#dann huff

[favemusiclessons]

Dann Huff - Full Instructional Video for Guitar Solo and Recording Studio Experience

Today he's one of the Nashville old-timers.

It was a different story in 1993...

[metalsongoftheday]

Friday, May 5: Megadeth, “Time: The End”

For the all the outrage Metallica and Megadeth generated in the second half of the ‘90s, hindsight has been much more forgiving.  For one thing, both would really embarrass themselves a bit later when they self-consciously aimed to return to heavier sounds.  But more than that, the four albums they recorded during this stretch had their share of hidden gems, with Megadeth’s Risk in particular ripe for rediscovery.  “Time: The End” closed that record with a sense of exploration and jamminess that was somewhat new to the band, and it wasn’t exactly a fleshed out song, but when Jimmy DeGrasso’s drums kicked in everyone went into full flight.  Neither it nor Risk were masterpieces, but Dave Mustaine and Marty Friedman were a great guitar tandem (despite apparently being at odds during the making of the record) and they knew how to lock in even without going into full shred.  “Time: The End” was a moment where the increased rock focus made sense and didn’t feel like a compromise, which of course made it a fitting closer to a confused era.

[rainingmusic]

Michael Jackson - Man In The Mirror

[vinylspinning]

Giant: Last of the Runaways (1989)

Today, Dann Huff is one of country music’s most successful producers, but 30 years ago he was still trying to keep his performing dreams alive as the singer, lead guitarist and de facto leader of melodic rockers Giant, with their debut album Last of the Runaways.

Truly a band out of time, Giant might have sold millions of records during the early ‘80s heyday of album-oriented rock, but the glossy sounds they shared with bands like Foreigner, Journey and Toto, to name but a few, were becoming increasingly unfashionable by 1989.

And as if this state of affairs didn’t pose a big enough challenge, Huff and his fellow “giants” -- brother/drummer David Huff, keyboardist Alan Pasqua and bassist Mike Brignardello -- instantly made their lives harder by proclaiming their Christian faith on first song, “I’m a Believer.”

All we could do was pray for them ...

But seriously, beyond this misstep, Last of the Runaways offered a solid batch of both hard-driving arena anthems (“Innocent Days,” “Stranger to Me,” “Hold Back the Night”) and gorgeous power ballads (“It Takes Two” and “I’ll See You in My Dreams”).

The latter even cracked the Top 20, giving Giant the briefest glimmer of potential stardom, but these guys were never really cut out for MTV or teenage pin-up rags, since all four were former faceless session men, devoid of star quality. 

And while the group’s belated sophomore album, 1992’s Time to Burn, sizzled with excitement from start to finish, Last of the Runaways was rife with mediocrity, including a pair of unnecessarily funky numbers in “I Can’t Get Close to You” and “No Way Out” that veered dangerously close to Loverboy!

All the while, grunge was looming just around the corner and, by 1991, A&M Records had shifted its priorities to Soundgarden, so Giant were just one of many roster casualties, suddenly deemed outdated and dropped with little fuss or circumstance.

Last of the Runaways, indeed ...

More Giant: Time to Burn.

[mychameleondays]

Julian Lennon: Mr. Jordan

Virgin JLLP3

Released: March 27th, 1989

[sarahglamlady]

GIANT

[metalsongoftheday]

Friday, November 1: Megadeth, “Have Cool, Will Travel”

Both Mega-Daves continue to stand by Cryptic Writings, primarily because the record delivered the guys the biggest radio hits of their career.  But Megadeth’s attempts at mainstream hard rock frequently came off as pandering, while the intermittent thrash workouts (primarily “The Disintegrators”) felt forced and a little half-hearted.  It was in the back half of the record where Megadeth found their stride- “She-Wolf” and “Vortex” were solid trad-metal numbers that also happened to be radio-friendly, “FFF” was a ripping thrasher, and “Have Cool, Will Travel” was an enjoyable dark horse that would’ve fit comfortably on Countdown to Extinction or Youthanasia.  That latter track was the sort of eccentric tune that Dave Mustaine occasionally popped out to show his versatility, or maybe just because he was bored and needed to change things up a bit: the harmonicas came out of nowhere, Mustaine’s whining alternately exhibited annoyance, confusion and bemusement, and Nick Menza’s drumming both eased up on the gas and nearly beat everyone into submission.  The pro-gun control message was in line with “99 Ways to Die”, though apparently firmly at odds with where Mustaine’s politics would soon take him, but in any event, “Have Cool, Will Travel” was more entertaining than one might’ve expected from Megadeth, even during their commercial phase.

[rainingmusic]

Paula Abdul - Forever Your Girl