A&M 0198
Producers: Michael Beinhorn and Soundgarden
Track listing: Let Me Drown / My Wave / Fell on Black Days / Mailman / Superunknown / Head Down / Black Hole / Spoonman / Limo Wreck / The Day I Tried to Live / Kickstand / Fresh Tendrils / 4th of July / Half / Like Suicide
March 26, 1994
1 week
It’s only appropriate that Soundgarden reached the top of The Billboard 200. After all, the foursome can be credited with paving the way for a number of chart-topping Seattle acts, from Nirvana and Pearl Jam to Alice in Chains.
While Pearl Jam and Mudhoney preÂcursor Green River is often cited as the early pioneer of the Seattle scene, Soundgarden was one of the first grunge bands to make the leap from an independent label to the majors with their integrity intact. The band’s earlier efforts, which combined the power of heavy metal with the energy and attiÂtude of punk rock, were also noteworÂthy. Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain cited the band’s 1987 Screaming Life and 1988 FOPP EPs on Sup Pop as the reason his band opted to sign with that label before moving on to Geffen.
Ultramega OK, released in 1988 on independent SST, managed to stoke the buzz, but it wasn’t until the band’s 1989 A&M debut, Louder Than Love, which reached number 108, that Soundgarden managed to crack the album chart.
Soundgarden continued to pick up steam in 1991 and 1992. The band’s Badmotorfinger, released in late 1992, climbed to number 39. The self-titled album by Temple of the Dog, a side proÂject/tribute to the late Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood, featuring Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell and drummer Matt Cameron with members of Pearl Jam, reached number five in the fall of 1992. Hater, an eponymous spinÂoff featuring bassist Ben Shepherd and Cameron, failed to chart. But that album and a Cornell solo track, included on the hit 1992 Singles soundtrack, showed off the diverse talents of Soundgarden’s members.
The group’s proven track record and the success of its fellow Seattle bands set the stage for Soundgarden’s commerÂcial and artistic triumph, Superunknown.
“I think Hater and Temple of the Dog helped out a lot,” says guitarist Kim Thayil. “Everyone in the band learned a little bit about the other dimensions the band has creatively and learned that other members of the band have more to offer.” As a result, Soundgarden’s sound evolved. The band, whose bluesy sound was initially compared to Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, found itself called “the Beatles of grunge,” with songs like “Head Down” and “Half.’ Says Thayil, “The aggression in the perÂformances has been toned down, so it might be a little more palatable to the people who may have been intimidated by us in the past.”
Soundgarden spent five months at Heart’s Bad Animals studio in Seattle working on the album. “That’s the longest we’ve ever spent on an album, but it’s also the longest album we’ve ever produced. It’s 72 minutes,” says Thayil.
During the sessions, the band turned to some unusual instrumentation. “SpooÂman,” the first single from the album, and its video, featured the Seattle artist Spoonman, playing his namesake utenÂsil. “The title actually came from Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam. He coined the title for a fictitious album for Singles. Chris thought it would be fun to write songs with the titles Jeff came up with. But after we heard it, we said, ‘ “Spoonman” is definitely a Soundgarden song.'”
When Superunknown entered The Billboard 200 at Number One (A&M’s first chart-topping album since the Police had achieved the feat in 1983), Soundgarden were no longer unknowns, but they were a bit surprised. Says Thayil, “We expected this album would do better, based on the way we were growing, but this is a little beyond what we had suspected.”
THE TOP FIVE
Week of March 26, 1994
1. Superunknown, Soundgarden
2. The Downward Spiral, Nine Inch Nails
3. The Sign, Ace of Base
4. 12 Play, R. Kelly
5. Toni Braxton, Toni Braxton