Screaming Trees Album: “Sweet Oblivion”

This album was released in early September 1992, just several weeks prior to "Dirt" by Alice in Chains and "Core" by the Stone Temple Pilots. Unfortunately, "Sweet Oblivion" was overshadowed by both "Dirt" and "Core" and never really made it or the Screaming Trees the commercial success they deserved. Arguably, this album from the first song to the last is a better album than either of the above mentioned by STP and AiC. The powerful and intense vocals by Mark Lanegan exceed those by Weiland of STP and Staley of AiC... really only the vocals of Chris Cornell from Soundgarden top Lanegan's. "Sweet Oblivion", to me, is an essential recording for any early to mid-90's grunge rock collection. It is a credible following to 1991's releases: "Nevermind" by Nirvana, "Ten" by Pearl Jam, and the self-titled album by the Temple of the Dog. Until Soundgarden released "Superunknown" in 1994 (which was the last great grunge album ever released), I probably listened to "Sweet Oblivion" more often than any other grunge rock CD. I would enthusiatically reccommend this album to anyone who likes the bands I mentioned previously and is interested in adding something new to their music collection.

Although labeled as a "grunge" band, Sweet Oblivion is anything but. This is a lean hard rock album in the vein of the Stones and The Stooges, and nearly every song sounds ready for radio greatness. There's none of the sludge and little of the angst that came to define grunge, and Lanegan's gravelly weariness is mesmerizing. A tragically lost gem that has stood the test of time, sounding as fresh and relevant as the latest in rock music.

Someday in the not so distant future rock historians will re-discover this CD and listen to the music recorded on the weird digital piece of plastic. They will love what they hear and will refuse to believe that it was released in 1992. They will use their time machine to go back in time and right this wrong and rock history will be rewritten. Please someone from the future who owns a time machine read my plea and make it happen...

Highlights: EVERY SINGLE SONG!

This album is better than anything by Soundgarden or Mudhoney and yet this band never got half the recognition of either of them.(Screaming Trees were from Seattle, too...I wouldn't call them grunge tho. The guitar work is much more....varied...than in most Grunge). A bloody shame they weren't hailed as the best thing since sliced bread (if, indeed, sliced bread is all it's..er....cracked up to be..)because they were really, really good. Mark has a wonderful voice and the guitars were psychedelic and heavy metal and just GOOD. It's hard to see anyone not liking it, really. I guess the Trees just got lost in the shuffle somewhere... If you get this album you won't be disappointed, seriously. This is one 8-year-old album that will never sound dated. So sad they broke up.

This album is really wonderful. Nearly lost you is probably the most famous song on here, but it isn't near the best. For Celebrations Past and Troubled Times are absolutely amazing. After hearing For Celebrations past, I hit the repeat button and listened to it for about an hour. Other standouts are Dollar Bill and Shadow of the Season at the beginning. The Screaming Trees don't really fit into the grunge catagory, actually. They are in a similar vein, but there isn't as much raw aggression as Mudhoney or Nirvana, or the sludge of Soundgarden and The Melvins here. Mark Lanegan is a terrific singer, there's lots of low notes here, which I really dig. This is easily one of the best grunge albums.