I'm fully expecting to be crucified for this review. But given the all-around a*s-kissing of this band, someone needs to set the record straight on this lame band.

Throughout the annals of rock history, the young death of a seeming bright star deemed too young to burn out has resulted in numerous figures becoming vastly over-rated. Don't believe me? See Joplin, Janis and Morrisson, Jim. Or hell, even Cobain, Kurt, though that example is not nearly as egregious as the other two.

And that leads me to Andy Wood and the band he fronted, Mother Love Bone. For those not in the know, after Wood's untimely death, two members of MLB, guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament, would go on to form Pearl Jam, one of the greatest rock acts ever. Now, it seems to me that everyone who is a huge fan of Pearl Jam is, by extension, a fan of some sort of MLB. Whether this comes from the fact that they feel like they have to like MLB, or the fact that they just have bad musical taste in spots isn't clear. What is clear is that despite the claims of Pearl Jam fans everywhere, Mother Love Bone, well, kinda sucked.

For sure, Wood was the centerpiece of the group. Obviously he was their frontman, but to read about him you soon find you're reading about a guy who was a star just waiting to happen. I don't buy it. For all his charisma, energy, and flamboyance, Andrew Wood just wasn't a very good singer or songwriter.

Stardog Champion (whose title appears nowhere on the actual artwork of the CD) was put out in 1992 by Polygram/Mercury to take advantage of the budding popularity of Pearl Jam. Essentially, this disc collects almost everything MLB released in their short time together. This makes it a wise choice for those looking to learn about the band. Of course, after listening to this disc, you'll be wondering why you bothered.

The biggest thing that the band had working for them was Gossard. The dude writes some mean riffs and on cuts like the title track and the funky sounding Capricorn Sister, it becomes a lot easier to forgive the band's generic glam sound and dated production values.

The collection tries desparately to get off to a rocking, impressive start, but I can't help but feel stuck in neutral when I listen to these tracks. This is Shangrila has a big 80s sound that wouldn't sound out of place on one of those "VH1: The Big 80s: Big Hair" compilations. The guitar riff is lame, and Wood sounds terrible, a mix of out of key whining and fake bravado.

Things improve on the aforementioned title track, mostly thanks to Gossard's guitar work. And even though the song is at least a good minute too long (as is so many of the songs on this collection), it's enjoyable enough. But the band never sounded so 80s as on Holy Roller, a completely laughable song that exudes cheese over a musical background that sounds like a bad Red Hot Chili Peppers outtake.

Of course, the song that everyone points to as evidence this band was going to blow up is the one song most people, even non-fans of the band, know. Crown of Thorns appears twice on this record. First in it's original form, and then with a short intro track titled Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns (which would also appear on the amazing Singles movie soundtrack). Crown of Thorns was such a revelation because while it had a bit of a power ballad feel to it, when you listened to it, it became something bigger. It doesn't sound dated like so much of the material here, and it actually sounds like a band in full growth.

But not even a classic like Crown of Thorns can save the boring, uninspiring material that dots this entire collection. Mindshaker Meltdown sounds like something The Black Crowes would've recorded, but done without the swagger or the blues influence that would've made it work. Similarly, Mr.Danny Boy sounds like they took the worst parts of Whitesnake and Slaughter (not that there were any good parts to Slaughter, but I digress) and combined them into a near five minute track that wears out it's welcome in the first two minutes.

Occasionally, when the band would slow things down and strip things back, they would come up with something that was at least worth listening to. Stargazer, with its lush acoustic backdrop, is one of these tracks, as is Man of Golden Words (which would also inspire the name of the tribute album following Wood's death, Temple of the Dog). But these moments are too few, and too far spaced out.

For the life of me, I cannot figure out why and how everyone shoots their wad over this band. Very little set them apart, and the things that would have helped them set apart, weren't explored enough by the band. They seemed to be too busy creating generic, run of the mill 80s glam rock. The fact that Andrew Wood died young is sad. That doesn't mean the music he created automatically becomes better than it really was.

2 stars.

Related Reviews: PEARL JAM
ALBUMS:
Ten
Vs.
Vitalogy
Mirror Ball (with Neil Young)
No Code
Yield
Binaural
Riot Act
Lost Dogs
Rearviewmirror: Greatest Hits 1991-2003

SINGLES:
Dissident 3 CD single set
Daughter
Merkin Ball
Nothing as it Seems-Import
Light Years
I Am Mine
Man of the Hour

DVD/VIDEOS:
Single Video Theory
Touring Band 2000
Live at the Showbox
Live at the Garden

OFFICIAL BOOTLEGS:
10/22/00 Las Vegas (10 Year Anniversary Show)
11/6/00 Seattle
5/3/03 State College
10/22/03 Benaroya Hall

CONCERT REVIEWS:
Boston Garden, 4/11/94
Tweeter Center, 8/29/00
Tweeter Center, 8/30/00
Tweeter Center, 7/2&3/03
Madison Square Garden, 7/8&9/03
Tweeter Center, 7/11/03
FleetCenter, Sept 28 & 29, 2004










Recommended: No