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Rating: That voice mixed with dust and lyrical rage, pathos and pride in reacting to the traps of a marginal life; that voice that whispers and articulates like an angel between infernal fires and which seems, instead, a 'celestial' joke—lost as it is in the poetic declamations of Morrison, in late '60s roots memories of John Fogerty, and in the boozy baritone of Mr. Waits....
Finding all these sensations in one voice seems absurd, indeed a joke, yet that was my great emotion when I first heard Mark Lanegan. And it was one of his celebrated solo albums (Scraps at Midnight-'98) that made me delve into the folds of a soul no longer torn as in the past, not fully calmed and still immersed in darkness. Thus, I, who had been absorbed mostly by Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden during the early '90s Seattle scene (incidentally, my favorites), came to discover the so-called 'screaming trees', who were among the longer-tenured representatives of that scene. In fact, a five-year span separates the debut 'Clairvoyance' EP from 1986 from this 'Sweet Oblivion', released on the wave of a decent notoriety obtained thanks to 'Nearly Lost You' featured on the soundtrack of Cameron Crowe's film 'Singles'.
Lanegan's charismatic figure and songwriting talent immediately emerged within the Ellensburg (Washington) group, composed of brothers Van and Gary Lee Conner, respectively bass and guitars, and in this album, Barrett Martin on drums. The return to a classic rock almost devoid of past sonic abrasions is immediately declared by the initial incipit of 'Shadow of the Season', which anticipates the garage-sixties melody of the already mentioned 'Nearly Lost You'; and then arriving at one of the finest compositions of all the Screamings: 'Dollar Bill', a gritty rock ballad supported by the virile singing of the leader (like a modern Creedence crossed by the electric discharges of those years). Other notable tracks include the impetuous blues of 'More or Less', the rock'n'roll frenzy of 'Butterfly', the mournful melodies of 'For Celebrations Past' and 'Winter Song', and the epic and bitter 'No One Knows', where Gary Lee Conner's guitar helps to shape the simultaneously melancholic and tough, yet never resigned tone of the lyrics.
The rock ride of 'Julie Paradise' marks the finale of this 'sweet oblivion', ultimately a less aggressive and psychedelic work than previous 'Buzz Factory' and 'Uncle Anesthesia' which, however, contributed to introducing them to the larger public by virtue of a more communicative and melodic approach; perhaps less urgent and spontaneous but, over the years, capable of reaffirming the definite non-secondary role of Screaming Trees in the musical panorama of the time.
Then, with that voice, Mark Lanegan went his own way, recovering singer-songwriter tradition and filtering it through his sensibility.... but that is another story.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Nearly Lost You (04:07)
Did you hear the distant cry
Calling me back to my sin
Like the one you knew before
Calling me back once again
I nearly, I nearly lost you there
And it's taken us somewhere
I nearly lost you there
Let's try to sleep now
Drag me far enough to know
I'm blind every mile that you burn
There's a rider that's fallen and
It's clear there's no time to return
I nearly, I nearly lost you there
And it's taken us somewhere
I nearly lost you there
Well let's try to sleep now
Did you hear the distant lie
Calling me back to my sin
Like the one you knew before
Calling me back once again
I nearly, I nearly lost you there
And it's taken us somewhere
I nearly lost you there
Well let's try to sleep now
I nearly lost you there
I nearly lost you
I nearly lost you there
I nearly lost you there
I nearly lost you there
Oh yeah, nearly lost you there
03 Dollar Bill (04:35)
Torn like an old dollar bill
Girl let them say what they will
That no one should hurt you
And that's all I seem to do
That no one should desert you
And that's all I seem to do
I got to tell you, goodbye mama
We've taken this too far
Been trying to tell you what's going on
Trying to make it easy on you
Trying to make it better
Make it easier on you
It's all I came to do
It's all I came to do
Now I'm down in the light
And I must be dreaming it
Cause I see clearly, I see angels here
Bringing something to me, Mother Mercy
I told a lie, I didn't mean it
Goodbye mama, I've taken this too far
Been gone a while
Been gone a long way, oh yeah
I don't want to hurt you
It's all I seem to do
Don't want to desert you
It's all I seem to do
I got to tell you, goodbye mama
I've taken this too far
Been down a while
Been down a long way
Trying to make it easy on you
Trying to make it better
Make it easier on you
It's all I came to do
It's all I came to do
It's all I came to do
That's all... been down a long
Been down a long, long way
Torn like an old dollar bill
05 Butterfly (03:22)
Changing memories they fade away
The hours and the days
While in the sunshine, the sunshine bright
I kept you on my mind
Cry, cry butterfly
Heard it on the wings that you're going to die
Cry, cry butterfly
Well I'm sick and I want to go home
Up to an empty room
Four walls around, nothing to be found
Of empty promises in a lonesome town
Let me lay you down
Cry, cry butterfly
Heard it on the wings that you're going to die
Cry, cry butterfly
Well I'm sick and I want to go home
The changing memories they fade away
In the hours in the day
While in the sunshine, the sunshine bright
I kept you on my mind
Cry, cry butterfly
Heard it on the wings that you're going to die
Cry, cry butterfly
And I'm sick and I want to go home
Cry, cry butterfly
Heard it on the wings that you're going to die
Cry, cry butterfly
And I'm sick and I want to go home
Well I'm sick and I want to go home
That I'm sick and I want to go home
06 For Celebrations Past (04:09)
This is for footsteps approaching the night
They keep themselves moving and do what is right
Now watch what you gather and hold in your hand
Numbers are many who misunderstand
Drink your wine away instead
I won't remember all that's said
Say farewell and close the door
You'll find me never more
That I believe in
That I believe in
That I believe in you
Must be a crying shame
Tell you a story of that which comes last
All of the sorrow that lives in the past
Now if you're tired of all that's been told
Don't be surprised that I've grown so old
Drink your wine away instead
I won't remember all that's said
Say farewell and close the door
You'll find me never more
And I believe in
That I believe in
That I believe in you
Must be a crying shame
Breathing in shadows or dead on the vine
I'm there in the morning to take you sometimes
To watch what you gather and hold in your hand
The numbers are many who misunderstand
Drink your wine away instead
I won't remember all that's said
Say farewell and close the door
You'll find me never more
And I believe in
That I believe in
That I believe in
That I believe in
That I believe in you
Must be a crying shame
07 The Secret Kind (03:08)
Lying in the quiet darkness
Getting high alone
Pictures shifting out of focus
Not as far to go
Eyes to the sun
One more blind
Secret kind
Yesterday is twice removed
Tomorrow's close behind
Alone and unreliable
Windows out of time
Eyes to the sun
One more blind
Secret kind
Lying in the quiet darkness
Getting high alone
Pictures shifting out of focus
Not as far to go
Eyes to the sun
One more blind
Secret kind
Eyes to the sun
One more blind
Secret kind
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