There are supergroups, and then there is Mad Season.
This year, the bluesy alternative project featuring members of Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam and Screaming Trees are celebrating the 30th anniversary of their iconic and lone studio album, Above, with a new vinyl pressing. Having racked up over a million units sold since its 1995 release, the alt-rock classic is also being pressed up on colored wax for the first time.
The upcoming 30th anniversary vinyl edition of Above, of course, features the original 10-song release, which was written and recorded by the core quartet of Layne Staley (Alice in Chains), Mike McCready (Pearl Jam), Barrett Martin (Screaming Trees) and John Baker Saunders (The Walkabouts), and helmed by the beloved single “River of Deceit.”
The new double LP — which arrives in stores on either black-and-white or opaque white-colored wax — is set to also include the four bonus songs that had previously appeared on a 2013 Record Store Day pressing of Above. This includes three songs with Mark Lanegan on lead vocals, as well as a cover of John Lennon’s “I Don’t Want To Be a Soldier” that features Staley on vocals.
Unlike that RSD pressing, the new edition’s packaging has been restored to the original 1995 artwork, once again blowing up the Staley-illustrated cover to its full-size, while also recreating the original gatefold, back photo and center labels. It also comes with a new 20-page embossed booklet including new liner notes from McCready and Martin, additional photos, song lyrics and more.
“Playing with Baker, Barrett, Layne and Mark was a privilege I will always cherish,” McCready said in a statement. “As Above is re-released, I hope you enjoy it. I remain grateful for the opportunity to share that time, that music and those memories with all of you.”
The audio was recently mastered for vinyl, with lacquers cut by Levi Seitz (Pearl Jam). All copies are limited and editioned with foil-stamped numbering.
In addition to the general retail versions of the Above repress, Revolver has a deluxe black-and-white variant sporting an exclusive velvet-embossed cover. The 180-gram vinyl pressing is limited to 250 copies and is available order now in Revolver’s shop.
