with all the recent soundgarden talk i finally decided to dust off my copy of their full length and give it a proper listen hehehe

as cliché as it seems to be one of 'those' old guys who desperately needs a haircut and remembers bands when they were still around; i have to say ultramega OK is my favorite soundgarden album. from the atmospheric feedback intro on 'flower' to THE thayil solo on 'beyond the wheel' it's all here, the band's dark humor also surfaces on a few studio experiements (665/667) and choice of covers. hiro yamamoto's presence and bass playing also distinguish this album from the others, with a few solos throughout the disc and vocals on 'circle of power'.

my only complaint would be the production, but at the same time it does add to the feel of the album, a fuzzy hint of what would come. cornell's voice is still a little high but that doesn't stop him from wailing throughout. while the riffs may sound a little muddy and the drums a little weak it still sounds amazing to my ears.

overall, this isn't a record i'd recommend to a casual fan who only knows the later singles. i'm not doing the individual song reviews, if you like soundgarden as a band, or early grunge rock, there is no discussion - this is a must own.

I still haven't got around to buying this album...partly because I don't like their early stuff as musch as their later material, but that's just me. In fact, I'm going to be careful and buy them in reverse order from Badmotorfinger....so next will be "Louder Than Love." But nonetheless, "Flower" is a damn crazy songs thanks to Thayil's intro.

i'd say this album was far more accessible than 'louder than love'. shit i'd even go so far as to say there's more in common with superunkown on this album than anything else they've put out.

We've mentioned this one in passing before. I find it far superior to Superunknown, actually. There is a certain energy that permeates this album, like it might be the last one they ever made. Cornell but his top-notch voice on the line during "Beyond The Wheel" and "Smokestack Lightning". This album is very consistent, and there are a surprising number of hooks in these songs - "All Your Lies", "He Didn't", "Mood For Trouble", and "Nazi Driver" could easily have found their way onto a radio station somewhere. It's production is not quite Badmotorfinger, but it is competent enough and allows the songs to breathe. Listeners won't complain about the sound. Well, maybe panbient

This album is proof that these guys were on top of their game from the get go, and that could easily be a bad omen. By the time people started to know who they were, their best material was already behind them.

Too bad you half-assed this thread and left the title all lower-case, cause it would sure look pimp to have all the albums in the review section to be all....you know.....capitalized.

Anyways, next I'm gonna review AiC's self-titled, their swan song. After all, I've already started writing it.