In the middle of this month, I began examining the pre-grunge era of the genre, starting off with the first release of the Melvins. Today takes us just 2 years after Gluey Porch Treatments’s release, and the band I’m covering today is a little more advanced than that. Not by a massive amount, as the grungy vibes are perhaps a little more potent here, but it’s still as dirty as it should be. So, get just the right kind of psychedelic substances, find the most comfortable spot in your house/apartment to imbibe said substance, and take a look at my review for Green River’s first release, Rehab Doll. Let’s begin!
Background
Taken from Wikipedia:
“In its first practice sessions in early 1984, Green River's members were vocalist Mark Arm, guitarist Steve Turner, drummer Alex Vincent (also known as Alex Shumway) and bassist Jeff Ament. Prior to joining Green River, they had played for a variety of rock, punk, and hardcore groups, often with overlapping lineups. Arm and Turner had played together in Mr. Epp and the Calculations and the Limp Richerds. Determined to start a new band together, they first recruited Vincent, whom Turner had briefly played with in Spluii Numa, as drummer, and then set about convincing Ament to join. He and Turner worked at the same Seattle coffeeshop, and Arm had befriended him after a DJ set by Ament at Metropolis, a local club. Ament had a low opinion of Mr. Epp, but agreed to join the new band due to Turner's persistence and Ament's frustration with Deranged Diction, his band at the time. The first Green River rehearsal was at the Turner home on Mercer Island. Stone Gossard, a high school friend of Turner and Vincent, joined as a second guitarist shortly thereafter.
The idea for the name "Green River" came to both Arm and Turner independently. Arm has cited several possible inspirations — a local community college, the 1969 Creedence Clearwater song — but the most resonant association was with the Green River Killer, an infamous Washington state serial killer who was prominent in headlines at the time. To Alice Wheeler, a band photographer, the name reflected undercurrents of depression and danger that would come to characterize grunge: Turner later came to see it as "a dumb joke."
On June 23, 1984, Green River recorded their first demos at Reciprocal Recording. They were released on vinyl in 2016. By late 1984, the band was playing shows in and around Seattle. The band began production in December 1984 on its first record, Come on Down.
By the time the band finished the record in mid-1985, Steve Turner had left the group. Turner has attributed this to his increased interest in 1960s garage rock, Billy Childish, and the Replacements, and dislike of the band's new more hard rock and heavy metal material. He was replaced by former Deranged Diction guitarist Bruce Fairweather.
In late 1985, the band embarked on its first nationwide tour to promote Come on Down. Release of the record was delayed, however, thus negating the purpose of the tour. From all accounts the experience was less than positive, though it helped cement alliances with other emerging American indie rock bands. Among them was Sonic Youth, who later quoted the song "Come on Down" on its own composition "Nevermind (What Was It Anyway)". After the tour, Come on Down was finally released by the New York-based Homestead Records. The record was released to little fanfare, and did not sell well. However it is often considered the first record to be released by a "grunge" band, as it predated both the Melvins debut EP and the Deep Six compilation album.
In 1986, the band continued to play in and around the Pacific Northwest to steadily larger crowds (especially in the band's hometown of Seattle). Early in the year, the now legendary Deep Six compilation album was released on the local C/Z Records label. Alongside two Green River songs, the compilation features the music of fellow Washington bands Malfunkshun, Melvins, Skin Yard, Soundgarden, and The U-Men. Kathleen C. Fennessy of AllMusic stated that the compilation "documents a formative period in Northwest rock history".
In June 1986, the band began production on its second EP, Dry as a Bone, with local producer Jack Endino. Green River chose to record Dry as a Bone for Bruce Pavitt's new label, Sub Pop. However, Pavitt couldn't afford to release it until the following year, and, as had happened with Come on Down, the record was delayed. In the meantime the band issued the one-off "Together We'll Never" single on the local Tasque Force Records label. Dry as a Bone was finally released through Sub Pop in July 1987, a full year after it was recorded. It was the new label's first non-compilation release. Dry as a Bone was promoted by Sub Pop as "ultra-loose GRUNGE that destroyed the morals of a generation". Steve Huey of AllMusic called it Green River's "strongest individual release...perfecting their sleazy, raucous fusion of '70s hard rock and post-hardcore punk".
Almost immediately following the release of Dry as a Bone, the group re-entered the studio to begin production on its first full-length album, Rehab Doll. Band in-fighting, though, took center stage over the music. A stylistic division developed between Ament and Gossard on one side, and Arm on the other. Ament and Gossard wanted to pursue a major-label deal, while Arm wanted to remain independent, viewing the duo as being too careerist. The in-fighting came to a head following an October 1987 show in Los Angeles, California. Apparently, without informing the group, Ament had filled the show's guest list with major label representatives, instead of the band's friends; nonetheless only two of the representatives appeared. On October 31, 1987, Ament, Gossard and Fairweather stated their desire to quit the band. Although the band members agreed to complete production of Rehab Doll during the next three months, Green River had by late October 1987 ceased as a band. Rehab Doll was released in June 1988. Ned Raggett of AllMusic called it "a record that sounded caught somewhere between grunge mania and metal/corp rock folly".”
Basic Description
Grungy Buffet.
You definitely hear more of the influences that gave birth to the genre on Rehab Doll than you do with Gluey Porch Treatments before it. Not that the Melvis didn’t help deliver the baby, because they certainly did. However, Green River showed the variety of music styles that Grunge built it’s foundation on. You can hear Hard Rock, Punk, Indie Rock, Garage Rock, and even some Heavy Metal all throughout this record’s run time. Because of that, there’s something for just about everybody to listen to on Rehab Doll. Not only that, but despite the fact there aren’t as many song on this album, all of the songs are longer in length, and stay with you longer because of that.
Best Track
The opening track Forever Means hooked me immediately upon listening to it for the first time. You can definitely hear & feel the Punk attitude on here front & center, yet the other styles you can come across on Rehab Doll sharpens the Punk to a fine edge. The lo-fi like sound just adds to the rawness of it all, and the vocals are somewhat hoarse yet can still be heard without trouble. As dirty as the whole runtime is, you can hear the diamond in the rough easy, and that’s a win in my book!
Forever Means
Worst Track
Honestly, I can’t think of a single bad song on Rehab Doll. Compared to my last review, it’s a more meaty affair (Like I said above), and as such it takes longer to listen to, which in turn means it sticks with you for a greater period of time. Really the only thing I could complain about with be there’s a few moments of “whininess” in some of the songs (Not sure if I should actually use that word), but they’re not frequent. Still, they are noticeable, and those moments might turn some people off.
Other
If you’re curious about listening to this album, click on the link below
Rehab Doll (w Re-Release Tracks)
Overall Impression & Rating
Rehab Doll was definitely an evolution from prior Pre-Grunge bands. More of the influences of the style were front and center, yet it was still it’s own thing at the same time. Perhaps whiny in some spots, the album none the less has power behind it as well, and lays the groundwork upon which future Grunge bands would build on. Definitely worth your time!
Rehab Doll gets a 9 out of 10.
And that was my review for Rehab Doll. Further building upon the emerging Grunge style, and it’s only hampered by just a few “Whiny” moments. A couple songs shorter than Gluey Porch Treatments for sure, but the songs we get on here are considerably more meaty affairs. Well, tomorrow is July, and as such the 2nd leg of my Grunge journey begins, and it’s on the band that practically embodies the genre. See you then!
