Soundgarden
Superunknown
The Band: Chris Cornell- vocals, guitar
Kim Thayil- lead guitar
Ben Sheperd- bass, vocals
Matt Cameron- drums
Soundgarden were one of the biggest band’s in the 90’s. And this album was the pinnacle of their achievements. It has a wide array of songs. Ranging from hard rock to more slow soft songs. This album is quite depressing but beautiful as well. With out a doubt one of my all time favourites.
Band’s History: As best anyone can tell, the seeds that would eventually become Soundgarden were sown in 1981. Kim Thayil and Hiro Yamamoto (the band’s bassist until 1988) graduated from Rich East (their high school). The two set out for Olympia Washington. Once they got there they were unable to find jobs. They also admired the music scene in Seattle. Thus they moved to Seattle. The earliest incarnation of Soundgarden was a cover band called “The Shemps”.
The band was founded by Thayil’s roommate, guitarist Matt Dentito. Chris Cornell had started out on drums, but wanted more musical input than drummers were usually allowed. Cornell became the vocalist for “The Shemps”. At this point and time, Yamamoto was playing bass. He quit and was replaced by Thayil.
Cornel and Thayil often crossed paths with Matt Cameron and Ben Sheperd around this time. Cameron was in a band called “Feedback”, who eventually became “Skin Yard”. Sheperd was a guitarist in “March Of Crimes.
In 1984, The Shemps were history. Cornell had moved in with Yamamoto. The two started a band. After jamming with several guitarists they invited Thayil into the fold. The trio began playing several local gigs. With Cornell playing both drums and doing vocals. The band’s first show was with a New York band called “Three Teens Kill Four”. Shortly after the band brought in Scott Sundquist. This freed up Cornell for front man duties. Sundquist, who had a wife and kids, quit the band later that year. The band was now without a drummer. Yamamoto and Thayil managed to lure Matt Cameron away from “Skin Yard”, though. The four began recording. They released a few EP’s before 1988.
The band signed with A&M and released the album “Louder Than Love”. Just after the albums release Yamamoto left the band. This unfortunately was right before the band started to tour. The band quickly started auditioning bassists. They chose Jason Everman over Ben Sheperd because although they preferred Ben’s technique Jason knew all of their songs. Shortly after the tour Jason was fired. They hired Ben Sheperd in 1990. The band would stay this way from here on out.
In 1994 Soundgarden released “Superunknown”. This was their most successful album. It was actually included in Rolling Stones magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums. Yes, this was undoubtedly the climax of Soundgarden’s career.
Overall Sound: I’ll include this for those who don’t want to read my TBT. As I mentioned before this album has an array of different songs. From hard rock to softer more mellow rock. The vocals throughout are splendid. The guitar is exceptional. The drums are nothing to rave about but they do their job and that’s all I can ask for. The bass doesn’t have to much input on this album, but it has its moments here and there.
Track By Track:
Let Me Drown (5/5)- Nice drop D riff to start things off. Good flowing verse. Something to listen to when you’re driving. Nice powerful chorus. Cornell’s vocals during it were stupendous. The song temporarily gets softer before it hits us with the solo, which wasn’t one of the greatest solos of all time, but it was very listenable. There was also some nice soloing under the last chorus where Cornell repeats several times “Drown me in you”. And so ends the song.
My Wave (4/5) Solid track. The first few notes remind me of “Girl, You Really Got Me Now” by Van Halen, tee-hee. Some good riffage throughout this song. Nice rhythm. Stellar vocals once again by Cornell. This track might be a bit repetitive if it weren’t for the high notes thrown in at parts. The chorus for this song was also enjoyable. The bridge in this track was also excellent. Shortly after the bridge if you listen closely you can hear some magnificent bass. Near the end of the song the vocals mellow down some and the bass gets involved again. The drums in this song were pretty basic.
Fell On Black Days (4/5)- Softer track. Catchy intro. Marvelous vocals again by Cornell. I particularly liked the guitar in this track. It was interesting to say the least. Nice little solo in this track as well. Around the halfway point things start to pick up slightly. Well the instrumentals stay pretty much the same, but Cornell gets more into the vocals. There’s also some wah improvisation under the chorus. Superb track.
Mailman (4.5/5)- Nice heavy intro. Outstanding bass in the intro, also. The song slows down for the verse. Very melodic. Needless to say the vocals in this song were flawless. From this point on I’m not going to mention the vocals, they’re great throughout. The vocals in this song are pretty negative. For example “I know I’m headed for the bottom”. Some adequate soloing under the vocals in the outro, also.
Superunknown (4.5)- Cool intro riff to get things going. Good flow throughout the track. Everything went together well. Excellent guitar work in this song. Very well written. Like most other tracks “meh” drums and bass. But the guitar managed to cover that up, so it didn’t take away from the song. Also, like most other tracks this song had an impressive solo. All in all more than worthy edition to the album.
Head Down (3.5/5)- This was the weak point of the album. Remember when I said I wasn’t going to talk anymore about the vocals because they were great throughout? Well I forgot about this song. The vocals were too high-pitched and really just annoying. Nothing in this song really stood out. Quite bland, indeed. This song would have got a lower rating but some admirable guitar work saved the day.
Black Hole Sun (4.5/5)- Stunning intro. This was one of the more tender tracks from the album. I didn’t particularly care for the verse, but it didn’t really take away from the song. The chorus went with the verse well. Some of Thayil’s best solo work in this song. He mixed things up nicely with the wah pedal. It almost sounded like something you would here Tom Morello play. But not quite that unique. Extraordinary track.
Spoonman (4.5/5)- this song was a welcomed transition from the previous two tracks. Not there’s anything wrong with the softer songs. Just nice to here a good rockin’ song. It’s pretty hard to here the bass in this track. But if you can listen closely enough it’ quite astonishing. There was some excellent soloing in this track, but it was kind of over shadowed by Cornell’s vocals. This track could’ve possibly gotten a five if it weren’t for that.
Limo Wreck (5/5)- Different intro. It’s not soft, nor heavy. In the middle really. Superb bass in this song. I know I said I would talk anymore about the vocals but I screwed up once already so f
uck it. The vocals in this track were probably the best on the album. Mostly because of the chorus. Cornell doesn’t usually put all of his emotion into his vocals. But during the chorus he holds nothing back. As in most other tracks there was also some nice guitar in here.
The Day I Tried To Live (5/5)- Uber high pitched intro. Shortly after the intro finishes you’re hit with a bass line that in unparalleled by any other on the album. I loved everything about this song. The verse and chorus were both super-duper (running out of adjectives) and they both went together very well. Some brilliant soling in this song, also.
Kickstand (4/5)- Upon listening to this song I was left to wonder “Why did they make this so short”. I loved this track unfortunately I could only give it a four because it’s so damn short. The song wastes no time getting right into things with the vocals. Fast pace throughout makes this a very fun listen. Powerful bass, guitar, drums and vocals, also. Every instrument got the job done in this track. Too bad it was so short.
Fresh Tendrils (4.5/5)- Loved this track. Nothing really stood out because everything was spectacular. The bass wasn’t too easy to here but when you could here it, it was superb. The guitar work as per usual was exceptional. Drums didn’t do a whole lot as usual, but didn’t bring the track down at all. Although, I failed to understand the meaning behind the vocals for this track.
4th Of July (4/5)- Nothing too special here, but overall a more than acceptable track. Everything in this song was good but nothing was more than good. So why the 4? Well, I really enjoyed the vocals to this song and not just the vocals as in how he sings but as in the words. Not much else to say about this one. Let’s move on.
Half (3.75/5)- What’s this? A 3.75? Yes, I couldn’t decide between a four or 3.5, so I went with 3.75. It was a decent track. But it was, like kickstand, far too short. All the instrumentals were Nicely done, though. Fairly well written track. Nice flow to it. I liked the verse and chorus. Nothing else to say about this one
Like Suicide (5/5)- Perfect song to finish off the album with. Everything in this track was flawless. Bass and vocals were superb. The drums were again not that special but still a little better than some of the other drums on the album. The guitar work was the best part of track by far. It contained possibly the best solo ever written, by Thayil. I’m glad they chose this track to end the album. Nothing else would’ve been quite the same.
Pros: Excellent guitar work
Cornell’s vocals were out of this world
Bass also had it’s moments
Cons: Some songs sounded the same
Drums could’ve been more involved
Overall rating- 4.5
And so concludes my review. This was a longer one for me. I usually don’t do anything on the bands history. I highly recommend picking this up. Not just looking in to it, but picking it up. It’s probably my favourite album from the nineties. Hands down.
. But hey you're gettin better dude. I'll vote. ;) I really liked how you did the band/albums's history. I think thats key.This Message Edited On 06.09.06
