After recording many powerful, hard, and rocking albums before, Soundgarden decided to settle down and release a more mature, musical album than Badmotorfinger, Ultramega OK, Louder than Love, and Superunknown. This is the first Soundgarden album I got, and I can’t tell you what my favorite one is. This album is definitely more progressive and experimental than past Soundgarden albums.
1. Pretty Noose – What a great way to start off the album! First an awesome wah-guitar riff by Thayil, and then goes into a grunge verse with Cornell yelling, “I caught the moon today, pick it up, and throw it away, alright.” The bridge gives you a change of pace with Cornell’s singing at it’s peak of the song. Amazing song. 4.5/5
2. Rhinosaur – I love the intro to this song. Simple, but very effective. Cornell’s vocals are top notch on this track. I assume it was named “Rhinosaur” because of it’s aggressiveness. After the intro and the first verse, I don’t really like this song much, aside from an awesome guitar solo in the middle. 3/5
3. Zero Chance – This is an awesome song. Not a hard rocker like the past ones, but definitely just as good. This a soft song, with Cornell singing melodically, “Find my way back home” over soft guitars. However, I do think this song should have been at the end. 4/5
4. Dusty – This song is the title track of the album. After a drum intro, all of the other members come in. Cornell’s singing is good, as usual, but I do not like the song as much as the others. Good lyrics, though. 3/5
5. Ty Cobb – Hey! A soft, melodic song to relax to!
Just kidding.
After a 20 second mandolin/guitar intro, the song explodes into a fast paced punk rock song. Lots of profanity, and it doesn’t slow down again. Named after the baseball player, this song is about a guy driving through town killing everyone he sees (at least that’s what I once read). 4.5/5
6. Blow Up the Outside World – This is definitely one of my favorite songs on the album. It’s not very hard, just E and C chords being played in the verse, but it’s beautiful. I love the chorus, one of my favorites. My favorite part of the song is when Chris starts yelling, “Blow up the outside world!” Goes from soft to hard to soft again very well and quickly.
5/5
7. Burden in my Hand – I would have to say this is the best Soundgarden song ever (with MAYBE the exception of “Outshined”). After 3 counts on the hi-hat, Chris comes in singing with an acoustic guitar. This song is one of the catchiest songs I have ever heard. I loved it the first time I heard it, something that doesn’t happen with me much. The lyrics to this song are incredible also. The song is about a person who loves a rock star just because he is a rock star, and he tries to get rid of her, being a “Burden in my Hand.” 6/5
8. Never Named – BOOM. Rockin’ song here. Very up-paced, with fast drums and guitar. This is a catchy song, one of those that makes you want to just sing along with. I can’t tell what this song is about, as Chris’s lyrics are a little strange sometimes. 4.5/5
9. Applebite – I hate this song. Nothing to it. 2/5
10. Never the Machine Forever – Starts off with a bass intro, then goes into an explosive verse with the guitar playing the opening bass riff. This song isn’t that bad, but it just hasn’t grown on me that much. Nice lyrics and singing. 3/5
11. Tighter & Tighter – This is another one of my favorite on the album. Starts off with a heavy guitar riff and harmonics, and then goes into a wah-guitar solo. The background riff to this is really awesome. I love Chris’s singing when he comes in, singing, “Shallow face.” I don’t know what this song is about either, but it definitely is amazing. The guitar solo is incredible, with the best backing guitar riff I have heard in a while. 5/5
12. No Attention – Once again, a song that explodes from the beginning. The singing is not as good as Chris could do. This song is pretty disappointing. 2/5
13. Switch Opens – I think the barely-heard guitar riff at the beginning is pretty cool. That then leads into a verse, with Chris’s still singing STILL not being as good as it could be, but not as bad as the last track. This song is alright, but the chorus with Chris moaning, “Switch opens” gets pretty old fast. 2.5/5
14. Overfloater – A much softer song. Chris’s singing is finally back to how it should be: amazing. This is definitely a good song to put near the end of an album, being softer than most of the other ones. This song also makes up for the last two tracks. After about 1 minute 15 seconds, Chris starts singing with harmony, and I think that sounds really good. 4/5
15. An Unkind – Starts off with a bang. Chris singing has some effect on it, which makes it, once again, crappy. I don’t like this song. They did not end the album very well.2/5
16. Boot Camp – Starts off with a wet guitar intro, and then the drums come in .This song is, once again, a lot softer than most of the other songs. This song sounds very Pink Floyd-ish to me. Chris’s singing is really good, and although I never liked this song much, it is a great way to end the album. 4/5
Pros:
+ Chris’s voice
+ More musical and expiremental
+ Good instrumentation
Cons:
-Track order is AWFUL.
-Pretty weak at the end of the CD, first half is the best.
I suggest downloading a few songs before buying this album, just to see if it is your taste.
Soundgarden is:
Chris Cornell ( Vocals, Guitar)
Kim Thayil (Guitar)
Ben Shephard ( Bass )
Matt Cameron ( Drums )
