Let This Dark Night Be Done // 30 Instances From Mark Lanegan's Long Collaborative Career
This week, the world lost one of underground music's most prolific musicians, master collaborators, and distinct voices; not just an irreplaceable singer in his own right, but also someone with a very strong artistic sensibility, brilliant writer, committed performer, and all-around rare talent.
Mark Lanegan is deserving of all the eulogies.
We compiled a list of 30 instances from Mark Lanegan's long collaborative career, whle it goes without saying that everything with Screaming Trees and under his own banner make for the most recommended way to experience his creative brilliance.
Steve Fisk - This Vacuum (1987)
448 Deathless Days, the debut album by Pell Mell's Steve Fisk featured a bit of a weird cut with Lanegan's distorted vocal. The record, released on SST, where Mark had found an early home with Screaming Trees, is a highly intriguing listen as a whole, presenting one of the very first instances of Mark's strong collaborative spirit.
The Walkabouts - Feel Like Going Home (1993)
Satisfied Mind is The Walkabouts' sixth studio album, released on Sub Pop in 1993. It is completely composed of covers. Feel Like Going Home to which Lanegan contributes vocals, is originally by Charlie Rich.
Mike Watt - Max and Wells (1995)
Minutemen and fIREHOSE's Mike Watt released Ball-Hog or Tugboat?, his debut solo album in 1995, which is one of the guest-heaviest albums in underground rock's history, featuring contributions from Mark Lanegan, Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, Eddie Vedder, J Mascis, Cris and Curt Kirkwood, Carla Bozulich, Evan Dando, Frank Black, Henry Rollins, Sonic Youth, and many others.
Mad Season - I'm Above (1995)
Above, Mad Season's sole studio album, was created in the thick of grunge's grandeur with members of Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam, and Screaming Trees. It is undoubtedly a significant record for alternative rock in general, with Lanegan being a key part of the original recording. Later on, as a very natural choice for Mad Season, Mark filled in for the late Layne Staley during the band's brief and partial reunions.
Masters Of Reality - High Noon Amsterdam (2001)
Deep in the Hole, the fourth studio album by Chris Goss' Masters of Reality, is another guest-heavy endeavor, and probably the project's most distinctive offering. Josh Homme, Troy Van Leeuwen, Nick Oliveri, and Mark Lanegan all contributed to the album's prominence.
Queens of the Stone Age - Song for the Dead (2002)
By 2001 QOTSA had already attained a certain level of excellence that few bands accomplish in their tenure. Mark Lanegan's significant contribution to Songs For The Deaf resulted in not only the band's finest album, but also probably the most memorable hard rock record of the last 20-plus years, pushing the band's expertise to unreachable domains.
Mondo Generator - Four Corners (2003)
Another Kyuss alum, Nick Oliveri, has created a series of notable punk-infused heavy rock albums through his Mondo Generator project. The second of them, A Drug Problem That Never Existed, is the one for which the band will be remembered most fondly, and Mark Lanegan was in it.
The Twilight Singers - Number Nine (2003)
Lanegan found a compatible and capable collaborator in Greg Dulli, whose post-Afghan Whigs project, Twilight Singers, has functioned as a very respectable vehicle of well-made indie rock. Blackberry Belle, the band's second album, features such a fantastic closing number, Number Nine, with the two great musicians' opposing voices coming together sweetly.
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Ramblin' Man (2006)
The first of three excellent full-length collaborations between Campbell and Lanegan, Ballad of the Broken Seas, is mostly an expression of Campbell's American influences and affinity for a more classic Americana feel. The Belle And Sebastian vocalist, having written most of the tracks and produced the album herself, discovered a perfect, yet fascinatingly contradictory voice in Lanegan's croon.
Soulsavers - Revival (2007)
A truly fruitful collaborative act, Soulsavers have made their best album, It's Not How Far You Fall, It's the Way You Land, with Mark Lanegan as the main vocalist and writing partner. The album blends the duo's downtempo electronica with gospel, blues, and country influences, and creates an evocative soul singer out of Lanegan's raspy voice.
The Gutter Twins - The Stations (2008)
Greg Dulli and Mark Lanegan's artistic partnership has grown so strong that it has evolved into an act in its own terms. Saturnalia is The Gutter Twins' lone, long in the making studio album, and it served to justify the project's brief existence with well-crafted, dark-bent alternative rock.
The Breeders - The Last Time (2008)
According to Kim Deal, The Last Time is about "moments where... [one feels] gutted, taken down in life." She pictured the song being delivered by a male voice when she wrote it, and although she recorded a version with her own vocal, she felt she didn't convey enough grief in her performance. Mark Lanegan was invited to sing on the track, and naturally, he delivered.
Werk - Long Cold Race (2011)
One of Lanegan's lesser celebrated collaborations is his contribution to Polish electronica musician Maciej Werk's album, Songs That Make Sense. Mark participates in the album's opening track, the industrial-tinged heavy trip hop cut, Long Cold Rage, alongside Polish singer Anita Lipnicka.
Mark Lanegan & Duke Garwood - Black Pudding (2013)
Mark was an admirer of Duke Garwood's musicianship, the multi-instrumentalist who has teamed with the Orb, Wire, and Kurt Vile, among others. The pair collaborated on two albums, the first of which was the bluesy and gloomy Black Pudding, after previously working together on tours with The Gutter Twins.
Earth - There Is A Serpent Coming (2014)
In 2014, Earth brought back vocals to their albums for the first time since 1996's Pentastar: In the Style of Demons. The guest vocalists on the very strong Primitive and Deadly, the band's eighth studio album, were Rabia Shaheen Qazi of Rose Windows and Mark Lanegan.
I am Super Ape - Monki (2014)
With a more accessible kind of psychedelic-bent stoner rock sound akin to that of QOTSA, I Am Super Ape from Malmö, Sweden emerged, produced by Damon Tutunjian of Swirlies. Monki, featuring Lanegan, had the potential to be a breakthrough for the band, but nothing else has followed the single's release so far.
James Williamson - Wild Love (2014)
James Williamson of The Stooges fame released Re-Licked in 2014, his first record in a very long time, following on from the 1977 (!) LP, Kill City with Iggy Pop. The new album featured A-list guests such as Jello Biafra, Bobby Gillespie, and Lanegan, who sings a duet with Alison Mosshart of The Kills and The Dead Weather.
The Duke Spirit - Wounded Wing (2016)
After a give-year gap, English indie rockers, The Duke Spirit, released their fourth album, Kin, in 2016 which was well received, and made an impact mainly for the guest appearances from Mark Lanegan, Sam Windett (Archie Bronson Outfit) and Terry Edwards (PJ Harvey, Gallon Drunk) among others.
Produced by Mark's consistent creative partner, Alain Johannes, The Grand Delusion by Matt Boroff explores challenging issues like nationalism and isolation. From the album, Thirst is one more of those underrated and lesser known moments in Mark Lanegan's lengthy path of collaborations.
Brian Reitzell - American Gods (2017)
The score to the TV series American Gods, composed by Brian Reitzell (Lost in Translation, Hannibal), also included some original songs, three of which were sung by Mark Lanegan.
Nicole Atkins & Mark Lanegan - November Rain (2018)
While residing in a Vermont cabin, Nicole Atkins came up with the idea to cover the iconic Guns N' Roses song, November Rain, after experiencing dreams about it, and began recording it the way she heard it when she awoke. Upon returning to Nashville, she proceeded to record it with Lanegan, whom she had met in 2006 through Myspace.
UNKLE - Requiem (When You Talk About Love) (2019)
The Road: Part II (Lost Highway), which consists of tracks recorded before and during The Road: Part I, of which Lanegan was also a part, is considered by UNKLE to be more of a mixtape than an actual album. "He’s one of my favourite singers ever and to work with him was just amazing.” James Lavelle has said about Mark Lanegan.
Not Waving & Dark Mark - The Broken Man (2019)
In another obscure partnership, Mark Lanegan teamed up with Alessio Natalizia aka Not Waving, and the outcome was Downwelling, a full length's worth of avantgardistic, startling, and entirely original material, distinctive for the body of work of both collaborators.
Humanist - Skull (2020)
Rob Marshall, formerly of Exit Calm, is also a co-writer of Mark Lanegan's Gargoyle and Somebody’s Knocking albums. In 2020 Marshall released his album through his Humanist alias, and naturally Lanegan came in to participate.
Hey Colossus - The Mirror (2020)
Dances / Curses is the thirteenth album by Hey Colossus, and it's a pretty hefty one, being a double record. Mark Lanegan makes a spoken word appearance on The Mirror, providing for one of the most poetic moments on this list, and leaving one wondering how fantastic a full length collaboration between these two may have been.
Cult of Luna - Inside of a Dream 2021
Many years into a prolific career, Cult Of Luna released the excellent EP, THE RAGING RIVER, including Mark Lanegan on Inside of a Dream, a deeply melancholic piece which further proves how Mark’s voice is capable of elevating everything, from traditional folk simplicity to such crushing heaviness as that of the Swedish post metal pioneers.
THE ARMED - THE MUSIC BECOMES A SKULL (2021)
Detroit's The Armed came up with an intricate piece of work which earned a comfortable place among the year's finest in 2021. Closing number, THE MUSIC BECOMES A SKULL, with Lanegan's stunningly beautiful contribution brings the album to a climactic and noisy end, and leaves a pretty unshakable impression.
Dark Mark vs. Skeleton Joe - Living Dead (2021)
One of Lanegan's most recent full-length collaborations was with Icarus Line's Joe Cardamone as Dark Mark vs. Skeleton Joe, which both artists saw as a challenge because it was so different from anything they had done previously. The album has been a rare presentation of wide experimental electronica, with death disco, minimal synth, and trip hop properties.
Lost Satellite - Bare Bones (2022)
Only one month before Mark's passing, Spanish alt rockers Lost Satellite published their new three-song EP, Bare Bones, which featured his peerless vocal on a stripped-down cover of The Stooges' No Fun.
Photo used on the cover; originally by Charles Peterson / Light In The Attic
The Road: Part II (Lost Highway), which consists of tracks recorded before and during The Road: Part I, of which Lanegan was also a part, is considered by UNKLE to be more of a mixtape than an actual album. "He’s one of my favourite singers ever and to work with him was just amazing.” James Lavelle has said about Mark Lanegan.
In another obscure partnership, Mark Lanegan teamed up with Alessio Natalizia aka Not Waving, and the outcome was Downwelling, a full length's worth of avantgardistic, startling, and entirely original material, distinctive for the body of work of both collaborators.
Rob Marshall, formerly of Exit Calm, is also a co-writer of Mark Lanegan's Gargoyle and Somebody’s Knocking albums. In 2020 Marshall released his album through his Humanist alias, and naturally Lanegan came in to participate.
Dances / Curses is the thirteenth album by Hey Colossus, and it's a pretty hefty one, being a double record. Mark Lanegan makes a spoken word appearance on The Mirror, providing for one of the most poetic moments on this list, and leaving one wondering how fantastic a full length collaboration between these two may have been.
Many years into a prolific career, Cult Of Luna released the excellent EP, THE RAGING RIVER, including Mark Lanegan on Inside of a Dream, a deeply melancholic piece which further proves how Mark’s voice is capable of elevating everything, from traditional folk simplicity to such crushing heaviness as that of the Swedish post metal pioneers.
Detroit's The Armed came up with an intricate piece of work which earned a comfortable place among the year's finest in 2021. Closing number, THE MUSIC BECOMES A SKULL, with Lanegan's stunningly beautiful contribution brings the album to a climactic and noisy end, and leaves a pretty unshakable impression.
One of Lanegan's most recent full-length collaborations was with Icarus Line's Joe Cardamone as Dark Mark vs. Skeleton Joe, which both artists saw as a challenge because it was so different from anything they had done previously. The album has been a rare presentation of wide experimental electronica, with death disco, minimal synth, and trip hop properties.
Only one month before Mark's passing, Spanish alt rockers Lost Satellite published their new three-song EP, Bare Bones, which featured his peerless vocal on a stripped-down cover of The Stooges' No Fun.