Generic intro!
In comparison to yesterday, there are no gimmicks to accompany this post, no wistful recollections of times gone by or stand-out moments that shine brightly from the deepest recesses of my memories. Nope, nothing funny here - just one solid album that is shamefully under appreciated today. The album in question? Superunknown by Soundgarden.
Some of you may actually have at least a passing familiarity with Soundgarden. Unfortunately it may only be due to the pale shadow of the band that exists in the alleged super group Audioslave. While that band has a decent following today, with a few marginal hits, the real gold came from the originators, not the successors. Both Rage Against the Machine and Soundgarden were such ground breakind path-makers that for either group to want to continue on seems obvious. However nothing really can hold a candle to what each group had done in their prime. Today we focus on the weird pseudo-metal and grunge stylings of Soundgarden and their mainstream breakthrough album. Released in early 1994, the album saw Soundgarden finally gaining mainstream press beyond articles on the grunge wave along with Alice In Chains, Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Radio friendly hits were turning on people who otherwise would not have given the oddball band a chance. Primarily known at this point for their intricate guitar noodling and frontman Chris Cornell's over-the-top vocals, the band struck out in a new direction for this album while adhering to their established sensibilities.
If grunge was a marriage of sorts between punk and heavy metal, Soundgarden found themselves on the metal end of the spectrum. Nirvana, for example, were on the punk end of things. Soundgarden had made a name for themselves with Kim Thayil's heavy, yet intricate and melodic guitar playing, with the band grinding along behind Cornell's wailing and screaming. Over the top stuff, but it was popular at the time, with hits like Outshined and Rusty Cage showing real signs of the talented band to the mainstream public. So when it came time for them to record the follow up to their biggest album yet, Badmotorfinger, they decided to engage their potential, to not be limited by the constraints of expectation or role-fulfillment. What we received, as a result, was an album with heavy metal roots but the quirks of intelligent people not taking themselves too seriously. Where as Pearl Jam were all anguished introspection and railng against an unjust society, Soundgarden would write songs like they were being dared to. Case in point - the excellent whirling and weighty track 'Spoonman' was written when Chris Cornell was making a cameo in the movie 'Singles' and saw a setlist for the fictional band Citizen Dick. Spoonman was one of the song titles and he thought he'd write the song just for the sake of fun. The power pop of the shining and sparkling 'My Wave' is twisted around a riff written in the mentally taxing 5/4 time, something with which I can't quite fall into synch. It messes with my head and it's only about surfing - light-hearted and weird, but fun stuff. This isn't the only case of curious time signatures, either - the bleak yet enticing 'Day I Tried To Live' features a bass line that somehow repeats after a pattern of repeating 7/4 and 4/4 times, all while Cornell's amazingly rich voice croons about giving up.
There are more conventional tracks on this awesome record, as well. 'Kickstand' is one of the most straight-forward songs here, but they do even the most conventional songs with vigor and unparalleled finesse. The resolving chords in the verses feel so smooth and locked in, it's no wonder they like to experiment with odd time signatures. 'Mailman' is ostensibly just a grinding, growling riff that descends into a mire, but the little flairs on the fret board and (again) Cornell's voice sell what would otherwise be middling material by any other band. 'Fresh Tendrils', with its octave-based eastern-tinged riffs, feels as vibrant and relevant as anything else released in recent times. Of course we would be remiss if we didn't speak of the stand-out single, the massive and mind-meltingly unreal 'Black Hole Sun'. Beneath the surface of this masterpiece of grunge is a fantastic tune, a sure sign of quality songwriting. What I'm trying to say is if one would strip away all the elements but vocals and a guitar part, you'd still have a phenomenal bit of music. It's an absolutely amazing song, one that people still know and love 15+ years later. How many grunge bands can say that?
Really, this album is tops. I was given it almost as an afterthought by my older brother when I was about 12 and even now I find myself flipping through it and thinking about how great the whole thing is. It's a shame Audioslave can't hold a candle to Soundgarden, but then again how could they? A band is a sum of it's parts, not just one man's ego. Nine Inch Nails, for example, has really only been Trent Reznor. The Smashing Pumpkins is just Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin. Hell, The Doors was mostly just Jim Morrison. Soundgarden was a band where everyone had their day in the sun, and this album shows what they were capable of doing when they really let themselves shine.
In comparison to yesterday, there are no gimmicks to accompany this post, no wistful recollections of times gone by or stand-out moments that shine brightly from the deepest recesses of my memories. Nope, nothing funny here - just one solid album that is shamefully under appreciated today. The album in question? Superunknown by Soundgarden.
Some of you may actually have at least a passing familiarity with Soundgarden. Unfortunately it may only be due to the pale shadow of the band that exists in the alleged super group Audioslave. While that band has a decent following today, with a few marginal hits, the real gold came from the originators, not the successors. Both Rage Against the Machine and Soundgarden were such ground breakind path-makers that for either group to want to continue on seems obvious. However nothing really can hold a candle to what each group had done in their prime. Today we focus on the weird pseudo-metal and grunge stylings of Soundgarden and their mainstream breakthrough album. Released in early 1994, the album saw Soundgarden finally gaining mainstream press beyond articles on the grunge wave along with Alice In Chains, Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Radio friendly hits were turning on people who otherwise would not have given the oddball band a chance. Primarily known at this point for their intricate guitar noodling and frontman Chris Cornell's over-the-top vocals, the band struck out in a new direction for this album while adhering to their established sensibilities.
