Blind Melon
For My Friends
Rating: 3.5/5
For Fans of: Blind Melon, duh. Jane’s Addiction, Nirvana
Directed by: “For My Friends,” “With the Right Set of Eyes,” “Make a Difference”
Thirteen years after the death of singer/songwriter Shannon Hoon, Blind Melon is back with a new singer. Make no mistake: this is definitely still a Blind Melon record. The band did not have to, and has not, died with Hoon, but there is a marked difference between “For My Friends” and their previous albums. Replacing him on vocals was fine because even though new singer Travis Warren’s vocal style is at times unsettlingly similar to that of Hoon’s, the loss of Hoon’s songwriting can be felt throughout the record.
On the day Kurt Cobain was found dead, Blind Melon was the musical guest on David Letterman. They performed the song “Change,” Hoon with a question mark drawn on his forehead. The question mark could be interpreted to mean many things: “How could this have happened?” or perhaps “What am I to do now that he is gone?”
On October 21, 1995, when Hoon was found dead of a cocaine overdose, one can surmise that Hoon’s Blind Melon bandmates likely found themselves asking similar questions.
They decided to not go on without Hoon. Many stayed in music, working on other projects (Unified Theory, Abandon Jalopy, Extra Virgin), but there had never been real reported talks of Blind Melon reuniting.
Last year the remaining members began playing together again, not to reform Blind Melon but to start a new band, and invited 25-year-old singer Travis Warren to lend some vocals. After several sessions they began to feel it was right to reunite as Blind Melon with Warren on vocals, and the rest is history. After posting a few demos on the Internet, they recorded “For My Friends” and embarked on a nationwide tour.
Sounds perfect, right? Well, minus the loss of Hoon’s songwriting, it almost is. However, Blind Melon’s greatest asset was the creativity and sincerity of Hoon’s songwriting.
Even without Hoon, “For My Friends” has its merits. Songs like the title track and “Wishing Well” are single-ready, and could potentially be radio hits. “Harmful Belly” almost sounds like it could have been a progression from Blind Melon’s first album. With Warren sounding especially Hoon-like and guitar hooks abounding, it sounds like it should come from a less psychedelic counterpart to the album which brought them their fame.
All in all, “For My Friends” is a return to Blind Melon’s original alt-rock sound, just with a different singer bringing them back there. Brad Smith, Chris Thorn, Rogers Stevens and Graham were right to resurrect the band made famous by the bee girl and “For My Friends” is a testament to that; however, as everyone, likely including the band, knew, it will never be the same without Shannon.