Soundgarden - Louder Than Love

I expected something much less mature than their other albums, but I was outright surprised by "Louder Than Love."

Ugly Truth -

Hmmm, 6/4 time. This song would drag if it wasn't for the over-the-top vocals and guitar work. But thanks to them, it becomes a song that progresses in a strange but laudable way.

Hands All Over -

This song is simply amazing. And strangely, it's enviromentalist. Many times, this song has brought about inner feelings....sometimes, chills...but in a good way. As is roars into the verse, I feel absolutely fulfilled. Plus, it's a fun drum part to play along with, as well as some fun guitar parts.

Here is part of the music video.

Apparently, Kim Thayil thought this of the song and the video:

"The video for that song was one of the lamest ever made. It really sucked. What I liked about the song was that it was just one simple riff -- one note, one chord -- but with a lot of dynamics. In some ways it's simple and basic; in other ways, it's very sophisticated in how it was layered. We don't really have many songs that are like 'Hands All Over.'" --Kim Thayil

Gun -

A bit of a hassle to listen to, but it's still worth getting to the solo. As Kim Thayil says, "It just speeds up until it culminates in a big jack-off guitar solo." Come to think about it, it is pretty masturbatory.

Power Trip -

Another hassle to listen to (especially the verse), but it's worth it for some of the guitar work later on.

Get on the Snake -

More energy and fun, and Cornell plays around with a voice-box, like he does for "Blind Dogs" and "Tighter & Tighter." Nice 9/8 time signature.

Full On Kevin's Mom -

A bit murky, and one of my less favourite, it still got me charged up one time I was doing sit-upd and I felt like the song was going to make me burst out of my head. I dunno why.

Loud Love -

Kind of repetitive, but I love how the guitar sounds. It's simple and the guitar part is also fun to play. It just kinda grooves along. Also, nice Thayil intro.

I Awake -

The creepiest song on here with time signatures ranging from 6/8 to 11/8 to 9/8. It signifies the turn of the album to the darker half.

'Kate McDonald was Hiro Yamamoto's girlfriend. Chris Cornell had gone to Hiro's place and nobody was home, but Kate had left a note to Hiro, which Chris read. It subsequently became the lyrics to "I Awake."' - http://web.stargate.net/soundgarden/...s/louder.shtml

It is a nice song to walk through a grocery store with/on.

No Right No Wrong -

The darkest song on here...it strangely stays in 4/4.

Uncovered -

The first time I heard the first couple of notes, I was completely entranced. This song has been amazing every time I have heard it.

Big Dumb Sex -

This song is a big joke and is pretty fun to blast from your car. What I have the biggest problem with is that the vocals are Cornell's wail doubled with a very low vocals (probably also Cornell).

Full On (Reprise) -

I had no idea what to expect, but I found it on a level above most of Soundgarden's catalogue....somewhat on par with "Black Hole Sun" in the way it feels. The vocals are also great, especially the "Yeah" and the "Save me a seat!"

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

Maybe I spoke lowly of some songs, but this is truly a great album. It's got energy...plus cerebro-rock on par with the greatest songs off of their later albums. Myself not such a "Badmotorfinger" person, I would consider it above in greatness, but that's just me. And it wasn't not noticealby murky like I feared. Extremely suggested!!!!!!

a lot of muck on their

but loud love, hands all over, full on kevins mom and i awake are brilliant

I do like Ultramega OK and Badmotorfinger better, but this one is defintitely my next favorite after those two. It's too bad they couldn't keep this type of energy as their songwriting and musicianship were maturing. But these 3 albums, to me, are like lightning in a bottle.

Still baggin' on the later stuff? I finally got "Down on the Upside" back, so that's next in my CD player. Personally, I think they had sufficient energy and cerebrality across the board, even if it may come across in different ways throughout the albums.

Man, the critics were HARSH when that was new!
I think it's a dynamite rekkid.
I like all their platters but I think, up til 'Badmotorfinger' there's a different emphasis.
I like 'superunknown' and 'down on the upside' but they just don't rock my world like the earlier stuff.
I guess I like those 'rough edges', you know?

personally this is my least favorite SG album. i still like some of the tracks but overall it doesn't really do much for me. while i really like 'get on the snake' has anyone elsed noticed its similarities with led zep's 'misty mountain hop'?