MUDHONEY
SuperfuzzBigmuffPlus Early Singles
(Sub Pop, 1990)
You could make a case that grunge was created the moment Mudhoney released “Touch Me, I’m Sick”in1988,a carnival of sludgy riffs,spaceydrumsandbarely intelligible vocalstied together byafatchorus.Two years later, theband’s debut single wasreissued on this long player, which brought together the 1988Superfuzz BigmuffEP with other singles.It showed a bandborrowing fromthe greats – Sabbath,Stooges,Black Flag– as well as near-peers Pixies, Dinosaur Jr and Husker Du, to develop a new sound that began withpre-MudhoneyGreen River and thensolidifiedbyMudhoney themselves.It doesn’t hurt that Mark Arm, theGreen River/Mudhoney vocalist,was one of the first people to use the term grunge (as opposed to grungy)in a letter toSeattle’sDesperate Timesfanzinein1981.
MOTHER LOVE BONE
Apple
(STARDOG/MERCURY, 1990)
Thereweretwostrands ofSeattlegrunge: the punky, underground,element of Mudhoney, TAD and Nirvana; and theclassicrock, or metal, side represented by Pearl Jam andAlice In Chains. The latterwere epitomised by Mother Love Bone,whose sole album is a masterpieceof hard rock dynamics, with a layer of angstand occasional forays into heart-rending acoustics.Songwriter Andrew Wood died of a heroin overdosejust before the album was released– something that boded ill for the wider scene –prompting the creation oftributebandTemple Of The Dogand then the formation of Pearl Jam.
TAD
8-Way Santa
(Sub Pop, 1991)
TAD ticked every grunge box – flannel shirts, gnarly guitars, semi-metal vocals, Seattle and Sub Pop – and even took Nirvana on their first European tour in 1989.8-Way Santawas an early sign of what was to come later in 1991. The album was produced by Nevermind‘s Butch Vig and introduced a more melodic, accessible sound to their heavy rock. TAD followed their peers onto a major label with 1993’s excellentInhaler, but there is something special about8-Way Santa, which makes fewer concessions to the mainstream without scaring the horses.
SMASHING PUMPKINS
Gish
(Caroline, 1991)
Siamese Dreamis a fantastic record, but the Pumpkins’ 1991 debut more obviously draws from the well of grunge. It was produced by Butch Vig before he recordedNevermindwith Nirvana, and while working with Nirvana often meant having to persuade the band to not bury their melodies under a thicket of guitar, onGishhis role was to roughen their natural sound. Songslike “I Am One” and “Siva” are great grunge anthems, while “Rhinoceros” is one of the best songs to appear on any album coming out in the year that punk broke. Smashing Pumpkins performed it on The Late Show’s 1993grunge special, No Nirvana, featuring Sugar, Sonic Youth, Belly, REM, Dinosaur Jr, Rage Against The Machine and Jane’s Addiction – none of which were really grunge bands – plus Screaming Treesand Pearl Jam, who were.
BIKINI KILL
Revolution Girl Style Now!
(Self-released, 1991)
While it was the men of grunge whobecame international stars – Eddie Vedder, Kurt Cobain, Chris Cornell,Billy Corgan–the scenespawnedmanygreatfemale-fronted bands including Hole,Babes In Toyland,7 Year Bitch,The Gits,Bratmobile,L7and, if we throw the net further afield, PJ Harvey. Bikini Kill,led by the indomitable Kathleen Hanna,were part of the same Washington scene as Nirvana and Mudhoney,and while they would release more polished albums– as well as the great riot grrrl anthem “Rebel Girl” –this 1991 self-releasedcassetteis full of anger, humour, buzzing guitars andgrunge classicslike“Suck My Left One” and “Double Dare Ya”.
SOUNDGARDEN
Badmotorfinger
(A&M, 1991)
Did any band bring together thedifferentelementsof grunge – punk, metal, sludge and classic rock – moreeffectively than Soundgarden? The band’s third albumwas an epic, thunderous fusion of distorted guitar,howling vocals and thumping drums placed at the forefront of the mix.On songs like “Slaves & Bulldozers” the band showeda darker, more ominous tone than many of their peers,while “Face Pollution” is a good, old-fashioned thrasher.Soundgardenhad been the first grunge band to sign to a major label with 1989’sLouder Than Loveand would experience huge success with1994’sSuperunknown, butBadmotorfingerwas their grunge sweet spot.
VARIOUS ARTISTS
Singles:Original Soundtrack
(Epic, 1992)
Cameron Crowe’s Seattle-set 1992 movie was so on-the-money that the soundtrack was released a full three months before the film came out.Compiled pre-Nirvana, the film was steeped in Seattle lore – Matt Dillon’s clotheswere loaned from Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament,who also compiled a list of titlesforthe film’s fictional band,Citizen Dick, that Chris Cornell then turned into songs.Pearl Jam, Mudhoney(the scene-deflating “Overblown”), Soundgarden and Smashing Pumpkins provided original songs,and there were also appearances by Alice In Chains, Screaming Trees andTemple Of The Dog.
L7
Bricks Are Heavy
(Slash, 1992)
Ararenon-Seattle signing to Sub Pop,Californian quartetL7brought a touch ofLA glam punkto the grunge-feston this stellar second album.Another Butch Vig production, L7 weretightwith Nirvanaand enjoyed a “Teen Spirit”-abetted crossover success with the brilliant “Pretend We’re Dead”.Bricks Are Heavyhad other charms besides the hitincluding“Wargasm”, “One More Thing” and “Shitlist”. Great attitude, great songs, and one of the highlights ofgrungeSunday at Reading in 1992, where Nirvana headed a bill that included Pavement, Screaming Trees, Mudhoney and The Melvins, plus Teenage Fanclub flying the flag for home.
PEARL JAM
Vs
(Epic, 1993)
Grunge was a scene as much as a stylistic genre, and so while Pearl Jam did not sound much like Soundgarden, Tad or Nirvana, they were verymuchpart of the sameworld. Pearl Jam emerged fromthree keyproto-grunge bands – Green River,Mother Love Boneand Temple Of The Dog– and burst into the mainstream alongside the success ofNevermindwithTen, a record that borrowed more obviously from classic rock than their peers.While their debut record was the big seller,itssuccessorVswas rawerandangrier, butstill boasted fantastic songwriting and great storytelling.
MELVINS
Houdini
(Atlantic, 1993)
Melvins were central tothe scene and a particular favourite of Kurt Cobain to the extent his patronage helped them sign to Atlantic, one of the more bizarre major label signings of the post-grunge era.Atlantic gave the band complete control, and theyresponded bydelivering a record ofgruesome sludge rock that represented the heaviest end of grunge, but still boasted fabulous songs and the occasional concession topopular tastes with the quiet-loud “Lizzy” and raging “Honey Bucket”while the seven-minute “Hag Me” was the Melvins at their slow-burn finest. Kurt Cobain was meant to produce but was too deep into drugsto do much more than sleep.