Song of the Day: Mark Lanegan - Wildflowers

I've already spent a week on the guy, but last night I had one of the best concert experiences of my life at a Mark Lanegan show.

First off, the setting was spectacular, as it took place in the Masonic Lodge at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, which looks like this:

Secondly, the show was just Lanegan and a guitar player, and given the intimate setting (and that my wife and I were only a few rows back), it sounded and looked amazing. He also played some of my favorite songs, including this track off of his first solo LP, The Winding Sheet:



And finally, despite the fact that Lanegan never talks or smiles on stage (I believe he had three in-between-song statements: Thanks, Let's hear it for the opening band, This is Jeff on guitar), we found out before the show that he would be singing autographs afterwards.

I ended up fourth in line, and since he entered the room with Greg Dulli, when I got up there I asked him if he and Greg were working on another album. He said they weren't working on anything right now...and that was it. I shook his hand and thanked him for a great show. Here's my prize, on a live 10" that I've never seen before:

Song of the Day: Mad Season - Long Gone Day

Day 3 of Mark Lanegan week finds us at one of many Lanegan side projects. In fact, he was basically a sideman in the "supergroup" Mad Season, singing lead on "Long Gone Day" and sharing lead with Layne Staley (Alice in Chains) on another. The band also included Mike McCready (Pearl Jam) on guitar, Barrett Martin (Screaming Trees) on drums and some guy whose name I'm too lazy to look up on bass. No offense to that guy, but he's the reason "supergroup" is in quotes.

Unfortunately this group was a supergroup of heroin and ex-users, which may be why they only released one album, which was of varying quality. When it works, as it does on this song, it's fantastic, but when it doesn't, it's merely boring. That said, it's still a pretty underrated album, and if you like any of the group members' primary bands, you'd probably at least dig a few of these songs. But Lanegan's involvement in this one, combined with his Trees' mate Martin on percussion and a Layne on the chorus and second verse, puts "Long Gone Day" at the top of the heap.

Song of the Day: Mark Lanegan - Wheels

Continuing with Mark Lanegan week, today's song is from his third solo album, Scraps at Midnight. All of Lanegan's solo albums are worth owning, and the first three are particularly fantastic, in part because of how different they are from his Screaming Trees output. And while I'm especially partial to his second album, Whiskey for the Holy Ghost, this track off Scraps encapsulates why I'm obsessed with this guy - his voice on this song is nothing short of amazing. He starts off with the smokey, deep voice that dominates his solo work but ends the song with a higher register part that always gives me chills - the last time he sings, "whichever way they fall."

Today's Lanegan anecdote: My Cat's Cradle story from yesterday wasn't the first time I saw the Screaming Trees - it was actually at the Walnut Creek Amphitheatre in Raleigh, NC. They shared a bill with Soul Asylum and Spin Doctors. And yes, that makes no sense.

Song of the Day: Screaming Trees - Ivy

I'm kicking off Mark Lanegan week with one of my favorite bands, Screaming Trees. Like a lot of people my age, my first exposure to the band was their contribution to the Singles soundtrack. This led to a purchase of Sweet Oblivion, which begat an appreciation of their entire catalog. While their SST catalog can be hit or miss, Invisible Lantern is the most consistent of the bunch, and it features one of my favorite Trees' songs, "Ivy."

In fact, my friend and I got a chance to see the band at the Cat's Cradle in Chapel Hill when they were promoting Dust, their final album. The band started late, as the Seattle Supersonics (RIP) were playing in the NBA Finals and they were watching it backstage. They came out and Lanegan looked pissed - it wasn't until later that I realized he always looks pissed - but they tore through the set. We were at the front of the stage and yelling for them to play "Ivy." They finally played it, and when it was over, Lanegan threw down the mic stand and walked off, and the bassist threw his pick into the crowd and I caught it. One of my favorite concert memories by far.