Above (Mad Season album)

Above (Mad Season album)
Above
Studio album by Mad Season
Released March 14, 1995
Recorded 1994 at Bad Animals Studio, Seattle, Washington
Genre Alternative rock, grunge, blues rock
Length 55:36
Language English
Label Columbia
Producer Brett Eliason, Mad Season
Mad Season chronology
Above
(1995)
Live at The Moore
(1995)
Singles from Above
  1. "River of Deceit"
    Released: 1995
  2. "I Don't Know Anything"
    Released: 1995
  3. "Long Gone Day"
    Released: 1995

Above is the only studio album by the American rock band Mad Season, released on March 14, 1995 through Columbia Records. The album has been certified gold by the RIAA in the United States.

Contents

Background

During the production of Pearl Jam's Vitalogy, guitarist Mike McCready went into rehabilitation in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he met The Lamont Cranston Band bassist John Baker Saunders.[1] In 1994, when the two returned to Seattle, they formed a side band with Screaming Trees drummer Barrett Martin. Immediately the trio set up rehearsal time together and began writing material. McCready then brought in friend and Alice in Chains frontman Layne Staley to round out the line-up. McCready had hoped that being around sober musicians would push Staley to get himself sober.[2]

Recording

The album was recorded in 1994 at Bad Animals Studio in Seattle, Washington. The band worked with producer Brett Eliason, who had previously worked with McCready as Pearl Jam's sound engineer. The album was mixed by Eliason.

The music for the songs "Wake Up" and "River of Deceit" came out of rehearsals that the group had before Staley joined. The song "Artificial Red" came together at a show that the band had at the Crocodile Cafe in October 1994. The songs "Lifeless Dead" and "I Don't Know Anything" were first premiered on Pearl Jam's January 8, 1995 Self-Pollution satellite radio broadcast, a four-and-a-half hour long pirate broadcast out of Seattle which was available to any radio stations that wanted to carry it.[3] McCready said, "We did all the Mad Season music in about seven days. It took Layne just a few more days to finish his vocals, which was intense since we only rehearsed twice and did four shows. So this has been the most spontaneous thing I've ever been involved in. This was done even quicker than Temple of the Dog which took about four weeks...With Mad Season we just went in and started jamming on tunes and everybody had ideas and it just happened with three or four days."[1]

McCready said, "I told [Staley]...'You do what you want, you write all the songs and lyrics. You're the singer.' He'd come in, and he'd do these beautiful songs."[2] During the making of the album, Staley read The Prophet by Khalil Gibran. Martin said, "Layne Staley felt as though he was on a spiritual mission through his music. Not a rock mission, a spiritual mission."[4]

Staley said of the album: "I was more satisfied with the Mad Season record than any other recordings I'd done."[5]

Music and lyrics

McCready described the songs on the album as "some jazzy stuff, some blues, some arena rock."[1] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic said that the album "sounds like a cross between Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam, taking the ponderous seriousness of Alice and PJ's '90s update of winding '70s guitar rock."[6]

Vocalist Mark Lanegan of Screaming Trees contributes guest vocals and additional lyrics on "I'm Above" and "Long Gone Day". "I Don't Know Anything"'s verse bar features a droning, overdriven guitar melody centered around the use of harmonics. "Long Gone Day" takes influence from genres as diverse as jazz, progressive rock, classic rock, and blues. Saxophonist Skerik contributes to the song.

Staley's lyrics dealt with his struggle against addiction as well as other personal troubles. Lyrically, much of "River of Deceit" was inspired by Khalil Gibran's The Prophet.

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 3/5 stars[6]
Sputnik Music 4.5/5 stars[7]
Entertainment Weekly (C)[8]
CDNOW 4.5/5 stars[9]
Melody Maker (favorable)[10]
Rolling Stone 2.5/5 stars[11]

The album was released to critical and commercial success. Over the course of 1995, Above scaled the Billboard 200 album chart eventually peaking at number 24. Above has been certified gold by the RIAA.[12]

Melody Maker called the album "a Country Sabbath combination" and "a refreshing holiday from the pressures of corporate ultra-stardom."[10] Allmusic staff writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album three out of five stars, saying that "the album meanders without much direction, yet there are flashes of invention, particularly in Staley's work, with McCready contributing a few tasty licks."[6] Rolling Stone staff writer Barbara Davies gave Above two and a half out of five stars, saying that Mad Season "take artistic risks and set out to make something fresh on Above." However, she criticized the album for having a "hit-or-miss quality." Davies ended the review by stating that "the band is—at times—more than the mere sum of its parts."[11] Chuck Eddy of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a C. He said, "A sax solo and zooming guitars provide momentary relief, but most Mad Season sludge is unbearably immobile." He ended by saying, "It's big trouble when one of the most upbeat songs is called 'Lifeless Dead'."[8]

Above included the singles "River of Deceit", "I Don't Know Anything", and "Long Gone Day". The lead single "River of Deceit" had an accompanying music video, while other music videos were taken from performances from the band's home video release, Live at the Moore. "River of Deceit" was the most successful song from Above on the rock charts, reaching number two on the Mainstream Rock charts and number nine on the Modern Rock charts. "I Don't Know Anything" also charted on the Mainstream Rock charts. "River of Deceit" is arguably the group's best known song while "I Don't Know Anything" still maintains modest radio play today.

Packaging

The album's gloomy, black and white cover art was illustrated by Staley. The drawing was based upon a photograph of Staley and his then-girlfriend, Demri Lara Parrott.[13] The album's title comes from the song "I'm Above".

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Barrett Martin, Mike McCready, John Baker Saunders, and Layne Staley, except where noted. 

No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Wake Up"     7:38
2. "X-Ray Mind"     5:12
3. "River of Deceit"     5:04
4. "I'm Above"   Martin, McCready, Staley, Mark Lanegan 5:45
5. "Artificial Red"     6:16
6. "Lifeless Dead"     4:29
7. "I Don't Know Anything"     5:01
8. "Long Gone Day"   Martin, McCready, Staley, Lanegan 4:52
9. "November Hotel"     7:08
10. "All Alone"     4:12

Outtakes

A promotional version of Above has a bonus track entitled "Interlude", which follows "Artificial Red". Mad Season's cover of the John Lennon song "I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier" was also recorded around this time. "I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier" appeared on the 1995 John Lennon tribute album, Working Class Hero.

Personnel

Mad Season
Additional musicians and production

Chart positions

Album

Chart (1995) Position
US Billboard 200[14] 24
Norwegian Albums Chart[15] 24
Swedish Albums Chart[16] 46
Canadian Albums Chart[17] 65

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions
US Main
[18]
US Mod
[18]
CAN
[19]
1995 "River of Deceit" 2 9 68
"I Don't Know Anything" 20
"—" denotes singles that did not chart.

References

  1. ^ a b c Gilbert, Jeff. "Alive-Pearl Jam's Mike McCready Says Goodbye to Drugs and Alcohol and is a Better Man For it". Guitar World. April 1995.
  2. ^ a b Cross, Charles R. (June 1, 2002). "The Last Days of Layne Staley". Rolling Stone. http://rollinpapers.blogspot.com/2006/01/layne-links.html. Retrieved 2007-08-21. 
  3. ^ Gaar, Gillian G. "Radio Free Vedder". Rolling Stone. February 23, 1995.
  4. ^ Altman, Billy. "Alice In Chains' Staley Remembered By Mad Season Mate & Rage's Morello". Yahoo! Music. April 23, 2002.
  5. ^ Alice in Chains - Layne Staley (Interview 1996) on YouTube
  6. ^ a b c Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Above (Mad Season album) at Allmusic. Retrieved March 21, 2009.
  7. ^ "Mad Season - Above (album review)". Sputnikmusic. 2008-06-16. http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/25998/Mad-Season-Above/. Retrieved 2011-09-10. 
  8. ^ a b Eddy, Chuck (1995-04-21). "Above". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,296898,00.html. Retrieved 2008-10-28. 
  9. ^ "Above: Mad Season: Music". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004UIJO. Retrieved 2011-09-10. 
  10. ^ a b (July 1, 1995). "Review: Above". Melody Maker (p. 38).
  11. ^ a b Davies, Barbara (1998-02-02). "Mad Season: Above". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/madseason/albums/album/302265/review/5941176/above. Retrieved 2009-05-20. 
  12. ^ "Gold and Platinum Database Search". http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS&title=Above&artist=Mad+Season&perPage=25&go=Search. Retrieved 2007-02-12. 
  13. ^ Layne & Demri. laynethelegend.com.
  14. ^ "Mad Season – Billboard Albums". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p141703. Retrieved 2007-06-11. 
  15. ^ "Norwegian Single/Album Chart / Mad Season / Longplay". norwegiancharts.com. http://norwegiancharts.com/search.asp?cat=a&search=Mad+Season. Retrieved 2008-02-19. 
  16. ^ "Swedish Single/Album Chart / Mad Season / Longplay". swedishcharts.com. http://swedishcharts.com/search.asp?cat=a&search=Mad+Season. Retrieved 2008-02-19. 
  17. ^ "Canadian Charts". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.9143&volume=61&issue=12&issue_dt=April%2024%201995&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=lhaled67omcph7v3aq7fbveid1. Retrieved 2008-03-07. 
  18. ^ a b "Mad Season – Billboard Singles". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p141703. Retrieved 2007-06-11. 
  19. ^ "Canadian Charts – "River of Deceit"". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.9214&volume=61&issue=20&issue_dt=June%2019%201995&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=lhaled67omcph7v3aq7fbveid1. Retrieved 2008-03-07. 

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Mad Season — For the album by Matchbox Twenty, please see Mad Season (album). Infobox Musical artist Name = Mad Season Img capt = Mad Season in 1995, left to right: Barrett Martin, Layne Staley, John Baker Saunders and Mike McCready Img size = 250 Background …   Wikipedia

  • Mad Season — Жанры блюз рок гранж Годы 1994 1999 (Воссоединение: 2012) Страна …   Википедия

  • Mad Season — Datos generales Origen Seattle, Washington, Estados Unidos …   Wikipedia Español

  • Mad Season — Surnom The Gacy Bunch, Disinformation Pays d’origine  États Unis, Seattle Genre musical Grung …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Above — Album par Mad Season Sortie 15 mars 1995 Enregistrement 1994 aux Bad Animals Studios, Seattle Durée 55:36 Genre Grunge …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Above (album) — Infobox Album Name = Above Type = studio Artist = Mad Season Released = March 14, 1995 Recorded = 1994 at Bad Animals Studio, Seattle, Washington Length = 55:36 Label = Columbia Producer = Mad Season, Brett Eliason Reviews = *Allmusic rating|3|5… …   Wikipedia

  • Above — Álbum de Mad Season Publicación 1995 Grabación 1994 1995 Género(s) Grunge, Blues D …   Wikipedia Español

  • Above — may refer to:*Relative direction *Above (artist), a graffiti artist *Above (album), an album by Mad Season *Above (Pillar album), an album by Pillar *Above Church, an English church …   Wikipedia

  • Mad World — This article is about the Tears for Fears song. For other uses, see Mad World (disambiguation). Mad World Single by Tears for Fears from the albu …   Wikipedia

  • Alice in Chains (Album) — Alice in Chains Studioalbum von Alice in Chains Veröffentlichung 21. November 1995 Aufnahme April − August 1995 Label …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”