Mother Love Bone
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Mother Love Bone | |
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Origin | Seattle, Washington, USA |
Genre(s) | Grunge, hard rock, heavy metal |
Years active | 1988–1990 |
Label(s) | Stardog Records Mercury Records |
Associated acts | Malfunkshun, Ten Minute Warning, Green River, Skin Yard, Love Battery, Temple of the Dog, Pearl Jam, Brad, Three Fish |
Members | |
Andrew Wood Stone Gossard Jeff Ament Bruce Fairweather Greg Gilmore |
Mother Love Bone was a Seattle-based rock band active from 1988 to 1990. Frontman Andrew Wood's personality and compositions helped to catapult the group to the top of the burgeoning late 1980s/early 1990s Seattle music scene. Tragically, Wood died only days before the release of the band's debut album Apple thus ending the group's hopes of success. Although Mother Love Bone is to this day remembered by many as a very talented band in its own right, its legacy, for some, is overshadowed by Wood's death and the bands that its former members would later form.
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[edit] History
Mother Love Bone was established in 1988 by ex-Green River members Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament and Bruce Fairweather, ex-Malfunkshun frontman Andrew Wood and ex-Ten Minute Warning and Skin Yard drummer Greg Gilmore. Initially the group was formed in 1987 out of covers outfit Lords of the Wasteland which featured Wood, Gossard, Ament and Malfunkshun drummer Regan Hagar. By early 1988 the band had added Fairweather, replaced Hagar with drummer Greg Gilmore and changed its name to Mother Love Bone. This new lineup quickly set about recording and playing area shows and by late 1988 had become one of Seattle's more promising bands.
In early 1989 the band signed to PolyGram subsidiary Mercury Records. As part of its contract PolyGram also created the Stardog Records imprint exclusively for the band. In March of that year the group issued its debut EP Shine becoming the first of the new crop of Seattle bands to have a release on a major label. The record sold well and rapidly increased the hype surrounding the band.
In late 1989 the group returned to the studio (this time in San Francisco) to record its debut album Apple. Despite some initial difficulties, the record was on-time for its projected March 1990 release. By this point interest in the band had hit a fever pitch and it seemed destined that the band were going to make it big. Only days before the release of Apple, however, frontman Andrew Wood, who had a long history with drug problems, overdosed on heroin.[1] After spending a few days in the hospital in a coma, Wood died, effectively bringing the group to an end.
[edit] Post-Mother Love Bone
In the months following Wood's death, Gossard and Ament would be approached by Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell (who was Andrew Wood's roommate), and asked if they would be interested in recording a single containing two songs he had written in tribute to Andrew Wood.[2] The project turned into an entire album and the group took the name Temple of the Dog, a reference to a line in the lyrics of a song penned by Wood.[3] After Temple of the Dog, Gossard and Ament founded Pearl Jam along with Mike McCready of Shadow, Eddie Vedder of Bad Radio, and Dave Krusen. Pearl Jam rocketed to fame with its debut album Ten and is still active today. Pearl Jam has released eight albums in total and continues to tour.
Fairweather initially remained inactive but later surfaced in the Seattle based psychedelic rock band Love Battery, replacing Tommy Simpson on bass in 1992. He played on two of the band's albums and many of its tours before leaving that band as well and dropping off the radar. In 2006 he resurfaced in The Press Corps, with Garret Shavlik (The Fluid) and Dan Peters (Mudhoney).
Gilmore's profile also dropped significantly following Mother Love Bone's demise although he did participate in the reunion of his former band Ten Minute Warning in 1998, and was credited with providing 'inspiration' for the song "Never the Machine Forever" (credited as being written by Kim Thayil) on Soundgarden's final studio album, 1996's Down on the Upside. The song initially came out of a jamming session Thayil had with Gilmore.[4]
[edit] Band members
- Andrew Wood - vocals/guitar
- Stone Gossard - guitar
- Jeff Ament - bass
- Bruce Fairweather - guitar
- Greg Gilmore - drums
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
Year | Title | Label | Type |
---|---|---|---|
1989 | Shine | Mercury | EP |
1990 | Apple | Mercury | Studio album |
1992 | Stardog Champion aka Mother Love Bone | Mercury | Compilation album |
[edit] Singles
- "Stardog Champion" (Promo) (Stardog/Mercury, 1990)
- "This Is Shangrila" (Promo) (Stardog/Mercury, 1990)
- "Stardog Champion" (Promo) (Stardog/Mercury, 1992)
- "Capricorn Sister" (Promo) (Stardog/Mercury, 1992)
[edit] Home Videos
- The Love Bone Earth Affair (PolyGram Video, 1993)
[edit] Compilation/Soundtrack contributions
- "Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns" on the Singles soundtrack (Epic, 1992)
- "Capricorn Sister" on the Thrash And Burn: The Metal Alternative compilation (Sony Music Special Products, 1993)
- "Stardog Champion" on the The Best Of Grunge Rock compilation (Priority, 1993)
- "Stardog Champion" on the Alterno-Daze: Natural 90s Selection compilation (MCA Special Products, 1995)
- "Bone China" on the Proud To Be Loud compilation (Debutante, 1997)
- "Chloe Dancer/Crown Of Thorns" on the Alternative Moments compilation (Sony Music Media, 2001)
- "Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns" on The Road Mix: Music from the Television Series One Tree Hill, Volume 3 soundtrack (Maverick, 2007)
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ Friend, Lonn M. (July 1992). Heroes... and Heroin. RIP Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-06-22.
- ^ Nicholls, Justin (1991-04-14). KISW 99.9 FM: Seattle, Radio Interview by Damon Stewart in The New Music Hour with Chris Cornell, Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard. Fivehorizons.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-03.
- ^ Turman, Katherine. "Life Rules." Rip Magazine. October 1991
- ^ Maloof, Rich. "Kim Thayil of Soundgarden: Down on the Upbeat". Guitar Magazine. July 1996.
[edit] Further reading
- Prato, Greg. "Mother Love Bone". All Music Guide. Retrieved June 13, 2005.
[edit] External links
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