The Winding Sheet
Studio album by
Mark Lanegan
ReleasedMay 1, 1990
RecordedAugust–December 1989
StudioReciprocal (Seattle)
Genre
Length40:18
LabelSub Pop
ProducerJack Endino, Mike Johnson and Mark Lanegan
Mark Lanegan chronology
The Winding Sheet
(1990)		 Whiskey for the Holy Ghost
(1994)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Q[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[4]
Spin Alternative Record Guide8/10[5]

The Winding Sheet is the debut studio album by alternative rock artist Mark Lanegan. It was released on May 1, 1990, on Sub Pop. The album was Lanegan's first solo work, and is notable in its departure from the characteristic sound of Screaming Trees, the band he fronted from 1985 until 2000.

Background

While the work done in the Screaming Trees was much more energetic and fit into the burgeoning grunge genre of the late 80s/early 90s, The Winding Sheet has a much more stripped down sound, defining Lanegan's solo work largely for the rest of the decade. As Lanegan recounts in his 2017 book I Am the Wolf: Lyric and Writings, "Prior to this I had sometimes written words with the other members of my first band, or, more often, had tried to change their lyrics to fit me in a more personal way. This was a tedious, frustrating routine that was never enjoyable, and so The Winding Sheet became my first attempt at going it alone."

Notable music photographer Charles Peterson shot the cover image of Lanegan.[6] During the selection of the album's cover art, Lanegan specifically demanded that a different photo of himself be used on the cover, stating that the label's preferred shot seemed "pretentious". When the album shipped without the cover art being changed per the agreement between him and Sub Pop co-owner Bruce Pavitt, Lanegan stormed into Pavitt's office at Sub Pop, berating him and threatening him with legal action and various acts of violence, and threatened to have the albums pulled from store shelves.[7]

Recording

The album was produced by Mike Johnson, who also co-wrote many of the songs, and Jack Endino. In I Am the Wolf: Lyrics and Writings, Lanegan recalls Endino "constantly assuring me that what we were doing was not terrible" and notes that the songs were "born of sadness and uncertainty with my circumstances at the time: relationships, money problems, alcohol, depression, addiction, and so on." On "Down in the Dark", Lanegan's friend Kurt Cobain sings, while on a cover version of Leadbelly's "Where Did You Sleep Last Night", Cobain contributes guitar and Krist Novoselic plays bass. Nirvana would later also cover "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" on their Unplugged album. Foo Fighters' frontman and former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl has called The Winding Sheet "one of the best albums of all time" and has said that it was a huge influence on Nirvana's 1993 MTV Unplugged concert.[8]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Mark Lanegan and Mike Johnson except where noted

No.TitleLength
1."Mockingbirds"2:29
2."Museum"2:50
3."Undertow"2:52
4."Ugly Sunday"3:56
5."Down in the Dark"3:21
6."Wild Flowers" (Lanegan)2:59
7."Eyes of a Child"4:00
8."The Winding Sheet"5:30
9."Woe" (Lanegan)2:04
10."Ten Feet Tall"2:49
11."Where Did You Sleep Last Night" (Traditional)3:59
12."Juarez" (Lanegan, Steve Fisk)1:21
13."I Love You Little Girl" (Lanegan)2:02

Personnel

  • Mark Lanegan - lead vocals, acoustic guitar (6, 9, 13)
  • Kurt Cobain - electric guitar (11), backing vocals (5)
  • Krist Novoselic - bass (11)
  • Jack Endino - bass (1, 3 - 5, 10), second electric guitar (5)
  • Mike Johnson - acoustic guitar (1 - 4, 7 - 8, 10), electric guitar (1, 3 - 5, 8, 10)
  • Mark Pickerel - drums (1, 3 - 5, 11)
  • Steve Fisk - organ (8, 12), piano (1, 4)
  • Justin Williams - violin (3, 7)

References

  1. ↑ "The 25 Best Grunge Albums of the '90s". Pitchfork. 6 October 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  2. ↑ Gabriel, Robert. "The Winding Sheet – Mark Lanegan". AllMusic. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  3. ↑ Kane, Peter (August 1990). "Mark Lanegan: The Winding Sheet". Q. No. 47.
  4. ↑ Randall, Mac (2004). "Screaming Trees". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 721. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  5. ↑ Azerrad, Michael (1995). "Screaming Trees". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 343–344. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  6. ↑ "Mark Lanegan - The Winding Sheet". Discogs. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  7. ↑ Pudzianowski, Lydia (23 February 2022). "There's a Well That Howls My Name: Remembering Mark Lanegan". Popmatters.
  8. ↑ Foo Fighters, On an Honor Roll: Rolling Stone’s 2005 Feature
  • Charles R. Cross (2001). "10". Heavier Than Heaven. London, UK: Hodder and Stoughton. pp. 137–138. ISBN 0-340-73939-8.
  • "On an Honor Roll". RollingStone.com. Archived from the original on February 13, 2007. Retrieved February 5, 2006.
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