Proto Grunge: The Sound of a Music Revolution
Seattle in the late 1980's was a hotbed for a changing music scene. Employing a mixture of punk, rock, metal, and more; there was a kettle simmering. The kettle started to boil over with Alice in Chains - Facelift, and then proceeded to pour out with Nirvana's Nevermind. But prior to and even during the time of Nevermind, there were some great bands and albums made that will likely never get the attention that they deserved (and that even some of their later albums received). These are my favorite of those bands and albums that brought grunge to the forefront, but never fully received the accolades warranted. |
| 20 |  | Blood Circus
Primal Rock Therapy
Not a great album, but a good listen nonetheless. |
| 19 |  | Mother Love Bone
Apple
Integral to early Pearl Jam, but not so integral. Sorry! |
| 18 |  | Malfunkshun
Return to Olympus
Integral to early Grunge, but not so integral. |
| 17 |  | Hole
Pretty On The Inside
I know, this did not come from Seattle. But it fits. When you listen to this, there are so many similarities to Bleach era Nirvana, it is uncanny. |
| 16 |  | Love Battery
Between the Eyes
One of the bands that was in the pack, but never broke through. |
| 15 |  | Screaming Trees
Uncle Anesthesia
A more low-key Seattle product. This album paved the way for their own great follow-up albums, but also unfortunately (upon listening now) paved the way for a multitude of derivative post-grunge acts. |
| 14 |  | Truly
Fast Stories... from Kid Coma
The answer to where Hiro Yamamoto went after leaving Soundgarden. A "truly" unique listen. |
| 13 |  | Skin Yard
Fist Sized Chunks
Another great Skin yard album, which was recently remastered by Jack Endino and sounds better than ever. |
| 12 |  | Green River
Dry As A Bone/Rehab Doll
A great release, but on losing Steve Turner, the punk-metal tension in the band that made "Come on Down" so great was slowly draining away. |
| 11 |  | Gruntruck
Inside Yours
A great, but relatively unheard, album with Ben McMillan of Skin Yard. The next album, "Push", was better, but was more mainstream oriented after Grunge broke through to the masses. |
| 10 |  | Mudhoney
Mudhoney
Doesn't get the respect that Superfuzz Bigmuff gets, nor the accolades of later albums. But in my opinion, a great early Mudhoney (and early grunge) release. |
| 9 |  | Tad
8-Way Santa
One of the greatest albums that never reached it's intended greatness, thanks to Pepsi and "Its Heavy S&*@t". Paved the way to "Inhaler", an incredibly heavy (and good) album for this time. |
| 8 |  | Various Artists
Deep Six
Likely where it all started. Great tracks by Soundgarden, Skin Yard, Green River, and Malfunkshun. |
| 7 |  | Nirvana
Incesticide
Although released after Nevermind, this compilation includes tracks from Nirvana made in 1988 to 1991. A sound not too dissimilar from Bleach. |
| 6 |  | Skin Yard
1,000 Smiling Knuckles
Never received the recognition that they deserved. This, along with Inside the Eye, were excellent grunge albums. |
| 5 |  | Nirvana
Bleach
A great album, which wears it's influences (e.g., Mudhoney) on it's sleeves. |
| 4 |  | Mudhoney
Superfuzz Bigmuff Plus Early Singles
Props to Mark Arm and Steve Turner, who kept the punk in grunge. |
| 3 |  | Green River
Come On Down
This album epitomizes the (unlikely) cross between punk and metal |
| 2 |  | Soundgarden
Ultramega OK
"Beyond the Wheel" could be one of the best Soundgarden tracks of all time. Check out the remastered version of this album. |
| 1 |  | Soundgarden
Screaming Life/Fopp
It is amazing to me how great the early Soundgarden songs are. |
|
