Mad Season - Above

[Thenop]

Mad Season – Above

Grunge – what was it exactly? Is it still alive? Is Pearl Jam a grunge band?
Well, to start with the latter: No. PJ is a classic rock band that was favoured by the tide in the early '90s and propelled into stardom with a fantastic debut, since then never bettered. I get why they are labelled as such though: the flannel shirts, the (somewhat) tormented lyrics, the more than average serious looks on the band photos...but they are no more grunge than its predecessor Mother Love Bone was. MLB, btw, I'll probably get to another time, because that deserves a thread of its own. Or even Temple of the Dog, the requiem for Andrew Wood, lead singer and influencer Avant la lettre for the entire movement, in more ways than one. Later, later...

Now then, what is grunge exactly? Simply put, it is the punk of hair metal. It is the polar opposite of bands that looked better than your girlfriend – which is a reason for Soundgarden not be grunge, I mean, look at Chris Cornell. Not just beast of a singer, he had male model written all over him.
No, prime examples of grunge would be bands such as Screaming Trees, Mudhoney and of course: Nirvana. Citing Neil Young as their Overlord they would go out of their way to sound as if they were angry and apologizing for doing at it so loudly at the same time. Anti-establishment to the bone while (unwanted?) raking in the almighty Dollar.
Now, is it still alive? Of course not, trends come & dissipate easily. That's not to say there are no bands in the genre left. There's still punk bands, but is their there still a punk phenomenon going on? As soon as the Nirvana shirts ended up on the summer markets, the fashion magazines showed models in flannel shirts and cut-off jeans, it was over. Not an issue though, it left room for the bands and musicians that did not board the hype train, to develop and move on.

So, what is this Mad Season then? Looking at the names of the people involved, it looks to be somewhat of a supergroup, a term easily coined if one or two of the involved are part of more successful outfits. Standout names being Mike McCready of Pearl Jam fame and Layne Staley, the Alice in Chains vocalist. To a lesser extent Barrett Martinn, drummer for Screaming Trees and at the bottom of the foodchain, John Baker Saunders of the less successful outfit The Walkabouts on bass. The story goes some of these members were in a rehab facility at the time, tried their hand at turning their life around and, being musicians, thought this would be the best therapy. Lucky us, however it would be difficult to find any of that in the lyrics, which you'd expect to be more upbeat. Alas, Staley was the Neil Peart of service and well..Staley was not one for rehab.
The album cover has always looked to me as an interpretation of a famous Bela Lugosi image, my very favourite Dracula portrayer on screen. It wasn't, of course, intended as such. It's my imagination getting the better of me. But still, the dark imagery is a prelude to what is on the inside: the music.

Now, this is 1995 and the 'grunge' has turned bands into megastars. Cobain left the building a year before and has left the Seattle scene in turmoil. What had turned 100% mainstream with the "Singles" movie and accompanying soundtrack, is slowly leaving the silver screen now that company execs have lined their pockets and turn their gaze to the new flavour of the month/year. The last left standing can support themselves well enough to not need attention and do what they want.
It is in this climate that the fourpiece record and release an album of tunes meant for healing - or exploring. No matter how you look at it, it was meant to be a one-off, even if they thought they might make a follow up after Staley's death enlisting Mark Lanegan of Screaming Trees fame.
(Later re-issues are expanded upon this 10 track collection with bonus tracks some of which were recorded with Lanegan – the band discontinued after Sanders' death from an overdose in '99).

The album opens with "Wake Up", a slow, brooding tune that feels like something designed for late night listening. The lyrics, notably, are all penned by Staley – a first for the vocalist now come songwriter, AiC was more of a team effort with Jerry Cantrell being main contributor. It has been documented Staley was reading Khahlil's "the Prophet" at the time and his writing would be thematically influenced by this. But when I hear him croon:
Wake up, young man, it's time to wake up
Your love affair has got to go
For ten long years
For ten long years, the leaves to rake up
Slow suicide's no way to go
I hear a man tormented, near desperate to leave a life he cannot escape from. Staley's next year appearance on MTV Unplugged with AiC would be one of his last public performances and he looks as fragile as porcelain, near translucent.

Single "River of Deceipt", the most accessible track on here builds up like a cross between Mother Love Bone and Pearl Jam, deals with a similar theme:
My pain is self-chosen
At least, so the prophet says
I could either burn
Or cut off my pride and buy some time
A head full of lies is the weight tied to my waist
The gorgeous use of a 12 string, (Jimmy Page Stairway to Heaven) guitar gives the music an openness often heard in Pearl Jam songs. McCready feels to be the songwriter for the majority of the music, making the album somewhat of a must have for fans of his daytime job. While rooted in the Seattle scene 'sound' the album has a very distinct feel to it. It is mellow and rarely the band shifts a gear up.
When Staley croons "ooh-ooh" in 'Artificial Red' over a blues tinged beat and spouts
Is this the way I spend my days In recovery of a fatal disease?
he sounds like he has accepted his coming death.
The Staley of AiC, in full force can be heard on 'Lifeless Dead', one of the shorter tracks that sounds as if to portray the bleak existence of Staley and his mates while drug dependent.
'Long Gone Day', low key lauded with percussion and saxophone sounds like an ill-conceived campfire song. But in a good way, with eyes closed I feel the night vibe creeping up on me, sharing a bottle with friends at the end of a long day. It is not surprising the first sang verse features Mark Lanegan, at this point his voice less sounding like a gravel road, the chorus featuring both him and Staley, complementing voices, after which Staley takes it home in what seems a perfect vocal performance. Meanwhile McCready plucks away at the acoustic accompanied by an upright bass, gorgeously sliding over and under the music. A highlight of the album.
The fiercest track on here is the instrumental Soundgarden influenced seven plus minute 'November Hotel'. It takes a good minute or 2 and a couple gong bashes to get going but when the drums really kick in with heavy laden tom fills, the guitar registers open and it feels like a steamroller is moving through a dark desert road paving the way, relentless and decisive it is driven forward. McCready has a clear path to pull out his best wah-wah geared antics and channels his inner Eddie Hazel.
Closer 'All Alone' is as if the band turns the lamp down low, the light is fading and the darkness that was so prevalent on the album now finally sets foot in the door. A quiet closer, suiting and maybe unknowingly protesting the hair metal days of yonder even – they would leave you with a good kick in the behind to boost the adrenalin.

What we are left with here is an album for the ages, it is a recovery album for some (McCready, Martin), a step out in to the open for others (Staley) and a career highlight (albeit short lived) for yet one more (Baker Saunders).

The band would go on and play some shows of which a live video and album was culled (the entire show was added also to subsequent re-releases of Above' shuffling the track order somewhat and adding John Lennon's 'I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier' to the fold) that is worth finding, it is a great show and shows the power of a band at its peak. Shame that it had to be so short lived.

Staley's demise – well documented – would go on another 7 years after this and the inevitable happened. McCready meanwhile cleaned himself up and continued to be successful with Pearl Jam.

[Slim]

I really like that Mother Love Bone album, bought it about five years ago. Holy Roller especially.

I was fortunate enough to see AiC on the Dirt tour at Nottingham Rock City. Definitely the most powerful singer I've ever seen, Rain When I Die was astonishing live. I'd put Graham Bonnet at #2 and it's a long way down to third place, whoever that is.

[pdw1]

The Mad Season album is incredible, absolutely mind blowingly brilliant.
Nice write up.

[captainkurtz]

It's a brilliant record but I find it difficult to listen to, it's just so..not depressing...but it makes me feel...sad.

I too saw Layne - front row centre supporting megadeth in 1991.  2 things of i remember - Layne screaming into the microphone whilst spending practically the whole gig on his haunches.  He looked in pain.  The other thing was Jerry's tone.  My god, completely face melting.

[Thenop]