On July 19, 1990, the only album by one of Seattle's major bands, "Mother Love Bone", was released.
The debut album of this special band came out under a heavy cloud of tragedy when just four months before the release of the album, the colorful and charismatic character, the band's leading man - singer Andrew Wood passed away as a result of an overdose.
The passing of Andrew dealt a devastating blow to his friends within Seattle's music scene, potentially even proving fatal to the emerging community and culture in the city. Although many were aware of his struggles with drugs and alcohol addiction, the full extent of it remained largely unknown. It was the profound impact of Andrew's death on the Seattle scene that served as the inspiration for the movie "Singles".
(Photo: James Bland)
"I felt really alone when Andy passed away," Chris Cornell said in '92. "I spent a lot of time with him and tried to help him get out of the pain creatively. Most of the time I really didn't know Andy was using."
Things were supposed to turn out quite differently for "Mother Love Bone". Originally, the album was supposed to be released on the same month that Wood died and there was a massive expectation around it and a very big buzz, much thanks to the success of the EP that came out a year earlier called "Shine", but not only. The band's special live shows have been well-known throughout Seattle. In addition to Andrew, Jeff Ament on bass, Stone Gossard on guitar, Bruce Fairweather on guitar along with drummer Greg Gilmore, created their own special style that combined traditional genres with their own twist.
On this album, the quintet combined funk-metal, flash (yes, there is such a genre), bluesy rock like "Led Zeppelin", glam charisma with grunge and hard rock aggression, and lots, and lots of soul. Although clearly feeling the influences of Robert Plant in the song "Stargazer", "Jane's addictive" and groovy style in the song "Stardog Champion" and even a little Axl Rose in the song "Holy Roller", this album had its uniqueness, he was among the first to produce a new style.
If you think about it in depth, this album is closer to glam than grunge. Songs like "Crown Of Thrones"
or "Gentle Groove" could easily fit as a ballad on "Poison" or "Cinderella" albums, rather than on "Soundgarden" or "Nirvana" albums. But nonetheless, this album has its groove, and its all-too-unique vibe, which will have such an impact on the Seattle scene and be among the leading and significant in the emerging style.
As you know, even before the album came out and with Wood's death, "Mother Love Bone's" life ended, after a difficult period, the band members continued their musical career and formed "Pearl Jam", Bruce joined the band "Love Battery" and Greg moved behind the scenes and console and began working as a producer.
It is impossible not to mention that one of the amazing things that came out of this tragic event, was the album and the band "Temple Of The Dog", which took its name from one of the most beautiful and moving songs on the album "Man of Golden Words".
So feel free to listen to the album on: Spotify, Apple Music