Total Fucking Godhead / The Soundgarden Thread

[doone]

I have the blu ray coming but its listed as NTSC on Amazon.ca so I don't anticipate any problems.

[EwanRider]

If it helps any it's streaming on Amazon Prime.

[contamination]

Cornell sounds pretty bad in this new Live from Artists Den release.

I kind of agree, though I only listened the first five tracks. After Jesus Christ Pose I went and put on the Live On I-5 version to hear how his voice has changed in 15 years. Besides the obvious change in his voice it seemd like he was singing more behind the beat in Live from The Artists Den. Like he was having trouble keeping up with the rest of the band.

It's a good document about the latter day Soundgarden but I think I would rather put on I-5 if I had to choose. Btw. this is what Pitchfork had to say about Chris' singing on Live On I-5:

So what we're basically left with is a live album whose perverse main draw is the chance to hear a good portion of Soundgarden's most iconic tracks given the Lizard King treatment by someone whose vocal cords were clearly on the business end of way too many bottles of vodka. Let's not mince words-- Chris Cornell sounds terrible here, and he's pretty much all you can hear when he takes the mic. Granted, hearing him go all Tarzan on record provided some of Soundgarden's most visceral thrills, and oddly enough, he has no problem hitting the climactic high notes of "Spoonman" and "Rusty Cage". But nearly everything else just finds his vocals tattered and flailing in and out of tune like a flag in a torrential downpour, making you wonder just how bad things really got if these were truly the top-shelf recordings. Even the choice of covers here lack inspiration-- "Search and Destroy" and the even more ubiquitous "Helter Skelter" are given Blueshammer makeovers, no different from any number of bands doing the same thing at a sports bar near you.

I wonder if they'll review Artists Den...

[Wendy Carlos's Twin]

"Live on I-5" is a piece of dog shit.

Possibly badly recorded and definitely very badly mixed.

I don't know anyone who enjoys listening to it.

I would imagine that a better approach would have yielded far more satisfying results, even with Cornell's voice in the state it was in.

[contamination]

"Live on I-5" is a piece of dog shit.

Possibly badly recorded and definitely very badly mixed.

I don't know anyone who enjoys listening to it.

I would imagine that a better approach would have yielded far more satisfying results, even with Cornell's voice in the state it was in.

Well Cornell sounds remarkably better in it than Live From Artists Den. I agree with the mixing though.

[Birds in Hell]

"Live on I5" was a total blunder though I remember enjoying the soundcheck bonus disc quite a bit.

I don't think that Chris sounds worse, or notably even bad, on "Live from the Artist's Den".

If you listen to a bunch of Soundgarden live shows, that's just how Chris sounded live more often that not.*

(* I had to change the tense of this sentence after I wrote it from "sounds" to "sounded" and it really bummed me out.)

[Kevin Davis]

I don't know that I've ever really enjoyed live Soundgarden. Cornell almost always sounds like he's struggling to me, and the heaviness of the studio recordings just doesn't translate (on recordings, anyway -- in person I'm sure it was a different story).

I watched a few of the Artist's Den videos, and to me it just looks it sounds like Cornell is somewhere else entirely. He seems completely detached and bored, and every time his voice even approaches a treacherous pitch it feels totally pinched.

[Wendy Carlos's Twin]

"Live on I5" was a total blunder though I remember enjoying the soundcheck bonus disc quite a bit.

Oh, yes! Because they didn't mix in fake crowd noise and massive reverb.

[Jammer XCI]

My Blu Ray came in the mail and shortly afterward I found out I could just stream this for free with Amazon Prime anyway, but physical media is still cool so at peast I have it on a disc I guess.

Incessant Mace and My Wave were cool but those are all I watched from it.

Live on I5 is alright. I like the Slaves and Bulldozers on it and the Burden In My Hand. The live stuff from those Badmotorfinger and Superunknown box sets are way better though. All those destroy any live Pearl Jam record besides Live on 10 Legs though.

[LetMeSleep]

Ten legs or two legs?

[lecherouslittlestump]

Cornell sounds pretty bad in this new Live from Artists Den release.

I kind of agree, though I only listened the first five tracks. After Jesus Christ Pose I went and put on the Live On I-5 version to hear how his voice has changed in 15 years. Besides the obvious change in his voice it seemd like he was singing more behind the beat in Live from The Artists Den. Like he was having trouble keeping up with the rest of the band.

It's a good document about the latter day Soundgarden but I think I would rather put on I-5 if I had to choose. Btw. this is what Pitchfork had to say about Chris' singing on Live On I-5:

So what we're basically left with is a live album whose perverse main draw is the chance to hear a good portion of Soundgarden's most iconic tracks given the Lizard King treatment by someone whose vocal cords were clearly on the business end of way too many bottles of vodka. Let's not mince words-- Chris Cornell sounds terrible here, and he's pretty much all you can hear when he takes the mic. Granted, hearing him go all Tarzan on record provided some of Soundgarden's most visceral thrills, and oddly enough, he has no problem hitting the climactic high notes of "Spoonman" and "Rusty Cage". But nearly everything else just finds his vocals tattered and flailing in and out of tune like a flag in a torrential downpour, making you wonder just how bad things really got if these were truly the top-shelf recordings. Even the choice of covers here lack inspiration-- "Search and Destroy" and the even more ubiquitous "Helter Skelter" are given Blueshammer makeovers, no different from any number of bands doing the same thing at a sports bar near you.

I wonder if they'll review Artists Den...

Interesting quote and I've always thought he sounded weak in I-5 too. I don't think he's ever sounded consistently great live with Soundgarden TBH. The songs are incredibly demanding on his voice and I'm not surprised he struggled.

He sounded great on those TOTD shows a few years back and obviously he's phenomenal when he's on his own. But I can take or leave a live Soundgarden album because you know the vocals are going to be hit and miss. Even stuff like Motorvision and Lounder Than Live is rough.

[Revelator]

Cornell sounds pretty bad in this new Live from Artists Den release.

I kind of agree, though I only listened the first five tracks. After Jesus Christ Pose I went and put on the Live On I-5 version to hear how his voice has changed in 15 years. Besides the obvious change in his voice it seemd like he was singing more behind the beat in Live from The Artists Den. Like he was having trouble keeping up with the rest of the band.

It's a good document about the latter day Soundgarden but I think I would rather put on I-5 if I had to choose. Btw. this is what Pitchfork had to say about Chris' singing on Live On I-5:

So what we're basically left with is a live album whose perverse main draw is the chance to hear a good portion of Soundgarden's most iconic tracks given the Lizard King treatment by someone whose vocal cords were clearly on the business end of way too many bottles of vodka. Let's not mince words-- Chris Cornell sounds terrible here, and he's pretty much all you can hear when he takes the mic. Granted, hearing him go all Tarzan on record provided some of Soundgarden's most visceral thrills, and oddly enough, he has no problem hitting the climactic high notes of "Spoonman" and "Rusty Cage". But nearly everything else just finds his vocals tattered and flailing in and out of tune like a flag in a torrential downpour, making you wonder just how bad things really got if these were truly the top-shelf recordings. Even the choice of covers here lack inspiration-- "Search and Destroy" and the even more ubiquitous "Helter Skelter" are given Blueshammer makeovers, no different from any number of bands doing the same thing at a sports bar near you.

I wonder if they'll review Artists Den...

Interesting quote and I've always thought he sounded weak in I-5 too. I don't think he's ever sounded consistently great live with Soundgarden TBH. The songs are incredibly demanding on his voice and I'm not surprised he struggled.

He sounded great on those TOTD shows a few years back and obviously he's phenomenal when he's on his own. But I can take or leave a live Soundgarden album because you know the vocals are going to be hit and miss. Even stuff like Motorvision and Lounder Than Live is rough.

Yeah those San Fran TOTD videos on youtube sound amazing. No doubt Chris was very inconsistent live, but on his good nights he brought the thunder. Sadly, as nice as the Artist Den recording looks, he does overall sound rough/tired. Some of the less demanding songs are listenable though. Not sure why but I rather love this version of Blood On The Valley Floor.

[bada]

One thing with Chris...and I really don't have the vocabulary to really explain what I mean here but...while on record he would go from this low baritone to his middle and then to the upper reaches of his range in one song but live it was almost like he had to choose one and stick with it. Like on Spoonman he'd always do the verses all screechy when in my mind singing it like it was on the record would be so much easier. I don't know. Sometimes it felt like self sabotage. I also noticed with Soundgarden that whenever he wasn't playing guitar at the same time he sang much better. I saw him live solo on the Euphoria Morning tour, with Soundgarden in '96 and with Audioslave and I thought he was amazing each time but to Kevin Davis's point it didn't translate on live recordings.

[VinylGuy]

Well, im a huge SG fan. I still think in a very weird night those guys were up there with the best..I5 is a very cool document of the 96 tour, and specially Chris. He sounds like a madman, like a fucking wolf there. Nothing To Say is my favorite version ever.

This new release, i remember he wasnt as good as night 1 i think. He is hit or miss here, but overall the performance is top notch.

Damn, those King Animal songs were so good live.

[fyfe79]

"Live on I5" was a total blunder though I remember enjoying the soundcheck bonus disc quite a bit.

Oh, yes! Because they didn't mix in fake crowd noise and massive reverb.

Indeed! When you hear all the girlies screaming with excitement at the intro to “Nothing to Say”, you know it’s 100% fake.

Speaking of which, that live version is indeed incredible. Chris sounds totally on it.

[liebzz]

I might be shooting in the dark and quickly corrected here, but I am not sure of another example of a band producing an album as good as King Animal after the length of the break between that album and Down on the Upside. It’s pretty remarkable.

[blackholesun85]

Well, im a huge SG fan. I still think in a very weird night those guys were up there with the best..I5 is a very cool document of the 96 tour, and specially Chris. He sounds like a madman, like a fucking wolf there. Nothing To Say is my favorite version ever.

This new release, i remember he wasnt as good as night 1 i think. He is hit or miss here, but overall the performance is top notch.

Damn, those King Animal songs were so good live.

Does anyone have nights 1 & 2 at the Wiltern available to compare to the new official release? I've heard they're really good and have always wanted to hear them?

[VinylGuy]

I might be shooting in the dark and quickly corrected here, but I am not sure of another example of a band producing an album as good as King Animal after the length of the break between that album and Down on the Upside. It’s pretty remarkable.

I agree. Even the flaws are interesting or cool.

[bada]

Yeah for my money out of all our 80s/90s alt rock heroes who had comeback albums after a long time away Soundgarden and Jane's Addiction were at the top of the heap.

[VinylGuy]

Oh yeah Janes both comeback albums were good. I like them a lot.