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Jan 08, 2024 By Frank Valish

Screaming Trees drummer Barrett Martin provides his own spin on the story of The Screaming Trees in his book The Greatest Band That Ever Wasn’t. Of course, frontman Mark Lanegan has already released his own definitive story of the band in 2020’s Sing Backwards and Weep, but Martin’s approach is a bit different. He’s not disputing any of Lanegan’s accounts (in fact, he acknowledges Lanegan’s memoir in his own introduction). It’s just that Martin sets things up a bit differently.

Martin aims to make his book, subtitled A Comedy/Tragedy in 3 Acts, a more lighthearted tale. In chapters that are organized as short but pithy vignettes, Martin takes the reader through his time in the Trees, in the studio, on the road, and at home, exposing his truth about all the trials, tribulations, and successes the band encountered along the way.

The book is no tome. Martin gets in and out in a relatively brief fewer than 200 pages. But in those pages, he packs quite a wallop. No stone feels unturned, but he spares the reader the minutiae. Which, like the wonderful storyteller Martin has proven himself to be over the previous three books he’s published under his own Sunyata Books imprint, is completely welcome. The Greatest Band That Ever Wasn’t is wonderfully insightful, terrifically informative, and a true joy to read. (www.sunyatabooks.com) (www.barrettmartin.com)

Author rating: 7.5/10