The song Mark Lanegan wished he had written: “One of the all-time greatest singers”
In 2019, when asked to describe his style in three words, the late, great grunge god Mark Lanegan replied, “veteran war horse”. That answer is perfect and fitting. The only strange bit is that he was being interviewed not by a rock magazine, but by somebody from the sports fashion house Fred Perry.
Yes, the sight of Lanegan and his soul patch, posed underneath a shopping navigation bar for polo shirts and tracksuits, is very bizarre. But if Fred Perry wanted to establish a darker edge for a brand founded by a straight-laced 1940s tennis player, they couldn’t have picked a better ambassador than Mr Lanegan, the ex-Screaming Trees frontman and occasional Queen of the Stone Age and Gutter Twin.
Lanegan, who died in 2022, was arguably better known for his rough and tumble lifestyle and addiction battles than for any specific music project. He never failed to find new, eager collaborators; however, a clear reflection of how much he was respected and beloved as both a songwriter and a vocalist—his gruff, world-weary delivery knowing few equals over the past 30 years.
Because he came out of Seattle with Screaming Trees and was part of that city’s tight-knit rock community in the late 1980s and early ‘90s, Lanegan is understandably regarded, first and foremost, as a purveyor of the loud and the heavy. Those who followed his career and his many interesting adventures after the demise of the Trees, though, saw the much wider expanse of his influences and his interests.
Some of this came through in Lanegan’s 2019 chat with the folks at Fred Perry, who turned his Q&A into an accompanying playlist of some of Mark’s favourite tunes.
This included tracks from John Cale – Mark’s vote for rock’s greatest “unsung hero” – as well as Nina Simone, Captain Beefheart, Joy Division, and…the Bee Gees!
When it came to discussing one specific song he wished he’d personally written, Lanegan again didn’t pick anything from the hard rock universe, but instead honed in on a soul legend from back in the day.
“Al Green is simply one of the all-time greatest singers,” Lanegan said, explaining his choice of the Reverend’s obscure 1975 B-side ‘Strong as Death (Sweet as Love).’ “This song is one of many he’s done I wish I’d written. Beautiful lyrics sung by a man blessed with not only one of history’s most beautiful voices but an otherworldly master at how to use it.”
Just to be clear, Lanegan also discussed his love for the Damned and Iron Maiden at length in this piece, but his love for Al Green is quite telling, as Lanegan was arguably the closest thing to a soul singer to emerge from the Seattle Sound, making up for in depth and vulnerability what he may have lacked in range or pure pipes.
In contrast with his dark and brooding image, he was also a softy at heart, and someone who felt genuine regret about failing to see the likes of Nina Simone and Sun Ra in concert when he’d nearly had the chance.
“They will not be around forever,” Lanegan said in reference to the music legends still among us. “Don’t be the idiot who missed your chance to see and hear true, one-of-a-kind artistry when given the chance.”
Sadly, many of us now regret we never got to see Lanegan himself. As Al Green sang it back in ‘75, “Strong as death, sweet as love / We don’t have that much time / There’s no need in us crying.”
