| January 31, 2018 | |||||||||
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Lyrics: I don’t mind stealing bread But it’s on the table Blood is on the table
I don’t mind stealing bread But it’s on the table And it’s on the table I’m going hungry (going hungry) Yeah, I don’t mind stealing bread I’m going hungry (going hungry) Temple of the Dog’s album can be purchased at Amazon: Mother Love Bone’s Apple is available at a great price:
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Ask just about any rock music fan what band pioneered (or at least led the charge) the early 1990s Seattle grunge sound, and their answer will be Nirvana. And while Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains were certainly frontrunners and the most successful, we here at the Dances with Bass Radio believe that crown of thorns really should go to Mother Love Bone. At the very least, Mother Love Bone deserves to be in the conversation, though sadly, they are but a musical footnote, even to many devout rock and roll fans. Founded by singer Andrew Wood along with Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard (who would later go on to fame with Pearl Jam), Mother Love Bone is regarded by true music aficionados as being one of a handful of bands who opened the nation’s eyes to the Seattle music scene, which had been throwing an enthusiastic middle finger to 1980s pop since about 1984. Mother Love Bone’s long-awaited debut album, Apple, was scheduled to drop in March 1990, but frontman Andrew Wood died of a heroin overdose just days before the planned release, which caused the record label to shelve the record until September 1990.  This backstory is important because Temple of the Dog was formed by Chris Cornell (of then mostly unknown Soundgarden), former Mother Love Bone members and future Pearl Jam members Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard, and Mike McCready and Matt Cameron, who also would eventually be part of Pearl Jam. A then little-known vocalist by the name of Eddie Vedder was asked to sing on several tracks, too. The result, friends, was pure music magic. Temple of the Dog’s one and only record, along with the Singles movie soundtrack were the proverbial needle scratching across the Flock of Seagulls album. Grunge was born, fully clad in flannel and goddamn pissed off. Temple of the Dog dropped to critical acclaim in 1991, but it wasn’t until 1992—after Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Alice in Chains had released their respective Badmotorfinger, Ten, Nevermind, Facelift albums—when the official death knell for 1980s hair metal and new wave was sounded. Temple of the Dog scored two grunge hits, Hunger Strike and Say Hello 2 Heaven. Interestingly, Hunger Strike was the first song recorded with Eddie Vedder at the mic. While Temple of the Dog was a short-lived tribute project, its impact on the genre is undeniable and significant.
The members of Mother Love Bone and Temple of the Dog went on to fame and fortune with Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, but the music world will never know the heights Mother Love Bone might have achieved had Wood not died. Prior to Wood’s death, critics were hailing Mother Love Bone as being the next big rock and roll act. If you aren’t familiar with them, I urge you to check out Stardog Champion (see below) and Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns. The members of Temple of the Dog have reunited several times in the 2000s to perform some tracks from their album, and there was off and on talk of an official band reunion and tour. Sadly, those talks ended in 2017 after Chris Cornell committed suicide. (And on a semi-related note, Hunger Strike is a song that I used to sing quite frequently. At one time, I could positively nail both Vedder’s and Cornell’s parts…that is until toward the end when Cornell goes up several octaves. Mortal humans can’t sing like Cornell could.) Video: This is the official video for Hunger Strike:
Here is the video for Mother Love Bone’s Stardog Champion:
Temple of the Dog also released Say Hello to Heaven as a single, though no official video was produced:
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