Screaming Trees - Sweet Oblivion

The Screaming Trees should've had it all, and Sweet Oblivion is the album that should've given it to them. The Ellensburg, Washington, band's second major-label disc is as expert a set of pounding grunge and shifting moods as anything this side of Nirvana. But despite a set of brilliant hooks, intriguing lyrics ("Shadow of the Season," "Julie Paradise"), and Mark Lanegan's attention-getting vocals, it stopped short of going gold. Still, along with its belated follow-up, Dust, this is a masterwork of '90s hard rock. --Rickey Wright Amazon.com

Recovered from oblivion

This was no unknown band nor album when it was released, but through the years it got covered with a layer of dust. The song "I nearly lost" got stuck in my head and I still could remember the lyrics a decade after I heard the song for the last time.

When I tried to find the music, it proved very difficult. Apparently after this period the music gained an audience once more and this time the music has a timelessness character. No matter what people want to call it, it's good crafted music with fine lyrics. The first time you listen to it, it will strike your soul, guaranteed! March 20, 2008

From a grossly underrated band, their best and most accessible effort.

This is the kind of CD you load up once, and then play for about eight or nine months. In a row. Happily. You think "Nevermind" or "Ten" were good albums? You'll love this then, especially if you have a little more Bob Mould than Soundgarden in your tastes. This is a more complex, melodic kind of album than straight-ahead rock or neo-punk, and you'll be rewarded with some really good hooks and much better lyrics to sing along to.

-C

January 3, 2008

Sweet Oblivion means we get to love them anyway

This album by the Screaming Trees contains their one big hit, "Nearly Lost You." I heard the rest of the album when I started dating the man who became my husband. It's still one of our favorites more than 13 years later.

It doesn't sound dated... it's not really "grunge." It's just really good rock. The Screaming Trees are not as well-known as some of their contemporaries, but that means those of us who are hip to them get to be in on something special. Pick this one up and join our club. December 17, 2007

A must have for fans of 90's Seattle Music

Released in the fall of '92' "Sweet Oblivion" was Screaming Trees second album released under a major record label. One of the first songs they recorded for this album is "Nearly Lost You" which was to promote director Cameron Crowe's quirky Seattle love triangle movie Singles (1992). It's a pretty good song "Nearly Lost You" has a very catchy beat and some interesting drumming by Mark Pickerel who bailed on the band after the recording to "Nearly Lost You" was finished. "Shadow of the Season" is my other favorite song on this album, the songs sounds like a mix between bluegrass and rock. "More or Less" has this sinister slow rock sound to it. "Butterfly" my third favorite song had this calm and steady sound to it. "The Secret Kind" is a fast paced sound that reminds me of Led Zeppelin's "Rock 'n' Roll" and Ramones's "Blitzkrieg Bop".

November 19, 2007

"Oh sweet oblivion feels alright"

"Sweet Oblivion" (1992) is mellifluous, yet a rocking groove permeates at the same time that will make heads bop and back heels stomp, again and again. Aching lyrics express a longing and sense of being lost by Mark Lanegan's tired-yet-energetic vocals on eleven tracks. The Screaming Trees, although considered to be part of the grunge scene since the band formed in 1985 out of Ellensburg, Washington, were more akin to a psychedelic blues sound than the stereotypical teenage angst that was prevalent in many of the other grunge bands.

The Conner brothers of Gary Lee (lead guitar) and Van (bass) support Lanegan with infectious melodies. Barrett Martin (drums) rounds out the sound with a steady backbeat that capitalizes on Lanegan's bellows for mercy and understanding. The last stanza of "Shadow of the Season" echoes the album's bleakness but steadfastness to carry on despite the darkness. "In the shadow of the season/ To find a reason to carry on/ In the shadow of the season/ To find a reason to carry on/ Find a reason to carry on/ To carry on/ To find a reason to carry on/ To carry on."

"Nearly Lost You" is the most recognizable track due to its inclusion on the "Singles" movie soundtrack. But there are several other catchy songs such as "Dollar Bill," "Butterfly," and "Winter Song." After hearing "Winter Song" one may see why the label of grunge is a negating factor in truly describing the Screaming Trees sound. "Jesus knocking on my door/ Late last night and early this morning/ Window glass, rusted and weary/ I went straight through/ Didn't hear no warning."

In short, "Sweet Oblivion" is not whiny or self-absorbed. The maturity in the lyrics and voice of Lanegan keeps the album closer to an old bluesman singing about life's woes. There are enough concrete images such as Jesus and bullets, but also enough ambiguity to transform the lyrics to poetic lines and make the song the listener's own. As the last track plays, "Julie Paradise," the album closes with, "Julie your mother cried/ Sent home a bullet for the family/ That's how your father died/ Died a broken and lonely man/ Something's going wrong in my mind/ Something's going wrong inside/ I'm thinking... paradise/ Paradise... paradise." Perhaps the Screaming Trees sound is more comfortable on Beale Street than Pike Place, either way, "Oh sweet oblivion feels alright."

Bohdan Kot August 24, 2007

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