A 20th-anniversary album worthy of all its praise.
In 2004, Mark Lanegan, the late Screaming Trees frontman, released one of the most celebrated solo albums to date — Bubblegum. To honor the creative mastermind behind this triumph of epic proportions, Beggars Arkive and the Estate of Mark Lanegan have remastered and released this work of art for listeners and Lanegan enthusiasts collectively. Upon its original release, the album climbed to the 39th spot on Billboard’s Independent Albums chart, forever hailed as Lanegan’s most commercially successful album. Plus it features more than a few impressive musical guests, from PJ Harvey to Greg Dulli (The Afghan Whigs) and Nick Oliveri (Queens of the Stone Age).
And now, twenty years since its release, Bubblegum XX is back in several attractive packages with previously unreleased material. Listeners can purchase it digitally but also as a 4LP Deluxe Vinyl Record (complete with book) and as a three-CD package. The hardcover book has brilliant essays from musicians such as Greg Dulli and Duff McKagan, paying tribute to the late Screaming Trees frontman whose career expanded beyond the reach of his grunge recognitions.
As with other grunge icons, Lanegan’s early years were the culmination of a volatile family life and run-ins with the law. But his unwavering tenacity proved to be his escape and, in the mid-1980s, he joined the Screaming Trees. From there, Lanegan went on to play in Queens of the Stone Age before turning to a promising solo career. And Bubblegum XX is the proof of Lanegan’s relentless creativity and masterful storytelling.
The album is soulful and gritty, the beauty in each poignant lyric (which is never overpowered by Lanegan’s gravelly — yet somehow effortlessly polished — vibrato). Bubblegum XX is the solo, yet also collaborative, effort that painstakingly relays Lanegan’s struggles to the world, from the throes of addiction to other topics deeply personal to the late musician. But Lanegan’s music was a necessity for so many, Kurt Cobain included, despite his friend having died ten years before the album’s original release. Bubblegum XX is once again called forth to provide listeners with Lanegan’s musical brilliance.
Besides Lanegan’s refusal to sit idly by while the world spins chaotically on its axis, he continued making music until his tragic passing in 2022. Bubblegum XX’s rerelease is a reminder of how musical powerhouses can create art together, their shared experiences fueling each track and propelling an album forward. With songs such as “Can’t Come Down,” “Hit the City,” and “Bombed,” anyone looking for ways to pay tribute to Lanegan need only enjoy this album, experiencing his emotions for what they were — intrinsically his.
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