Above

Above

Seattle became an unlikely focal point of the music industry in the early to mid-'90s, with several of its leading alternative bands achieving commercial success far beyond bands in other regional scenes. This particular Seattle project had its origin in rehab, where Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready met Walkabouts bassist John Baker Saunders. Along with Screaming Trees drummer Barrett Martin, they approached Alice in Chains vocalist Layne Staley in hopes of keeping everyone sober. This therapeutic set should strike a resonant chord with fans of the original bands. The deluxe edition adds four tracks from the unfinished follow-up album, with Screaming Trees singer Mark Lanegan adding the right amount of heaviness to complete the material. The band's final gig in April 1995 at The Moore in Seattle—which features a nine-minute take on John Lennon's "I Don't Want to Be a Soldier"—is also added to the deluxe edition. Sadly, Saunders died in 1999 and Staley passed in April 2002, both of drug overdoses.

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