♬ Mark Lanegan Band – Blues Funeral
“No other singer of his generation plumbs the depths so credibly, or does mournful with such grace.” -Keith Cameron, MOJO
Mark Lanegan is set to release Blues Funeral, his first solo album since 2004′s Bubblegum, on February 6, 2011. I just gave it a double pass-through and I couldn’t be more ecstatic to share it with everyone. Lanegan possesses one of the great whiskey & smoke voices of his generation, and several of his recordings from the 90′s–both as a solo artist (Whiskey for the Holy Ghost, Scraps at Midnight, I’ll Take Care of You) and as frontman for The Screaming Trees (Sweet Oblivion, Dust)–are required listening for any fan of the era.
Blues Funeral was recorded in Hollywood, California and features guest appearances from Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), Greg Dulli (the Afghan Whigs) and Jack Irons (the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, Neil Young). It’s now available to stream below, and a few of the tracks are a pretty serious change in musical style for Lanegan. I think it might be his best work to date. Let me know what you think.
Immediately following the release of Blues Funeral, Lanegan has dates scheduled in NYC and LA, then he’s off to Europe in support of the release. Expect US dates to begin in mid-April.
Mark Lanegan has sung with Screaming Trees, Queens Of the Stone Age, The Twilight Singers, The Gutter Twins, Soulsavers and Isobel Campbell. The Ellensburg, Washington native currently resides in Los Angeles, California.
This sucks. It sounds like he’s constipated. Of all the great music out there, THIS is what you post about? I don’t get it, do you get a kick-back from the labels for writing about this shit?
Dear Annoyed-
One of the great things about music is its subjectivity. A song may be technically perfect, but of no interest to an individual because of its musical style, lyrical content or any number of other reasons. I like that. I like the fact that one aspect of music's appeal to the individual comes from that person's heart or their soul. I'll have to assume that you're still with me.
Mark Lanegan has a voice that conveys darker feelings on a level that most artists can't. I dig that. I have for about twenty years now. The fact that he's an unquestionably talented songwriter and musician is another story. If being constipated allowed me to sing half as well as Mark, I'd gladly give up all dietary fiber and live off of nothing but cheddar cheese for a year.
No, Annoyed, I don't take any kick-backs from anyone in exchange for writing about and sharing their music here. I do it because I love music. Music affects me on levels that no other art form can and it represents to me everything that is beautiful (and ugly) and right (and wrong) and good (and bad) in this world. It is, to me, a means of seeing life and the world through the eyes of another and while I don't always agree with or like their interpretation of what they see, I respect that they're putting themselves out there on a level that most of us never will. That's why you'll never hear me describing someone's music as "shit" or making worthless blanket statements like "this sucks".
"If being constipated allowed me to sing half as well as Mark, I'd gladly give up all dietary fiber and live off of nothing but cheddar cheese for a year."
Nice.
The vocals on “St. Louis Elegy” send chills down my spine every time I hear them.
Thanks a lot for this one. Really cool to hear a new direction for one of my favorite singers around.
How many singers do you know who can can away with a line like “if tears were liquor/I’d have drunk myself sick” and yet you know that he sings this with the raw honesty of a man who has ridden the emotional and chemical roller coaster yet emerged the other side all the better a musician for it.
Absolutely gorgeous songs, of course! The man’s a genius, but this is outstanding, even for him!
Applause for this album… the best that I’ve heard this year!
This is spectacular. It’s like a culmination of everything Lanegan’s ever done, kinda like Tom Waits’ latest was like a run through of everything he’d ever tried all on one album.
I like this one alot. just ordered it & have never commented before & wanted to say thank you for posting.
in fine form… his vocals seem to get better with age.