On my last playlist post I talked about Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell from Alice in Chains band having sort of a confrontation leading to Layne, the lead vocals, to go to rehab and help shape himself up.
Layne decided to finally go to rehab to curb his substance addiction and to quell his bandmates' rising concern over him.
While in the rehab, he met other rock stars who were also having their own internal battles. He met Mike McCready, lead guitars for Pearl Jam, Barrett Martin, drummer for Screaming Trees, and John Saunders, a well known bassist player.
They decided to have a more meaningful time together while in rehab and formed a band and called it Mad Season.
Mad Season is a obviously a pun as they were all struggling from withdrawal syndrome for being in the rehab.
The best thing about this band is we are sure they channeled creativity without the help of drugs, so this is pure talent and genius you will hear here.
You can imagine here the struggles these guys are going through, heavy addiction to zero drugs, the withdrawal attacks must have been hell for them.
One of the songs they released as a drug-free band is River of Deceit.
This song is, you won't believe, regarded as one of the most meaningful songs ever created in the era. I guess artists' creativity indeed surfaces up when they feel more emotions be it anger, sadness, happiness or whatever emotions.
The song is all about internal battles, so anyone can relate as we all have things we struggle with, not just applicable to drug addiction. You can already say this from the first line right off the bat...
"My pain is self-chosen
At least, so the prophet says
I could either burn
Or cut off my pride and buy some time
A head full of lies is the weight, tied to my waist
The river of deceit pulls down, oh oh
The only direction we flow is down
Down, oh down
Down, oh down
Down, oh down
Down, oh down
My pain is self-chosen
At least I believe it to be
I could either drown
Or pull off my skin and swim to shore
Now I can grow a beautiful shell for all to see
The River of Deceit pulls down, yeah
The only direction we flow is down
Down, oh down
Down, oh down
Down, oh down
Down, oh down
The pain is self-chosen, yeah
Our pain is self-chosen
Down, oh down
Down, oh down
Down, oh down
Down, oh down"
My favorite part to sing here is the part...
"My pain is self-chosen
At least I believe it to be
I could either drown
Or pull off my skin and swim to shore
Now I can grow a beautiful shell for all to see"
Especially that last line where it says "Now I can grow beautiful shell for all to see."
You just have to hear it to appreciate. The song can truly pierce your inner self once you hear this.
Last thing before I close, Mad Season is one of the few outfits that had been called a "superband" becauae this was a collaboration between super talented musicians from well known bands. Other Superband I know are Temple of the Dog(featuring Chris Cornell and Eddie Vedder)and Cream (featuring Eric Clapton). You can only be called a superband if the all members are renowned on their own right either solo or from a band. It's a short list really.
Let me know if you like it.
Credits to the owner of the YouTube video