Soundgarden Superunknown CD

Soundgarden: Chris Cornell (vocals, guitar); Ben Shepherd (guitar, bass, drums, percussion, background vocals); Kim Thayil (guitar); Matt Cameron (drums, percussion, Mellotron).
Additional personnel: April Acevez (viola); Justine Foy (cello); Michael Beinhorn (piano); Natasha Shneider (Clavinet); Gregg Keplinger (drums, percussion); Artis The Spoonman (spoons).
Recorded at Bad Animals Studio, Seattle, Washington.
"Black Hole Sun" won the 1995 Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance, and "Spoonman" won the Grammy for Best Metal Performance. "Black Hole Sun" was also nominated for Best Rock Song, and SUPERUNKNOWN was nominated for Best Rock Album.
Personnel: Chris Cornell (vocals, guitar); Ben Shepherd (vocals); Kim Thayil (guitar); April Acevez (viola); Natasha Shneider (Clavinet); Matt Cameron (drums, percussion).
Recording information: Bad Animals Studio, Seattle, WA.
Soundgarden's finest hour, Superunknown is a sprawling, 70-minute magnum opus that pushes beyond any previous boundaries. Soundgarden had always loved replicating Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath riffs, but Superunknown's debt is more to mid-period Zep's layered arrangements and sweeping epics. Their earlier punk influences are rarely detectable, replaced by surprisingly effective appropriations of pop and psychedelia. Badmotorfinger boasted more than its fair share of indelible riffs, but here the main hooks reside mostly in Chris Cornell's vocals; accordingly, he's mixed right up front, floating over the band instead of cutting through it. The rest of the production is just as crisp, with the band achieving a huge, robust sound that makes even the heaviest songs sound deceptively bright. But the most important reason Superunknown is such a rich listen is twofold: the band's embrace of psychedelia, and their rapidly progressing mastery of songcraft. Soundgarden had always been a little mind-bending, but the full-on experiments with psychedelia give them a much wider sonic palette, paving the way for less metallic sounds and instruments, more detailed arrangements, and a bridge into pop (which made the eerie ballad "Black Hole Sun" an inescapable hit). That blossoming melodic skill is apparent on most of the record, not just the poppier songs and Cornell-penned hits; though a couple of drummer Matt Cameron's contributions are pretty undistinguished, they're easy to overlook, given the overall consistency. The focused songwriting allows the band to stretch material out for grander effect, without sinking into the pointlessly drawn-out muck that cluttered their early records. The dissonance and odd time signatures are still in force, though not as jarring or immediately obvious, which means that the album reveals more subtleties with each listen. It's obvious that Superunknown was consciously styled as a masterwork, and it fulfills every ambition. ~ Steve Huey
As the first grunge band to be signed by a major label, Seattle's Soundgarden opened the pop floodgates, and a deluge of thrash-o-rama bands began swamping the airwaves. Following a series of trend-setting releases on the independent Sub Pop and SST labels, Soundgarden's initial A&M releases LOUDER THAN LOVE and BADMOTORFINGER signaled the return of the classic guitar band to popular consciousness.
Using the time-honored Led Zeppelin/Aerosmith approach as a jump-off point--not to mention influential bands like Black Sabbath, MC5, The Stooges and Killing Joke--Soundgarden has formalized their own approach to raw power. Their stylized melodic hooks, however, along with their sometimes surreal lyrics, set them apart from the pack. Whether they get dazed and confused on the vamping "Limo Wreck," or cut loose with a wham- bam-thank-you-ma'am 4/4 cruncher like "Kickstand," Soundgarden can rock and roll with all the jet-propelled, no-nonsense crunch of all your favorite bands, from Zeppelin to the Ramones--and lead guitarist Kim Thayil's chops never outrace his melodic imagination.
ButRolling Stone (5/13/99, p.54) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 90's."
Rolling Stone (3/10/94, p.63) - 4 Stars - Very Good - "...At its best, SUPERUNKNOWN offers a more harrowing depiction of alienation and despair than anything on IN UTERO....Although the band serves up a healthy amount of metallic bluster, Soundgarden refuse to define themselves in strict headbanger terms...."
Spin (9/99, p.154) - Ranked #70 in Spin Magazine's "90 Greatest Albums of the '90s."
Spin (12/94, p.78) - Ranked #17 in Spin's list of the `20 Best Albums Of '94' - "...turn[s] everyday teenage gloom into a prayer for divine wrath to wash the world away....When Kim Thayil locks into...visceral riffs...pure hormonal energy thunders to the rescue..."
Entertainment Weekly (Spring 2000, p.166) - Ranked #6 in EW's "Top 10 albums of the '90s"
Q (12/99, p.82) - Included in Q Magazine's "90 Best Albums Of The 1990s."
Melody Maker (3/5/94, p.40) - "...Like IN UTERO, SUPEREUNKNOWN has a depth and maturity which isn't easily assimilated on the first few listenings ....a brilliant, brilliant album...."
Village Voice (3/94, p.5) - Ranked #2 in the Village Voice's 1993 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll.
Village Voice (2/28/95) - Ranked #11 in the Village Voice's 1994 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll.
Q (Magazine) (p.122) - "Soundgarden dealt in unreconstructed heavy rock: a heavy guitar sound, depth-charge drumming....Yet SUPERUNKNOWN also includes more measured moments, such as the shimmering hit single 'Black Hole Sun.'"
New York Times (Publisher) (1/5/95, p.C15) - Included on Jon Pareles' list of the Top 10 Albums Of '94 - "Hard rock, all muscle and sinew, that churns and howls..."