Badmotorfinger

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Badmotorfinger
Badmotorfinger cover
Studio album by Soundgarden
Released October 8, 1991
Recorded March 1991–April 1991 at Studio D, Sausalito, California; Bear Creek Studios, Woodinville, Washington; and A&M Studios, Los Angeles, California
Genre Alternative metal, grunge
Length 57:48
Label A&M
Producer Terry Date, Soundgarden
Professional reviews
Soundgarden chronology
Loudest Love
(1990)		 Badmotorfinger
(1991)		 Superunknown
(1994)
Singles from Badmotorfinger
  1. "Jesus Christ Pose"
    Released: 1991
  2. "Outshined"
    Released: 1991
  3. "Rusty Cage"
    Released: 1992

Badmotorfinger is the third album by the Seattle grunge band, Soundgarden. It was released on October 8, 1991 through A&M Records. The album has been certified two times Platinum in the United States.

Contents

[edit] Recording

This was the band's first album with bassist Ben Shepherd, who replaced previous bassist Jason Everman following the band's promotional tour for the album Louder than Love. The album's recording sessions took place from March 1991 to April 1991. It was recorded at Studio D in Sausalito, California, Bear Creek Studios in Woodinville, Washington, and A&M Studios in Los Angeles, California. The band again worked with producer Terry Date. The album was mixed by Ron St. Germain.

Soundgarden chose to work with Terry Date again as it had on its previous release Louder than Love. Frontman Chris Cornell said the band chose to work with Date again seeing as the band had a good relationship with him and did not want to go through the pressure of trying to find a new producer.[1] Cornell said that bassist Ben Shepherd brought a "fresh and creative" approach to the recording sessions,[2] and the band as a whole said that his knowledge of music and writing skills redefined the band.[3] Before joining, Soundgarden had been Shepherd's favorite band.[4] Compared with Louder than Love, the band took a more collaborative approach to the writing process.[5]

[edit] Music and lyrics

Audio samples of Badmotorfinger
  • "Jesus Christ Pose"
    Sample of "Jesus Christ Pose", the first single released from Badmotorfinger. Kim Thayil described the song's groove as sounding like "helicopter blades." The song's lyrics express irritation with the exploitation of the symbol of Jesus' crucifixion by famous people.
  • Problems playing the files? See media help.

Steve Huey of All Music Guide said that the songwriting on Badmotorfinger "takes a quantum leap in focus and consistency." He added, "It's surprisingly cerebral and arty music for a band courting mainstream metal audiences, but it attacks with scientific precision."[6] Kim Thayil jokingly called it the "Heavy Metal White Album."[2] Chris Cornell said, "I think there's songs on the new record which are almost more commercially viable because they have that memorable feel to them, and I think if anyone expected us to come out and make something more commercial than Louder Than Love, then I'm glad that they were surprised."[7] Cornell also added that the album is more representative of how the band is live.[7] New bassist Ben Shepherd contributed the song "Somewhere" and collaborated on the musical composition of several other songs on the album. Kim Thayil said that Shepherd's contributions helped make the album "faster" and "weirder."[8]

On the opening song, "Rusty Cage", guitarist Kim Thayil uses a wah pedal as an audio filter, producing an unusual guitar sound. In describing the song's riff he said that it "almost sounds backward".[9] Soundgarden utilized alternative tunings and odd time signatures on several of the album's songs. "Jesus Christ Pose" and "Outshined" were performed in drop D tuning. On "Rusty Cage", "Holy Water", and "Searching with My Good Eye Closed", the bottom E string is tuned all the way down to B.[10] On "Mind Riot" every string is tuned to one of several E's.[10] Soundgarden's use of odd-meter time signatures was varied as well; songs like "Jesus Christ Pose" are in typical 4/4 time, "Outshined" is in 7/4, and "Rusty Cage" utilises both 4/4 and 19/8 time. Kim Thayil said that he didn't "push for weird time signatures," but rather "push[ed] to get the quirkiness out of things."[10]

Chris Cornell said that he tried to not get too specific with his lyrics and was more interested in "creating colourful images."[11] Kim Thayil suggested that it is "like reading a novel [about] man's conflict with himself and society, or the government, or his family, or the economy, or anything".[12] "Jesus Christ Pose" was written about famous people who exploit the symbol of Jesus' crucifixion as to suggest that they're persecuted by the public.[13] Cornell said that "Outshined" is about going from "periods of extreme self-confidence" to "plummeting in the opposite direction."[14] "Holy Water" was written about people who force their beliefs unto others.[7] Kim Thayil wrote the lyrics for "Room a Thousand Years Wide", and said that the song is about "experience in general."[8] "New Damage" subtly criticizes the right-wing government of the United States.[15]

[edit] Release and reception

The album became a breakthrough hit for Soundgarden. Badmotorfinger peaked at number 39 on the Billboard 200 chart. It was the band's highest position on that chart at the time. It was released in the same year as Nirvana's Nevermind and Pearl Jam's Ten, all of which helped to break grunge into the mainstream. Badmotorfinger eventually achieved double Platinum status.[16]

Critic Robert Christgau gave the album a B-. He called it a "credible metal album" while also criticizing the album's lyrical writing.[17]

Badmotorfinger included the singles "Jesus Christ Pose", "Outshined", and "Rusty Cage". The three singles gained considerable airtime on alternative rock radio stations, while the videos for "Outshined" and "Rusty Cage" gained considerable airtime on MTV. The song "Jesus Christ Pose" and its music video was the subject of widespread controversy in 1991, and the video was removed from MTV's playlist.[9] "Room a Thousand Years Wide" was released previously as a single in 1990, but not to promote the album. It was released (with the song "HIV Baby") as a 7" through Sub Pop's Single of the Month club a full year before the release of Badmotorfinger. The song was re-recorded for this album. "Rusty Cage" was covered by Johnny Cash on his 1996 album Unchained. It also appeared on the fictional radio station Radio X on the videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and in the 32-bit version of Road Rash.

The album was nominated for a Grammy for Best Metal Performance in 1992.[18] It was also ranked number 45 in the October 2006 issue of Guitar World on the magazine's list of the 100 greatest guitar albums of all time.[19]

[edit] Imagery and design

The cover art was designed by guitarist Mark Dancey from the Sub Pop band Big Chief. Guitarist Kim Thayil suggested the title Badmotorfinger as a joke on the Montrose song "Bad Motor Scooter".[20] About the title, Thayil said, "It was sort of off the top of my head. I simply like it because it was colorful. It was kinda aggressive, too...It conjures up a lot of different kinds of images. We like the ambiguity in it, the way it sounded and the way it looked."[8]

[edit] Badmotorfinger tour

Following the release of Badmotorfinger, Soundgarden went on a tour of North America that ran from October 1991 to November 1991.[7] Afterward, the band took a slot opening for Guns N' Roses in North America on the band's Use Your Illusion Tour. Soundgarden was personally selected by Guns N' Roses as its opening band.[21] This was Soundgarden's first arena tour. Afterward, the band took a slot opening for Skid Row in North America in February 1992 on the band's Slave to the Grind tour.[22] Soundgarden then headed to Europe for a month-long headlining theater tour.[3] Afterward, the band then returned for a tour of the United States.[3] Soundgarden rejoined Guns N' Roses as part of the Use Your Illusion Tour in the summer of 1992 for a tour of Europe along with fellow opening act Faith No More.[3] Regarding the time spent opening for Guns N' Roses, Chris Cornell said, "It wasn't a whole lot of fun going out in front of 40,000 people for 35 minutes every day. Most of them hadn't heard our songs and didn't care about them. It was a bizarre thing."[23] The band would go on to play the 1992 Lollapalooza tour with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, and Ministry, among others. The band later released the video compilation Motorvision, which was filmed at the Paramount Theatre in 1992.

[edit] Accolades

The information regarding accolades attributed to Badmotorfinger is adapted in part from AcclaimedMusic.net.[24]

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Revolver United States "The 69 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time"[25] 2002 26
Kerrang! United Kingdom "100 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die"[26] 1998 25
Visions Germany "The Most Important Albums of the 90s"[27] 1999 3
Juice Australia "The 100 (+34) Greatest Albums of the 90s"[28] 1999 48
The Movement New Zealand "The 101 Best Albums of the 90s"[29] 2004 84

[edit] Track listing

  1. "Rusty Cage" (Chris Cornell) – 4:26
  2. "Outshined" (Cornell) – 5:11
  3. "Slaves & Bulldozers" (Cornell, Ben Shepherd) – 6:56
  4. "Jesus Christ Pose" (Matt Cameron, Cornell, Shepherd, Kim Thayil) – 5:51
  5. "Face Pollution" (Cornell, Shepherd) – 2:24
  6. "Somewhere" (Shepherd) – 4:21
  7. "Searching with My Good Eye Closed" (Cornell) – 6:31
  8. "Room a Thousand Years Wide" (Cameron, Thayil) – 4:06
  9. "Mind Riot" (Cornell) – 4:49
  10. "Drawing Flies" (Cameron, Cornell) – 2:25
  11. "Holy Water" (Cornell) – 5:07
  12. "New Damage" (Cornell, Thayil, Cameron) – 5:40

[edit] Satanoscillatemymetallicsonatas

A limited edition of the album was released in 1992 with a second disc containing the EP Satanoscillatemymetallicsonatas (or SOMMS). This EP includes three covers, a Soundgarden original, and a song recorded at a concert. The title is a palindrome. For its cover of Black Sabbath's "Into the Void", the original lyrics are replaced by words of protest by Chief Sealth, which fit the metre of the song.[12] "Into the Void (Sealth)" was nominated for a Grammy for Best Metal Performance in 1993.[30]

  1. "Into the Void (Sealth)" (Chief Sealth, Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward) – 6:37
  2. "Girl U Want" (Gerald Casale, Mark Mothersbaugh) – 3:29
  3. "Stray Cat Blues" (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) – 4:46
  4. "She's a Politician" (Cornell) – 1:48
  5. "Slaves & Bulldozers" (live) (Cornell, Shepherd) – 8:38

[edit] Outtakes

"Cold Bitch", which surfaced as a B-side on a promo version of the "Outshined" single, was recorded during the Badmotorfinger sessions. "Cold Bitch" was one of Ben Shepherd's favorite songs that the band recorded.[31] The song "Birth Ritual" was worked on during the recording sessions, but wasn't completed.[9] It would eventually see release on the Singles soundtrack. "No Attention", which later appeared on the band's 1996 album Down on the Upside, was attempted during the Badmotorfinger recording sessions. Kim Thayil said that the recording of "No Attention" that came out of the sessions didn't work.[32]

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Chart positions

Information taken from various sources.[33][34][35]

Album
Year Chart Position
1992 US Billboard 200 39
UK Albums Chart 39
New Zealand Albums Chart 49
Singles
Year Single Chart Position
1992 "Jesus Christ Pose" UK Singles Chart 30
"Rusty Cage" UK Singles Chart 41
"Outshined" UK Singles Chart 50

[edit] References

  1. ^ Harris, Mike. "Sound Saboteurs". Riff Raff. November 1991.
  2. ^ a b "'Garden of Eden". Kerrang!. August 31, 1991.
  3. ^ a b c d Neely, Kim. "Soundgarden: The Veteran Band from Seattle Proves There's Life After Nirvana". Rolling Stone. July 9, 1992.
  4. ^ Myers, Caren. "Garden of Earthly Delights". Details. April 1994.
  5. ^ Linx, Anna. "Soundgarden: No Hype Allowed". The Music Paper. July 1994.
  6. ^ Huey, Steve. "Badmotorfinger". All Music Guide.
  7. ^ a b c d "Colour Me Badmotorfinger!". Raw. October 30, 1991.
  8. ^ a b c Nicholson, Kris. "Angry Young Men". The Music Paper. February 1992.
  9. ^ a b c Gilbert, Jeff. "Primecuts: Kim Thayil". Guitar School. May 1994.
  10. ^ a b c Woodard, Josef. "Soundgarden's Kim Thayil & Chris Cornell". Musician. March 1992.
  11. ^ "Sound and Vision". Rock Power. March 1992.
  12. ^ a b "Soundgarden". Guitar for the Practicing Musician. December 1992.
  13. ^ Magnuson, Ann. "Sub Zep?". Spin. February 1992.
  14. ^ Friend, Lonn M. "Heroes... and Heroin". RIP. July 1992.
  15. ^ "Soundgarden: Are These Men from Seattle the Future of Metal?". Kerrang!. December 7, 1991.
  16. ^ Gold and Platinum Database Search. Retrieved on 2007-02-12.
  17. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Soundgarden". robertchristgau.com.
  18. ^ 34th Grammy Awards - 1992. Rockonthenet.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-20.
  19. ^ "Guitar World's (Readers Choice) Greatest 100 Guitar Albums Of All Time"
  20. ^ Superuninterview. Promo CD. A&M Records. 1994.
  21. ^ Sherry, James. "Soundgarden". Metal Hammer. December 1991.
  22. ^ Jones, Alison F. "Pounding for Pot: Soundgarden's Matt Cameron". High Times. July 1992.
  23. ^ "I Don't Care About Performing for 20,000!". Raw. September 15, 1993.
  24. ^ Badmotorfinger accolades. Acclaimed Music. Retrieved on 2008-05-06.
  25. ^ "The 69 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time." Revolver. September/October 2002.
  26. ^ "100 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". Kerrang!.
  27. ^ The Most Important Albums of the 90s. Visions. Retrieved on 2008-05-06.
  28. ^ "The 100 (+34) Greatest Albums of the 90s". Juice.
  29. ^ "The 101 Best Albums of the 90s". The Movement.
  30. ^ 35th Grammy Awards - 1993. Rockonthenet.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-20.
  31. ^ Masters, Drew. "Soundgarden". M.E.A.T. magazine. March 1994.
  32. ^ Genovese, Robin. "Soundgarden". Chart. June 1996.
  33. ^ Soundgarden – Billboard Albums. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
  34. ^ SOUNDGARDEN - BADMOTORFINGER (ALBUM). New Zealand-charts.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
  35. ^ UK Singles & Albums Chart Archive - Soundgarden. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.

[edit] External links

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Soundgarden
Chris Cornell · Kim Thayil · Matt Cameron · Ben Shepherd
Scott Sundquist · Hiro Yamamoto · Jason Everman
Studio albums
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Singles
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