Mark Lanegan: Part V - Dusty Madness

This is part five of my piece on Mark Lanegan's career.

Part I is here.
Part II is here.
Part III is here.
Part IV is here.
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While the Screaming Trees struggled to put together a follow up to Sweet Oblivion that they felt lived up to their potential, Lanegan recorded and appeared live with Mad Season, one of the plethora of side-projects in which many of the now-famous Seattle musicians took part. Comprised of Pearl Jam’s lead guitarist, Mike McCready, Alice In Chains vocalist, Layne Staley, bassist John Baker Saunders, and Screaming Trees drummer Barrett Martin, Mad Season released Above in 1995. Two standout tracks feature vocals from Mark Lanegan – “I’m Above” and “Long Gone Day”.

I’m Above
Long Gone Day

I’m sure anyone reading this post has heard of Mad Season, but what may not be as commonly known is that the group was working on a follow up album after Above’s success. Staley couldn’t get it together to record vocals for the follow-up project, so Lanegan was reportedly going to take on vocal duties. As far as I know, the project, called Disinformation, never made it past the conceptual stage. There are many reports in the press confirming that songs were written for the record, but if any recordings were actually finished I haven’t seen evidence that they circulated amongst fans.

It took four years after Sweet Oblivion's release, with a full album recorded and scrapped in the interim, for the next dose of Screaming Trees music to hit stores. Though Dust wasn’t released until 1996, it was well worth the wait. Slightly more polished, but just as epic as its predecessor, the album demonstrated that the Screaming Trees had more than one great album in them. “All I Know”, “Dying Days” (featuring a blistering guitar solo by Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready), “Sworn And Broken”, “Traveler” and “Gospel Plow” are highlights. The record is one of those that finishes too soon, begging the listener for repeated plays.

All I Know
Dying Days
Sworn And Broken

Click here for PART VI.