Giant

Origin: Nashville, Tennessee (USA)

GIANT

Dann Huff - David Huff - Alan Pasqua - Mike Brignardello

Discography:

Last of the runaways - 1989 (with lyrics)

Time to burn - 1992 (with lyrics)

Notes:

- Giant is an American melodic hard rock band that was formed in 1987. The band consisted of founding members Dann Huff (lead vocals & guitar) and Alan Pasqua (keyboard), and had Dann's brother David Huff on drums and Mike Brignardello on bass. The Huff brothers were part of the founding members of the Christian rock band White Heart.

The band scored one hit, the 1990 power ballad "I'll See You In My Dreams", written by Alan Pasqua and Mark Spiro.

Giant disbanded in the early 90s after recording two albums, but resurfaced in 2000 minus Alan Pasqua and released the album III in late 2001.

In December 2009, it was announced by Frontiers Records that they will be releasing Giant's latest album Promise Land in 2010. Writing for the album started in April 2009 and will include Terry Brock (Strangeways, Seventh Key) on lead vocals and John Roth (Winger) on guitars. Dann Huff will not be a part of the band due to his busy schedule but has co-written seven songs and guested on guitar on two. The release dates were February 26, 2010 for Europe and March 9, 2010 for the US. -

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_(band))

- After recording two unsuccessful albums with the Christian rock group White Heart during the early '80s, guitarist/vocalist Dann Huff found refuge in session work, eventually becoming one of the most requested, reliable, and versatile players in the business. But after years backing everyone from Michael Jackson to Amy Grant, Huff decided to give it one more go fronting his own band, forming Giant with his brother David on drums, Alan Pasqua on keyboards, and Mike Brignardello on bass. They eventually signed with A&M Records and released 1989's Last of the Runaways, which featured a melodic hard rock sound and yielded a Top 20 hit with "I'll See You in My Dreams." Record sales were sluggish however, and the band found themselves on a new label, Epic, for 1991's Time to Burn. Slightly more aggressive than its predecessor, the album still failed to advance their career, and the band soon dissolved. Dan Huff eventually returned to session work, appearing on albums by Shania Twain and Michael W. Smith while also producing several records for metal giants Megadeth. -

(http://www.allmusic.com/artist/giant-mn0000948080/biography)

- Originating from Nashville, USA, Giant developed in the mid-80s when seasoned session guitarist Dann Huff (15 November 1960, Nashville, Tennessee, USA) met with keyboard player Alan Pasqua on various projects, notably Whitesnake’s 1987 album. However, it was not until 1988 that Giant evolved into a fully fledged unit, with Huff’s younger brother, David, joining as drummer and Mike Brignardello on bass (the Huff brothers had formerly been in partnership as part of Christian rockers White Heart). By this time, Dann Huff had taken on lead vocal duties after an unsuccessful search for a suitable singer. Candidates for the job had included the highly successful songwriter and backing vocalist, Tom Kelly. Giant signed to A&M Records in 1988 and released their debut album, Last Of The Runaways, in the USA in 1989, a potent brew of hard rock, strong on melody and presentation. It included the Top 10 hit single, ‘I’ll See You In My Dreams’. The success of the album and single in the USA and impressive sales on import in the UK prompted A&M to give Last Of The Runaways a European release in 1990, to a moderate degree of success. This was followed by a series of highly acclaimed club dates around the UK. In 1991, Huff, Pasque and Brignardello played together on Amy Grant’s Heart In Motion, and prepared material for a new album. However, Time To Burn did not feature Pasqua, and though it was again critically lauded, soon after its release Epic, to whom Giant had transferred, dropped the band. -

(http://www.oldies.com/artist-biography/Giant.html)

- GIANT was one of the few really good bands that emerged from the music scene of the late 80s and early 90s that seemed to know how to write and to perform, and in my opinion, should have received more notoriety than they did. “Session supergroup” Giant was formed in 1987, consisted by singer/guitarist Dann Huff (White Heart, Peter Cetera, Lou Gramm, etc.), his brother David (White Heart, Ron Collins, David and the Giants, etc.) on drums, bassist Mike Brignardello (Van Zant, Mitch Malloy) and Alan Pasqua (Eddie Money, Van Stephenson, Rick Springfield, Stan Bush, etc.) on keyboards.

“Last Of the Runaways” was the debut that captured the intensity of Dann Huff’s tremendous voice and his impressive songwriting. This debut album brought back the polished arena rock of the late 70s early 80s, and was a nice alternative when at the time the rock scene was dominated mostly by glam metal. Every song on this album is totally listenable, if that’s even a word. The music is so well balanced between vocals and instruments that you can actually enjoy the singing without being bowled over by overly dramatic instrumentation. These session guys combining elements of the wildly popular hair metal sound with a more accessible pop edge while the album is amongst the best produced of the 80s hard rock.

Dann Huff’s guitar playing is superb and Alan Pasqua’s keyboards are subtle and melodic, while the rhythm section is tight and powerful. “I’ll See You in my Dreams” was the biggest hit, simply sensational and full of true and strong emotions, written by Alan Pasqua and Mark Spiro, but there are many gems here like the upbeat opener “I’m a Believer”, that made me fall in love with this album. Just listen to the opening guitar solo and you’ll understand what I mean. A surefire opener, along with the catchy anthem “Shake Me Up”, the Huff’s brothers blows a sweeping rhythm like an incoming hurricane ready to wreck everything. The mid tempo “It Takes Two” and the power ballad “Love Welcome Home” are a huge contender to the hit, a slow tempo predictable ballads but contained a heartfelt humming that’s hard to resist. “Innocent Days” is a killer track that is the best on the album and when you think you’re already listening to the main hook, the song unexpectedly reaches yet another level. Things really get going again with the brilliant moody rocker “Stranger to Me” having a brooding solo that absolutely smokes while on “Hold Back the Night” the guitar playing is fabulous, a massive stadium rocker with a hook laden chorus that should have scored a high chart position. Things slow down a little with the moody “I Can’t Get Close Enough”, while on “No Way Out” there’s a bluesy and funky style having great groove. The last track “The Big Pitch” is another party rocker featuring a catchy chorus and bumpy solos and a great way to end the album.

Songs like these never die and as music changes through the years, songs like these only get better and better when we look back on them. Last of the Runaways is one of the all time great melodic rock albums and anyone interested in AOR/melodic rock must add this album to their collection. -

(http://melodic-hardrock.com/reviews/giant-last-of-the-1989/)