Before you begin to wonder: No, this is not a late-'80s arena rock version of the old Neil Diamond chestnut made so famous by The Monkees. And many thanks to various celestial bodies for that small favor. Actually, this 1989 lead-off track from minor hair metal band Giant's debut album, Last of the Runaways, is an engaging if somewhat standard-issue blend of memorable guitar riffs, backing keyboards and passionate lead vocals from group frontman Dann Huff. "I'm a Believer" may have failed to become anything more than a very modest pop hit (climbing only to No. 54 on Billboard's Hot 100), but it certainly qualifies as a serviceable hard rock number that compares favorably well with the many other mid-tempo rockers coming out of this very saturated genre at the time.
Huff himself is a compelling vocalist and skilled writer of straight-ahead rock tunes, having contributed the highly listenable "One Man, One Heart" to the 1988 Kansas record, In the Spirit of Things, which I listened to quite a bit back in the day. This is earnest stuff, to be sure, and that can be dangerous ground for mainstream rock of the centrist, accessible variety. Nevertheless, Huff & Co. filled the void nicely for fans smarting from the Night Ranger hiatus that had begun so cruelly in 1989. Yeah, I know. That sounds pretty snarky, but I won't even try to claim I don't still have great affection for this stuff. Once a fan of mullet rock, always at least a part-time admirer, I guess.
- Listen to the song and watch the original music video here.
- Top Night Ranger Songs of the '80s
- Top Arena Rock Artists of the '80s
Album Cover Image Courtesy of A&M Records
Comments
Giant and Alias are one and the same pretty much, vocalist is killer! I remember there was a radio program that played such hot hair and hard rock tidbits called Pirate Radio. This song was a staple!