lyrics. Don't miss out on this great recording!