Boxed Set Review: Skin Yard — Select

The grunge movements wa – if not a breath of fresh air, then – a break from the slick, spandex-clad, teased-hair lite metal of the ‘90s. Along with a resurgent form of intelligent power pop, for a time it helped change the course of popular music, or at least the increasingly slim slice of it that rocked.

The names at the forefront of the movement are well known today: Nirvana, Soundgarden, Melvins, Screaming Trees, Pearl Jam. While the music that those and other groups under the so-called grunge umbrella made varied greatly, it did share some common characteristics. Among those was a general heaviness, a shaggy aesthetic (remember all the flannel?) and geographical positioning in (or at least connection to) the Pacific Northwest.

As is often the case with musical and artistic movements of every stripe, some pioneers get left behind when the wave hits. Some worthy groups who were there at the beginning simply don’t make the transition to the Big Time, and their legacy is left to be appreciated only by those in the know.

Such a band in the grunge scene is (was) Skin Yard. Formed in 1985 in (of course) Seattle, the group had a three musician, one singer lineup (hey, it worked for the Who, Led Zeppelin and the Doors). Skin Yard went through a Spinal Tap-worthy succession of drummers, but from the beginning until after the release of their fourth album (1991’s 1000 Smiling Knuckles) the core of the group was vocalist Ben McMillan, guitarist Jack Endino and bassist Daniel House.

Skin Yard’s influence would far outpace its success. A number of its members went on to better-known bands like Soundgarden and Screaming Trees. But the band left behind an impressive body of work. A new 7” boxed set, Skin Yard Select brings together fourteen tracks from the band’s early days. Tracks that appeared on their 1987 self-titled debut, 1988’s Hallowed Ground, 1990’s Fist Sized Chunks and that fourth record make up the majority of the cuts.

But as every good compilation should do, Skin Yard Select serves up some rarities to help make it more tantalizing to prospective listeners. The set features an alternate take of 1000 Smiling Knuckles’ “Living Pool,” remixed versions of “The Blind Leading the Blind” and “Burning the Candle” (both from the debut) and a previously-released track (“California”). That last-mentioned track is also the first one on the collection, and dates from the band’s earliest sessions when Matt Cameron (later of Soundgarden) was their drummer.

There’s a new video for “California,” directed by Camper Van Beethoven’s Victor Krummenacher; of course the video is not included in the set, but it’s on YouTube. The song is more punk-leaning than much of Skin Yard’s other material, but it shares the keening, Jim Morrison-esque vocalizing of McMillan, a signature of the Skin Yard sound. Like all of the tracks on Skin Yard Select, it’s heavy stuff, both of a piece with what one would expect of a grunge band and possessing its own distinctive character.

Judged against the output of those aforementioned and better-known bands, Skin Yard should have achieved more mainstream success than they did; they had chops and the songs commensurate with what their more popular contemporaries could claim. While they would release one single on a sorta-major (1989’s “Start at the Top” on Sub Pop), for their peak years the band released its early material on indie labels based out of Seattle and Tucson. Later releases came out on SST imprint Cruz Records. The music on Skin Yard Select surveys the years 1985 to 1991, and the attractive and well-put-together boxed set comes to us courtesy of their original label, C/Z Records, a Seattle indie helmed from 1986 onward by Skin Yard bassist House.

Listeners who appreciate ‘90s grunge and want a more complete picture of from whence it came (and who own a turntable) are enthusiastically advised to explore Skin Yard Select. But don’t wait: the set has been pressed in limited quantity of 1000 units (800 in dayglo pink, the remainder in red).