River of Deceit

Infobox Single
Name = River of Deceit


Artist = Mad Season
from Album = Above
B-side = "November Hotel" (live)
Released = 1995
Format = CD single
Recorded = 1994 at Bad Animals Studio, Seattle, Washington
Genre = Grunge
Length = 5:04
Label = Columbia
Producer = Mad Season, Brett Eliason
Writer = Barrett Martin, Mike McCready, John Baker Saunders, Layne Staley
Last single =
This single = "River of Deceit" (1995)
Next single = "I Don't Know Anything" (1995)Extra tracklisting
Album = Above
Type = studio
prev_track = "X-Ray Mind"
prev_no = Track 2
this_track = "River of Deceit"
track_no = Track 3
next_track = "I'm Above"
next_no = Track 4Audiosample
Upper caption = Audio sample
Audio file = RiverofDeceit.OGG"River of Deceit" is a song by the American rock band Mad Season, released in 1995 as the first single from the band's sole studio album, "Above" (1995). "River of Deceit" reached number two on the "Billboard" Mainstream Rock Tracks chart as well as number 9 on its Modern Rock Tracks chart in 1995.

Origin and recording

The music for "River of Deceit" came out of rehearsals that the group had before vocalist Layne Staley joined the band.

Lyrics

Much of this song, lyrically, was inspired by "The Prophet" by Khalil Gibran, which Staley read during the making of the album. Drummer Barrett Martin said, "Layne Staley felt as though he was on a spiritual mission through his music. Not a rock mission, a spiritual mission." [Altman, Billy. [http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/12063858 "Alice In Chains' Staley Remembered By Mad Season Mate & Rage's Morello"] . Yahoo! Music. April 23, 2002.]

Release and reception

The single was released to radio across North America, Europe, and the world. "River of Deceit" became the most successful song from "Above" on the American rock charts. The song peaked at number two on the "Billboard" Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number nine on the "Billboard" Modern Rock Tracks chart. It would go on to become the band's most well-known song as it received substantial radio play throughout the 1990s.

Outside of the United States, the single was released commercially in Australia and Austria. In Canada, the song reached the top 70 on the Canadian Singles Chart.

Music video

".

Live performances

A live version of the song appears on the "I Don't Know Anything" single. A performance of the song is included on the "Live at the Moore" home video release.

Track listing

;CD (Australia)
#"River of Deceit" (Barrett Martin, Mike McCready, John Baker Saunders, Layne Staley) – 5:04
#"November Hotel" (live) (Martin, McCready, Saunders, Staley)
#*Recorded at the Crocodile Cafe, Seattle, Washington, November 20, 1994.;CD (Austria)
#"River of Deceit" (Martin, McCready, Saunders, Staley) – 5:04
#"All Alone/November Hotel" (live) (Martin, McCready, Saunders, Staley) - 15:20
#*Some copies list the second track as just "November Hotel" (without "All Alone").
*Live tracks recorded at the Crocodile Cafe, Seattle, Washington, November 20, 1994.

;Promotional CD (US)
#"River of Deceit" (Martin, McCready, Saunders, Staley) – 5:04

Chart positions

References

External links

*YouTube | id = ClRfnUhVjmI | title = Music video for "River of Deceit"