CD Review: Sleepless in Seattle - The Birth of Grunge

It's been 15 years since Nirvana released "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and reminded the world that Seattle had more to offer rock & roll than just Jimi Hendrix and Heart. "Grunge", as the trend-happy music press dubbed it, quickly conquered the planet, morphing from the alienated howl of the rain-soaked Pacific Northwest into a clichéd fashion statement in the space of a few short years. With the inevitable artistic race to the bottom—not to mention a shotgun shell or two—grunge died the miserable death of overexposure, leaving a vacuum to be filled by Britney and the boy bands.

Sleepless in Seattle: The Birth of Grunge, a new compilation released by Livewire Records, is a chronicle of grunge from before the feeding frenzy; from when it was more than just prepackaged rebellion and self-conscious ennui. In part by choice and in part thanks to licensing restrictions, Sleepless in Seattle focuses its 65+ minutes on some of the lesser-known bands from Seattle in the 80s and early 90s. There's no Nirvana, and, sadly, no early-era Soundgarden. On the plus side, there's no Alice in Chains or Pearl Jam, either. While this compilation will serve as a welcome blast of nostalgia for ex-hipsters going grey at the temples, it should also open some eyes to the cool, creative rock scene that flourished in the shadow of Mt. Olympia for so many years before the major label machine gobbled it up and spat it back out of its bloody, gaping maw.

Sleepless runs in more or less chronological order from the early 80s right up until 1994. The first several tracks on the CD predate grunge-proper, but they do help to establish the scene out of which the much-vaunted (and maligned) style developed. 1984's "Happy Hunting Ground" by the Blackouts is more in the vein of Killing Joke or Big Black than some of the later grunge offerings, and it will come as no surprise that Paul Barker, one of the founding members of Ministry, came out of this group. There's also a positively prehistoric 1981 track from Mr. Epp and the Calculations that is of anthropological interest only, due to the participation of grunge trailblazer Mark Arm on vocals and "wit". "Solid Action" by the U-Men, a band formed in 1981, features a guitar line that sounds like a heavy-metal version of the Inspector Gadget theme and a vocalist who sounds uncannily like David Yow. Bands like the U-Men and so many others on this compilation prove that punk and metal are not, in fact, incompatible—one of the great contributions Seattle made to underground music, and a theme you will hear again and again on this CD

Article Author: Pete Blackwell

Pete Blackwell is a street walking cheetah with a heart full of napalm. He lives in St. Louis, Gateway to the West and proud home of Provel cheese.

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