Izdavač: Ostalo
Žanr: Alternativni Rok, Hard Rok i Metal, Rok
Poreklo: Strani izvođač

Original, made in Germany

Knjizica od 16 str.

knjizica 5- Cd 4+/5-

Studio album by Soundgarden
Released March 8, 1994
Recorded July – September 1993
Studio Bad Animals, Seattle
Genre
Grungeheavy metalhard rockstoner rock[1]alternative rock[2]
Length 70:13
Label A&M
Producer
Michael BeinhornSoundgarden
Soundgarden chronology
Badmotorfinger
(1991) Superunknown
(1994) Down on the Upside
(1996)

Superunknown is the fourth studio album by American rock band Soundgarden, released on March 8, 1994, through A&M Records. It is the band`s second album with bassist Ben Shepherd, and features new producer Michael Beinhorn. Soundgarden began work on the album after touring in support of its previous album, Badmotorfinger (1991). Superunknown captured the heaviness of the band`s earlier releases while displaying a more diverse range of influences.

Superunknown was a critical and commercial success and became the band`s breakthrough album. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 310,000 copies in its opening week. The album also topped the Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand charts. Five singles were released from the album: `The Day I Tried to Live`, `My Wave`, `Fell on Black Days`, `Spoonman`, and `Black Hole Sun`, the latter two of which won Grammy Awards and helped Soundgarden reach mainstream popularity. In 1995, the album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album. It has been certified six times platinum by the RIAA in the United States. Superunknown has been listed by several publications as one of the best albums of the 1990s and a quintessential grunge album. In April 2019, it was ranked No. 9 on Rolling Stone`s `50 Greatest Grunge Albums` list.[4]

Recording
Soundgarden began work on the album about two months after finishing its stint on the 1992 Lollapalooza tour.[5] The individual band members would work on material on their own and then bring in demos to which the other members of the band would contribute.[6] Frontman Chris Cornell said that the band members allowed each other more freedom than on past records.[7] Thayil observed that even though the band spent as much time writing and arranging as it had on previous albums, it spent a lot more time working on recording the songs.[8] After two albums with producer Terry Date, the band decided to seek another collaborator, as guitarist Kim Thayil said, `We just thought we`d go for a change.`[8] Eventually they settled on producer Michael Beinhorn, who `didn`t have his own trademark sound which he was trying to tack on to Soundgarden` and had ideas the band approved.[6]

The album`s recording sessions took place from July 1993 to September 1993 at Bad Animals Studio in Seattle, Washington, as according to Cornell `there was never a decent studio in Seattle and now there`s one with a Neve console, so it seemed obvious to use it`.[6] Bad Animals` resident engineer Adam Kasper, who went on to produce Soundgarden`s following albums, assisted Beinhorn on the recording process.[9] Soundgarden took the approach of recording one song at a time.[10] The drum and bass parts were recorded first for each song, and then Cornell and Thayil would lay down their parts over top.[5] Cornell said that getting to know Beinhorn contributed to the length of time Soundgarden spent working on the album.[11] The band spent time experimenting with different drum and guitar sounds, as well as utilizing techniques such as layering, resulting in an expansive production sound.[11] 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.`[12] Beinhorn tried to add many of his preferred musicians to mold the band`s sound, in what Billboard described as `weaning the band from brute force, giving it the impetus to invest in a more subtle power`. For instance, prior to recording the vocals of `Black Hole Sun`, Beinhorn made Cornell listen to Frank Sinatra.[13]

Superunknown lasts for 15 songs clocking on approximately 70 minutes because according to Cornell, `we didn`t really want to argue over what should be cut`.[9] Soundgarden took a break in the middle of recording to open for Neil Young on a ten-day tour of the United States.[14] The band then brought in Brendan O`Brien to mix the album, as Beinhorn felt the band needed `a fresh pair of ears`; O`Brien had come recommended by Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard.[15] Thayil called the mixing process `very painless`,[15] and bassist Ben Shepherd said it was `the fastest part of the record`.[6]

Composition
The songs on Superunknown captured the metal influences of the band`s previous works while showcasing the group`s newly evolving style. Steve Huey of AllMusic said that the band`s `earlier punk influences are rarely detectable, replaced by surprisingly effective appropriations of pop and psychedelia.`[16] Cornell labeled the album as more `challenging` and `versatile` than the band`s previous releases.[11][17] 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 `Head Down` and `Black Hole Sun`. In a 1994 interview with Guitar World, Thayil explained, `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.`[15] Drummer Matt Cameron said that the experimentation on the album was `just a matter of refinement.`[14] According to The A.V. Club, the album `both redefined and transcended grunge`.[18] Michael Beinhorn stated that to achieve the intensity of Superunknown, he sought influence from European electronic music, such as the British Aphex Twin and the Dutch genre of Gabber, described by him as `some of the rawest music made`.[13]

Soundgarden used alternate tunings and odd time signatures on several of the album`s songs. `Spoonman`, `Black Hole Sun`, `Let Me Drown` and `Kickstand` were performed in drop D tuning while `Mailman` and `Limo Wreck` employed CGDGBe tuning. Some songs used more unorthodox tunings: `My Wave` and `The Day I Tried to Live` are both in an EEBBBb tuning. `Head Down` and `Half` both utilised CGCGGe tuning. `4th of July` is in a similar CFCGBe tuning. `Superunknown` and `Fresh Tendrils` are in DGDGBe tuning and `Like Suicide` is performed in DGDGBC tuning. Soundgarden`s use of odd time signatures was varied as well; `Fell On Black Days` is in 6/4, `Limo Wreck` is played in 15/8, `My Wave` alternates between 5/4 and 4/4, and `The Day I Tried to Live` alternates between 7/8 and 4/4 sections. Thayil has said that Soundgarden usually did not consider the time signature of a song until after the band had written it, and said that the use of odd meters was `a total accident`.[19]

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, with running themes of revenge, annihilation, seclusion, fear, loss, death, and discovery. Cornell was inspired by the writings of Sylvia Plath at the time.[20] 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!`[20] Cameron said that the lyrics on the album are `a big fuck-you to the world, a plea to `leave us alone".[21] Cornell stated that `Let Me Drown` is about `crawling back to the womb to die`,[22] `Fell on Black Days` is about realizing `you`re unhappy in the extreme`,[21] `Black Hole Sun` is about a `surreal dreamscape`,[22] `Limo Wreck` is a "shame-on-decadence` song`,[11] `The Day I Tried to Live` is about `trying to step out of being patterned and closed off and reclusive`,[23] and `4th of July` is about using LSD. Cornell talked about `Mailman` at a concert saying, `This next one is about killing your boss. It`s about coming to work early one morning cause you have a special agenda and you`re going to shoot him in the fucking head.`[22] Conversely, `Like Suicide` was literal, written by Cornell after a bird flew into a window of his house. He found the severely injured animal and killed it, hitting it with a brick to end its suffering.[21]

The video clip of the song `Spoonman` is notable for featuring a performance by Artis the Spoonman, a street entertainer in Seattle.[24] The title of the song is credited to bassist Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam.[25] While on the set of the movie Singles, Ament produced a list of song titles for the fictional band featured in the movie.[24] Cornell took it as a challenge to write songs for the film using those titles, and `Spoonman` was one of them.[24] An acoustic demo version of the song appears in the movie.[24] Cornell said that the song is about `the paradox of who [Artis] is and what people perceive him as`

Track listing
All lyrics are written by Chris Cornell, except where noted.

No. Title Lyrics Music Length
1. `Let Me Drown` Cornell 3:51
2. `My Wave` Cornell, Kim Thayil 5:12
3. `Fell on Black Days` Cornell 4:42
4. `Mailman` Matt Cameron 4:25
5. `Superunknown` Thayil, Cornell 5:06
6. `Head Down` Ben Shepherd Shepherd 6:08
7. `Black Hole Sun` Cornell 5:18
8. `Spoonman` Cornell 4:06
9. `Limo Wreck` Cameron, Thayil 5:47
10. `The Day I Tried to Live` Cornell 5:19
11. `Kickstand` Thayil 1:34
12. `Fresh Tendrils` Cornell, Cameron Cameron 4:16
13. `4th of July` Cornell 5:08
14. `Half` Shepherd Shepherd 2:14
15. `Like Suicide` Cornell 7:01
Total length: 70:13
LP and international CD bonus track
No. Title Music Length
16. `She Likes Surprises` Cornell 3:20
Total length: 73:33

Personnel
Soundgarden
Chris Cornell – lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar
Kim Thayil – lead guitar
Ben Shepherd – bass, drums and percussion (track 6), backing vocals (track 8), lead vocals and guitar (track 14)
Matt Cameron – drums, percussion, backing vocals, Mellotron (track 4), pots and pans (track 8)
Additional musicians
April Acevez – viola (track 14)
Artis the Spoonman – spoons (track 8)
Michael Beinhorn – piano (track 1), production
Fred Chalenor – harmonic guidance (track 9)
Justine Foy – cello (track 14)
Gregg Keplinger – drums and percussion (track 6)
Natasha Shneider – clavinet (track 12)
Production
David Collins – mastering
Jason Corsaro – engineering
Adam Kasper – assistant engineering
Kelk – front cover design
Gregg Keplinger – studio assistance
Tony Messina – studio assistance
Brendan O`Brien – mixing
Reyzart – layout
Soundgarden – production
Kevin Westenberg – band photography
Susan Silver – management