If you weren’t there, it’s difficult to describe the shadow that PEARL JAM cast in the ’90s. Their blend of hard-rock riffs, emotional vocals and pounding rhythms captivated millions, to the extent that the band members were able to launch successful side-projects in the wake of their success.
Guitarist STONE GOSSARD’s band BRAD was one of those side-projects, and the group instantly established themselves as a different beast altogether. Led by vocalist SHAWN SMITH’s impossibly fluid and sensitive vocals, the album mixed heavy rock with a more contemplative side that mixed folk earnestness and an unexpectedly funky side. It was a true gem of ’90s rock.
That singular album has been reissued on vinyl LP and it’s available NOW at Horizon Records!
Recorded in 17 days in October of 1992 at Avast Recording in Seattle Washington, the album ranges from soft, nocturnal rock to giddy rhythms and glossy funk jams.
Smith is an unusual vocalist even without the grunge influences of Brad’s circle of friends, like Gossard and Jeff Ament’s Green River or Regan and Andrew Wood’s Malfunkshun, His honeyed falsetto starts to sound like the song of another species altogether.
The album might have been Gossard’s brainchild, but the spotlight shines most brightly on Smith. On his first major effort, Smith shows excellent vocal control. His astonishing falsettos won him Prince comparisons, but he was no slavish imitator, with a rich tone and sense of hurt.
He handles keyboards for the group as well, and his piano and organ parts are spot on. His composition “Screen,” especially when it gets to a lovely vocal/piano/bass break towards the end, is a good all-around showcase for his work.
As a band, Brad works in traditional but quite effective ways. In fact, if anything, in “My Fingers” the group actually has a better anthem than most of what’s on Pearl Jam’s Ten, Smith’s heavily flanged vocals mix with a stirring Gossard guitar build and rhythms crunch.
The group mostly works in two modes — uplifting, heavier rockers along the lines of “My Fingers,” also including the quietly funky “20th Century” and the great album-finisher “We,” and slower, quieter late-night groovers like “Buttercup” and “Good News.”
Regardless of the style, the quartet always do a stellar job, guaranteeing a varied, memorable listen through and through. This reissue is a chance to revisit one of the most pleasantly surprising and rewarding albums of the 1990s.
