Giant's 'Stand and Deliver' - Album Review

When I reviewed the fifth album by the American AOR act Giant, Shifting Time (which can be read here), the piece became something of a rant directed at the Italian-based record label Frontiers Records. My CD collection includes a lot of releases from the label, so they have done a lot of good, but they have also been responsible for some of the blandest and thrown-together AOR and melodic rock in recent years - with seemingly endless albums coming out from any number of faceless and samey studio projects, which generally seemed purely vehicles for the songs that the label's in-house producers/songwriters did not want to use for their own bands. The odd gem has come out, and some of the 'supergroups' are worth the time, as I pointed out when I reviewed W.E.T.'s latest effort Apex (which can be read here), but a lot of it is subpar and could have honestly come from the same sessions. The label has done lots of great work with older bands, and it may have been that we would not have had newer albums from Whitesnake, Toto, and Blue Öyster Cult with out them, and just yesterday I watched the newly released Celebrating 50 Years: Live at the Ryman from Lynyrd Skynyrd which I really enjoyed. They have also been known, though, to trade in older bands with questionable line-ups - one of which over the years has been Giant. In fairness, the band's third album III, which featured a trio of original members including vocalist and guitarist Dann Huff, was a Frontiers product - but when Dann did not want to continue Giant, given his extremely comfortable current gig as a Nashville session musician, Frontiers kept the name alive with Dann's drummer bother David Huff, bassist Mike Brignardello, and what has become a rotating cast of singers and guitarists. No disrespect to Brignardello or David, who both made songwriting contributions to the band's classic albums, but neither were the driving force behind the band. That was always Dann, with keyboard player Alan Pasqua not far behind, so a Giant without either seemed somewhat pointless. 2010's Promise Land was not bad, though, with Dann still being involved as a songwriter and a guitar player on a number of songs - giving the album some credibility. Shifting Time, though, felt weak by comparison. Dann's contribution this time was a single guitar solo - and the album was largely just put together by current singer Kent Hilli, whom I like due his work with Perfect Plan, and former Frontiers go-to man Alessandro Del Vecchio. It did not feel like Giant to me - and it was essentially just another cookie-cutter Fontiers/Del Vecchio AOR release which had a few decent songs but no real identity. Three years have passed, though, and the band have tried again with sixth album Stand and Deliver - this time with new guitarist Jimmy Westerlund (One Desire) in place of John Roth. Dann does not appear on the album, but did contribute three songs, which I assume were old songs he never used based on the songwriting partners, and something just feels a bit stronger about this one. Westerlund's songwriting, guitar style, and tone is closer in spirit to Dann's, compared to Roth's anyway, and the songs feel a bit more 'Giant' - rather than just generic Frontiers fodder.

Funnily enough, Dann's songs are not the strongest cuts here - but their inclusion nevertheless helps the album feel a bit more authentic and in the vein of Promise Land. Hilli's delivery and Del Vecchio's keyboard approach also feel closer in spirit to classic Giant, too, and the first half of the album in particular is quite strong. It's Not Right opens the album with a pulsing keyboard melody, over which Westerlund soon lays down a hooky guitar lead - and the trademark Giant sound is immediately more audible than it was on the last album. I think it manifests more strongly on other songs, but there are shades of it here - and the mix of clean guitar melodies and chugging rhythms during the verses, whilst occasional synth flourishes and guitar leads dance around, allow for an involved sound. Hilli still manages to make himself heard over this mix of sounds - and he sounds great as always. He is perhaps one of the best modern AOR singers - and his performance on the last album was still good despite my overall views on it. The strong chorus is perhaps more Perfect Plan than Giant, which is not a massive surprise, but the mid-paced vocal hooks are still very memorable - and Westerlund's later screaming guitar solo is packed full of late 1980s goodness. The following two songs are perhaps the album's strongest cuts in my opinion - with the first of the two A Night to Remember really managing to channel the classic Giant sound in a big way. Westerlund is just a much better fit for this band than Roth ever was - and his songwriting contributions are likely one of the big reasons I find this latest album more enjoyable. Like the last song, this track is filled with screaming guitar leads - and the keyboard textures are much classier, too. Pasqua was always more of a jazz player, so generic AOR keyboards are really not needed when it comes to recreating the Giant sound. The subtler approach taken here, despite a few hooky melodies, is another big improvement. There just seems to be more of a balance in favour of the guitars this time, which was always what Giant were about. Again, this is down to Westerlund - and there is plenty of crunch throughout the track despite the smoothness that would be expected from a big AOR anthem. Hilli again delivers, and the chorus is one of the album's best. It picks up the pace somewhat compared to the rest of the song - and it really sticks in the brain after a couple of listens thanks to Hilli's strong melodies and the power of the rest of the band.

Hold the Night might be my favourite piece here overall, though, and it really has a strong Giant vibe. The opening shuffling, bluesy guitar melody is very much out of Dann's playbook - whilst the smooth bed of keyboards and Hilli's warm vocals that soon join in really hark back to those early Giant albums. Like many great AOR songs, the track tends to build slowly - with more low key verses building towards a bigger and more explosive chorus. What a chorus it is, too. There are a number of strong ones on this album but the chorus here really roars out of the speakers - with the smoothness and overall husky nature it goes for really channelling that classic Giant sound. Westerlund's guitar solo is excellent, too. It starts off slowly, with the band dropping the main groove somewhat - before he starts to shred in a high-octane yet melodic manner. Dense keyboards and plentiful backing vocals throughout help - but really this is a track that just does the basics right, and those closing guitar coda is also excellent. I Will Believe opens with some busy, laid back guitar playing - but once Hilli starts to sing this largely fades away, with a bed of keyboards instead backing him. Occasional guitar leads add colour, but the verses here are very much vocal-focused. It really seems as if the song is going to be a ballad at this point, and Hilli's delivery much backs this up, but once the chorus is reached the band kick back in in a big way and another feast of melodies is thrown at listener. It is a strident chorus, with tough power chords and the occasional screaming guitar lead - but the star here is Hilli who really showcases his vocal talents throughout the piece. The slower and heavier moments allow him to show different sides of his vocal style - whilst Westerlund is generally a bit more restrained here despite him still deploying a strong solo. Beggars Can't Be Choosers immediately rocks things up following the more dynamic previous song - with the pacy piece being a shuffling, bluesy rocker that creates plenty of energy from the off which is never let up as things progress. Westerlund's main riff does have some of Dann's style once again, and it sounds like a more high-octane version of Hold the Night's opening riff - but there is also a strong keyboard presence throughout. The bluesy guitar and the shuffle of the rhythm section does form the main basis for the song - but some pulsing synths early on help to provide some AOR flavour to what is more of a hard rocker overall, and some subtle organ playing later on also adds some grit. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there is another strong guitar solo here, too, with Westerlund channelling much more of a bluesy sound this time around to fit in with the song's overall vibe.

Following five generally harder rocking pieces, despite some slower moments, It Ain't Over Till It's Over is the album's first ballad - and it is a very typical 1980s style example. Opening with Del Vecchio's piano and Hilli's heartfelt vocals, the piece is a bit of a slow-burner - but, unsurprisingly, it builds towards its chorus. The chorus is a bit more explosive than the rest of the song, but it still maintains its strong power ballad vibe. Guitar crunch adds more to the chorus, and occasional acoustic guitar leads are utilised elsewhere, but generally this is more of a keyboard-led piece - with piano playing and some dense synth work creating a strong basis for Hilli's powerful vocals and the rest of the band. Westerlund uses his acoustic guitar for the solo, too, which is something a bit different - although as the song closes out he returns to his electric guitar for a great run of notes. The title track follows, and the crunching mid-paced rocker returns to something more typical of the album following the big ballad. The opening riff is powerful and pretty strident - but the bluesiness which often fills songs of this nature is not really present this time. The riffing is just strident hard rock in style - whilst the lead guitar moments are shredded and upbeat. As such, it stands apart from songs like Beggars Can't Be Choosers thanks to this more stadium-ready sound - but it is another song which I think actually channels the classic Giant sound quite nicely. The chorus in particular could have sat on one of those first two Giant albums and not feel out of place - whilst the overall strut and groove could have come from Dann himself. Time to Call It Love is the first of Dann's three songs - and this one was co-written by the late Mark Spiro as so many Giant classics were. I like the song, but I actually think that some of the other songs here are more classic Giant in spirit than this one. I have a feeling that all three of the songs Dann contributed to the album are old ones, so perhaps there were reasons they were never recorded previously, but this track is an enjoyable, mid-paced pop rocker. The problem I have with it, though, is that is does not really jump out. There is no big main riff or especially powerful vocal hook which really latches on. It is one of those slightly chugging mid-paced AOR tracks of which many exist - with limited riffing or driving musical motifs. Westerlund's solo is good as always, though, and some of the chorus hooks are decent - but compared to some of the best cuts here it feels a bit bland.

Holdin' on for Dear Life, co-written by the late Van Stephenson, another regular collaborator, is a bit more like it. It is a more energetic piece for starters, opening with a busy and enjoyable main riff, and it is a track which has grown on me quite a lot since I first heard it. Del Vecchio mixes organ and synth work throughout to back Westerlund's big guitar riffing and rhythms - but perhaps the star again here is Hilli. There are some strong grooves here that he really makes the most of with his vocal melodies - and the chorus is one of those which shifts up the tone somewhat part way through in a surprising and pleasing manner. It is a memorable song, then, with a powerful chorus and plenty of energy. Dann's last song here, also co-written by Stephenson, is Paradise Found - a smouldering ballad which is very reminiscent of the band's early work. Plentiful keyboards, a slow-burning beat, and ringing clean guitars create the core of the song's sound - but as is often the case with Giant there remains some crunch here. Westerlund's guitar rhythms add depth and a slight toughness, even if the keyboards and clean guitars tend to dominate, and the occasional guitar leads inject a lot, too. As is often the case with ballads, though, this is a singer's piece - and Hilli delivers the lyrics in his great, emotional style. The chorus in particular really oozes emotion - the smouldering nature of the musical backing and Hilli's voice joining together nicely creates something powerful. The album then comes to a close with Pleasure Dome - which opens with lots of synth work, before Westerlund takes over by adding some cinematic guitar leads. The song takes a while to open up, then, with this atmospheric intro taking a while to subside - but soon the rest of the band kick in and the track becomes another pretty hard-hitting mid-paced rocker. A main guitar riff recalls some of those bluesy moments from earlier in the album - and busy guitar playing largely remains a feature of the song throughout, with snaking grooves backing the verses to allow a powerful vocal performance to follow. Given the song's intro, though, the song does remain somewhat cinematic in places. It feels a bit bigger overall than many of the other similar tracks on the album - with the chorus in particular retaining some of that sound. Hilli's vocal melodies during the chorus really soar. They are not snappy as they are elsewhere - with big, drawn-out notes providing the main hooks which works well given that the song is an album closer. The lengthy guitar solo has a similar vibe, too, with a good mix of styles showcases throughout - but Westerlund largely focuses on longer, sustained notes rather than big shredding. The album ends on a high note, then, and overall Stand and Deliver may well be the strongest Giant album since Dann left the band. It actually channels the classic Giant sound at times and it is head and shoulders above the last one in my opinion - which could have been by anyone on Frontiers. Westerlund is the main difference. His guitar playing takes on Dann's classic style which helps to ensure those similarities remain - and I have ended up enjoying this album a lot more than I thought I would due to his efforts.

The album was released on May 16th 2025 via Frontiers Records. Below is the band's promotional lyric video for Hold the Night.