The tragic beauty of Mad Season’s only album, ‘Above’

Above is the only studio album by Mad Season, a supergroup formed in the mid-1990s featuring members from prominent Seattle grunge and rock bands. Released on March 14, 1995, it is a special album that blends grunge, blues, and alternative rock, reflecting the unique chemistry of its members.

Mad Season consisted of:
Layne Staley (Alice in Chains) - Vocals, guitar (at least live)
Mike McCready (Pearl Jam) - Guitar
John Baker Saunders (The Walkabouts) - Bass
Barrett Martin (Screaming Trees) - Drums and percussion

The band was formed as a side project when Mike McCready and John Baker Saunders met during a stint in rehab. They later invited Layne Staley, whose struggles with addiction informed much of the album's themes, and Barrett Martin to complete the lineup. Their shared struggles with substance abuse and the need for creative expression heavily influenced the tone and subject matter of Above, but their different style suggests the emergence of potential "micro genres" within what the press called "the grunge genre."

Generally speaking, Above is a departure from the heavier sound of the members' primary bands, even though it does have a few heavier moments here and there. Still, it does more to incorporates blues-inspired melodies, jazz-inflected rhythms, and sparse, haunting arrangements. The music is quite introspective, with a slower pace and a raw emotional edge that aligns with the personal and reflective lyrics.

Key tracks

"River of Deceit" - The album's most popular single, showcasing Staley's poignant vocals and reflective lyrics about pain and redemption. It doesn't sound as anguished as some Alice In Chains songs, and it still has energy despite being slower than AiC songs like "Them Bones" (and AiC was never known as a particularly fast band).

"Wake Up" - A haunting opener that delves into themes of addiction and self-awareness.

"I Don't Know Anything" - A darker, grittier track with a driving riff.

Also of note: Mark Lanegan of Screaming Trees appears on the tracks "I'm Above" and "Long Gone Day," with a deep voice that complements Staley's fragile yet powerful delivery.

Themes

They say every good album is de facto a concept album, and this one (like Alice in Chains' Dirt) explores addiction and recovery, inner turmoil and self-discovery, mortality and spirituality, and relationships and emotional vulnerability. You know...what happens to a lot of people.

Legacy, tragedy, and good music

Although Mad Season was a short-lived project, Above has achieved a near-mythical status in the grunge and alternative rock canon. Grunge itself was considered disruptive. "By the end of the late eighties, the whole scene needed a massive shake-up," as Kerrang! editor-at-the-time Geoff Barton once noted. This album is more subtly disruptive.

It's raw emotional depth and unique sound continue to resonate with fans, and it is a bit of a gentler album but not "soft." A deluxe edition of the album, released in 2013, includes remastered tracks, live recordings, and previously unreleased material.

The band’s potential was tragically cut short:
John Baker Saunders passed away in 1999 from a heroin overdose.

Layne Staley died in 2002, also from addiction-related causes.

Mad Season remains a poignant reminder of the Seattle music scene's brilliance and the personal struggles that shadowed it. Above captures the band's fleeting but powerful artistic legacy.