Getting Down And Dirty With Soundgarden Courtesy Matta75 (ISYMIYSMYW/O)
Written: May 18 '04 (Updated May 18 '04)
Product Rating:
Pros: the guitar and bass are sooo good.
Cons: a few tracks i don't need
The Bottom Line: Soundgarden is a really cool band
Who were popular when grunge ruled the land
Chris cornell is badass
Their fame's a thing of the past
This album wasn't a sham
cletta1201's Full Review: Superunknown by Soundgarden
This is the entry into the 891st annual I'll Show You Mine if You'll Show Me Yours write-off hosted by Matta75 – I Would say nice things about him, but you would expect that from me – so let’s just say he’s a d!ckhead (who I happen to love) and keep it moving.
I’d like to consider myself pretty up on the music scene – you know, I’m hip, I’m down, I read Rolling Stone, Blender, Vibe AND XXL (have to cover my bases people) but the few things I did know about Soundgarden were few and far between. I remember that bizarre video for ”Black Hole Sun”, I remembered a handful of their songs and I remembered that I thought Chris Cornell was pretty (what’s the word I’m looking for?......) HOT.
And while I might be mostly known as being an “R&B Chick” around these epinions parts, I am not to be boxed in, categorized or labeled people – I am a Jill of all trades, a renaissance music lover, if you will – and so Soundgarden is not so far out of the box that my ears bled and I demanded Matt choose another cd for me.
I recall that 1994 was a really interesting time for music. Grunge was in full effect, nobody bathed or washed their hair. Pulp Fiction was in theaters and I was a sophomore in high school. Ahhh – the good old days.
”Superunknown” kicks off with a serious guitar riff courtesy (I don't know, because honestly I can't tell the regular guitar from the bass - what?!?)on ”Let Me Drown”, we’re talking smack your momma – listen to me serious. Despite being a serious rock song, ”Let Me Drown” has a serious groove to it and Cornell is not the screeching, screaming, non-understandable rock singer – but a man with serious chops and who isn’t afraid to pack a punch. ”My Wave” finds me thinking, Cornell really does have a pretty voice. The “big” theme continues here: BIG guitars, BIG bass and BIG vocals and it comes off almost effortlessly.
There are however softer, kinder, more gentle moments to be found within “Superunknown”. There’s the sedated ”Fell On Black Days” and the more subdued feeling of ”She Likes Surprises”, and that’s not to say that either track is warm and cuddly – but compared to the force and energy that the overwhelming majority of the tracks have – these sound like lullabies.
There are a few moments when me and the dudes from Soundgarden aren’t exactly cohesive on our vision for this opus. ”Spoonman” and ”Kickstand” being two of them. Not terrible in the bleeding eardrums sense, but not riveting or even 1/bajillioneth as engaging as the magnificently layered ”Limo Wreck” or the emotion behind ”The Day I Tried To Live”. There’s the begging to be put on repeat lushness of ”Fresh Tendrils” and the Indian influence of ”Half” which seems absolutely ahead of its time.
”Fourth Of July” gets my pick for best offering from ”Superunknown”. For it’s sexy riff, clever production and overall cohesiveness. There’s so much going on and instead of sounding like a busy disaster, it’s a beautiful culmination of so much that could have gone wrong.
- Final Thoughts -
Considering the soundscape at the time, I understand why Superunknown was and is still such a relevant rock record. In their heyday it appears that Cornell and his counterparts (Kim Thayil (Guitar), Ben Shepard (Bass) and Matt Cameron (Drums)) were the end all and be all. I was a bit surprised at how not overt Cameron’s contribution on drums were throughout the album, but while Cameron’s talents are less prominent – they definitely play into the big picture which to but it simply is the fact that this is a damn good album.
I’d like to extend a big thanks to Matta75 for making me listen to what I know understand to be a very important record. It definitely should find a place in any serious rock fan’s collection and is worth listening to for anyone who appreciates and loves good (rock) music.
Recommended:
Yes
Great Music to Play While: Getting ready to go out
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