Long Stem Rant was originally released in 1989 and is the fifth reissue from Fire Records. This album, marked a turning point for the band, more improvisational and less structured than previous efforts, it features some of Howe's best songs. For the past 25 years the Tucson-based Giant Sand (originally Giant Sandworms as a nod to the "Dune" books) has been one of the most consistently innovative in the American music scene. A recipe that could perhaps be best described as 1 cup well-executed grunge aesthetic, 1 cup downtown NY, 1 cup troubadour, and a dash of country outlaw. Although its membership has shifted greatly over the years, singer / songwriter (as well as guitarist and pianist) Howe Gelb has remained at the helm to help fill the coffers of what could be called the new American folk song.