Formed in 1994 by drummer Barrett Martin (The Screaming Trees, Queens of the Stone Age), guitarist Mike McCready (Pearl Jam) and bassist John Baker Saunders (The Walkabouts). Layne Staley (Alice In Chains) was brought in to sing, and the band was complete. Calling themselves The Gacy Bunch, the band started doing gigs around Seattle.
They soon changed their name to Mad Season (after the time of year 'shrooms are in bloom) and released their only album, 1995's Above. It received a measly two and half stars (out of five) in Rolling Stone. But then again, when did Rolling Stone ever know what the hell they were talking about? Above went gold after only three months. A great home video, Live At The Moore Theatre, was released the same year, and the singles River Of Deceit and I Don't Know Anything did well on the rock charts.
By 1997, Staley's drug addiction was getting out of hand and he chose to leave Mad Season. Mark Lanegan (who had done a guest appearance on Above) was recruited as the new singer and the band changed its name to Disinformation. Material was written, but the members' busy schedules meant an album never came to fruition. When John Baker Saunders died of a heroin overdose in 1998, Disinformation was permanently shelved.
Layne Staley's death in April of 2002 disintegrated all hopes for a Mad Season reunion. In an interview with Close-Up Magazine in 2002 (issue #55), McCready told reporter Martin Carlsson that he might one day team up with Mark Lanegan and Barrett Martin again to record the Disinformation songs, but under a different moniker out of respect for Saunders and Staley.
One can only hope. If Above, truly one of the most beautiful albums of all time, is anything to go by, the Disinformation album would be an essential purchase. Just listen to McCready's guitar sound at the beginning of Lifeless Dead - does rock 'n' roll get any more gorgeous than that?
Does rock 'n' roll get more graceful and tender as the sombre epic Wake Up? More sombre and delicately bluesy as Artificial Red?
The answer is obviously no.
(mp3) Mad Season - Wake up (recommended!)
(mp3) Mad Season - Artificial red
(mp3) Mad Season - Lifeless dead
Buy Above @ Amazon.com, why don'cha.
I Don't Know Anything live @ The Moore in 1995:
3 comments:
Long time since I listened to this one but I play the lick from River of Deceit now and then. I really hope you will put Temple of the dog above this one. It will be on the list, right? ;)
I am also hoping for Where you been, Gentlemen or Black love, The downward spiral, Do not Tailgate :)
fuck nine inch nails you nigger fagget
I love the song Wake Up. It is timeless. I love the slow build up of intensity. I'm glad somebody else recognizes it for its worth after all these years!
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