Released on 14 March, 1995 "Above" was the first and only album by the superband Mad Season, the album peaked at No. 24 on the Billboard Top 200 and spawned three singles "River Of Deceit", "I Don't Know Anything" & "Long Gone Day".
The band consisted of some luminaries of the Seattle grunge scene such as Layne Staley, Mike McCready, John Baker Saunders abd Barrett Martin. The origins of the band date back to when Mike McCready went to rehab in Minneapolis during the recording of Pearl Jam's "Vitalogy." There, he met bassist John Baker Saunders. In 1994, the two returned to Seattle where they formed a side project with other members, including Screaming Trees drummer Barrett Martin. McCready later brought Alice In Chains vocalist Layne Staley into the project, believing that the idea of being with sober musicians would help Staley.
The recordings began at Bad Animals Studio in 1994, with producer Brett Eliason. The first songs were "Wake Up" and the hit "River of Deceit," which emerged after rehearsals before Staley's arrival. Then "Artificial Red" appeared after the performance at the Crocodile Cafe in 1994. Other songs like "Lifeless Dead" and "I Don't Know Anything" were fortunate enough to be premiered on a satellite broadcast called "Self-Pollution" by Pearl Jam. According to McCready, the recordings took only seven days, and it took Layne a few days to add vocals to finish the album. They barely rehearsed and had only played a few shows, so everything was as spontaneous as possible.
There was a great deal of freedom, since McCready himself told Staley to listen to the songs and from there come up with the lyrics as he wanted since he was the singer, and then he appeared with all these beautiful lyrics.
The album is often described as a mix of jazz, blues, and arena rock, likely a cross between Alice In Chains and Pearl Jam, which perhaps helped it be well-received by both the general public and grunge fans.
Despite having some weak points according to critics, the album had a moderated successful in 1995 and their most famous single "River Of Deceit" received heavy rotation on MTV, reaching No. 2 on the Mainstream Rock charts. To this day, it remains the band's best-known track.
Above Track List:
1. Wake Up
2. X-Ray Mind
3. River Of Deceit
4. I'm Above
5. Artificial Red
6. Lifeless Dead
7. I Don't Know Anything
8. Long Gone Day
9. November Hotel
10. All Alone
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