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Rating: Mad Season was the name chosen in '94 for Layne Staley's side project, which involved, alongside the famous singer, other figures from the music scene of the time. Joining him were “Pearl Jam” guitarist Mike McCready and “Screaming Trees” drummer Barrett Martin, while the bass was placed in the capable hands of John Baker Saunders.
The result of this unusual collaboration is “Above”, a work completed during the decline of grunge, inheriting its class and characteristics. The album presents itself with dark hues, balancing between melancholy, unease, discomfort, rebellion; yet always melodic, even in its harshest and darkest moments. In any case, songs like “Lifeless Dead” speak volumes about the atmosphere that pervades the listening experience. Staley's raw and damned singing, the true protagonist, manages to express itself in all its natural essence, in a sort of self-portrait of the soul, as in the haunting “River of Deceit”, where the depths of pain are explored.
The music does not fall short either: Mike McCready successfully experiments with rough and dirty sounds, sharp and biting tones, unusual for him, but now revealed. Even the seven instrumental minutes of the captivating “November Hotel” do not bore, on the contrary, they further elucidate the validity of the members of the improvised band and the successful fusion of their techniques. Conversely, the extremes of the record, such as “Wake Up” and “All Alone”, stand out for their hypnotic cadence. In two of the best tracks, instead, Mark Lanegan's participation, singer of the “Screaming Trees”, becomes vivid and unique. In the first of these, “I’m Above”, the rhythm accelerates and the voice unleashes, while in the other, the splendid and suffering “Long Gone Day”, there's a free outpouring of emotions with bluesy undertones.
Moreover, the strong emotions that emerge are the true success of “Above”, one of the last masterpieces produced by Seattle's brief, intense, and frenetic rock period.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
03 River of Deceit (05:04)
My pain is self-chosen
At least, so The Prophet says
I could either burn
Or cut off my pride and buy some time
A head full of lies is the weight, tied to my waist
The River of Deceit pulls down, oh oh
The only direction we flow is down
Down, oh down
Down, oh down
Down, oh down
Down, oh down
My pain is self-chosen
At least I believe it to be
I could either drown
Or pull off my skin and swim to shore
Now I can grow a beautiful shell for all to see
The River of Deceit pulls down, yeah
The only direction we flow is down
Down, oh down
Down, oh down
Down, oh down
Down, oh down
The pain is self-chosen, yeah
Our pain is self-chosen
04 I'm Above (05:45)
For clear space and soundess of mind
I've let you play me for some time
One can only receive and retain
But the lies you recite for your gain
So you rely on my faith in your kind
Or rather continue to pretend that I'm blind
You say I made your life a living hell
And yet still let me pay you when I fell
How is it you're feeling so uneasy?
How is it that I feel fine?
Life reveals what is dealt through seasons
Circle comes around each time
I've been blessed with eyes to see this
Behind the unwhole truth you hide
Bite to remind the bitten, bigger
Mouth repaying tenfold wide
I'm above
Over you I'm standing above
Claiming unconditional love
Above
Try to keep bad blood in the past
Never thought a chance, a chance it would last
I have strength enough, enough to forgive
I desire peace where I live
I've been blessed with eyes to see this
Behind the unwhole truth you hide
Bite to remind the bitten, bigger
Mouth repaying tenfold wide
How is it you're feeling so uneasy?
How is it that I feel fine?
Life reveals what is dealt through seasons
Circle comes around each time
I'm above
Over you I'm standing above
Claiming unconditional love
Above
I'm above
Over you I'm standing above
Claiming unconditional love
Above
I'm above
Over you I'm standing above
Claiming unconditional love
Above
07 I Don't Know Anything (05:01)
I don't know anything
I don't know anything
I don't know anything
I don't know who I am
I don't know anything
I don't know anything
I don't know anything
I don't know who I am
Why we have to live in so much hate everyday? Oh yeah
Why the fighting and the coming down, am I sane?
I don't know, yeah
I don't know anything
I don't know anything
I don't know anything
I don't know who to be
I don't know anything
I don't know anything
I don't know anything
I don't know who I am
Why we have to live in so much hate everyday? Oh yeah
Why the fighting and the coming down, am I sane?
I don't know
When the teacher put the ruler down on my hand
I laugh!
Cross my heart and hide reliever in trails of blood,
I love?!?
I don't know anything
I don't know anything
I don't know anything
I don't know who I am
I don't know anything
I don't know anything
I don't know anything
I don't know who to be
Why we have to live in so much hate everyday? Oh yeah
Why the fighting and the coming down, am I sane?
I don't know
When the teacher put the ruler down on my hand
I laugh!
Cross my heart and hide reliever in trails of blood,
I love?!?
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Other reviews
By sausalito
This album is perhaps the artistic pinnacle of Seattle grunge, the result of a supergroup including the great Layne Staley.
Layne Staley expressed emotions and poetry in a much deeper way: something especially demonstrated in the eponymous Alice in Chains album released a few months later.
By treno
Blues and Hard rock blend into a brew of sadness and anguish that emerges in tracks like 'I Don’t Know Anything.'
'River of Deceit,' the gem of the album, introduces a very sad track with a dark text which transforms into an incredible live version.
By Nevskji
"Mike McCready’s guitar work on this album is a masterpiece, balancing electric outbursts and sweetness in perfect harmony."
"Layne Staley once again confirms the extraordinary talent bestowed upon him — a voice capable of stirring emotions and dreaming."
By Black Creep
Every note is as if a bullet fired to the heart.
'Above' is an unrepeatable work, it has something tremendously magical, it enters your soul making you experience many unique emotions.
By Diego Remaggi
Seattle was the center of the world. From there came the cries of anger and fear of a devastated generation.
River Of Deceit is a gem, delicate and suffused like a jazz song, delighting the listening of anyone.
