1001 Songs Challenge #725: Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns (1989)

On 11 February 2019 I set myself the challenging of reading 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die by Robert Dimery (ed.) and following the book’s advice to the letter. I’ve previously read 1001 Films… and started 1001 Albums… but felt 1001 Songs… would be a sensible place to start for what I have in mind here.

My challenge is to read about one song per day and listen to it (YouTube and Spotify, I need you tonight!) before sharing my own thoughts. Some songs I will love, others I’ll hate, and I’m sure there will be those that leave me perplexed but listen to them I shall.

I’ll also try, and most likely fail, to pinpoint the best song from the 1001 on offer but I’m nothing if not foolhardy. Instead of one song, I’m predicting I’ll have about 100 favourites by the end and may have to resort to a Top 10 so far to maintain any semblance of sanity.

So long as I post everyday (including Christmas) then this challenge should come to an end on Wednesday 8 November 2021. Staying with the Barney Stinson theme I am hoping that the whole experience will prove to be…

Mother Love Bone – Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns (1989)

We’re leaving the UK behind, dear reader, and making our way to the US and to Seattle to partake of the emerging grunge scene there. Formed in 1988 Mother Love Bone were led by singer, Andrew Wood, and would prove influential with their contemporaries. We join them in 1989 with the release of an EP entitled Shine and from there 1001 Songs have gone with the track – Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns. 

Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns is said to be about Andrew Wood’s relationship with his then girlfriend, Xana La Fuente. To support the couple she took a job as a stripper but quit after just one hour. The relationship later broke down with Wood addicted to heroin and causing a huge rift between them though La Fuente did her best to help her boyfriend get clean. Chloe Dancer seems to refer to La Fuente’s brief time as a stripper while Crown of Thorns looks deeply into Wood’s struggles with heroin and his determination to overcome his addiction.

Chloe Dancer is more solemn and driven by piano while Crown of Thorns is heavier. The two form an interesting juxtaposition and the group sounded promising at the outset of their career. However, Mother Love Bone would not last long. Andrew Wood managed to overcome his heroin addiction for a few months but upon relapsing he died in 1990 just a short time before the group’s debut album, Apple, was released. Two of the surviving members would become part of a new band named Pearl Jam who, along with the likes of Nirvana and Soundgarden, spearheaded the grunge rock scene.

Favourite songs so far:

The Animals – House of the Rising Sun (1964)

Simon & Garfunkel – The Sounds of Silence (1965)

The Beatles – A Day in the Life (1967)

The Doors – The End (1967)

Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here (1975)

Meat Loaf – Bat Out of Hell (1977)

Queen – Don’t Stop Me Now (1978)

Ultravox – Vienna (1980)

The Smiths – How Soon Is Now? (1984)

Tracy Chapman – Fast Car (1988)