This past Friday, Stardog Records released On Earth As It Is: The Complete Works, a box set compiling all of the recorded works of Mother Love Bone, a metal band from Seattle that was poised to be the breakthrough Seattle rock band. Unfortunately, the band's success was cut short when enigmatic frontman Andrew Young died on March 19, 1990, the result of a heroin overdose several days earlier. His passing came shortly after the band had completed their debut album, Apple, which would be released in July of that year. The tragedy of his death would compel his bandmates to record a tribute, which would come out as Temple Of The Dog. During the recording of that album, Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard would meet a young vocalist named Eddie Vedder, and would form Mookie Blaylock, which would change its name to Pearl Jam. When grunge would become the biggest thing in music, Mother Love Bone was revisited, and Andrew Young would posthumously become recognized as Seattle's first heroin casualty, a young man lost before he had the chance to shine.
The Love Bone Earth Affair would be released in 1993, a thirty minute documenatary about the band, featuring Andrew Wood in all his glory. Consisting primarily of interviews with Wood, it's hard not to feel the sting of loss when listening to him talk. He is extremely young, and he has the hunger of youth. Instead of the dark, gloomy heroin addict-type one would soon associate with Seattle, he is bright-eyed and enthusiastic, a young man with a keen sense of humor and an earnestness about his work. He's talented, he knows he is talented, and he is ready to take the world by force. Wood, whose countenance never is less than bright and happy, might have had a dark side, but as the frontman for Mother Love Bone, he was first and foremost a showman. When he talks of his fame and his desires for the band, it's not impossible to imagine that he would accomplish his goals. Sadly, that would not come to pass.
The Love Bone Earth Affair is a touching document to the fallen rock GOD who never had the chance to take the world by storm. Though it's hard to watch because one knows the outcome, it's still a touching and fitting tribute to the young man who came so far but flew too close to the sun. Its inclusion in On Earth As It Is makes the entire set all the more poignant, as it displays that most frustrating, most tragic of teases: what might have been.
