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Jul 28, 2023 By Frank Valish

Mudhoney was present at the outset of the “grunge” movement, and they are one of just a few bands that have outlasted it and continue making music to this day. With Mud Ride, guitarist Steve Turner, who’s been with the band since the beginning, shares his life before, through, and after grunge.

Half of Turner’s book details the time that led up to the great grunge explosion of the 1990s, and his insights and personal experiences within the Seattle scene that melded hardcore, more art-y musical abstraction, and metal into the primordial stew that ended up setting the world on fire are fascinating. Turner was there before the beginning, eventually forming Green River with Mark Arm and future members of Pearl Jam, and finally riding the commercial wave with his own band. Detailing how this all came together is revelatory. Sure, there have been books that have dealt with the same but few with the same personal experience as Turner’s.

Turner’s own musical and personal history is tied up with all of the major Seattle players from the ‘90s and Mud Ride features no dearth of anecdotes. But what really comes across in Turner’s book is his own passion for the music. Mudhoney may not have gotten as big as Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, or Nirvana, but they did have major label success, and their integrity has never been in question. The band continues to make relevant music to this day. Mud Ride shows us where it all began and how it ended up.

(www.chroniclebooks.com)

Author rating: 7.5/10