Music

Mad Season to Release a Box Set. Really?

If you were never part of the Grunge Nation, let me get you up to speed on who Mad Season was.  

When Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready went into rehab at a facility in Minneapolis, he met a bass player named John Baker Saunders who had served time in a Seattle band called The Walkabouts.  They became friends and decided to form a band when they got back to Seattle.

McCready recruited Barrett Martin, the drummer for Screaming Trees.  Next, he convinced Alice in Chains’ Layne Staley to sing.

Mad Season recorded just one album, Above, which came out on March 14, 1995.  It yielded a major single in “River of Deceit.”

The band was a fragile construction from the start.  Two recovered alcoholics were paired with a hardcore heroin addict.  The thing finally fell apart in 1999 when Saunders died of an overdose.

Apparently, though, there was much left behind.  Who knew that there were all these unreleased tracks and video?  All is being collected for release in a box set April 16. 

Is it worth it?  Not sure.  But if you’re always hankering for more music from that era of Seattle music history, you’ll probably be interested.

 

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 38019 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

One thought on “Mad Season to Release a Box Set. Really?

  • I for one is looking forward to this. I'm a big fan of this album and can hardly wait. You can pre-order it on the pearl jam site.

    Reply

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