One of the many bands that hailed from the Seattle area in the late 80's/early
90's, Soundgarden was not so much a "grunge" band, but more of an
anti-alternative band. One of the first bands to sign with the famous Seattle
indie label Sub Pop, the group mixed cohesive and straightforward blues rock
with guitar-driven metal, even venturing into melodic psychedelia.
After minor success with their first three albums, 1998's "Ultramega OK" (an
eclectic mixture of Zeppelin/Sabbath style rock and roll) and 1990's lp "Louder
Than Love" (which was more of the same formula and includes the Soundgarden
gems, "Full Of Kevin's Mom" "Hands All Over" and "Ugly Truth"). The group
became a word-of-mouth hit and earned positive reviews and a Grammy nomination.
The third release, 1990's "Screaming Life" offers the music world a glimpse of
where the band could go musically.
But, the band's breakthrough album 1991's "Badmotorfinger" was helped along by
the song "Outshined," a song that was chosen as an MTV "buzz clip" as well as a
tour with the superstar group Guns N' Roses. The release was filled with a
collection of heavy rock, tempered metal and cryptic lyrics that appealed to
the MTV generation (or maybe audiences found the Seattle sound and other
fantastic sounding groups like Pearl Jam and Nirvana) but, nonetheless the band
had found their audience.
In the 1994 album "Superunknown," Soundgarden distances themselves from the
"Seattle-band syndrome," coming into their own with a powerful, expertly
crafted rock album. Rich with layered guitar work, diverse experimentation and
Chris Cornell's distinctive vocals, the album debuted at the number one
position. And fueled by the crossover hit "Black Hole Sun," as well as another
teenage angst number, the gritty "Spoonman," the release went on to sell more
than three million copies and garnered two Grammy Awards.
The next release "Down On The Upside" scored the band more modern rock hits
such as "Burden In My Hand" and "Blow Up The Outside World" and tried to
balance lead singer Cornell's tortured lyrics with complex arrangements while
never losing sight of the heavy metal formula that made them so unique and
successful with earlier releases.
Alas, "Down On The Upside" would prove to be the band's last album, as tensions
within the band and the musical direction it would take took its toll. In
April of 1997, Soundgarden announced that they were dissolving with band
members going in different directions (drummer Matt Cameron joined Pearl Jam
and Cornell released a solo effort before joining Rage Against The Machine in
2000).
Author Robert Benson writes about rock/pop music, vinyl record collecting and
operates www.collectingvinylrecords.com, where you can secure your
copy of his
ebook called "The Fascinating Hobby Of Vinyl Record Collecting."
Robert can be contacted at robert@collectingvinylrecords.com.
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