Soundgarden - Down on the Upside

Here we have it, Soundgarden's swan song...and incidentally, my favourite Soundgarden album. Sure, it may not have the energenic rawness of there earlier ablums; it has more of enthused experience. Plus, this album is outright proof that most hard rock outfits soften later in their career.

I find myself comparing it alot to Superunknown, but it shouldn't really be held up to that level. Instead of seventy minutes of murky pessimism, we get a surprising sixty-five mintues varitey show of material from metal to punk to wimp-rock. But why should Chris and the gang have tried to equal Superunknown?

We can see here that they did not try this, instead wiriting an ode to classic rock. Note that when I first bought this album, I was somewhatlet-down and was afraid it would spoil Soundgarden for me, but in time it grew on me, so just give it a chance. In fact, this ablum is the very reason why I respect Soundgarden: they don't take themselves too seriously and they write music just how they want to sound. Sadly, this ablum met with less sales than their prior, AMG only gave it three stars, and it was their last album...at least I enjoy it!


Pretty Noose -

The Saturday Night Live video of it got me hooked to this song and gave me the image of this band during this record. Unfortunately, I burned-out on this song. This song is likely the heaviest song on the album.

Rhinosaur -

A funky 6/4 bout of contradictions and plenty of Thayil style soloing.

Zero Chance -

This is what I mean by "wimp-rock." But it still has nice texture thanks to acoutic guitars and remains a good song nonetheless.

Dusty -

This song just makes me feel good inside, from the opening drum solo to the nice folky tinge.

Ty Cobb -

A quite less serious song with the most profanity since "Big Dumb Sex", this punky number takes a little getting used to.

Blow Up the Outside World -

Another song that I've burned-out on, it seems like the answer to "Black Hole Sun", especially when considering the video. But I still feel its a good song. Nice country-y guitar fills too.

Burden in My Hand -

Yet another song that I've burned out on, this is probably the strongest and most accessible song on the album.

Never Named -

About his dog. Kind of goofy and hard to take seriously, but I still like it.

Applebite -

When I first bought the album, this song jsut creeped me out and made me feel rotten inside, but I now enjoy listening to it.

Never the Machine Forever -

I cannot for the life of me figure out what time signature(s) this song is. Another of the heaviest songs on the album.

Tighter & Tighter -

Simply beautiful. Its sounds familar, but since it was never a single I do not know where I would've heard it before. Anyways, this song is Thayil-solo-galore and by the time it gets to the chorus, I don't really want it to end.

No Attention -

Another punky number with more psychadelic guitar work.

Switch Opens -

A weird, somewhat boxy song.

Overfloater -

On about the same level as "Tighter & Tighter", an ode to classic rock and again...I never really want it to end.

An Unkind -

A somewhat anamolous song with a funky ending.

Boot Camp -

To understand my fascination with this song, I must start with Pink Floyd. Okay, I'm sure you all know about how "Dark Side of the Moon" synchronizes with "The Wizard of Oz", right?

Well, this song reminds me alot of "Dark Side of the Moon". Also, I read "The Wizard of Oz" about the time I bought this ablum, so in my mind I hold a strong association between the this song and "The Wizard of Oz". Anyways, the lyrics, "There must be something else, there must be something good, far away, far away, far away, etc." are quite reminiscient of "somewhere over the rainbow." But as the connection is not absolute, I drift off to thinking that maybe this songs has to do with "Brave New World" and "1984." Anyways, I think this song makes an excellent closer and leaves the listener simultaneously dreading and hopeful.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This album is a treat for any Soundgarden fan. I may not have said much for some of the songs, but they are all truely great in their own right. I fyou are sceptic, just buy it and watch as it grows on you. Happy listening....

just a few points.

never the machine forever is in 8/9

and the solo in rhinosaur is cornell. thayil was absent for a bunch of the recording of the album. he may have been doing guest work with 'the presidents of the usa' when rhinosaur was recorded. basically cornell got tired of waiting and just did it himself.

Hey, now that's interesting, but I actually said: "Thayil style soloing", so I was still right. Ha!

And on that note, Thayil's solo on "Naked & Famous" (for "The Presidents of the USA") is quite interesting itself because although it does sound like one of his typical solos, the texture of the guitar-sound is different, perhaps to blend better with PUSA's own sonic texture.

Is 8/9 really possible? (did you mean 9/8?)

If it weren't for "Ty Cobb" and "Never The Machine Forever", I wouldn't have had anything to like about this album. The sound of record store employees laughing at me started to drown out whatever songs were playing on the actual CD. The only way I managed to listen to it all the way through was to do sections at a time.

Never the Machine Forever is 9/8, not 8/9.

To each his own. I got kinda depressed when I saw a used copy sitting aroundin the new CD section. But then again, I saw a used copy of Superunknown at the swap meet, so I don't think that Orange County (the OC!) is the hotbed for Soundgarden fans.

i bought it on the release date so no one could actually laugh at me yet. i wouldn't say it's as bad as seerix makes it seem but it's most definitely one of their weaker albums. while it does show growth within cornell as a singer / songwriter, he wasn't the band. 'applebite' and 'never the machine forever' are the only tracks left from that album that i'd actively listen to today.

with all the recent SG talk i'm half tempted to dig out my copy of ultramegaOK to write a review for that one

Ty Cobb and Burden In My Hand are the best tracks on this album. The rest are average. Ty Cobb's energy is what I love about it the most. The whole tracklisting doesn't seem in the right place (imo).

i think the deal with the track listing makes more sense depending on when you started listening to music. i've noticed the change myself when i started listening to cds instead of tapes. there's no physical distinction between side1 and side2 anymore. it's all just one cohesive piece. to me applebite is very much the gap between both sides of that album which makes the tracklisting a lot more sensible.

When I first started listening to this album, I felt the ordering was bad, but I've gotten used to it. But in my opinion, after "Burden in My Hand" feels like the middle. And if you want to argue the division on time, remember that this album would have to be a double-LP.

overfloater is my second favouite song of all time

an unkind, ty cobb, never the machine forever, boot camp and applebite are all terrific songs.