Grunge is a terrible label for the music and fashion of the early nineties, but that’s what it was called. Even though the ‘scene’ started way earlier than many people think, what always struck me was the sense of community and cross-pollination that happened. The sound was actually quite diverse.
As the Seattle bands headed to toward the middle of the decade, this mix-and-match band creation really began to pay off with Brad, whose debut we wrote about here. The singer for this side project of Pearl Jam’s founders, Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament, was Shawn Smith. He brought a raw emotion and softer piano playing to the noise many had come to associate with the Grunge era. This combination is showcased beautifully on Smith’s own band’s debut, EDC by Satchel, released in 1994.
Back in the very early ninties, I had two obsessions: Mother Love Bone and Quentin Tarantino. I adored True Romance, for example. And Reservoir Dogs, of course. Smith clearly adored that film, too, as EDC is loosely based on the film’s characters and contains snippets of dialogue scattered throughout the album.
And this use of samples shows how Satchel was willing to step out of the Grunge shadow and yet also keep one foot within the inner circle. They brought together drum loops and ‘almost metal’ guitar sounds, all of which served to elevate Smith’s vocals, which pitched higher than most of his contemporaries. He was, to my mind, the worthy successor to Andrew Wood’s crown as Seattle’s best known unknown singer.
Smith and the band clearly had a broad and eclectic taste in music. I’d like to think they were listening to as much of Prince’s material as they were the output of Alice In Chains; perhaps they shared more in common with early Queen than Soundgarden? Here, again, I think there is true lineage between Andrew Wood and Shawn Smith – perhaps a reason why Stone and Jeff were drawn to create Brad alongside his immense talent?
The final track, Suffering, is exquisitely positioned to end this album, but I’m mentioning it first because it is the zenith of Smith’s abilities in terms of songwriting and performance. That’s not to do down the rest of the album, but it’s building to this point so that the release you’ll feel once the album finishes leaves you spent and breathless.
However, there is an absolute groove to this record. I wore out my tape constantly rewinding Equilibrium, which manages to sound like it’s from the 1970s and the future all at once. I think Jake Shears was likely a fan. Trouble Come Down has a similar aesthetic, combining Zeppelin-esque drum patterns with a catchy piano refrain and Smith’s clever harmonies. The closest you’ll come to the Grunge sound is on track eight, Mr. Pink. However, even here Smith takes it somewhere else entirely. It’s stadium rock levels of brilliance that would work best in a small sweaty club.
This is an album that constantly surprises. It combines the funkiness of Prince with the theatrics of Queen and yet retains the best elements from its peers such as Pearl Jam or early Soundgarden.
Over the next 15 or so years, Satchel recorded and released three further albums, all exceptional in their own right. However, Satchel never became as big as many of their friends’ bands. Smith continued to record with Gossard as part of Brad, until his sad and untimely death in 2019 from a torn aorta.
Sad, too, that EDC has never been out on vinyl. It’s the format for the great man’s vocal talents and the musicians with whom he made this genuinely ground-breaking rock album.