 Temple of the Dog was released on April 16 , 1991 , through A & M Records and initially sold 70 @,@ 000 copies in the United States . Ament recalled that they requested a Pearl Jam sticker on the cover — as they had just picked their new name — because " it 'll be a good thing for us , " but they were refused . The album received favorable reviews but failed to chart . Critic Steve Huey of AllMusic later rated the album with four @-@ and @-@ a @-@ half stars out of five , stating that the " record sounds like a bridge between Mother Love Bone 's theatrical ' 70s @-@ rock updates and Pearl Jam 's hard @-@ rocking seriousness . " David Fricke of Rolling Stone also wrote in retrospect that the album " deserves immortality . " The band members were pleased with the material , as it achieved its purpose ; Cornell believed that " Andy really would have liked " the songs , and Gossard also asserted that he thought Wood would be " blown away by the whole thing . " Soon after the album 's release , Soundgarden and Pearl Jam embarked on recording their next albums , and the Temple of the Dog project was brought to a close . 
