Temple of the Dog (album)

Infobox Album | Name = Temple of the Dog
Type = studio
Artist = Temple of the Dog


Released = April 16, 1991
Recorded = November 1990 – December 1990 at London Bridge Studios, Seattle, Washington
Length = 54:59
Label = A&M
Producer = Rick Parashar, Temple of the Dog
Reviews =
*Allmusic rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=A2b1uak5k5m3n link]
*"Entertainment Weekly" (B+) [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,311271,00.html 7/31/92]
*"Rolling Stone" rating|4|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/templeofthedog/albums/album/301499/review/5944099/temple_of_the_dog 12/14/00]
Last album =
This album = "Temple of the Dog"
(1991)
Next album =
Misc = Singles
Name = Temple of the Dog
Type = Studio
single 1 = Hunger Strike
single 1 date = 1991
single 2 = Say Hello 2 Heaven
single 2 date = 1991
single 3 = Pushin Forward Back
single 3 date = 1991

"Temple of the Dog" is the only album by the American rock band Temple of the Dog, released on April 16, 1991 through A&M Records. The album is a tribute to Andrew Wood, the former lead singer of Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone. Wood died on March 19, 1990 of a heroin overdose. The album has been certified Platinum in the United States.

Background

Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell, who had been Mother Love Bone vocalist Andrew Wood's roommate, approached former Mother Love Bone members Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament about working on material he had written when he was on tour with Soundgarden in Europe.Turman, Katherine. "Life Rules." "Rip Magazine". October 1991] The line-up eventually included Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron and newcomers Mike McCready (lead guitar) and Eddie Vedder (background vocals). McCready and Vedder were featured on the album due to their involvement with Ament and Gossard's next project, which became Pearl Jam.

Recording

The recording sessions took place from November 1990 to December 1990 at London Bridge Studios, in Seattle, Washington. The album was recorded in only 15 days. The group worked with producer Rick Parashar. Two songs on the album, "Reach Down" and "Say Hello 2 Heaven", were written in response to Wood's death, while other songs on the album were written by Cornell on tour prior to Wood's death or re-worked from existing material from demos written by Gossard and Ament.Alden, Grant. "Requiem for a Heavyweight." "Guitar World". July 1997] Ament described the collaboration as "a really good thing at the time" for him and Gossard that put them into a "band situation where we could play and make music."cite web|title=KISW 99.9 FM: Seattle, Radio Interview by Damon Stewart in The New Music Hour with Chris Cornell, Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard|author=Nicholls, Justin|publisher=Fivehorizons.com|url=http://www.fivehorizons.com/archive/articles/radio041491.shtml|accessdate=2007-10-03|date=1991-04-14] Gossard described the recording process as a "non-pressure filled" situation, as there were no expectations or pressure coming from the record company. Gossard later said it was "the easiest and most beautiful record, that we've ever been involved with." ["Interview with Stone Gossard and Mike McCready". "Total Guitar". November 2002.]

This was the first recording studio experience for McCready and Vedder. Regarding McCready, Cornell said, "You almost kind of had to yell at him to get him to realize that in the five-and-a-half minute solo of "Reach Down", that was his time and that he wasn't going to be stepping on anybody else."Weisbard, Eric, et al. "Ten Past Ten". "Spin". August 2001.] The song "Hunger Strike" became a duet between Cornell and Vedder. Cornell was having trouble with the vocals at practice, when Vedder stepped in. Cornell later said that "he sang half of that song not even knowing that I'd wanted the part to be there and he sang it exactly the way I was thinking about doing it, just instinctively."

Music and lyrics

The recorded material was slow and melodic; much different musically from the aggressive rock music Cornell had been doing with Soundgarden. Steve Huey of Allmusic said that the "record sounds like a bridge between Mother Love Bone's theatrical '70s-rock updates and Pearl Jam's hard-rocking seriousness...Keeping in mind that Soundgarden's previous album was the overblown metallic miasma of "Louder than Love", the accessibly warm, relatively clean sound of "Temple of the Dog" is somewhat shocking, and its mellower moments are minor revelations in terms of Cornell's songwriting abilities." [Huey, Steve. [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=A2b1uak5k5m3n "Temple of the Dog"] . Allmusic.]

All of the lyrics on the album were written solely by Cornell. "Say Hello 2 Heaven" and "Reach Down" were written by Cornell in direct response to Andrew Wood's death. Lyrically, the rest of the songs on the album cover a variety of topics. Cornell stated that the lyrics for "Hunger Strike" express "somewhat of a political, socialist statement." [cite web | url=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/pop/244643_cornelltranscript.html | title=Transcript of exclusive P-I interview with Chris Cornell | accessdate=2008-07-23 | author=Hay, Travis | publisher="Seattle Post-Intelligencer" | date=2005-10-15]

Release and reception

"Temple of the Dog" was released on April 16, 1991 through A&M Records and initially sold 70,000 copies in the United States. The album received favorable reviews, [cite web|title=((( Temple of the Dog > Biography )))|author=Erlewine, Stephen Thomas|publisher=Allmusic|url=http://wc10.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:dpfyxqt5ld6e~T1|accessdate=2007-10-03] but failed to chart. The album received new attention in the summer of 1992. Both Soundgarden and Pearl Jam had risen to mainstream attention in the months since the album's release and A&M decided to re-issue the album and promote "Hunger Strike" as a single, with an accompanying music video. The attention allowed both the album and single to chart on "Billboard", and resulted in a boost in album sales. [ [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,311271,00.html "In the Temple of Pearlgarden"] . "Entertainment Weekly". July 31, 1992.] "Temple of the Dog" ended up selling more than 1,000,000 copies, achieving Platinum status. [cite web|title=Gold & Platinum Searchable Database — Search Results — Temple of the Dog|publisher=Recording Industry Association of America|url=http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=&artist=Temple%20of%20the%20Dog&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2007&sort=Artist&perPage=25|accessdate=2007-10-03]

David Fricke of "Rolling Stone" said, "For "Hunger Strike" and "Reach Down" alone, "Temple of the Dog" deserves immortality; those songs are proof that the angst that defined Seattle rock in the 1990s was not cheap sentiment, at least in the beginning. And you can't help but love the irony of an album, made in great sadness, kick-starting the last great pop mutiny of the twentieth century." [Fricke, David. [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/templeofthedog/albums/album/301499/review/5944099/temple_of_the_dog "Temple of the Dog: "Temple of the Dog"] . "Rolling Stone". December 14, 2000.]

"Temple of the Dog" included the singles "Hunger Strike", "Say Hello 2 Heaven", and "Pushin Forward Back". "Hunger Strike" was the most successful song from "Temple of the Dog" on the rock charts, reaching number four on the "Billboard" Mainstream Rock charts and number seven on the "Billboard" Modern Rock charts. "Say Hello 2 Heaven" also charted on the Mainstream Rock charts.

Imagery and design

The name "Temple of the Dog" comes from the lyrics of the Mother Love Bone song, "Man of Golden Words". The lyric from which the name derives is "Seems I've been living in the temple of the dog".

Track listing

All songs written by Chris Cornell, except where noted:
#"Say Hello 2 Heaven" – 6:22
#"Reach Down" – 11:11
#"Hunger Strike" – 4:03
#"Pushin Forward Back" (Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, Cornell) – 3:44
#"Call Me a Dog" – 5:02
#"Times of Trouble" (Gossard, Cornell) – 5:41
#"Wooden Jesus" – 4:09
#"Your Saviour" – 4:02
#"Four Walled World" (Gossard, Cornell) – 6:53
#"All Night Thing" – 3:52

Personnel

*Matt Cameron – drums, percussion
*Mike McCready – lead guitars
*Stone Gossard – rhythm guitar, slide guitar, acoustic guitar
*Jeff Ament – bass guitar
*Chris Cornell – vocals, banjo on "Wooden Jesus", harmonica on "Times of Trouble"
*Rick Parashar – production, organ on "All Night Thing", piano on "Call Me a Dog", "Times of Trouble", and "All Night Thing"
*Eddie Vedder – backing vocals on "Pushin Forward Back", "Your Saviour", and "Four Walled World", vocals on "Hunger Strike"
*Temple of the Dog – production

Chart positions

;Album

References