One of my favourite albums from the early nineties is Temple of the Dog, a collaboration between Pearl Jam (before they were really Pearl Jam) and Soundgarden. The album was produced as a tribute to Andy Wood, the lead singer of Mother Love Bone, which also comprised of Stone and Jeff. The album itself is amazing, containing many of the finest songs of the early nineties grunge scene. Songs like Say Hello 2 Heaven still bring a tear to my eye now, thanks to the amazing lyrics and singing of Chris Cornell - one of the truly great rock vocalists of all time. It also contains some pretty heavy rock songs including Reach Down (that clocks in at an amazing 11 minutes!!!)and Pushin' Forward Back.
Two songs particularly stand out on this album for me. The first one is Times of Trouble, which is basically just a lyrical re-write of Pearl Jam's Footsteps. A song about heroin addiction, it is the most overt reference to Andy's drug problem on the album. The other song I love is Hunger Strike, a wonderful duet between Cornell and Vedder. It is really an amazing song. My two favourite vocallists performing together on a beautiful song. It doesn't get much better than this. Anyway, the reason I bring this up, is because I have come across the Hunger Strike video on YouTube. I missed this first time around, so I was fascinated to finally get a chance to see it. I would be interested to hear from anyone else who has had the pleasure of listening to this album, as I believe it is criminally overlooked and vastly underrated.
I have a question for you being such a PJ fan and all. What do you think of the album No Code. Most PJ fans have expressed their dislike for it, but you seem like a pretty big fan, so do you still like it for what it is? I always hear the same thing about the Smashing Pumpkins. I am a HUGE fan of the Pumpkins, but a lot of fans dislike the album Adore for various reasons. But as a true Pumpkins fan, I still love the album for what it is, a great Pumpkins album. Is this how you feel about No Code, or do you just really hate it. Just thought I would ask. :)
Mmm No Code....I have always been a little ambivalent towards the album, truth be told. I don't think it is one of their greatest albums, but it is certainly not a poor album. In fact, there are some great songs on that album...In My Tree, Hail, Hail, Smile, Present Tense.....all of which are really crackers that would stand out on any other album. To me, there are two real problems with this album for some 'fans':
1) I think that a certain proportion of 'fans' were after a Vs Mark II. Some of them didn't really like the experimentation on Vitalogy and were looking for the band to go back to a more mainstream sound. They certainly didn't want to see an album that is a real slow burner (it took me many listens to get into it, but it was worth it in the end). It is an album that demands repeated listening, and is certainly not an instant hit.
2) I think the band themselves were trying to discover their own place and sound. Seems strange to say that three albums, but I think they were not really comfortable with their early sound. I certainly think Kurt's comments hurt them pretty bad. When they took Jack Irons onboard, I think they took the opportnity to take on a more mature sound. Certainly, their next few albums lost the youthful exuberance of Ten and Vs (I exclude Vitalogy as that was a very unique album, more Eddie's album as a reaction to the circumstances at the time, as such I don't really think of that as a PJ album). I think this mature sound alienated a lot of people who weren't too keen on the Neil Young influence (good though that was).
I could never say I hate No Code. Much like you with SP, I love it for what it is. It is part of the reason why I am such a huge fan. There is not a single album that I think is weak. Sure, I have my preferences, but put on any PJ album and I am one happy man!!
hey korova
I have a question for you being such a PJ fan and all. What do you think of the album No Code. Most PJ fans have expressed their dislike for it, but you seem like a pretty big fan, so do you still like it for what it is? I always hear the same thing about the Smashing Pumpkins. I am a HUGE fan of the Pumpkins, but a lot of fans dislike the album Adore for various reasons. But as a true Pumpkins fan, I still love the album for what it is, a great Pumpkins album. Is this how you feel about No Code, or do you just really hate it. Just thought I would ask. :)