The Greatest Band That Ever Wasn’t by The Screaming Trees
Release date: November 3, 2023Label: Sunyata books
The Greatest Band That Ever Wasn’t (The Story Of The Roughest, Toughest, Most Hell-Raising Band To Ever Come Out Of The Pacific Northwest, The Screaming Trees) is the fourth (following The Donging Earth, The Way Of The Zen Cowboy and Stillpoint) and most recent book by Barrett Martin.
Martin was The Screaming Trees longtime drummer and this latest tome concentrates on his ongoing music career, something he has written about before but not as in depth as it is here and the book is a joy to read.
Starting from the very beginning of his musical adventure, the book is written with an air of humour throughout and Martin comes across as an extremely likeable but no nonsense person as he regales you with tales from the studio, the road and everywhere in between
Far from being your typical salacious rock bio, this is a book written with heart and soul, with a wry humour littered throughout its pages, showing that Barrett Martin is as talented as a writer as he was a drummer.
Martin doesn’t dish the dirt at any pointed here and as he remained friends throughout the career of The Screaming Trees and afterwards with singer Mark Lanegan, bassist Van Conner (who are both sadly no longer with us) and guitarist Gary Lee Conner and the tales of the good times are inspiring indeed with even the low points of the Trees bring dealt with maturely.
Although the majority of the focus is obviously during Martin’s time with The Screaming Trees, it also focuses on his vast and impressive music career as a whole including his work with the supergroup Mad Season, the band Tuatara with R.E.M’s Peter Buck but with so much more interesting information contained as well.
Much like his bandmate Mark Lanegan, Martin has a knack for storytelling but while the late and much loved Lanegan’s memoir Sing Backwards And Weep painted a more decadent and at times desolate and heartbreaking picture of the rock star lifestyle, due to Lanegan’s battle with substance abuse, Martin is its own thing and tells a different side to The Screaming Trees story and beyond. In fact, it has to be said that The Greatest Band That Ever Wasn’t is the perfect companion piece to Sing Backwards And Weep and between them tells the true story of life in the band.
Even if you are not a fan of The Screaming Trees, there is so much to unpack in this book and it may even inspire you to delve into the bands back catalogue, which is highly recommend, and Martin’s writing is akin to that of an old friend retailing you of stories past.
The Greatest Band That Ever Wasn’t is a fantastic read and giving another insight into one of the greatest bands of the 1990s is a true joy indeed. And while a book on just The Screaming Trees would have been more than enough, when you factor in everything else that is contained in the book, it is a treat and true treasure trove of stories for any music fan.
