I always thought I should have got more into Mother Love Bone and, listening to Apple now, I still don't know why I didn't. The album always felt like this tussle between 70's and 80's glam rock and 90's grunge, and that conflict got in the way of me being able to really enjoy it; it's a key part in the beginning of grunge, but the hard rock part felt dirty, tainting its status as an album that started the genre that defined the 90's.
I'd read about the band before I heard them, and their connection to Pearl Jam, Temple of the Dog and Soundgarden was irresistible; how the singer, Andrew Wood, died just before this album was released and that Chris Cornell wrote most of the Temple of the Dog album as a tribute to him (naming it after a line in Man of Golden Words), essentially introducing Eddie Vedder to the other guys in Pearl Jam. I got the Temple of the Dog album in 2004 and loved it. I occasionally thought about getting a copy of this album on cd when I saw it come up on eBay, but for some reason never did.
In 2007 I had one of the best charity shops finds ever, and picked up this and Soundgarden's Louder Than Love for less than a fiver each - the wonders of the age when people priced things before Discogs. Both were in great condition considering their age so I snapped them up. I never found anything even half as good in that shop again. It really is a huge album, and if you can get past the glam-rock leanings, it's really great (although I have to make a real, conscious effort to do so). Stardog Champion has a brilliant riff and, actually, the same can be said for Holy Roller too (a song only ruined by the spoken-word section and the use of the word "love rock"). Heartshine is another great song. The second half doesn't reach such heights after that point, although the closer is nice. Looking at the song titles I've written here, you can see where that dirty glam-rock feeling comes from.
Anyway, as I wrote this, I just managed to knock some Lego onto the record as it played. My heart sank. Luckily it's just left a surface scratch and still plays fine. That comment about it being in great condition now seems a bit like I was tempting fate. Definitely going to review where my X-Wing model sits now.
Format: 12"
Tracks: 11
Cost: £4.80 second hand
Bought: Oxfam Books and Records, Winchester
When: 23/07/07
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: none
