Above is the only studio album by the American rock band Mad Season, released on March 14, 1995, through Columbia Records. Above peaked at No. 24 on the Billboard 200 chart. The album has been certified gold by the RIAA in the United States. The band's singer Layne Staley created the artwork on the album cover and inside the inlay.
Background
During the production of Pearl Jam's Vitalogy, guitarist Mike McCready went into rehabilitation in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he met John Baker Saunders, who would a short while later become bassist in The Walkabouts. In 1994, when the two returned to Seattle, they formed a side band with Screaming Trees drummer Barrett Martin. Immediately the trio set up rehearsal time together and began writing material. McCready then brought in friend and Alice in Chains frontman Layne Staley to round out the line-up. McCready had hoped that being around sober musicians would push Staley to get himself sober.
Recording
The album was recorded in 1994 at Bad Animals Studio in Seattle, Washington. Producer and mixer Brett Eliason previously worked with McCready as Pearl Jam's sound engineer.
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Above received mostly positive reviews from music critics and was very well received by grunge fans, but some critics pointed out the album's flaws. Despite some negative criticism, the album was a moderate commercial success. Over the course of 1995, Above scaled the Billboard 200 album chart eventually peaking at number 24. Above has been certified gold by the RIAA. AllMusic staff writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album three out of five stars, saying that "the album meanders without much direction, yet there are flashes of invention, particularly in Staley's work, with McCready contributing a few tasty licks."
On January 7, 2013, Blabbermouth.net reported that Legacy Recordings would release an expanded deluxe edition of Above, a three-disc boxset comprising two CDs and one DVD. It includes the original studio album and a host of extras, specifically some unreleased tracks from the band's unfinished second album with lyrics and vocals by Mark Lanegan; the full audio set of the band's "Live at The Moore" performance on April 29, 1995; and the first official DVD release of "Live at The Moore", including a previously unreleased full concert video of the band's New Year's Eve performance from the now-defunct Seattle club RKCNDY.
Packaging
The album's gloomy, black and white cover art featuring a couple tongue-kissing was illustrated by Staley. The drawing was based upon a photograph of Staley and his ex-fiancée, Demri Lara Parrott. The album's title comes from the song "I'm Above".
Track listing
All lyrics by Layne Staley, except where noted.
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Year-end charts
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