Following in the footsteps of 1994’s blockbuster album “Superunknown,” the fifth studio album, “Down on the Upside” by SOUNDGARDEN, was doomed to be considered a dud by the vox populi almost by default. Not only had the grunge movement already peaked by 1996 when this beast came out, but the band also made it quite clear from the get-go that replicating the sound of its predecessor was not an option. Released on May 21st, 1996, via A&M Records, “Down on the Upside” flipped the script entirely and broke even further away from the constraints and holy tenets of grunge than before. SOUNDGARDEN was a band that had always been far more adventurous and far-reaching than their Seattle brethren, but perhaps they were trying a little too hard with this endeavor? At least, that was the sentiment in many a review at the time. This Seattle bunch was often called the contemporary version of LED ZEPPELIN in the mid-1990s, and if so, this self-produced album proved to be their “Houses of the Holy” – one of their most misunderstood, progressively tinged masterpieces. If my memory serves me correctly, “Down on the Upside” was met with quite mixed reviews upon its release, yet it reached number two on the Billboard 200 album chart. I guess it was no longer cool to like a grunge band in public, but we bought the album, nonetheless, to enjoy it in private when no one was looking. Sure, with sixteen tracks overall, the album felt a tad bloated at first. While the singles packed some good punch, the album turned out to be predominantly slow-paced – with a nice, psychedelic grunge twist, yes, but slow all the same. That didn’t sit too well with the critics, let alone some of the fans that had been allured by the band’s early hard-rock machismo. If I’m completely honest, I was also slightly disappointed after the first spin back in the day: the album does indeed lack that instant kick-in-the-balls feel that characterized its predecessor so prominently. Over time, however, this album has proved to be a masterpiece in its own right – it just isn’t “Superunknown Vol. 2.”
As luck would have it, things are set in motion with the lead single, “Pretty Noose,” which plays it safe and does not traverse too far away from the band’s signature sound. The song was nominated for a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1997 – and for a bloody good reason, too. Along with the progressive riffs of “Never the Machine Forever,” this opener could have felt right at home on “Superunknown.” Considering how things take off on a very different tangent elsewhere on the album, it makes perfect sense to put something so familiar up front. And speaking of proggy twists and turns, “Never the Machine Forever” is by far one of the best songs in 9/8 meter ever released! SOUNDGARDEN was already famous for using all sorts of alternative tunings and odd time signatures, and this album offers plenty of both, too. Even some of the slow, blues-vibed songs traverse in a tad unorthodox meter, like “Rhinosaur,” which alternates between 6/4 and 4/4.
While this album’s overall feel is quite different compared to its predecessor, one of the singles – that is, “Ty Cobb” – harkens back to those silly interludes on that 1994 monolith. I mean, the band could not have been dead serious about releasing an alt-country-goes-punk track as a single. Then again, when a band decides to self-produce their album, anything is possible, right? Well, I will be damned if “Overfloater” was not inspired by THE BEATLES song “Come Together” from 1969’s “Abbey Road,” and one of the singles, “Burden in My Hand,” is clearly an epic homage to LED ZEPPELIN. I bet having a producer supervising the recording sessions might have necessitated a serious conversation or two on the topic of song selection for the album.
In my opinion, it was for the best that the band could remain true to their artistic vision like this, albeit rumor has it that the making of this album was not exactly easy. The band had road-tested and stockpiled new material at European festivals during 1995, and the decision to self-produce this beast of an album probably stemmed from their desire to capture the raw power of their live shows. I actually saw SOUNDGARDEN in Helsinki in August 1995, but I was too overwhelmed to make mental notes about whether or not they played any new songs. The set closed with a haunting cover rendition of “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” by THE BEATLES, from that 1969 album classic, so I reckon “Abbey Road” must have been playing on the tour bus quite a few times. What else went on is hard to say, but I’ve heard some rumors about tensions gathering momentum during that tour and coming to a head while making this album.
Fans have long speculated that this album was actually designed to be the band’s swansong. I guess some of the lyrics could be interpreted that way, although the band has firmly debunked all allegations of this sort. It’s true that the last two lines in the album closer, “Boot Camp,” would have provided nothing short of a poignant postscript, with the lyrics going, “There must be something else, there must be something good far away…” On the other hand, while the album did become an epitaph of sorts as the band split following its release, before reuniting 16 years later on 2012’s “King Animal,” the overall vibe of this song selection is perhaps a tad too vibrant and life-affirming (despite some wise-cracking douches begging to disagree here, for sure) for an album that was supposed to presage an inevitable demise. Maybe the grunge label just stuck too tightly – and the harder the band tried to get rid of it, the harder it became to continue as a band. SOUNDGARDEN was becoming too versatile for their own good. Listening to the album now, 30 years later, made me realize it is much better than I remembered. Is it hard rock? Hardly. Is it grunge? Well, if it is, it’s certainly not that garden variety you hear endorsed as grunge on the FM radio these days, but something far more interesting. “Superunknown” will forever remain the best SOUNDGARDEN album of all time, but this beautiful beast is a damn fine silver medalist in the band’s discography, at least for me.
Written by Jani Lehtinen
Tracklist
- Pretty Noose
- Rhinosaur
- Zero Chance
- Dusty
- Ty Cobb
- Blow Up the Outside World
- Burden in My Hand
- Never Named
- Applebite
- Never the Machine Forever
- Tighter & Tighter
- No Attention
- Switch Opens
- Overfloater
- An Unkind
- Boot Camp
Lineup
Chris Cornell – vocals, guitars
Kim Thayil – guitars
Ben Shepard – bass
Matt Cameron – drums
Label
A&M Records
