I’m so excited about this. I love this song SO MUCH. So, SO much. It’s probably the ultimate rock song for me. I can hear the sharpening of pitchforks as I cower in my corner awaiting the slew of “wHaT aB0uT b0hEMiAn rHaPS0dY” and woe betide anyone who dare approacheth, attempting to sing the praises of Stairway to Heaven, Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing or anything, anything by Biffy Clyro. When I say that Stay is the ultimate rock song, I mean in terms of the ingredients that have gone into it – you can stand down.
When I first discovered this song, I nearly wept over how perfect it is. The introduction? That beat? The sudden mental overhaul from stressed London commuter to fan-blown, leather-trouser-wearing frontman whilst walking down Marylebone Road in the dark? It’s almost too much even from the first few seconds. You just know it’s going to be good when there’s a strut-worthy introduction.
Dann Huff did not need to go that hard. Providing not only a blistering solo but also delivering a vocal performance which is equal parts power, range, rasp. Rounding it off with that high note at the end makes it the singing equivalent of a well-balanced meal.
“Won’t you stay till the end/Don’t walk away tonight.” This melodic line is reinforced by the drums dropping out before the vocals return on the upbeat in the last chorus. It’s the most satisfying part of the song, made more effective because it’s the only time this happens throughout the track. The end of the song builds from there, culminating with the backing vocals, Huffy’s high note, the solo, it’s just sublime.
The video? Dann Huff wearing a hairband that looks like one of those ones you can buy nowadays with the mullet attached? Shot on a beach, with a plot that makes absolutely no sense? Flitting between black and white and colour? The ripped jeans, leather waistcoats, pouty faces? Magnificent.
In all seriousness, Giant really, really do not get enough credit. They just happened to come along right as hair metal was having its face rubbed in the dirt by grunge. Stay is from the band’s second album, Time to Burn. The first, Last of the Runaways (1989), contains similar masterpieces, notably It Takes Two and I’ll See You in My Dreams. Time to Burn also gives us I’ll Be There (When It’s Over), which has, among many of the excellent qualities I’ve also attributed to Stay, a frankly excellent key change. By that, I don’t mean 80s hair metal excellent, I am in fact talking about a genuinely good key change.
There’s no bravado, no stupid outfits, nor does a fog of drugs and chaos suspend itself over the heads of Giant like it did those of the bands rolling, crazed and wild, off the Sunset Strip in the late 80s. Whether or not Giant were melodic rock or hair metal made no difference, as it was all destined to be swallowed by the rise of Pearl Jam and the globalisation of Nirvana. It doesn’t mean it isn’t still a shame that a new decade of music threw out the baby with the bathwater and a band like Giant never stood a chance.