Mudhoney ~ My Brother The Cow (album review) ... Sloppiness is the key ingredient of grunge!

Style: grunge
Label: Rprise
Year: 1995
Home: Seattle, Washington

Members: Mark Arm ~ guitar/vocals
Matt Lukin ~ bass
Steve Turner ~ guitar
Dan Peters ~ drums/marimba

Additional: E.J. Renestair ~ sax
Jon Wahl ~ harmonica

For some of us grunge didn't start with Nirvana & Pearl Jam, though it certainly may have ended with the former's demise. While the musical differences between the two bands should make most wonder if there is an actual grunge sound that has something to do with more than just living in Seattle. There is, though its a slippery descriptive slope, & it was put into place not by these big guns but by some lesser bands that came earlier & didn't have any real mainstream international success until Nirvana made it big. Thus, those that are the flame holders might end up looking like the weaker imitators, particularly as some of their more popular albums came at the end of grunge though they'd been around longer. While once Nirvana broke through many of these little bands were already moving into new territories, or had broken up or were about to but hung on enough to ride the wave, in the end making the definition of grunge that much more difficult to understand. For such an elusive style there's so many faces & phases to the musical timeline, not to mention the non-Seattle based post-grunge movement. One of these little forefather bands, that deserves more credit than are given by some post-grunge factions who don't see the big picture of how grunge really started, is Mudhoney. They didn't invent grunge, if it was invented at all, but their music was an early influence & their album Superfuzz Bigmuff Plus Early Singles is considered the grunge shot heard around the world that paved the way for Nirvana's machine gun fire. Though, their later release My Brother The Cow is usually considered their best album, though ironically it was recorded after grunge was fading & after they'd taken a break from the style to go in other directions for awhile. But, be warned, if Nirvana & Pearl are your sole definition of grunge Mudhoney may not be for your tastes, though it's your loss. They are noisy where Nirvana was moody, punk where Pearl Jam was classic rock, let alone sloppy where Pearl Jam or Soundgarden were technically tight. What is here, outside of the heavily fuzzed drooling guitars is a lot of attitude, so if your definition of grunge is attitude then you'll enjoy this mudslide. It's the opposite of the rock swagger that ruled the charts for the previous decade. It's out of control into almost sloppiness while across the country other kids were leaning how to keep their Satriani chops fast & complicated. Essentially, that sloppiness is what grunge is all about. It's an attitude adjustment from what ruled the charts, but with more of a rock flavor than punk. Actually, punk is not that bad of a comparison as much of the album is reminiscent of the Stooges both in sound & feeling. "1995" even is homage to the song "1969" by the Stooges & includes a reference to the other Stooges song "L.A. Blues." Lyrically the album takes the same anti-social stance, but it doesn't hold back. This is an album of misery, selfishness, pain, social woes, crooked people including record labels & doctors, religion. It's an album that's a lyrical shotgun going around taking aim at all these targets in society. The lyrics drive the album, not the music. Highlight tracks include: "Judgment, Rage, Retribution & Thyme", "What Moves The Heart", "Today Is A Good Day", "Into Yer Shtik", "(F.D.K.) Fearless Doctor Killer" & "Crankcase Blues." Of note is the CD version which has a hidden thirteenth track which consists of all of the album's preceding tracks played backwards. That's the way to do it. If you're unsure about whether to check out Mudhoney or not pick up the superb soundtrack to the movie Singles to which they contribute a track. If you like that you'll like the rest of their stuff.

Green River ~ Rehab Doll (album review) ... Do what the doctor orders!

Style: hard rock
Label: Sub Pop
Year: 1988
Home: Seattle

Members: Mark Arm ~ vocals
Stone Gossard ~ guitars/b. vocals
Bruce Fairweather ~ guitars
Alex Vincent ~ drums
Jeff Ament ~ bass/b. vocals
Stone Gossard ~ guitar

Additional: Bruce Calder, Sharka Stern ~ b. vocals

GR needs no explanation for those familiar with grunge history. Active for only 4 years in the late 80's they had little impact outside of the region, even with a brief national tour, but in the long term would have an unexpected legacy. There was no grunge movement when they formed, but their debut Come On Down in hindsight would be called the first release by a grunge band as they shortly pre-date their grunge forefather peers the U-Men, Melvins, Skin Yard & Soundgarden & the release of Sub Pop's groundbreaking Deep Six compilation that would overnight turn a city into a musical movement. Thus, musically GR is there at the fore. Further, their second EP was the first non-compilation released by Sub Pop. But, its hard to say whether musically GR had an impact through their own music or the music that came after. Meaning, the band was fronted by vocalist Mark Arm & included guitarists Steve Turner, Stone Gossard, drummer Alex Vincent & bassist Jeff Ament. Bruce Fairweather would replace Turner on guitar. Here everything should make sense. Arm & Turner formed Mudhoney. Ament & Gossard formed Mother Love Bone, later Temple Of the Dog & Pearl Jam. Fairweather joined Malfunkshun with future Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood & later would be in Love Battery. Sans Nirvana no further explanation is needed on how GR have influenced grunge. Only Vincent would leave music, except for some GR reunions, moving to Japan & later get into politics. Rehab Doll is GR's third & final album. In-fighting over the direction the band should go caused Ament, Gossard & Fairweather to say goodbye. The group stuck together only long enough to finish recording, gone by the time it hit the shelves. But, the big question - is this grunge? If you define grunge by any of the above heavy-hitters then this may take you as a shock. "Forever Means" & the worth hearing title track have riffs that sound more comfortable in much of the rough & tumble hard rock that was on the scene. If you've ever thought Pearl Jam had a classic rock tinge, listen to GR & you'll hear that even more so, mixed with a bit of Sonic Youth & Iggy Pop. If there's anything that screams grunge its primarily on the shoulders of frontman Arm who really gives the music its personality. His vocals go from high & low, I almost think of Jim Morrison or Jizzy Pearl of L.A. Guns in that way of using his full range, if not sometimes twist off into faux-hair metal turns while crying out anything but cliched lyrics. It's less about a structured melody & more loose, wavering & almost experimental at times. Actually, the music feels too structured at times for where he seems to want to go. For those that know Mudhoney, no further explanation is needed, though musically this is far more hard rock & less Sonic Youth than Mudhoney, but the musical similarities are profound. Though, poor production that keeps Arm too low in the mix & not jumping out like he should. It's Arm that also gives a large psychedelic bend to the album as musically its not as experimental as one might think considering its an early grunge band. This is the other side of grunge. The dirty rock side. The step between the mainstream rock & Sonic Youth colliding underground scene & what would become known as grunge. Collectors will obviously want to find GR's debut. While this album is often said to not be the pure sound of GR, but GR with a harder edge. But, consider it was under this album's shadow that Mudhoney & Mother Love Bone were created, not the music of 4 years earlier. So, is it worth hearing? Certainly, but if you're not a Mudhoney fan you may not enjoy it as much as you may want to as Arm dominates the affair musically. While you won't find the twin guitar work of Pearl Jam or the glam of Mother Love Bone. If you're not familiar with Mudhoney ... check out the Singles Motion Picture Soundtrack & you'll get a pretty good taste. There's a few tracks here that don't verge that much farther, just without the heavy distortion. GR reunited in 1993, 2008 & 2009 for a handful of shows. The standout twisted single "Swallow My Pride" comes from their debut EP, while "Together We'll Never" was released earlier as a single. Cassette version includes Bowie's "Queen Bitch".

Singles Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (comp) (album review) ... The soundtrack to end all soundtracks!

Style: grunge, hard rock
Label: Epic
Year: 1992
Home: Seattle, Minneapolis, Chicago


Includes following bands: Alice In Chains

Pearl Jam

Chris Cornell

Soundgarden

The Lovemongers

Mother Love Bone

Mudhoney

Jimi Hendrix Experience

Screaming Trees

Paul Westerberg

Smashing Pumpkins

Grunge is one of the more mysterious musical movements, united by geography not sound. At least when one talks L.A. everyone thinks big hair & glam, while San Francisco brings up images of 60's flower power, New Jersey is synonymous with Springsteen, with New York conjuring up ... well, that's always been questionable outside of the Velvet Underground. When grunge first came to national attention it was via the breakthrough overnight success of Nirvana & Pearl Jam that sound nothing alike let alone other bands in the area. Let alone the Seattle music scene was doing quite well before grunge with the label actually being a mis-representation of the diversity of bands playing there, even the bands labeled as grunge. If anything is grunge it might be Mudhoney & the Screaming Trees with Mother Love Bone being the glam side, if one is limited to nationally known bands. But, what it is or is not put Seattle on the map forever. So, to then make a movie about life in the city, even though it's just another city but with a little more rain & some mountains & lots of coffee, is a bit of an odd thing. Okay, so many residents are known for being laid back poets & artists, but that's not enough to make a movie out of. Though, when it comes to music soundtracks based around a mysterious musical genre that for all intensive purposes was around before it became known & died when Nirvana did, this is one of the best rock/metal soundtracks one could ask for. Actually, if it wasn't for the soundtrack the weakness of the movie would be much more apparent. It's much like Eddie & The Cruisers in this respect. Further, this is probably one of the few compilations where every song is outstanding with no weak links. It has a stellar line-up & thus no excuses: Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam, Chris Chornell solo & with Soungarden, The Lovemongers featuring Ann & Nancy Wilson of Heart, Mother Love Bone, Mudhoney, Jimi Hendrix, Screaming Trees, Paul Westerberg of the Replacements & the Smashing Pumpkins, though the last two are from Minneapolis & Chicago respectively but work incredibly well in the mix let alone ending the album perfectly with the distorted "Drown" by the Pumpkins. With both well known songs & some more obscure ones this very well could be a photograph of 90's Seattle. All it's missing is Nirvana ... surprisingly ... and some lesser known bands. Though, except for Hendrix and Mother Love Bone all the bands were making music at the time Singles was released in theaters with a few bands actually finding a big career boost afterwards. The highlights are many, which is why the album is one of the best selling of soundtracks of the 90's, let alone helped solidify the grunge movement. Highlights include Chris Cornell's haunting acoustic ballad "Seasons" which shows what a great singer he is, the Lovemonger's acoustic take on Led Zeppelin's "Battle Of Evermore" that couldn't even be eclipsed by the future Page/Plant reunion, the under-rated Hendrix gem "May This Be Love" from Are You Experienced, along with songs that would become hits for Mother Love Bone ("Crown Of Thorns"), Pearl Jam ("Breathe", "State Of Love & Trust"), Screaming Trees ("Nearly Lost You") & Alice In Chains ("Would?"). Paul Westerberg's material ("Dyslexic Heart," "Waiting For Somebody") is probably the lightest stuff on the album, being his first solo material & still sounding very Replacements-esque, but it also lends a comic balance to the heavy handedness of Soundgarden ("Birth Ritual") & raw distortions of underdogs Mudhoney ("Overblown"). This is one of those rare compilations where the range of styles paints a complete picture not a broken one of mis-matched music. This will get repeated listens where not a single track will want to be missed.