Review Summary: The best grunge album you haven't heard.
The grunge movement of the early 90’s was an essential part of the development of rock music in the decade, and spawned the likes of Nirvana and Pearl Jam, bands everyone knows. Other groups like Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and Stone Temple Pilots also enjoyed quite some attention, but underneath the leading bands, many more underground acts were not receiving the recognition they deserved. Screaming Trees was one of these bands. In 1992, they released their sixth and penultimate studio record,
Sweet Oblivion. Building on the single
Nearly Lost You, which became a hit song, the album eventually sold over 300,000 copies, and still stands as their most popular work.
While their earlier records incorporated influences from 60’s psychedelic rock and punk,
Sweet Oblivion has more of a hard rock flair, undoubtedly a reason why it was more easily accepted by the mainstream. The band, a quartet consisting of Mark Lanegan on vocals (later to work with Queens of the Stone Age), Gary Lee Conner on guitar, Van Conner on bass and Barrett Martin on drums, certainly has its strengths. An instantly recognizable feature about the Trees are Lanegan’s rough, powerful and passionate vocals, which are quite unique and a driving force behind the band, as is Conner’s talent on the guitar. The lead player does not only create some great typical distorted grunge lines, but also has an impeccable sense for providing hooks and melody, making the album a definite grunge essential that is also catchy as hell. Van Conner and Martin certainly don’t deserve any less credit for their work, because while their contribution may at first not be too apparent, further delving will reveal that not only they have a significant impact on the sound of the record and are great individual players, but also that their interplay is incredibly tight.
Truly, this is also a record that has no weak moments. Every song is an absolute winner, which is not a feature many albums can boast. Of course, there are standouts amongst the standouts, the most notable being
Nearly Lost You, a energetic hard rocker with an tremendous chorus. Equally great are gritty opener
Shadow of the Season, the moody and partly acoustic
Dollar Bill, or slower moments such as
Winter Song and
Julie Paradise.
Ten.
Superunknown.
Dirt.
Nevermind.
Core.
Sweet Oblivion. This piece of quality grunge deserves to be up there with the classics, and any genre fan in his right mind will love it to bits. It’s got the raw power, melodic content, catchiness, and unique vocals to top it off. Screaming Trees really hit their stride here, creating an album that stands as an overlooked 90’s gem. This record will rock you hard. Don’t just sit there. Obtain it.
Screaming Recs:
Shadow of the Season
Nearly Lost You
Dollar Bill
For Celebrations Past
Winter Song
Troubled Times
