Real Low Vibe - The Reprise Recordings 1992-1998 (4CD Clamshell Boxset)

Mudhoney are Seattles entry into the long history of great bands who blazed a trail that made others rich while they were doomed to eventually go back to their day jobs. The grunge explosion of the late 1980s through the mid-90s is utterly unthinkable without their influence and early underground success, but where Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam took the sound they pioneered and made it into a saleable product (even if that wasnt their initial goal), Mudhoney were too raw, quirky, and self-deprecatingly witty to go over with the younger hard rock crowd that was grunges secret audience. Mudhoney managed to score a major-label deal in the wake of Nirvanas success, and the band followed their contrary muse with such dedication that their audience actually managed to shrink with bigger promotional budgets behind them. That said, they made three fine albums during their tenure with Reprise Records, and the 2020 box set Real Low Vibe: The Reprise Recordings 1992-1998 gives this oft-overlooked period a new and intensely thorough hearing. 1992s Piece of Cake -- recorded in an eight-track basement studio despite their new financial security -- sounds like a sequel to the previous years Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge, with their garage influences goosed up and their snarky humor up front, and if its too loose for its own good, Suck You Dry and Im Spun show they still had the goods. 1995s My Brother the Cow was a full-on return to grunge essentials and sneering attitude (Generation Spokesmodel, F.D.K. [Fearless Doctor Killers], and Into Yer Shtik are as venomous as they ever got), and in many respects its the finest album of their career. Lastly, 1998s Tomorrow Hit Today was their first experience with a hands-on producer, Jim Dickinson, who added a dash of focus and color without drowning their spirit, and its their most underrated LP. Real Low Vibe also includes the 1993 EP Five Dollar Bobs Mock Cooter Stew, a thundering promo-only live disc that appeared the same year, as well as a large selection of single-only sides, outtakes, soundtrack and tribute album contributions, covers, and other rarities. This is a practically complete record of Mudhoneys six-year marriage to the major labels, and if this isnt always as consistently solid as their salad days on Sub Pop, its more than good enough to satisfy fans who ever dug this band. Anyone who slept on these chapters of the Mudhoney saga can get caught up and then some with this box. ~ Mark Deming