Andrew Wood - Mother Love Bone
On
March 19, 1990, after three days in a coma, Andrew Wood was removed from life
support and died. One of rock and roll’s great movements burgeoned—this was less
than a year before it broke. And Mother Love Bone front man Wood, its premier
harbinger, was dead as a result of an overdose. One of the most intimate films
of its kind ever crafted, Malfunkshun
explores rock’s unique enigma through extensive sessions with his friends and
family. They seek to understand a man on the brink of superstardom who was at
once joyous and troubled. Wood’s death sent shockwaves through the tight-knit
Seattle music community, including his band mates and soon-to-be
Pearl Jam members
Jeff Ament and
Stone Gossard and
Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell. A
showcase of a performer whose life became the inspiration for some of Seattle’s
greatest musicians, and whose death ended
the era of commercial hard rock while giving birth to the last great rock
movement to date, the film interweaves his music, his family, his friends and
band mates with rare concert and candid footage and creates a riveting portrait
of what it means to be talented, famous, and afraid.
Most
Seattle rock bands of the late '80s (Soundgarden,
Nirvana, Mudhoney, etc.) were
considered a reaction against the then-prevailing glam metal scene that had
MTV and radio in the palm of its hand. But
there was at least one Emerald City band that could've fit into the mainstream,
combining the area's trademark Sabbath-meets-Stooges garage rock with glam's
pretty-boy looks and anthemic choruses -- Mother Love Bone. And although the
group included five members, the undisputed leader and focal point was
flamboyant and charismatic singer Andrew Wood. Born on January 8, 1966, in
Columbus, MI, Andrew Patrick Wood was raised in Bainbridge Island, WA,
discovering rock music via the likes of such theatrical '70s arena rockers as
Elton John,
Queen,
Aerosmith, and
Kiss. At the age of 14, Wood joined his first serious band, Malfunkshun,
often performing dolled-up in makeup and outrageous clothes, under the persona
Landrew the Love Child. The group lasted for much of the '80s, but never
released an album (although a few of their tracks were included on
C/Z's Deep
Six compilation). By 1988, Wood left Malfunkshun and began jamming with two
former members of
Green River -- guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament. Originally
called Lords of the Wasteland the new outfit would soon be re-christened Mother
Love Bone.
Like
Malfunkshun, Mother Love Bone would include elements of glam rock, but the
stripped-down sound of Gossard and Ament's former band would also be included in
the mix. Drummer Greg
Gilmore and second guitarist
Bruce Fairweather
were also welcomed aboard, as Mother Love Bone quickly built up a loyal local
following. Polygram signed the band in 1989, issuing the six-track EP Shine
later in the year (on the band's own subsidiary label, Stardog), as Mother Love
Bone opened up a nationwide tour for British glamsters
Dogs d'Amour. By September of
1989, the quintet were hard at work on their full-length debut, but Wood had
developed a drug addiction that became obvious to his bandmates, and spent the
last months of the year in rehab. With expectations running high for MLB's debut
album (to be titled Apple), Wood and the others started 1990 by playing a few
shows around Seattle as they waited for the record's projected springtime
release date. On March 16th, Wood was found comatose in his apartment by his
girlfriend, having taken a lethal overdose of heroin. Wood was placed on life
support, but the damage was already done, and he died three days later.
Mother
Love Bone broke up shortly after Wood's death, while Apple was finally issued to
glowing reviews later in the year. The Seattle rock scene was shaken to its core
over the death of such a promising singer, as a longtime friend of Wood's, Chris
Cornell, penned a few songs in tribute to his fallen comrade (and one-time
roommate). With Gossard and Ament signed on to assist Cornell, the project was
dubbed Temple of the Dog,
taken from a lyric in the MLB song
"Man of Golden Words."
A full album was recorded, with Soundgarden drummer
Matt Cameron and local
guitarist Mike McCready,
issued in mid-1991 to little fanfare. As many know, Gossard, Ament, and McCready
went on to form the band Pearl Jam (with singer
Eddie Vedder and a
revolving door of drummers), finding breakthrough success in the summer of 1992.
Shortly thereafter, Temple of the Dog enjoyed a second life and became a hit,
while all of Mother Love Bone's recorded output for Polygram was compiled for a
double-disc self-titled release the same year. MLB would remain in the spotlight
for some time afterward -- their epic ballad
"Chloe Dancer/Crown
of Thorns" appeared on the soundtrack to the popular motion picture
Singles, Alice in Chains wrote a
song about Wood and other rockers who died from drugs ("Would?"), and a home
video of the band was released as well --
Love Bone Earth Affair.
In 1995, Gossard spotlighted Wood's early work with Malfunkshun by issuing the
compilation Return to Olympus on his
Loosegroove
label. ~Greg
Prato, All Music Guide
