Sound Advice: CD Reviews - Blind Melon self-titled

CD Review:
If you didn't get into the grunge movement of the late '80s and early '90s with bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam, then this is a band have grabbed on to; short lived as they were. A flashback to the '70s rock scene with music influenced by Led Zeppelin or The Guess Who, Blind Melon signed out of L.A. in 1991 with Capitol Records.

Debunking the glam rock that was beginning its death-throws at the time and ignoring the harder edge of Seattle's underground movement that was starting to hit the mainstream, Shannon Hoon (vocals), Christopher Thorn (guitar), Rogers Stevens (guitar), Brad Smith (bass), and Glen Graham (drums) put out a refreshing update to the simple rock of two generations past.

The band didn't make too much headway with all the touring they did and exposure they received (especially when opening for Guns N' Roses) until the invention of a cute bumblebee. The video for the single "No Rain" starring Graham's little sister as a wandering girl in a bumblebee costume (it adorns the cover of the album) got the attention of the MTV world and everyone got on the Blind Melon bandwagon.

With simple and exquisite guitar playing and Hoon's addictive vocals, this album is always a great listen. Hoon's style of singing with the way he repeats the ends of words adds a bluesy feel to the album and it's one of the highlights. He can sing harmony with the best of them.

The songs are mostly just sad songs about why we exist taken from a wandering soul point of view. Not one song is mediocre and it makes an enjoyable listen through the whole 13 tracks.

Hoon was a major substance abuser and would be the downfall of the band. They released their second album Soup in '95 and then while on tour afterward, Hoon died of an overdose. So with only two albums to their credit the band eventually split and started other bands on their own. In '96 they did release a compilation album (Nico) from some of the last recordings Hoon participated in and some rejected material from their earlier albums. But for Blind Melon at their best, this is the album you would want.

Scott D. Brown