• Artist: Screaming Trees
• Rating:
• Styles: American Underground, Neo-Psychedelia, Grunge
• Track Picks: "Beyond This Horizon," "Disappearing," "Uncle Anesthesia"
• Similar Albums: Pump Up the Volume [Original Soundtrack], Pure Guava, Cracker, Generation Terrorists [UK], Seven, Just Say Yesterday: Volume VI of Just Say Yes, Bricks Are Heavy, Blood, The Reality of My Surroundings, Fossils, The Big Sell-Out, Satellites

Review

After a long career with independent label SST, the Screaming Trees arrived at Epic Records with little fanfare (and would leave in much the same way) with 1991's Uncle Anesthesia. Produced by Soundgarden's Chris Cornell and metal specialist Terry Date, the album lurches to its feet on the military shuffle of "Beyond This Horizon." Despite offering a few glimpses of the group's punkier side -- "Story of Her Fate," "Alice Said," "Time for Light" -- most of the material emphasizes the Trees' mellower inclinations. As its title and disturbing, Alice in Wonderland-inspired cover artwork would suggest, the album also finds the band delving deeper and deeper into their psychedelic tendencies. Gary Lee Conner's lysergic guitar textures gently frame Mark Lanegan's rough, whiskey-drenched vocals on such highlights as the title track, "Caught Between," and "Something About Today." And while "Bed of Roses" and "Lay Your Head Down" betray a strong R.E.M. influence, songs like "Before We Arise," "Closer," and "Disappearing" (with its Mexican funeral horn section) possess a sense of despair and hopelessness that only Lanegan's voice can convey. The last album to feature original drummer Mark Pickerel, Uncle Anesthesia also set the stage for the band's breakthrough, Sweet Oblivion. ~ Ed Rivadavia, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	iTunes	Composers	Performers	Time
Beyond This Horizon		Mark Lanegan, Lee Conner	Screaming Trees	(4:13)
Bed of Roses		Mark Lanegan, Lee Conner, Van Conner	Screaming Trees	(3:02)
Uncle Anesthesia		Mark Lanegan, Lee Conner, Van Conner	Screaming Trees	(3:52)
Story of Her Fate		Mark Lanegan, Lee Conner	Screaming Trees	(1:41)
Caught Between		Mark Lanegan, Lee Conner	Screaming Trees	(5:03)
Lay Your Head Down		Mark Lanegan, Lee Conner	Screaming Trees	(3:32)
Before We Arise		Mark Lanegan, Lee Conner	Screaming Trees	(2:26)
Something About Today		Mark Lanegan, Lee Conner	Screaming Trees	(3:02)
Alice Said		Mark Lanegan, Lee Conner	Screaming Trees	(4:11)
Time for Light		Mark Lanegan, Lee Conner	Screaming Trees	(3:50)
Disappearing		Mark Lanegan, Lee Conner	Screaming Trees	(3:12)
Ocean of Confusion		Mark Lanegan, Lee Conner	Screaming Trees	(3:05)
Closer			Screaming Trees	(5:48)

Credits

Mark Lanegan (Vocals), Screaming Trees (Producer), Screaming Trees (Main Performer), Karen Mason (Photography), David Coleman (Art Direction), Chris Cornell (Recorder), Chris Cornell (Vocals (Background)), Chris Cornell (Producer), Terry Date (Vocals (Background)), Terry Date (Producer), Terry Date (Engineer), Scott Miller (Vocals (Background)), Mark Pickerel (Percussion), Mark Pickerel (Drums), Gary Lee Conner (Guitar), Gary Lee Conner (Vocals (Background)), Van Conner (Bass), Van Conner (Vocals (Background)), Mark Ryden (Artwork), Jeff McGraph (Trumpet), Terry Pickerel (Percussion)

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