Mad Season Premiere Lost Track ‘Locomotive’
The early '90s will always be remembered fondly for the explosion of alternative rock, particularly grunge. Some of the biggest bands to come from that era were Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains and Screaming Trees, and members of those groups came together to form Mad Season. 18 years after the release of their first and only album, Above, a previously unreleased track has surfaced online.
Led by Alice In Chains vocalist Layne Staley, Mad Season also consisted of Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready, Screaming Trees drummer Barrett Martin and bassist John Baker Saunders. Conflicting schedules and Staley's addiction problems prevented the supergroup from releasing a follow-up album. Saunders died in 1999 from a heroine overdose and Staley passed away just three years later.
Mad Season had worked on rough cuts for a second album but were put in the back burner after the death of Saunders. Now McCready and Martin are gearing up to release a deluxe edition of Above with help from former Screaming Trees singer Mark Lanegan. The musicians uncovered old demos to rework them with Lanegan's help, who sings on three new songs, including "Locomotive."
"Locomotive is a song that best represents the direction Mad Season was going for our second, unfinished album," Martin says in an interview with Rolling Stone, which you can also use to hear "Locomotive." "Mark Lanegan's lyrics and powerful voice captures that time perfectly."
McCready chimed in: "He did an amazing job singing over this track from the elusive second Mad Season record that was to be called Disinformation. 'Locomotive' hits you like one!"
The deluxe edition of Above will be released April 2 and contains two CDs and one DVD. The collection will include the original album, tracks from the planned follow-up and a full concert video from Mad Season's last ever live show. A limited edition vinyl set will be released April 20 to commemorate Record Store Day.
What do you think of new Mad Season material? Are you excited about the reissue of Above and the extra content?
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