Was Mark Lanegan the Tom Waits of grunge? Judging from this album, one might certainly surmise that. Not only is the album title and front cover positively Waits-ish, but his voice has the required grit, not to mention a world-weariness unbecoming of a man in his late 20's. Of course, even though Waits also sang like a washed-up old wino in his youth, he was just an observer of that decadent Bukowskian underworld. Lanegan's tortured vocal, on the other hand, was hard-earned; the horrific story of his trajectory from abused and neglected child to juvenile delinquent to junkie rock star has been well documented in his autobiography; when he sounds like he's singing from the gutter, that's because it's exactly where he was at the time. When he recorded these songs (1991-1993) he was still a member of his infamously dysfunctional band, Screaming Trees. He had already made a tentative step towards a solo career with his acoustic low key debut, but Whiskey... was the big one in terms of songwriting (by Lanegan exclusively), production, and performance. It proved to himself and to the world that he had what it takes to make great music on his own, an idea his former bandmates had tried to suppress. Here, he is the sole writer, lead singer, co-producer, and occasional guitarist. Dinosaur Jr. bassist Mike Johnson (co-producer, multi-instrumentalist) does most of the rest, while other friends also help out. The mood is mainly subdued and instruments mostly acoustic, although there are some louder tracks featuring distorted electric guitars (e.g. "Borracho"). The arrangements are generally subtle but not necessarily sparse - there's the odd piano, organ, sax, and violin, all used to good effect. For this album, Lanegan has admitted to deriving inspiration from Van Morrison and "southern gothic" novelist Cormac McCarthy; as always, the influence of Jim Morrison and Johnny Cash in his singing is also evident. The album opens with a bit of whistling, followed by folky acoustic guitar and wistful vocal ("The River Rise"). "Carnival" is more upbeat, akin to a Screaming Trees track with completely different instrumentation (great use of violin, here). "Pendulum" is another highlight, featuring the desert country sound that Calexico would popularize a few years later, while "House a Home"s slide guitar and violin also give off a country vibe. Beautiful harmonies and sax give "Sunrise" a lighter tone, but the rest of the album is comprised by mournful blues and ballads - of the best sort, I hasten to add. Whiskey... set a trend with grunge musicians who wanted to show their more mature/emotional side. Great albums in the same vein were released in the same year, including Alice In Chains' Jar Of Flies and Nirvana's mega-hit MTV Unplugged in New York. Furthermore Whiskey is not just where Lanegan found his true voice for the first time, but probably the purest expression of his art. He would go on to release cover albums, acoustic ones, hard rocking ones, to incorporate elements of electronic music, and to be a serial collaborator to, among others, QOTSA, Isobel Campbell, Greg Dulli etc. A diverse body of work, united by his unmistakable voice. It's a voice that makes basically all of these albums worth hearing, but if I only had one choice, this would probably be it.
***** for The River Rise, House a Home, Carnival, Sunrise, Pendulum
**** for Borracho, Kingdoms of Rain, Riding the Nightingale, El Sol, Dead on You
*** for Shooting Gallery, Judas Touch, Beggar's Blues
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