Green River

★★★★ Dry As A Bone SUB POP. CD/DL/LP

Grunge pioneers open the vaults to deliver the reissue their rich legacy deserves.

Typically, Green River’s story is cited as a means to introduce two bigger narratives: namely that their dissolution in 1987 spawned both Mudhoney and Mother Love Bone, the latter soon begetting Pearl Jam. Their second EP Dry As A Bone – superbly remixed and remastered here by Jack Endino and bolstered with archival material – provides a powerful reminder that they were trailblazers in their own right. Here they struck upon a sound that triangulated punk, metal and hard rock to startling effect – gleefully sidestepping the often highly-codified natures of those tributary genres at the time. Throughout, Endino’s new mixes lend impressive clarity to Mark Arm’s howls, most notably during the sublime rancour of Baby Takes. Coupled with the simultaneous reissue of their Rehab Doll full-length, here we have – perfectly preserved – the elemental noise that would help fertilise a new era in rock.