Temple of the Dog formed as a tribute to Mother Love Bone vocalist Andrew Wood's untimely passing. Consisting of Chris Cornell (who had written some material to mourn his friend/roommate's death), Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament (Pearl Jam), Matt Cameron, Mike McCready and Eddie Vedder, the supergroup released its one and only studio album, Temple of the Dog, in 1991. TOTD preceded the big three Seattle releases: Soundgarden's Badmotorfinger, Pearl Jam's Ten, and Nirvana's Nevermind. Widely regarded a precursor to the grunge movement, the record is subdued and elegiac, filled with mellow, melodic songs that were a departure from what Cornell, the principal writer, was doing with Soundgarden at the time. "Say Hello 2 Heaven" and "Reach Down" open the album, with "Hunger Strike," the biggest song from the album, following. Other highlights include "Call Me A Dog," and "Times Of Trouble."

• black vinyl pressing
• remastered audio
• original release year: 1991
• music label: A&M Records 2016

reviewed by rei kwondo 04/2018