Sweet Oblivion is the sixth studio album by Screaming Trees, released on September 8, 1992. It quickly became the band's best-selling record, and was the closest they ever came to achieving mainstream success. Sweet Oblivion sold in excess of 300,000 copies on the strength of the band's biggest hit, "Nearly Lost You".[8] The song benefited from an appearance on Singles: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, a Top Ten, platinum-selling hit album which featured many other popular Seattle-based music acts from the period.
| Sweet Oblivion | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 8, 1992 | |||
| Recorded | March 1992 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 46:13 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Producer | Don Fleming | |||
| Screaming Trees chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Sweet Oblivion | ||||
| ||||
Around the time of the recording of the album, the band’s original drummer Mark Pickerel left to pursue other musical interests, and was replaced with Barrett Martin.
Nearly four years passed in between Sweet Oblivion and the band's follow-up album, Dust, a move that hurt much of the band's commercial momentum.[9]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [10] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+[11] |
| Kerrang! | 4/5[12] |
| Los Angeles Times | [13] |
| NME | 8/10[14] |
| Q | [15] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [7] |
| Select | 5/5[16] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 9/10[17] |
| The Village Voice | B+[18] |
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Shadow of the Season" | L. Conner, Lanegan | 4:32 |
| 2. | "Nearly Lost You" | L. Conner, V. Conner, Lanegan | 4:06 |
| 3. | "Dollar Bill" | V. Conner, Lanegan | 4:35 |
| 4. | "More or Less" | L. Conner, V. Conner, Lanegan | 3:13 |
| 5. | "Butterfly" | L. Conner, V. Conner, Lanegan | 3:21 |
| 6. | "For Celebrations Past" | L. Conner, V. Conner, Lanegan, Martin | 4:10 |
| 7. | "The Secret Kind" | L. Conner, V. Conner, Lanegan, Martin | 3:09 |
| 8. | "Winter Song" | L. Conner, Lanegan | 3:43 |
| 9. | "Troubled Times" | L. Conner, V. Conner, Lanegan, Martin | 5:21 |
| 10. | "No One Knows" | L. Conner, Lanegan | 5:13 |
| 11. | "Julie Paradise" | V. Conner, Lanegan | 5:05 |
Personnel
editScreaming Trees
- Mark Lanegan – vocals
- Gary Lee Conner – guitar
- Van Conner – bass
- Barrett Martin – drums
Technical
- Don Fleming – production
- Andy Wallace – mixing
- Howie Weinberg – mastering
- John Agnello – engineering
Visual
- David Coleman – art direction
- Michael Lavine – photography
Charts
edit| Chart (1993) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[19] | 77 |
| US Billboard 200[20] | 141 |
| US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[21] | 4 |
References
edit- ^ "50 Greatest Grunge Albums". Rolling Stone. April 1, 2019. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
- ^ "The 30 Best Grunge Albums of All Time". Loudwire. May 24, 2017. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
- ^ Leivers, Dannii (June 15, 2020). "10 obscure but absolutely essential grunge albums". Louder Sound. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
- ^ "Top 30 Grunge Albums". Ultimate Classic Rock. October 11, 2021. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
- ^ Robinson, Joe (January 8, 2013). "10 Best Grunge Albums". Diffuser.fm. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
- ^ a b "The 20 Greatest Grunge Albums of All Time". Spin. Vol. 20, no. 4. SPIN Media LLC. April 2004. p. 62. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
- ^ a b Randall, Mac (2004). "Screaming Trees". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 721. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Screaming Trees Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Dust - Screaming Trees | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved March 17, 2010.
- ^ Huey, Steve. "Sweet Oblivion – Screaming Trees". AllMusic. Retrieved March 17, 2010.
- ^ Farber, Jim (October 9, 1992). "Sweet Oblivion". Entertainment Weekly: 58. Archived from the original on September 3, 2007. Retrieved March 17, 2010.
- ^ Watts, Chris (October 31, 1992). "Screaming Trees 'Sweet Oblivion'". Kerrang!. Vol. 416. London, UK: EMAP.
- ^ McOmber, James Martin (November 8, 1992). "Screaming Trees: 'Sweet Oblivion' (Epic)". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Screaming Trees: Sweet Oblivion". NME: 37. October 3, 1992.
- ^ "Screaming Trees: Sweet Oblivion". Q (73): 90. October 1992.
- ^ Perry, Andrew (November 1992). "Screaming Trees: Sweet Oblivion". Select (29): 84–85.
- ^ Azzerad, Michael (1995). "Screaming Trees". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 343–344. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (March 9, 1993). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved March 17, 2010.
- ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 245.
- ^ "Screaming Trees Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
- ^ "Screaming Trees Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 20, 2021.