Dust
The Trees' third and best major-label album wasn't an easy one to make: the band felt compelled to scrap the first recording with producer Don Fleming and re-record the songs with George Drakoulias of Black Crowes and Tom Petty fame. But the creative malaise and personal chaos that reportedly plagued the follow-up to 1992's gold-sellingSweet Oblivionare nowhere in evidence in the finished grooves.Dustis a complex, layered effort that transcends the grunge tag so often hung on the band by emphasizing deep roots in psychedelia and folk-rock that have been obscured in the past by the fuzz and fury. As always, Mark Lanegan's smooth-as-bourbon vocals and Gary Lee Conner's thunderstorm guitars are two of the most distinctive instruments Seattle has produced. But what makes this album special is the ensemble playing and the dynamics: The band seems to have listened to Lanegan's call in "Make My Mind" to "Take a minute just to breathe." Sitars, tabla, harmonium, and Mellotron adorn moving midtempo rockers such as "All I Know" and "Dying Days," adding to a world-weary but overall optimistic vibe.Dustcould be considered the combination of MTV Unplugged in New York and From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah that Nirvana was never able to realize--it's a mature, melodic album that doesn't sacrifice the energy of youthful rock & roll abandon.--Jim Derogatis