Superunknown

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Superunknown
Superunknown cover
Studio album by Soundgarden
Released March 8, 1994
Recorded July 1993–September 1993 at Bad Animals Studio, Seattle, Washington
Genre Grunge
Length 70:13
73:30 (international edition)
Label A&M
Producer Michael Beinhorn, Soundgarden
Professional reviews
Soundgarden chronology
Badmotorfinger
(1991)		 Superunknown
(1994)		 Songs from the Superunknown
(1995)
Singles from Superunknown
  1. "Spoonman"
    Released: February 15, 1994
  2. "The Day I Tried to Live"
    Released: 1994
  3. "Black Hole Sun"
    Released: 1994
  4. "My Wave"
    Released: 1994
  5. "Fell on Black Days"
    Released: 1994

Superunknown is the fourth album by the American grunge band Soundgarden. It was released on March 8, 1994 through A&M Records. The album has been certified five times Platinum in the United States.

Contents

[edit] Recording

The album's recording sessions took place from July 1993 to September 1993 at Bad Animals Studio in Seattle, Washington. The band worked with producer Michael Beinhorn. Regarding the change in producer, guitarist Kim Thayil said, "We just thought we'd go for a change."[1] The album was mixed by Brendan O'Brien.

The band began work on the album about two months after finishing its stint on the 1992 Lollapalooza tour.[2] The individual band members would work on material on their own and then bring in demos which the other band members would help work on.[3] Vocalist Chris Cornell said that the band members allowed each other more freedom than on past records.[4] Thayil observed that the band spent as much time writing and arranging as it had on previous albums, but that the band spent a lot more time working on recording the songs.[1] The band took the approach of recording one song at a time.[5] The drum and bass parts were recorded first for each song, and then Cornell and Thayil would lay down their parts over top.[2]

Cornell said that getting to know Michael Beinhorn contributed to the length of time the band spent working on the album.[6] The band spent time experimenting with different drum and guitar sounds, as well as utilizing techniques such as layering.[6] Cornell said, "Michael Beinhorn was so into sounds. He was so, almost, anal about it, that it took the piss out of us a lot of the time...By the time you get the sounds that you want to record the song, you're sick and tired of playing it."[7] The band took a break in the middle of recording to open for Neil Young on a ten-day tour of the United States.[8] The band then brought in Brendan O'Brien to mix the album. O'Brien was recommended by Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard.[9] Thayil called the mixing process "very painless"[9] and bassist Ben Shepherd said it was "the fastest part of the record."[3]

[edit] Music and lyrics

Audio samples of Superunknown
  • "Black Hole Sun"
    Sample of "Black Hole Sun", the third single released from Superunknown. The song was written by Cornell and shows a strong influence of The Beatles.
  • Problems playing the files? See media help.

The songs on Superunknown captured the creativity and heaviness of the band's earlier works, while showcasing the more radio-friendly aspects of the group. Steve Huey of All Music Guide said that the band's "earlier punk influences are rarely detectable, replaced by surprisingly effective appropriations of pop and psychedelia."[10] Cornell labeled that album as more "challenging" and "versatile" than the band's previous releases.[6][11] The songs on the album are more experimental and diverse than the band's previous recordings, with some songs having a Middle-Eastern or Indian flavor (for example "Half", sung by Shepherd). Some songs also show a Beatles influence, such as "Black Hole Sun" and "Head Down". In a 1994 interview with Guitar World, Thayil explains this: "We looked deep down inside the very core of our souls and there was a little Ringo sitting there. Oh sure, we like telling people it's John Lennon or George Harrison; but when you really look deep inside of Soundgarden, there's a little Ringo wanting to get out."[9] Drummer Matt Cameron said that the experimentation on the album was "just a matter of refinement."[8]

Soundgarden utilized alternative tunings and odd time signatures on several of the album's songs. "Spoonman" and "Black Hole Sun" were performed in drop D tuning while "Mailman" and "4th of July" employed C tuning. Some songs used more unorthodox tunings: "My Wave" and "The Day I Tried to Live" are both in a E-E-B-B-B-E tuning. Soundgarden's use of odd-meter time signatures was varied as well; "My Wave" uses 5/4, "Fell on Black Days" is on 6/4, and "Spoonman" is rare for its unusual mix of 4/4 and 7/4 time signatures, while "Black Hole Sun" is 4/4 and uses 9/8 in the guitar solo. Thayil has said the band usually did not consider the time signature of a song until after they had written it, and said that the use of odd meters was "a total accident."[12]

Lyrically, the album is quite dark and mysterious, as much of it is often interpreted to be dealing with issues such as substance abuse, suicide, and depression. Cornell was inspired by the writings of Sylvia Plath at the time.[13] Commenting on the album's lyrics, Thayil said that "a lot of Superunknown seems to me to be about life, not death. Maybe not affirming it, but rejoicing--like the Druids [put it]: 'Life is good, but death's gonna be even better!"[13] Cameron said that the lyrics on the album are "a big fuck-you to the world, a plea to 'leave us alone'."[14] Cornell stated that "Let Me Drown" is about "crawling back to the womb to die,"[15] "Fell on Black Days" is about realising "you're unhappy in the extreme,"[14] "Black Hole Sun" is about a "surreal dreamscape,"[15] "Limo Wreck" is a "'shame-on-decadence' song,"[6] and "The Day I Tried to Live" is about "trying to step out of being patterned and closed off and reclusive."[16] Cornell was inspired to write "Like Suicide" after a bird flew into a window of his house. He found the suffering animal and subsequently put the bird out of its misery by hitting it with a brick.[14]

The song "Spoonman" is notable for featuring a performance by Artis the Spoonman, a street entertainer in Seattle. The title of the song is credited to Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam. While on the set of the movie Singles, Ament produced a list of song titles for the fictional band featured in the movie. Cornell took it as a challenge to write songs for the film using those titles, and "Spoonman" was one of them. An acoustic demo version of the song appears in the movie.

[edit] Release and reception

Superunknown was the band's breakout album. Upon its release in March 1994, Superunknown debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart.[17] The album granted Soundgarden international recognition. Superunknown achieved quintuple Platinum status in the United States,[18] triple platinum status in Canada,[19] and Gold status in the United Kingdom,[20] Sweden,[21] and the Netherlands.[22]

Rolling Stone gave Superunknown four out of five stars. Reviewer J.D. Considine said Superunknown "demonstrates far greater range than many bands manage in an entire career." He also stated, "At its best, Superunknown offers a more harrowing depiction of alienation and despair than anything on In Utero." Considine criticized "Black Hole Sun" and "Half", stating that the former is "not a very good song" while the latter "is the virtual definition of a B-side."[23] Jon Pareles of The New York Times said that "Superunknown actually tries to broaden its audience by breaking heavy-metal genre barriers that Soundgarden used to accept." He added that "Soundgarden...want[s] something different from standard heavy metal."[24] David Browne of Entertainment Weekly gave the album an A. He said, "Soundgarden is pumped and primed on Superunknown, and they deliver the goods." He praised it as a "hard-rock milestone-a boiling vat of volcanic power, record-making smarts, and '90s anomie and anxiety that sets a new standard for anything called metal."[25]

Superunknown included the hit singles "Spoonman", "The Day I Tried to Live", "Black Hole Sun", "My Wave", and "Fell on Black Days", all of which had accompanying music videos. All five placed on the Billboard Mainstream Rock and Modern Rock charts. "Black Hole Sun" was the most successful song from Superunknown on the rock charts, reaching number one on the Mainstream Rock charts and number two on the Modern Rock charts. "Black Hole Sun" was released in the summer of 1994 and became arguably the band's most recognizable and popular song. Its surreal music video received heavy airplay on music television. The video received the award for Best Metal/Hard Rock Video at the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards[26] and in 1995 it received the Clio Award for Alternative Music Video.[27] Soundgarden won two Grammy Awards in 1995;[28] "Black Hole Sun" received the award for Best Hard Rock Performance and "Spoonman" received the award for Best Metal Performance.[29] "Black Hole Sun" was also nominated for Best Rock Song.[29]

In 1995, Superunknown was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Album.[29] In 2003, the album was ranked number 336 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

[edit] Imagery and design

The cover artwork (known as the 'Screaming Elf') is a distorted photograph of the band members above an upside-down burning forest. Concerning the artwork, Cornell said, "Superunknown relates to birth in a way...Being born or even dying--getting flushed into something that you know nothing about. The hardest thing is to nail down a visual image to put on a title like that. The first thing we thought of was a forest in grey or black. Soundgarden has always been associated with images of flowers and lush colors and this was the opposite. It still seemed organic but it was very dark and cold...I was into those stories as a kid where forests were full of evil and scary things as opposed to being happy gardens that you go camping in."[6] The album also saw a limited release on 12" colored vinyl (blue, orange, and clear), as a double-LP in a gatefold sleeve.

In a 1994 Pulse! magazine interview, Cornell said that the inspiration for the album's title came from his misreading of a video entitled Superclown. He added, "I thought it was a cool title. I'd never heard it before, never saw it before, and it inspired me."[13]

[edit] Superunknown tour

The band began touring in January 1994 in Australia, Japan, and New Zealand,[8] areas where the record came out early.[30] The band had never toured these regions before.[31] This round of touring ended in February 1994, and then in March 1994 the band moved on to Europe.[8] The band began a theater tour of the United States on May 27, 1994.[32][8] The opening acts were Tad and Eleven.[30] In late 1994, after touring in support of Superunknown, doctors discovered that Cornell had severely strained his vocal cords. Soundgarden canceled several shows to avoid causing any permanent damage. Cornell said, "I think we kinda overdid it! We were playing five or six nights a week and my voice pretty much took a beating. Towards the end of the American tour I felt like I could still kinda sing, but I wasn't really giving the band a fair shake. You don't buy a ticket to see some guy croak for two hours! That seemed like kind of a rip off."[7] The band would make up the dates later in 1995.[33]

[edit] Accolades

The information regarding accolades attributed to Superunknown is adapted in part from AcclaimedMusic.net.[34]

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Alternative Press United States "The 90 Greatest Albums of the 90s"[35] 1998 18
Pause & Play United States "The 90s Top 100 Essential Albums"[36] 1999 11
Rolling Stone United States "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time"[37] 2003 336
Spin United States "Top 90 Albums of the 90s"[38] 1999 70
Kerrang! United Kingdom "100 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die"[39] 1999 70
Muziekkrant OOR Netherlands "The 100 Best Albums of 1991-1995"[40] 1995 49

[edit] Track listing

All songs written by Chris Cornell, except where noted:

  1. "Let Me Drown" – 3:51
  2. "My Wave" (Cornell, Kim Thayil) – 5:12
  3. "Fell on Black Days" – 4:42
  4. "Mailman" (Matt Cameron, Cornell) – 4:25
  5. "Superunknown" (Cornell, Thayil) – 5:06
  6. "Head Down" (Ben Shepherd) – 6:08
  7. "Black Hole Sun" – 5:18
  8. "Spoonman" – 4:06
  9. "Limo Wreck" (Cameron, Cornell, Thayil) – 5:47
  10. "The Day I Tried to Live" – 5:19
  11. "Kickstand" (Cornell, Thayil) – 1:34
  12. "Fresh Tendrils" (Cameron, Cornell) – 4:16
  13. "4th of July" – 5:08
  14. "Half" (Shepherd) – 2:14
  15. "Like Suicide" – 7:01
  16. "She Likes Surprises" – 3:17
    • "She Likes Surprises" only appears on the international versions of the album, and is also included as a bonus track on the U.S. 12" LP release.

[edit] Outtakes

"Tighter & Tighter", "No Attention", and "An Unkind", all of which later appeared on the band's 1996 album Down on the Upside, were attempted during the Superunknown recording sessions.[41][42] Cameron said that the band wasn't pleased with the recording of "No Attention" that came out of the sessions.[43] The song "Flutter Girl" was written during the recording sessions but did not appear on the record. Instead, it eventually appeared on a promo called Poncier and later as a much different version on Cornell's solo album, Euphoria Morning.

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Chart positions

Information taken from various sources.[44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60]

Album
Year Chart Position
1994 US Billboard 200 1
Australian Albums Chart 1
New Zealand Albums Chart 1
Swedish Albums Chart 3
UK Albums Chart 4
Norwegian Albums Chart 5
Swiss Albums Chart 9
Dutch Albums Chart 11
Austrian Albums Chart 12
German Albums Chart 13
Hungarian Albums Chart 30
Singles
Year Single Chart Position
1994 "Spoonman" US Mainstream Rock Tracks 3
US Modern Rock Tracks 9
New Zealand Singles Chart 10
UK Singles Chart 20
Australian Singles Chart 23
Irish Singles Chart 23
Dutch Singles Chart 37
Swedish Singles Chart 37
"The Day I Tried to Live" UK Singles Chart 42
"Black Hole Sun" US Mainstream Rock Tracks 1
US Modern Rock Tracks 2
Australian Singles Chart 6
Irish Singles Chart 7
French Singles Chart 10
UK Singles Chart 12
Swedish Singles Chart 19
New Zealand Singles Chart 22
Dutch Singles Chart 25
German Singles Chart 26
"Fell on Black Days" US Mainstream Rock Tracks 4
US Modern Rock Tracks 13
Dutch Singles Chart 45
"My Wave" US Mainstream Rock Tracks 11
US Modern Rock Tracks 18
New Zealand Singles Chart 46
Australian Singles Chart 50
1995 "Fell on Black Days" Irish Singles Chart 14
UK Singles Chart 24
"The Day I Tried to Live" US Mainstream Rock Tracks 13
US Modern Rock Tracks 25

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "Let's Make a Grunge Album!". Raw. December 8, 1993.
  2. ^ a b Masters, Drew. "Soundgarden". M.E.A.T. magazine. March 1994.
  3. ^ a b "Soundgarden". Making Music. May 1994.
  4. ^ Thompson, Dave. "I Slept With Soundgarden and Other Chilling Confessions". Alternative Press. March 1994.
  5. ^ Peiken, Matt. "Soundgarden's Matt Cameron: Breaking New Ground". Modern Drummer. June 1994.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Garden of the Unknown". Melody Maker. November 27, 1993.
  7. ^ a b "Black Hole Sons!". Kerrang!. August 12, 1995.
  8. ^ a b c d e Neely, Kim. "Into the Superunknown". Rolling Stone. June 16, 1994. Retrieved on May 3, 2008.
  9. ^ a b c Gilbert, Jeff. "Sleepless in Seattle". Guitar World. May 1994.
  10. ^ Huey, Steve. "Superunknown". All Music Guide.
  11. ^ "Interview With Soundgarden". Mesa Boogie. 1996.
  12. ^ Rotondi, James. "Alone in the Superunknown." Guitar Player. June 1994.
  13. ^ a b c Lanham, Tom. "In Search of the Monster Riff". Pulse!. March 1994.
  14. ^ a b c True, Everett. "Journey into the Superunknown". Melody Maker. March 19, 1994.
  15. ^ a b "Soundgarden: The Badass Seed". Rip magazine. April 1994.
  16. ^ Foege, Alec. "The End of Innocence". Rolling Stone. January 12, 1995.
  17. ^ "Changing of the Garden". Entertainment Weekly. March 25, 1994. Retrieved on May 2, 2004.
  18. ^ Gold and Platinum Database Search. Retrieved on 2007-02-12.
  19. ^ CRIA Database Search. Canadian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
  20. ^ Superunknown Certified Awards. British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  21. ^ Superunknown Certified Awards. IFPI Den Svenske Hitlista. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  22. ^ Superunknown Certified Awards. NVPI. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  23. ^ Consideine, J.D. "Soundgarden: Superunknown". Rolling Stone. July 31, 1997.
  24. ^ Pareles, Jon. "RECORDINGS VIEW; Lightening Up On the Gloom In Grunge". The New York Times. March 6, 1994. Retrieved on March 23, 2008.
  25. ^ Browne, David. "'Garden Party". Entertainment Weekly. March 11, 1994.
  26. ^ 1994 MTV Video Music Awards. Rockonthenet.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-20.
  27. ^ Clio Awards Search Archive. clioawards.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-20.
  28. ^ Pareles, Jon. "The Grammys: A Blend of Old and New". The New York Times. March 2, 1995. Retrieved on May 2, 2008.
  29. ^ a b c 37th Grammy Awards - 1995. Rockonthenet.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
  30. ^ a b "Soundgarden: No Hype Allowed". The Music Paper. July 1994.
  31. ^ Smith, Chris. "Down in a Hole". Raw. August 17, 1994.
  32. ^ "Soundgarden Won't Be Staying Superunknown". USA Today. March 11, 1994.
  33. ^ Atkinson, Peter. "Soundgarden: From Superunknown to Superstars". Jam. May 24, 1996.
  34. ^ Superunknown accolades. Acclaimed Music. Retrieved on 2008-05-06.
  35. ^ 90 Greatest Albums of the '90s The 90 Greatest Albums of the 90s. Alternative Press. Retrieved on 2008-05-06.
  36. ^ The 90s Top 100 Essential Albums. Alternative Press. Retrieved on 2008-05-06.
  37. ^ The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2008-05-06.
  38. ^ Top 90 Albums of the 90's Top 90 Albums of the 90s. Spin. Retrieved on 2008-05-06.
  39. ^ 100 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Kerrang!. Retrieved on 2008-05-06.
  40. ^ The 100 Best Albums of 1991-1995. Muziekkrant OOR. Retrieved on 2008-05-06.
  41. ^ "Hard Stuff, Soundgarden in the Studio". Livewire. 1993.
  42. ^ Zogbi, Marina. "Upshot on 'The Upside' from Kim Thayil". Metal Edge. August 1996.
  43. ^ Rule, Greg. "Matt Cameron of Soundgarden: Balance of Power & Grace". Drum!. September 1996.
  44. ^ Soundgarden – Billboard Albums. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
  45. ^ EveryHit.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
  46. ^ Chartverfolgung / Soundgarden / Longplay. musicline.de. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
  47. ^ Soundgarden – Billboard Singles. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
  48. ^ The Irish Charts - All there is to know. Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
  49. ^ Chartverfolgung / Soundgarden / Single. musicline.de. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
  50. ^ Schweizer Hitparade. hitparade.ch. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  51. ^ Swedish Single/Album Chart / Soundgarden / Longplay. swedishcharts.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  52. ^ Norwegian Single/Album Chart / Soundgarden / Longplay. norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  53. ^ Dutch Single/Album Chart / Soundgarden / Longplay. dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  54. ^ Austrian Single/Album Chart / Soundgarden / Longplay. austriancharts.at. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  55. ^ Swedish Single/Album Chart / Soundgarden / Longplay. swedishcharts.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  56. ^ Dutch Single/Album Chart / Soundgarden / Longplay. dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  57. ^ French Single/Album Chart / Soundgarden / Longplay. lescharts.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  58. ^ Soundgarden in Australian Charts. Australian-Charts.com. Retrieved on May 28, 2008.
  59. ^ Soundgarden in New Zealand Charts. Charts.Org.NZ. Retrieved on May 28, 2008.
  60. ^ Soundgarden in Hungarian Charts. Hungarian chart Retrieved on June 4, 2008.

[edit] External links

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March 6, 1994 - March 12, 1994		 Succeeded by
The One Thing by Michael Bolton
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March 26, 1994 - April 1, 1994		 Succeeded by
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v • d • e
Soundgarden
Chris Cornell · Kim Thayil · Matt Cameron · Ben Shepherd
Scott Sundquist · Hiro Yamamoto · Jason Everman
Studio albums
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Singles
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