Soundgarden: Superunknown
Some believe that grunge died along with Kurt Cobain. Others think it died when Soundgarden disbanded. Personally I never liked the ‘grunge’ label that was pinned to so many bands in the 90s but Soundgarden helped define the ‘Seattle sound’, and Superunknown is probably the finest example of what this band gave to the music world.
The album opens with Let me Drown, a powerful slab of alt-rock angst that perfectly demonstrates everything that makes Soundgarden so special: Kim Thayil’s Black Sabbath-esque guitar riffs, Ben Shepherd’s solid bass lines, the inventive jazz-style drumming from Matt Cameron and of course the raw brilliance of Chris Cornell’s unique vocals. My Wave is a little more upbeat but the whole album has the bleak and heavy vibe of their Seattle contemporaries. The difference is, Soundgarden did it better than most of them.
In their earlier days Soundgarden were very clearly influenced by the simple, pounding melodies off Sabbath and, to a lesser degree, the psychadelic blues of Led Zeppelin, but by the time Superunknown was recorded they had established a unique sound that has been unmatched to this day. Cameron’s drum beats are remarkable: unusual time signatures that change even within the same songs exemplify the band’s willingness to experiment, and coupled to this bizarre guitar tunings that make Superunknown a meticulously crafted piece of work.
And then there’s Cornell’s voice: capable of a bass-heavy croon that Eddie Vedder or David Gahan would be proud of, it can transform instantaneously to a primal howl with spot-on pitch and timing. Cobain’s voice had all of the same frantic abandon, but Cornell’s voice has a richer, deeper quality makes it so much more compelling to listen to.
Black Hole Sun is probably the most well-known number with its singalong chorus and Beatles-esque verse licks but in truth there isn’t a bad track on the whole album. Spoonman is another song that is equally at home being played on the radio or live on the underground circuit, but even the strangest songs (Half and the almost whimsical bonus track She Likes Surprises, for instance) show originality, even if they could never have been chart material.
Many of the songs are performed at a fairly relaxed tempo, with only the likes of Spoonman and Kickstand picking up the pace. 4th of July is brooding, slow and yet still stays just in the realms of tunefulness; The Day I Tried to Live and Like Suicide are so desparate sounding that they are almost painful in their brilliance. There is a lot more variation in sound and feel across the album that in the likes of Badmotorfinger and Louder Than Love, however. Because of this Superunknown marks the point at which the band threw away the rulebook and created something truly memorable.
In Summary
Dark, heavy and surprisingly melodic for such a bleak-feeling record, Superunknown is a startling and professional sounding album that is one of the high points of the 1990s ‘alternative’ scene. Overshadowed by the hype surrounding Nirvana and outlived by Pearl Jam, they nevertheless penned some of the greatest rock songs of recent years; this is an outstanding album from a truly outstanding band.
Tracklisting
- Let Me Drown
- My Wave
- Fell On Black Days
- Mailman
- Superunknown
- Head Down
- Black Hole Sun
- Spoonman
- Limo Wreck
- The Day I Tried to Live
- Kickstand
- Fresh Tendrils
- 4th of July
- Half
- Like Suicide
- She Likes Surprises
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