GROOVY BASS...KICK A$$ DRUMMING...sorrowing but dominant vocals & some kewl but unnoticable LEAD GUITAR...that pretty much describes SOUNDGARDEN for you.GROOVY BASS I repeat....very groovy indeed.
Now song by song analysis-
LET ME DROWN- the album starts off with a pretty good intro to what we may call 90’s rock. Matt Cameron dominates the procedings in this starter with some cool drumming. The bass riffs also grooves along complementing the drumming to a good extent. But this is just the start of the roller coaster with amazing peaks & some downers too.
MY WAVE-This songs is the start of the CHRIS CORNELL phenomenon . The vocalist shows why he is rated so high. Its a pretty simple song held together by Cornells range of vocals. Bass & Drums take front stage again.
FELL ON BLACK DAYS- This is where the grunge starts off. And this kindoff grunge being much better than the more straight forward grunge of some immensely popular grunge bands(i would leave it to u to figure out the names). This is a damn neat song. This the how Grunge took shape I guess alongwith Nirvana. A cool song which u should like anytime with neat lyrics too.
MAILMAN- A song which must’ve influenced CREED most in their music. If u listen to it carefully u’ll know what i’m talking. It has the stamp of Creed music all over it & this was a good 5 years before Creed came around. This song kinda introduces us to Kim Thayil the lead guitarist. He is the INDIAN connection of Soundgarden. I still dont know if he is a sardar or a mallu. If anyone knows please enlighten me. Though basically it doesnt matter . But it does make a good topic to talk about with friends if u know what I mean.
SUPERUNKNOWN- THE SONG of the album. The title track. This is the perfect sound of modern rock. Perfect sync of all the instruments & their player. It would be unfair to talk about just bass or drums or lead. This song just kicks MIGHTY a$$. This song rulez is all I can say . I can listen to it anytime anywhere. The drumming kicks throughout & in the last 1 minute Kim takes the lead to devastating heights. I love the way it ends.Check out yourself.
HEAD DOWN- This is the ’’dopey’’ song of the album. This should be the fav of anyone who is high on pot. Its mighty COOL. It starts without any gap as Superunknown ends. This is the song I used to trip on in my walkman when I was stoned & alone. Its got my fav lyrics of this album. And this is a BEN SHEPHERD song . I must say one talented a$$ of a drummer. Drummers arent known for such cool songwriting. Theres Gregg Keplinger on additational drums & Percussion on this track.
Some things never change
We hear you cry We hear you wail
We steal that smile from your face
Bow down to live Your Life
Head down, hide that smile
Head high got to smile
Head high like a song you like
SPOONMAN- heavy bass drum beats. A kick a$$ cool track. This is where tribal beats mix with modern rock making this song a treat. Chris Cornell doing full justice to it with his vocals.
SHE LIKES SURPRISES - I still havnt come around to like this song ....what with such cool tracks preceding it on side A . And there we end a fantastic side A.
BLACK HOLE SUN- Side A starts with the promise of this most popular song of soundgarden(atleast thats what I think since anyone who hasnt even heard anything of soundgarden still has this song in one of his assorted tapes). So theres nothing new to say except I had tripped on this great song enuff even before I bought this album . This song should be liked by anyone . Its cool . CHRIS CORNELL makes his stamp of being one of the best vocalist of his time & his kinda music with this song.
LIMO WRECK- light undistorted sorrow cry of a song. I somehow never bothered much or cared for this ordinary song. Though the vocals sunc with the bass pretty good. But overall it gets boring by the time the song enters the 3rd minute. It gets repeatative.
THE DAY I TRIED TO LIVE- Lovely track . Grunge jumping out again to make its presence felt. It should be a good live song with its sudden blast of Cornell’s vocals with the bass & drumming.
KICKSTAND- doesnt this sound punkish? Its sure does to me. But doesnt sound pure punk. To me it sounds more like fusion of grunge & punk & thus spoiling both the genre of music. Whats good about it is that its just 1:35 mins long:).
FRESH TRENDRILLS - a OK song. Not too bad but not that good also. A filler in this album I guess. It gets monotonous by this this song. But as I said not bad either. Groovy bass sounds again!!!
4TH OF JULY- Another ’’not good-not bad’’ song . But one gets bored soon. Certainly avoidable in this amazing album.
HALF- A totally diff sound from soundgarden with some eastern influences(right?). It doesnt sound Soundgarden at all. You’ll either love this variation or hate it depending on U.
LIKE SUICIDE- Kim Thayil finally emerges from the background to end the album with a bang. A totally Kim’s lead dominated song & a very good one too. It’s beatiful and mellow but rocks like a madness at the same time. Also the guitar at the end just takes it to another level(thank U KIM).
In conclusion this album must be the best SOUNDGARDEN album out there. Its got some superb tracks alongwith some low moments also. But what should make u run to the music store for it is its got a totally diff sound than anything else u would have heard. Well 7 years laters many bands must have ripped off their style & sound but it was an trendsetting sound. A must for any rock music fan who likes to experiment with diff kinda stuff within rock. It’s heavy, diverse hard rock.