Sweet Oblivion

by

Screaming Trees

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I hadn't heard of the Screaming Trees in the Summer of 1993, after I'd just gotten my driver's license. My sister told me she'd buy the ticket for me, if I drove her up to the Orange County Fairgrounds to the Screaming Trees, Spin Doctors and Soul Asylum concert. I balked for a couple of reasons, but mostly because I hadn't heard of the Trees and the Spin Doctors made me nauseous. The Spin Doctors did little to turn me around that night. The Screaming Trees, however, did good work. Very good work. I picked up Sweet Oblivion the next day.

Mark Lanegan's hoarse voice, which at times is barely audible, gives this essetially Seattle grunge band a full force push in the right direction. "Nearly Lost You," (off of the Singles soundtrack) is the obvious standout here. However, I was just as impressed with several of the other songs on the album, including "Dollar Bill," "Winter Song," and "Shadow of the Season." They are an extremely talented band, with the Connor boys backing up Lanegan on guitar and bass.

The Trees never reached the height of popularity they should have, based mostly on poor timing. Sweet Oblivion was released prior to the Singles soundtrack, rather than the other way around, which didn't allow the band to build anticipation for a new release. Add that to a 4 year break before releasing a new album. Mix liberally and you have a band that was musically capable but unfortunately didn't become as successful as they should have.

What you do have here is a great album with a great sound, solid guitar work and a bonafide would-be hit. Buy this album.