This third full length from Soundgarden always seemed to me to be the start of the real meat and potatoes of Soundgarden’s career. Yes, Ultramega OK is fantastic, Louder Than Love is well loud - and both have songs that are simply essential, but Badmotorfinger is where Soundgarden goes from a great band to unstoppable. Perhaps it’s Ben Shepherd being added to the mix but they just blow through crazy time signatures and big grooves here and it’s so fluid you barely realize it. In fact, it’s easy to take for granted how spectacular a band they are under the loudness. I was thinking just during Holy Water how they have some similarity to the Grateful Dead in the way they find spaces to explore, maybe not for 20 minutes at a time, but you’d never think to link those two bands up. Really it’s the sense that there’s no limitation to what they can do - in the case of Soundgarden it’s the Cameron/Shepherd combo with Kim Thayil’s fantastic flashes while Cornell (the thrust of this journey) continuing to take his voice to new places. I probably share similar lists to others on what’s essential here (the hits - Rusty Cage, Outshined, Jesus Christ Pose; and the other essentials - Searching With My Good Eye Closed, Room a Thousand Years Wide, Slaves & Bulldozers; and add to that on this listen Face Pollution, Drawing Flies (Matt!), and Holy Water). Prime Soundgarden right here.
Re: RIP Chris Cornell 1964 - 2017
Posted: Wed August 18, 2021 2:31 pm
by VinylGuy
I really think that Ben took the band to another level. Not only his songwriting (which is going to be a huge part of DOTU for example) but his playing...his crazyness, his almost chaotic, agressive presence.
Also he came by in a very good moment of the band because BMF features all of them in very high places
Re: RIP Chris Cornell 1964 - 2017
Posted: Wed August 18, 2021 2:41 pm
by tragabigzanda
Re: RIP Chris Cornell 1964 - 2017
Posted: Wed August 18, 2021 2:42 pm
by VinylGuy
yeah, they are fucking aggressive and tight in BMF.
Fuck, im cranking this one now.
Re: RIP Chris Cornell 1964 - 2017
Posted: Wed August 18, 2021 9:55 pm
by liebzz
Superunknown
Soundgarden’s fourth album here is difficult to discuss in some ways because both it’s been celebrated to death and no amount of hyperbole fits. This album is just incredible from top to bottom. Taking the progress they made as a group through Badmotorfinger and leveling up on hooks, big riffs, guitar solos, inventive interplay between Matt Cameron and Ben Shepherd, then adding even more growth from Chris Cornell. The classics are undeniable and still hook you in (Black Hole Sun, My Wave, Fell On Black Days, Spoonman, The Day I Tried to Live), the “deep cuts” just as if not even more essential (Like Suicide, Superunknown, Head Down, Limo Wreck, Mailman, 4th of July) - there’s not a lull or a break here. Truly one of the great albums of the 90s and beyond.
Re: RIP Chris Cornell 1964 - 2017
Posted: Thu August 19, 2021 12:17 am
by VinylGuy
yeah, SU might be the best album from its era. It also sounds incredible, kudos to Beinhorn for whataver he did on those sessions.
Seems he really push them, and they got a masterpiece...also the b sides, outtakes from that era are fucking wonderful.
And i would say this is were Chris shaped his voice into what was going to be his career. Brilliant.
Re: RIP Chris Cornell 1964 - 2017
Posted: Thu August 19, 2021 12:41 am
by bada
I think Fresh Tendrils is my favorite Cornell vocal performance.
Re: RIP Chris Cornell 1964 - 2017
Posted: Thu August 19, 2021 12:14 pm
by fyfe79
VinylGuy wrote:yeah, SU might be the best album from its era. It also sounds incredible, kudos to Beinhorn for whataver he did on those sessions.
Seems he really push them, and they got a masterpiece...also the b sides, outtakes from that era are fucking wonderful.
And i would say this is were Chris shaped his voice into what was going to be his career. Brilliant.
Totally agree with this. One of the best produced albums of all time - up there with AC/DC's Back in Black.
If there was ever one album which shouldn't have had the "deluxe" treatment, it's this one. I listened to the disc of out-takes/demos and immediately the band became "human" and fallable to my ears, when I realised what level of magic-dust had been sprinkled over the songs which resulted in the finished album. They just sounded like any other decent band ploughing through a bunch of new songs in a rehearsal room. I've never listened to them a second time. Just listen to the album proper!
Re: RIP Chris Cornell 1964 - 2017
Posted: Thu August 19, 2021 1:04 pm
by tragabigzanda
tragabigzanda wrote:
tragabigzanda wrote:Top 10 maybe?
Hello Morning
Close Captioned
The Kill
Place/Position
Do You Like Me?
Latest Disgrace
Recap Modotti
Nightshop
Break
Life & Limb
I'd maybe bump Life & Limb for Epic Problem
Re: RIP Chris Cornell 1964 - 2017
Posted: Thu August 19, 2021 1:25 pm
by VinylGuy
yeah they played Black Days 3, Blind Dogs, Kyle Petty...great songs.
I love the rehersals they released in the super deluxe edition. They are super tight, chris sounds incredible,....its a very good testament of that time.
Re: RIP Chris Cornell 1964 - 2017
Posted: Thu August 19, 2021 1:44 pm
by wease
bada wrote:I think Fresh Tendrils is my favorite Cornell vocal performance.
Fuck yeah
Re: RIP Chris Cornell 1964 - 2017
Posted: Thu August 19, 2021 2:05 pm
by liebzz
Down On the Upside
I will give Soundgarden a lot of credit for self producing this album after the masterpiece of Superunknown. I can only imagine what the pressure must have been to follow that album. Perhaps it is looking in hindsight, but I can sort of sense the tension and divide coming on this one. The band moved more and more into melodic territory to highlight what by then was obvious - they had one of the greatest lead vocalists ever in a hard rock band. In particular over TotD, Badmotorfinger, and Superunknown, Cornell at this point nearly had no peers. It stands to reason they would slow things down to put more of a spotlight on him. Sure, the time signatures and guitar tones still get inventive and interesting, but too often on this album, they need a little more muscle, and moments like Ty Cobb, Never the Machine Forever, and An Unkind feel necessary to break up the mid tempos. Of course, that doesn’t mean this isn’t a fantastic album in its own right. Pretty Noose, Dusty, Blow Up the Outside World, Burden In My Hand, Rhinosaur, and Boot Camp are essential, and No Attention and Overfloater are great. It might be a slight downtick for me from the euphorically great two preceding albums, but it’s still phenomenal in its own right. That they took a 15 year hiatus after this, however, is not surprising when you listen in context.
Re: RIP Chris Cornell 1964 - 2017
Posted: Thu August 19, 2021 2:11 pm
by VinylGuy
im gonna say DOTU is their true masterpiece. Its untouchable, difficult for the masses maybe, but the creativity poured there is just amazing, even all these years ago.
I dont think the sessions were difficult for the band, but they were trying different things...Kim wanted a more heavy sound and Chris was going into what became Euphoria Morning. But for me this album is 100% Ben Shepherd. He contributes with a lot of songs, a lot of good moments and the overall dark and chaotic feeling this album has for me.
Re: RIP Chris Cornell 1964 - 2017
Posted: Thu August 19, 2021 2:15 pm
by liebzz
VinylGuy wrote:im gonna say DOTU is their true masterpiece. Its untouchable, difficult for the masses maybe, but the creativity poured there is just amazing, even all these years ago.
I dont think the sessions were difficult for the band, but they were trying different things...Kim wanted a more heavy sound and Chris was going into what became Euphoria Morning. But for me this album is 100% Ben Shepherd. He contributes with a lot of songs, a lot of good moments and the overall dark and chaotic feeling this album has for me.
Yeah, I knew you felt that way. For me it comes off more unevenly. But there’s a lot to love here, particularly when it comes to trying some new things - the mandolin in Ty Cobb is pretty awesome. I do think Kim Thayil seems a bit absent on this album, especially looking back at say Ultramega OK where he’s just shredding, or even Superunknown where he plays a big part in the songs’ breakdowns.
Re: RIP Chris Cornell 1964 - 2017
Posted: Thu August 19, 2021 3:30 pm
by VinylGuy
yeah, Kim was maybe a little off with Chris´s choices at this point. He only writes what, one song?
Re: RIP Chris Cornell 1964 - 2017
Posted: Thu August 19, 2021 3:41 pm
by bada
I think one of the strengths of the band was the personalities and the fact that Chris sometimes edited himself to get the approval of the other guys. Still I wish they just let him record the EM songs with Soundgarden and then did a more traditionally SG follow up instead of breaking up as a compromise. That's probably not realistic but it would have been cool.
Re: RIP Chris Cornell 1964 - 2017
Posted: Thu August 19, 2021 3:44 pm
by VinylGuy
i think EM was going to be SG next album if they didnt broke up....but Kim wasnt going to record that album. Im sure Ben either. The seemed interested in going back for a more heavy route.
But EM is almost a SG album for sure.
Re: RIP Chris Cornell 1964 - 2017
Posted: Thu August 19, 2021 3:54 pm
by Strat
Even moreso with Chris' passing, it really fucking sucks that Soundgarden parted ways when they did. DOTU is my favorite of theirs and i feel they were really just at their fucking peak.
Blah.
Re: RIP Chris Cornell 1964 - 2017
Posted: Thu August 19, 2021 6:56 pm
by Thurman Murman
Strat wrote:Even moreso with Chris' passing, it really fucking sucks that Soundgarden parted ways when they did. DOTU is my favorite of theirs and i feel they were really just at their fucking peak.
Blah.
I feel the same way. I only started to get into the band with Superunknown, but DOTU has always been my favorite album of theirs.
Re: RIP Chris Cornell 1964 - 2017
Posted: Thu August 19, 2021 7:52 pm
by fyfe79
DOTU has 'Zero Chance', perhaps my favourite of all their tracks. The opening 1-2-3 of Pretty Noose, Rhinosaur and ZC just brings it all back for me. Every time.