New GIANT cd

[yulog]

Ugh! Yes its that bad, and its not the music itself because they did retain the giant "sound" on several songs. Its the singer, horrible tone, low end is bad, voice sounds warbley at times. there are a couple of songs that could have been gems....well at least 1 song ,but his voice brings it down to slightly better than average (through my eyes). It would be a mistake if they used this singer again.

[Ehwmatt]

I liked the song Drew posted on his front page, Promised Land. Haven't heard any others yet.

[kgdjpubs]

Ugh! Yes its that bad, and its not the music itself because they did retain the giant "sound" on several songs. Its the singer, horrible tone, low end is bad, voice sounds warbley at times. there are a couple of songs that could have been gems....well at least 1 song ,but his voice brings it down to slightly better than average (through my eyes). It would be a mistake if they used this singer again.

Really?!?!? Terry Brock is one of the better singers out there--and probably one of the most famous "names" in the melodic rock scene for his work with Strangeways. I'll agree he didn't sound so hot on Promise Land, but that song is really out of his vocal range (low end was never his strong point, so that was a mismatch from the beginning)--and he sounds considerably better higher pitched. He certainly doesn't sound like Dann Huff, but I hope he isn't losing it.

For what it's worth, there are some videos of Giant live in the old days on youtube, and Dann's vocals were decidedly average at best--very pitchy, etc. He always sounded good in the studio, but I guess the inexperience of singing lead vocal live really showed.

That being said, Terry Brock was certainly an "out there" choice for the band. Not sure offhand who I would have picked.

[Andrew]

Ugh! Yes its that bad, and its not the music itself because they did retain the giant "sound" on several songs. Its the singer, horrible tone, low end is bad, voice sounds warbley at times. there are a couple of songs that could have been gems....well at least 1 song ,but his voice brings it down to slightly better than average (through my eyes). It would be a mistake if they used this singer again.

Rubbish. Brock is one of the best in the business.

[yulog]

Ugh! Yes its that bad, and its not the music itself because they did retain the giant "sound" on several songs. Its the singer, horrible tone, low end is bad, voice sounds warbley at times. there are a couple of songs that could have been gems....well at least 1 song ,but his voice brings it down to slightly better than average (through my eyes). It would be a mistake if they used this singer again.

Really?!?!? Terry Brock is one of the better singers out there--and probably one of the most famous "names" in the melodic rock scene for his work with Strangeways. I'll agree he didn't sound so hot on Promise Land, but that song is really out of his vocal range (low end was never his strong point, so that was a mismatch from the beginning)--and he sounds considerably better higher pitched. He certainly doesn't sound like Dann Huff, but I hope he isn't losing it.

For what it's worth, there are some videos of Giant live in the old days on youtube, and Dann's vocals were decidedly average at best--very pitchy, etc. He always sounded good in the studio, but I guess the inexperience of singing lead vocal live really showed.

That being said, Terry Brock was certainly an "out there" choice for the band. Not sure offhand who I would have picked.

For what its worth there are some videos of Every band on you tube that shows the singer of the band being average at best ( very pitchy) This guy sounds weak in the studio, I can Imagine how he would sound on you tube

[kgdjpubs]

Ugh! Yes its that bad, and its not the music itself because they did retain the giant "sound" on several songs. Its the singer, horrible tone, low end is bad, voice sounds warbley at times. there are a couple of songs that could have been gems....well at least 1 song ,but his voice brings it down to slightly better than average (through my eyes). It would be a mistake if they used this singer again.

Really?!?!? Terry Brock is one of the better singers out there--and probably one of the most famous "names" in the melodic rock scene for his work with Strangeways. I'll agree he didn't sound so hot on Promise Land, but that song is really out of his vocal range (low end was never his strong point, so that was a mismatch from the beginning)--and he sounds considerably better higher pitched. He certainly doesn't sound like Dann Huff, but I hope he isn't losing it.

For what it's worth, there are some videos of Giant live in the old days on youtube, and Dann's vocals were decidedly average at best--very pitchy, etc. He always sounded good in the studio, but I guess the inexperience of singing lead vocal live really showed.

That being said, Terry Brock was certainly an "out there" choice for the band. Not sure offhand who I would have picked.

For what its worth there are some videos of Every band on you tube that shows the singer of the band being average at best ( very pitchy) This guy sounds weak in the studio, I can Imagine how he would sound on you tube

specifically, the videos on youtube that I was referring to were semi-official (ie professionally filmed but not released) videos of Giant back in 1992ish. EVERY singer (unless your name is John Farnham) is going to be occasionally pitchy on youtube--especially with the audio quality of cell phones and the like. If you aren't going to sound good on professional stuff, I don't know what you're going to do.
Innocent Days Live -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpSMXnlWyCU


Speaking of Terry Brock though, here he is live in Belgium last year with Hugo's ex-band Valentine performing Strangeways' Love Lies Dying and The Sign's Forever Again (both of which he was the lead singer on) in the Valentine set.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StEUjjlts-4. You have to occasionally filter out the poor "singing" of the guy running the camera, but he sounds pretty darn good to me.

[yulog]

That vid of him doesn't work. My guess is, this is another european singer, because as far as i know this guy was not big in the states , nor was strangeways. I did some research and found very little on him(but he's apparently one of the best in the business? )
Apparently he sang back up for kansas back when elefante was the lead singer, and some other work with molly hatchett? and then his strangeways stint(trust me they were never big in the states), and also a little bit in Leroux. This list doesn't scream best in the business, or 1 of the best aor singers.

I don't know, to me to be one of the best you have to have made it to the top at some point and This guy is a relative unknown accept maybe to some of the people here at MR. The most notable band in his resume was kansas and this guy doesnt come close to elefante or Walsh as far as an AOR singer. The next best would be molly hatchet and the only guy who made that band the best as far as singing was Danny jo Brown.

Leroux? Strangeways? neither of these bands could be considered at the same level as the other 2.


I guess what i'm saying is, how can you be one of the best if you only made it to the minors.

[kgdjpubs]

That vid of him doesn't work. My guess is, this is another european singer, because as far as i know this guy was not big in the states , nor was strangeways. I did some research and found very little on him(but he's apparently one of the best in the business? )
Apparently he sang back up for kansas back when elefante was the lead singer, and some other work with molly hatchett? and then his strangeways stint(trust me they were never big in the states), and also a little bit in Leroux. This list doesn't scream best in the business, or 1 of the best aor singers.

I don't know, to me to be one of the best you have to have made it to the top at some point and This guy is a relative unknown accept maybe to some of the people here at MR. The most notable band in his resume was kansas and this guy doesnt come close to elefante or Walsh as far as an AOR singer. The next best would be molly hatchet and the only guy who made that band the best as far as singing was Danny jo Brown.

Leroux? Strangeways? neither of these bands could be considered at the same level as the other 2.


I guess what i'm saying is, how can you be one of the best if you only made it to the minors.

He's actually American, not European...for what it's worth. Just hooked up with a UK band when he wasn't doing backing vox in the states (and apparently did quite a bit of backing vox over the years).

Strangeways never was big in the US (and I don't think all that big in the UK), but Brock got a reputation as being one heck of a singer from the Strangeways material. I don't think number of albums sold has ANYTHING to do with how good of a singer you are. Perry would have the same reputation if you erase the Journey history and put him singing with Strangeways or Giant. It's still down to the voice--and that's what made Brock in the AOR scene (similar to Kevin Chalfant, Danny Vaughn, and a few others).

If you have any interest, here are a few Strangeways songs... All things being equal, they made Journey sound hard rock, but developed a cult following.
Where Are They Now http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KbbDCWRNa4
Goodnight L.A. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBV82F6T64A
Love Lies Dying (the hit, if you want to call it that) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Gn8M25gD1o
After the Hurt is Gone http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihzkFZd35oM


At any rate, Terry Brock has probably had about the same amount of success as Giant---which was practically none as far as sales go. Both are names regardless.

Speaking of the album itself, vocals notwithstanding, I'm somewhat underwhelmed at best. Decent, but not all that memorable, and if you called it "Great New Band", I don't think anyone would automatically think Giant. Just sounds like another one of many faceless AOR bands out there. The songs just aren't there, and that's one thing you couldn't say about the 2 real Giant albums.

[Rip Rokken]

Ugh! Yes its that bad, and its not the music itself because they did retain the giant "sound" on several songs. Its the singer, horrible tone, low end is bad, voice sounds warbley at times. there are a couple of songs that could have been gems....well at least 1 song ,but his voice brings it down to slightly better than average (through my eyes). It would be a mistake if they used this singer again.

Really?!?!? Terry Brock is one of the better singers out there--and probably one of the most famous "names" in the melodic rock scene for his work with Strangeways. I'll agree he didn't sound so hot on Promise Land, but that song is really out of his vocal range (low end was never his strong point, so that was a mismatch from the beginning)--and he sounds considerably better higher pitched. He certainly doesn't sound like Dann Huff, but I hope he isn't losing it.

For what it's worth, there are some videos of Giant live in the old days on youtube, and Dann's vocals were decidedly average at best--very pitchy, etc. He always sounded good in the studio, but I guess the inexperience of singing lead vocal live really showed.

That being said, Terry Brock was certainly an "out there" choice for the band. Not sure offhand who I would have picked.

Terry Brock RULES, and since Yulog hates the CD I know I have the double thumbs-up to buy it now. Plus, John Roth plays guitar on it. Here is their video from the first single if anyone hasn't seen it. I likes it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB_ClwymQlU

[stevew2]

thats where I go food shoppin

[kgdjpubs]

Ugh! Yes its that bad, and its not the music itself because they did retain the giant "sound" on several songs. Its the singer, horrible tone, low end is bad, voice sounds warbley at times. there are a couple of songs that could have been gems....well at least 1 song ,but his voice brings it down to slightly better than average (through my eyes). It would be a mistake if they used this singer again.

Really?!?!? Terry Brock is one of the better singers out there--and probably one of the most famous "names" in the melodic rock scene for his work with Strangeways. I'll agree he didn't sound so hot on Promise Land, but that song is really out of his vocal range (low end was never his strong point, so that was a mismatch from the beginning)--and he sounds considerably better higher pitched. He certainly doesn't sound like Dann Huff, but I hope he isn't losing it.

For what it's worth, there are some videos of Giant live in the old days on youtube, and Dann's vocals were decidedly average at best--very pitchy, etc. He always sounded good in the studio, but I guess the inexperience of singing lead vocal live really showed.

That being said, Terry Brock was certainly an "out there" choice for the band. Not sure offhand who I would have picked.

Terry Brock RULES, and since Yulog hates the CD I know I have the double thumbs-up to buy it now. Plus, John Roth plays guitar on it. Here is their video from the first single if anyone hasn't seen it. I likes it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB_ClwymQlU

cd is ok. Not great, not horrible, not really Giant. Missing some of the killer songs that Giant did in the past (Innocent Days, Stay, I'll See You..., etc). Not even Dann Huff on vocals would have saved some of the songs.

Personally, I'm awaiting the long overdue Terry Brock 2nd solo album that is supposedly due out this year, and the Strangeways reunion album. Both of those have the potential to be good. We'll see...

[Rip Rokken]

Personally, I'm awaiting the long overdue Terry Brock 2nd solo album that is supposedly due out this year, and the Strangeways reunion album. Both of those have the potential to be good. We'll see...

Per his Facebook post, he's leaving on the 18th to go record the new Strangeways album. Hope it ROCKS!!!!!

[kgdjpubs]

Personally, I'm awaiting the long overdue Terry Brock 2nd solo album that is supposedly due out this year, and the Strangeways reunion album. Both of those have the potential to be good. We'll see...

Per his Facebook post, he's leaving on the 18th to go record the new Strangeways album. Hope it ROCKS!!!!!

umm....Strangeways isn't really known for "rocking". Uptempo, maybe, but they were generally pretty soft. Still, hope it's good. I can deal with slower if the quality is there.

[Jana]

Ugh! Yes its that bad, and its not the music itself because they did retain the giant "sound" on several songs. Its the singer, horrible tone, low end is bad, voice sounds warbley at times. there are a couple of songs that could have been gems....well at least 1 song ,but his voice brings it down to slightly better than average (through my eyes). It would be a mistake if they used this singer again.

Really?!?!? Terry Brock is one of the better singers out there--and probably one of the most famous "names" in the melodic rock scene for his work with Strangeways. I'll agree he didn't sound so hot on Promise Land, but that song is really out of his vocal range (low end was never his strong point, so that was a mismatch from the beginning)--and he sounds considerably better higher pitched. He certainly doesn't sound like Dann Huff, but I hope he isn't losing it.

For what it's worth, there are some videos of Giant live in the old days on youtube, and Dann's vocals were decidedly average at best--very pitchy, etc. He always sounded good in the studio, but I guess the inexperience of singing lead vocal live really showed.

That being said, Terry Brock was certainly an "out there" choice for the band. Not sure offhand who I would have picked.

Terry Brock RULES, and since Yulog hates the CD I know I have the double thumbs-up to buy it now. Plus, John Roth plays guitar on it. Here is their video from the first single if anyone hasn't seen it. I likes it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB_ClwymQlU

The performance on that song is vanilla, never really takes off. A very nice song, but never really grabs me.

[Pelata]

It's a strong, solid Melodic Rock album...can't really ask for more, IMO...I like it.

[kgdjpubs]

That being said, Terry Brock was certainly an "out there" choice for the band. Not sure offhand who I would have picked.

Terry Brock RULES, and since Yulog hates the CD I know I have the double thumbs-up to buy it now. Plus, John Roth plays guitar on it. Here is their video from the first single if anyone hasn't seen it. I likes it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB_ClwymQlU

The performance on that song is vanilla, never really takes off. A very nice song, but never really grabs me.[/quote]

I don't think putting Perry on vocals would make that a great song... Vanilla is a great description of that one (and a lot on the cd, unfortunately).


I was hoping for something like this from the Giant album

Stay (from the Time to Burn cd)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAFvEcFKzT4

[Rip Rokken]

umm....Strangeways isn't really known for "rocking". Uptempo, maybe, but they were generally pretty soft. Still, hope it's good. I can deal with slower if the quality is there.

You have heard Walk In The Fire, right? That's not rock?!? Pounding drums, heavy guitar, and Brockie Lawless on vocals?

[kgdjpubs]

umm....Strangeways isn't really known for "rocking". Uptempo, maybe, but they were generally pretty soft. Still, hope it's good. I can deal with slower if the quality is there.

You have heard Walk In The Fire, right? That's not rock?!? Pounding drums, heavy guitar, and Brockie Lawless on vocals?

parts of WITF rock. Generally speaking though, they were softer than Journey was. I'm expecting a few rock songs, a bunch of midtempo and a few ballads (basically what you would expect from Journey).

I think this has more to do with the definition of a "rocking cd" moreso than anything else.

[yulog]

umm....Strangeways isn't really known for "rocking". Uptempo, maybe, but they were generally pretty soft. Still, hope it's good. I can deal with slower if the quality is there.

You have heard Walk In The Fire, right? That's not rock?!? Pounding drums, heavy guitar, and Brockie Lawless on vocals?

This is a prime example of why these guys were not big in the states

[Rick]

umm....Strangeways isn't really known for "rocking". Uptempo, maybe, but they were generally pretty soft. Still, hope it's good. I can deal with slower if the quality is there.

You have heard Walk In The Fire, right? That's not rock?!? Pounding drums, heavy guitar, and Brockie Lawless on vocals?

This is a prime example of why these guys were not big in the states

Giant = not big. That's very confusing.

[kgdjpubs]

umm....Strangeways isn't really known for "rocking". Uptempo, maybe, but they were generally pretty soft. Still, hope it's good. I can deal with slower if the quality is there.

You have heard Walk In The Fire, right? That's not rock?!? Pounding drums, heavy guitar, and Brockie Lawless on vocals?

This is a prime example of why these guys were not big in the states

Giant = not big. That's very confusing.

That's more to do with Strangeways, not Giant. Sorry for the deviation into Brock's pre-Giant career... Now back to your previously scheduled programming. Of course, Giant experienced just about the same amount of success in the US that Strangeways did --> ie not very much at all.


For what it's worth, Brock is a MUCH better singer than a some of those that did make it big. Any world where Bob Dylan can be recognized as a singer is a world that being able to sing is not a qualification for being a singer!

[T-Bone]

Is it a good CD? Yes... But it's still not Giant to me. I like Brocks vocals and I love Roth's playing, but neither one of them is Dann Huff. It's not a slam by any means, but it's just different. Some bands can replace members here and there and actually stay on level and sometimes even improve, but this is one of those times that I think a name change would have worked better for them.

[kgdjpubs]

Is it a good CD? Yes... But it's still not Giant to me. I like Brocks vocals and I love Roth's playing, but neither one of them is Dann Huff. It's not a slam by any means, but it's just different. Some bands can replace members here and there and actually stay on level and sometimes even improve, but this is one of those times that I think a name change would have worked better for them.

I think it's just a symptom of the major problems in the world of melodic rock. They are using a lot of outside writers on that cd, and I honestly don't really hear "Giant" when I listen to it. The first song was written by the same guys who wrote the W.E.T. cd, and put JSS on vocals and it would fit right in on that cd. That essentially is the "problem" with the Giant cd and 90% of the cds that are being released now. Between a stable of writers, and a VERY limited number of producers, it's no surprise that everything is starting to sound the same.

[(Crazy)Dulce Lady]

I don't know about any of this but I did hear Terry Brock at Mrfest and I assure you he is quite a voice.

thx for posting the vids. I'll check them out.

[Rip Rokken]

parts of WITF rock. Generally speaking though, they were softer than Journey was. I'm expecting a few rock songs, a bunch of midtempo and a few ballads (basically what you would expect from Journey).

I think this has more to do with the definition of a "rocking cd" moreso than anything else.

This was the first Strangeways song I heard, and only late in 2009:

Where Are They Now
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KbbDCWRNa4

Someone had shared 5 of those tracks with me probably a year ago, but I didn't listen to them until several months later during a long drive home. I loved the stuff so much, I played them over and over for most of the 2 hour trip. It was a real treat hearing them play a few of those songs live in Elgin, and I'm glad I filmed them.

Terry told me the new Strangeways album would pick up where WITF left off -- not exactly the same style, but the next step. Really looking forward to it. That dude is too cool... he also gave me his lyric cheat sheet for Helter Skelter that he jammed at MR Fest II with Winger, and signed it to me with a very nice note.

[Rip Rokken]

Is it a good CD? Yes... But it's still not Giant to me. I like Brocks vocals and I love Roth's playing, but neither one of them is Dann Huff. It's not a slam by any means, but it's just different. Some bands can replace members here and there and actually stay on level and sometimes even improve, but this is one of those times that I think a name change would have worked better for them.

Something I learned in Elgin that surprised me was Dan Huff was very involved in the new project -- I think it was his idea, too. Apparently he plays guitar on at least one track, but was too busy with other projects to be fully involved.

[kgdjpubs]

parts of WITF rock. Generally speaking though, they were softer than Journey was. I'm expecting a few rock songs, a bunch of midtempo and a few ballads (basically what you would expect from Journey).

I think this has more to do with the definition of a "rocking cd" moreso than anything else.

This was the first Strangeways song I heard, and only late in 2009:

Where Are They Now
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KbbDCWRNa4

Someone had shared 5 of those tracks with me probably a year ago, but I didn't listen to them until several months later during a long drive home. I loved the stuff so much, I played them over and over for most of the 2 hour trip. It was a real treat hearing them play a few of those songs live in Elgin, and I'm glad I filmed them.

Terry told me the new Strangeways album would pick up where WITF left off -- not exactly the same style, but the next step. Really looking forward to it. That dude is too cool... he also gave me his lyric cheat sheet for Helter Skelter that he jammed at MR Fest II with Winger, and signed it to me with a very nice note.

very cool. If you haven't heard his solo album Back to Eden, you must check that out. Basically the same style as Strangeways.

You might find this interesting also. Audience recording (pretty good quality) of his performance at The Gods festival in 2001, which was an earlier version of Firefest. It cuts off in the last song, and is missing the encore of Amazing Grace. Most people said he stole the day. Great set that is partly acoustic and partly electric.
http://www.guitars101.com/forums/f90/te ... 51950.html

[Rip Rokken]

Thanks, and I'll check these out tonight!

[WOLFMAN07]

I agree with Rip Rokken, Terry Brock and Strangeways Rules!!! He has won of the best voices ever. The 2 Strangeways albums he did were one of the best AOR albums of all time. Him and Y&T were the two main groups I wanted to see at MRF2(along with JSS,but that didnt happen). Also check out the albums by the Sign, those were equally great.

[kgdjpubs]

I agree with Rip Rokken, Terry Brock and Strangeways Rules!!! Also check out the albums by the Sign, those were equally great.

well, at least the first one. 2nd one, not so much.