Mother Love Bone

Mother Love Bone

Rate Points :4.5
Binding :Audio CD
Label :Island / Mercury
Manufacturer :Island / Mercury
MPN :512884
ProductGroup :Music
Studio :Island / Mercury
Publisher :Island / Mercury
UPC :731451288425
EAN :0731451288425
Price :$13.98USD
Lowest Price :$9.66USD
Customer ReviewsAndrew Woods Swan Song
Rating Point :4 Helpful Point :0
As I think back on all of the musical talent of the Seatlle Sound in the early nineties. I can only ponder on what would have been if the drug of choice, heroin hadnt taken so many of them, especially the vocalists of that era, Layne Staley, Kurt Cobain and particularly Andrew wood.
Although, Malfunkshun was a great band, in which Andrew Woods vocal talents began to gain noteriety, this album truly defines him as a lead singer.
I believe that if Andrew Wood hadnt been taken so early in life, he would have been a mega-star and Mother Love Bone would have been mentioned along w/the great bands of that era such as Soundgarden, Nirvana, Temple of the Dog, The Mudhoneys, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam etc.
Highly recommend if you want to listen to Hardcore, Blues and Anthem Metal combined rock n roll.
In my humble opinion one of the best eras in rock n roll history.

Enjoy!!!

Billy G-Drive

classic songs that are sadly, not recognized as the classics that they should be recognixed as
Rating Point :5 Helpful Point :0
In an alternative universe Mother Love Bone is a household name, praised by critics and recognized as one of the best bands of the 90s, and no one has ever heard the words "Pearl Jam" mentioned in that order. In this universe singer Andrew Wood was one of the biggest rock stars of the 1990s and he continues to enjoy his celebrity today....

Listening to the 1992 self-titled Mother Love Bone compilation, (also known as "Star Dog Champion) which consists of the bands brilliant debut album "Apple" (1990) and an earlier EP "Shine" (1989) its easy to ask "what could have been?" If Andrew Wood hadnt died of a drug overdose, what would his status and the status of Mother Love Bone be today? What great music would they have gone on to record?

But alas, Mother Love Bone died along with Andrew Wood and one is left to speculate. What we are left with is just one album and an EP, the sole testaments of a great band.

While there are a fair amount of albums that werent recognized in their day (like Loves "Forever Changes" or The Velvet Underground and Nico, both 1967) no album has been as criminally neglected as "Apple." While the album received and still receives good-to-glowing reviews and "Crown of Thorns" is considered a classic, the band and their music, have been, overall, greatly overlooked and under appreciated.

What exactly was the sound of this great band? Grunge, right? After all, Mother Love Bone was from Seattle and three of the band members (Ament, Gossard and Bruce Fairweather) were in the Green River (one of the pioneers of Seattle grunge) so "Apple" should have a total grungy sound, right? Well, not exactly.

Listening to Mother Love Bone and then comparing it with Mudhoney, its clear that when Green River split, singer Mark Arm took the bands sound with him. Mudhoney was really just a continuation of Green River, with its distorted guitars and "fuzz" while Mother Love Bone had an entirely new sound.

Imagine crossing Led Zeppelin with Aerosmith and Jefferson Airplane, and thats pretty much what you get with Mother Love Bone--a totally retro, neo-psychedelic, hard rocking band with groove-laden bluesy riffs, killer solos with strong melodies. Andrew Wood, who could have been a love child of Janis Joplin and David Lee Roth, was a charismatic, gifted singer whose voice and words combined a paradoxical mixture of utopian happiness and lonely despair, sometimes in the same breath. This makes listening to "Apple" kind of a unique experience. In some ways its a celebratory, happy album, and in others, its a deeply sad one.

While only two members of MLB went on to play in Pearl Jam, if you listen to "Apple" and then "Ten" (1991) you can see the natural progression, how one seems to naturally follow the other. "Ten" may have, overall, better songs, but "Apple" has its strengths too. While both albums are terrific and have a classic-rock feel, "Apple" seems to be a little more spontaneous, less slick, and certainly bluesier with stronger melodies. Stylistically, the sunny, hippie Wood is the polar opposite of the somber, baritone Vedder.

Songs like "This Is Shangrila," "Stardog Champion," "Holy Roller" "Stargazer," "Crown of Thorns" and "Come Bite the Apple," (in which Wood prophetically sings "my future was in my hands till I washed it all away") rival anything from Aerosmiths "Rocks" (1974) and are classic songs that are sadly, not recognized as the classics that they should be recognixed as.

One can only guess what Mother Love Bone could have achived, but its frutless to contemplate. One thing is for sure though, Andrew Wood, Jeff Ament, Bruce Fairweather, Sone Gossard and Greg Gilmore left one great album, and that much is indisputable.

On a side note: This single-disc compilation contains most of the "Shine" EP, and there is another 2-CD edition that contains the entire "Shine" EP. While these songs arent as strong as what the band would later do, they are worth listening to.

Have you ever heard the story of Mr Faded Glory
Rating Point :5 Helpful Point :0
I am a 90s kid, born in the early 80s. I knew of Mother Love Bone but never listened to them. Fast forward to....2003, I get Pearl Jams DVD Live At The Garden and they do the song Crown of Thorns. Then, I hear it on a couple of their bootlegs. So, as curiosity goes, I find out who does that song. I look at the back of my Singles Soundtrack and there it is. So, i buy this CD because if a band is good enough for one great song, what stops them from having more. This CD did nothing but amaze me. Im sooooo upset that Andy Wood couldnt have produced any more CDs other than Apple and Shine, but what he left behind were two of the greatest CDs in Seattle Grunge history. This CD is a mush together of those two CDs and is just captivating.

RIP Andrew Wood and MLB
Rating Point :5 Helpful Point :0
What more can be said that hasnt already. I found MLB shortly after Andrew died in the 90s and have wondered as many..."what if". My car was broken into once and this along with other CDs were stolen. I found it a few months later in a second-hand music store. It was my original CD!!! (there were a specific couple cracks in the case) I bought it again!!! So nice I paid for it twice!!!! Love every song like my children..equally.

BECAUSE SOMEDAY.... M.L.B. SHINES!
Rating Point :5 Helpful Point :2
Mother Love Bone may have only released one album and a four song EP in their time, but they are legendary as far as the Seattle sound goes. In a class of their own, and if you listen to the disc, you will realize, a band that almost all the Seattle hit makers, have spent the past twenty years trying to emulate... however, have never quite made the mark. THis disc showcases all of the bands major label material, consisting of the LP:Apple, and the EP:Shine.

This band came out of the late eighties, and while they were children of the glam rock era, they were the people who basically invented the grunge rock sound. The combination of these two styles, along with some really finely penned lyrics, make these songs all sparkle, and at the same time, make the head get deep, and also make you want to crank some volume, and sing along. This is a free natured sort of rock music. Unique. Loud. Somewhat raw, and just an overall good time record. Mother Love Bone is a band that threatens to be invisible these days, but really, some of these songs should stay bright for years down the road. Theres not a letdown in the bunch, but my key picks would be SHANGRI-LA, CROWN OF THORNS (especially the extended version from Shine)and HOLY ROLLER, Id name more but they aint poppin into my head as quickly. This is a record that any fan of the Seattle scene couldnt possibly not enjoy, and thats more than I personally can say for its spin off younger brother Pearl Jam, who usually bums me out for the most part. But lets not try to get onto any sort of negative spin here people. Thats not what this stuff is all about.

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