Down on the Upside

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Down on the Upside
Down on the Upside cover
Studio album by Soundgarden
Released May 21, 1996
Recorded November 1995–February 1996 at Studio Litho and Bad Animals Studio in Seattle, Washington
Genre Alternative rock, grunge
Length 65:56
Label A&M
Producer Soundgarden, Adam Kasper
Professional reviews
Soundgarden chronology
Songs from the Superunknown
(1995)		 Down on the Upside
(1996)		 A-Sides
(1997)
Singles from Down on the Upside
  1. "Pretty Noose"
    Released: March 1996
  2. "Burden in My Hand"
    Released: September 18, 1996
  3. "Blow Up the Outside World"
    Released: November 18, 1996
  4. "Ty Cobb"
    Released: April 1997

Down on the Upside is the fifth and final studio album by Soundgarden. It was released on May 21, 1996 through A&M Records. The album has been certified Platinum in the United States.

Contents

[edit] Recording

The album's recording sessions took place from November 1995 to February 1996 at Studio Litho and Bad Animals Studio in Seattle, Washington. Studio Litho is owned by Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard.[1] The band members made the decision to produce the album themselves. On the choice of not working with a producer, frontman Chris Cornell said that "a fifth guy is too many cooks and convolutes everything. It has to go down too many mental roads, which dilutes it."[2] Adam Kasper, who previously had worked with Soundgarden as an assistant engineer on Superunknown,[3] worked with the band as a production collaborator.[4] The album was mixed by Kasper.

Work on the album began in July 1995.[5] The band took a break to perform at some festivals in Europe, where some of the new material was road-tested.[6] Afterward, the band did some more songwriting for about a month and then recorded most of the album at Studio Litho.[3] The overall approach to songwriting was less collaborative than with past efforts, with the band members having brought in most of the songs more completely written.[7] The band sought to try things it had not done before and to use a greater variety of material.[8] The band tried to create a live atmosphere for the album,[9] and looked to leave in sounds that producers would normally try to clean up, such as feedback and out-of-tune guitar parts.[10] The overall time spent working on the album was less than what the band had spent working on Superunknown.[11] Chris Cornell described the album-making process as "way faster and way easier".[1]

Most of the material was written by Chris Cornell and bassist Ben Shepherd, the latter having lyrically and/or musically written six of the sixteen album tracks. Reportedly, tensions within the group arose during the recording sessions, with guitarist Kim Thayil and Cornell allegedly clashing over Cornell's desire to shift away from the heavy guitar riffing that had become the band's trademark.[12] Thayil's only contribution to the album was the song "Never the Machine Forever", for which he wrote both the lyrics and the music, and which was also the last song the band recorded.[13] The song initially came out of a jamming session Thayil had with Seattle musician Greg Gilmore.[14] (In the liner notes, Thayil credits Gilmore for inspiring the song). Thayil stated that he had a lot of incomplete music ideas that were missing lyrics and were not arranged, so they did not make the album.[14] Thayil said, "It can be a little bit discouraging if there isn't satisfactory creative input, but on the other hand, I write all the solo bits and don't really have limitations on the parts I come up with for guitar."[14] Chris Cornell said, "By the time we were finished, it felt like it had been kind of hard, like it was a long, hard haul. But there was stuff we were discovering."[9]

[edit] Music and lyrics

Audio samples of Down on the Upside
  • "Burden in My Hand"
    Sample of "Burden in My Hand", the second single released from Down on the Upside. The song was written by frontman Chris Cornell and blends acoustic and electric instrumentation.
  • Problems playing the files? See media help.

The album contained less of the heavy riffing that was found on the band's earlier albums, with the songs instead placing greater emphasis on vocals and melody.[15][5] It also featured a rawer sound than Superunknown that came as a result of the band producing the album themselves.[16] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of All Music Guide said that Soundgarden "retained their ambitious song structures, neo-psychedelic guitar textures, and winding melodies but haven't dressed them up with detailed production."[17] The songs vary in tempo throughout the course of the album, with Kim Thayil describing the album as having a "dual nature."[18] He explained, "It keeps listeners on their toes and lets them know they're not getting the same album over and over."[18] Ben Shepherd called the album "the most accurate picture of what Soundgarden actually sounds like," stating, "It's way more raw. It's way more honest. It's way more 'responsible'."[16]

The band explained at the time that it wanted to experiment with other sounds[19] (for example, the song "Ty Cobb" features Ben Shepherd and Chris Cornell playing mandolin and mandola[15]). This experimentation can be heard to a lesser degree on the band's previous album Superunknown. Soundgarden utilized alternative tunings and odd time signatures on several of the album's songs. For example, "Never the Machine Forever" uses a time signature of 9/8.[20] "Pretty Noose" and "Burden in My Hand" were written in C-G-C-G-G-E tuning.[21]

The overall mood of the album's lyrics isn't as dark as on previous Soundgarden albums.[22] According to frontman Chris Cornell, "Pretty Noose" is about "an attractively packaged bad idea,"[23] and "Ty Cobb" is about a "hardcore pissed-off idiot."[24] Cornell said that the songs "Never Named" and "Boot Camp" are based on his childhood.[16] The lyrics for "Never the Machine Forever" were written by Kim Thayil. Thayil said that the song is about "a life-and-death match between an individual and a less specifically defined entity."[5]

[edit] Release and reception

Down on the Upside reached number two on the Billboard 200 album chart. The album failed to match the sales of its predecessor, Superunknown.[25] Down on the Upside eventually achieved Platinum status.[25]

Rolling Stone gave Down on the Upside three out of five stars. Reviewer David Fricke observed that the album has "some quality frenzy," but criticized it for "lack[ing] defining episodes of catharsis." Fricke said, "Soundgarden seem to be digging in their heels rather than kicking up dirt, relying too much on drone-y impressionism and clever (as opposed to cleaving) guitar motifs."[26] David Browne of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B+. Browne said, "Few bands since Led Zeppelin have so crisply mixed instruments both acoustic and electric." He praised several songs as being "as powerful as anything the band has done." Browne criticized the album's production, saying "like many self-produced efforts, it shows." He added, "With arrangements that crest and fall to the point where a road map would have helped, the overlong (16-song) album is often unwieldy and could have benefited from judicious trimming."[27] Critic Robert Christgau called the album "brutal depression simplified,"[28] while Jason Josephes of Pitchfork Media called it a "double shot of grunge, no foam but plenty of caffeine."[29]

Down on the Upside included the singles "Pretty Noose", "Burden in My Hand", and "Blow Up the Outside World", all of which had accompanying music videos. All three placed on the Billboard Mainstream Rock and Modern Rock charts. The album's other commercially released single, "Ty Cobb", did not chart, however its acommpanying B-side, "Rhinosaur", also from the album, did chart. "Burden in My Hand" was the most successful song from Down on the Upside on the rock charts, reaching number one on the Mainstream Rock charts and number two on the Modern Rock charts. The lead single, "Pretty Noose", was nominated for a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1997.

[edit] Imagery and design

At one point the cover art image for the "Blow Up the Outside World" single was considered for use as the cover art image for Down on the Upside.[30]

The title Down on the Upside comes from a line in the song "Dusty". The lyric is "I think it's turning back on me/I'm down on the upside". Chris Cornell said that the title represents the different feels on the album.[3] In an interview Cornell explained how the name was chosen: "I brought it up at some point because the song that the title came from was "Dusty", but my title for it was Down on the Upside, but Ben wrote the music and he called it "Dusty". So since we don't really like having song titles being the title of the record, 'cause it brings this weird, undue focus to the song, I thought it would be cool to call it Down on the Upside. We started thinking about all these other titles, and worrying about them describing the whole record without excluding anything...So it was the last minute and we were at a photo shoot for Spin and someone called and said, 'We need your title now so we can start doing the record package,' so Matt brought up the title again, and everyone went, 'yeah, that's it.'"[31] According to an interview with the band, two other titles considered for the album were Mr. Bunchy Pants and Comin' At Ya![8]

The album was also released in a limited edition with the Into the Upside interview disc. The interview among other things is available at the Unofficial Soundgarden Homepage.

[edit] Down on the Upside tour

The band took a slot on the 1996 Lollapalooza tour with Metallica. Metallica had insisted on Soundgarden's appearance on the tour.[32] Kim Thayil said that the band wasn't interested in doing the tour until it became a "Metallica tour."[33] During the Lollapalooza tour, the band members reportedly took separate flights and then met at the gigs.[34]

After Lollapalooza, the band embarked on a world-wide tour.[35] Tensions continued to increase during the band's ensuing tour in support of the album. When asked if the band hated touring, Chris Cornell said, "We really enjoy it to a point and then it gets tedious, because it becomes repetitious. You feel like fans have paid their money and they expect you to come out and play them your songs like the first time you ever played them. That's the point where we hate touring."[24] The band was criticized for its lack of energy while performing.[12] Chris Cornell said that "after a number of years, you start to feel like you're acting. All those people who criticize us for not jumping around should shut the fuck up, and when they come to our shows they should jump around and entertain us for a while."[36] Kim Thayil had an issue with how the band's audience had changed, stating that "nowadays, you also have the kids and the housewives, the casual fans. With your casual fans, you say, 'Thanks for the money.' And they say, 'Thanks for the song.'"[34] The band's concerts in December 1996 were postponed for a week due to Chris Cornell's throat problems.[34]

At the tour's final stop in Honolulu, Hawaii on February 9, 1997, Shepherd threw his bass into the air in frustration after suffering equipment failure, and subsequently stormed off the stage.[37] The band retreated, with Cornell returning to conclude the show with a solo encore.[38] On April 9, 1997, the band announced its disbanding. Kim Thayil said, "It was pretty obvious from everybody's general attitude over the course of the previous half year that there was some dissatisfaction."[39]

[edit] Track listing

  1. "Pretty Noose" (Chris Cornell) – 4:12
  2. "Rhinosaur" (Matt Cameron, Cornell) – 3:14
  3. "Zero Chance" (Cornell, Ben Shepherd) – 4:18
  4. "Dusty" (Cornell, Shepherd) – 4:34
  5. "Ty Cobb" (Cornell, Shepherd) – 3:05
  6. "Blow Up the Outside World" (Cornell) – 5:46
  7. "Burden in My Hand" (Cornell) – 4:50
  8. "Never Named" (Cornell, Shepherd) – 2:28
  9. "Applebite" (Cameron, Cornell) – 5:10
  10. "Never the Machine Forever" (Kim Thayil) – 3:36
  11. "Tighter & Tighter" (Cornell) – 6:06
  12. "No Attention" (Cornell) – 4:27
  13. "Switch Opens" (Cornell, Shepherd) – 3:53
  14. "Overfloater" (Cornell) – 5:09
  15. "An Unkind" (Shepherd) – 2:08
  16. "Boot Camp" (Cornell) – 2:59

[edit] Outtakes

The song "Bleed Together" was recorded during the album's recording sessions and eventually saw release as a B-side on the "Burden in My Hand" single as well as on the band's greatest hits compilation, A-Sides. Kim Thayil said that the song was not included on Down on the Upside because the band was not pleased with the mixing that was done on the song and the band already had enough songs.[40] Another song that was written and recorded for the album is "Christi".[41] Matt Cameron said it is one of his favorite Soundgarden songs ever.[41] Footage surfaced of the band playing the song live at the 1995 Reading Festival in Reading, UK on YouTube.

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Chart positions

Information taken from various sources.[42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59]

Album
Year Chart Position
1996 Australian Albums Chart 1
New Zealand Albums Chart 1
US Billboard 200 2
Swedish Albums Chart 3
Finnish Albums Chart 4
Norwegian Albums Chart 6
UK Albums Chart 7
Dutch Albums Chart 12
German Albums Chart 15
Belgian Albums Chart 18
Austrian Albums Chart 19
Swiss Albums Chart 20
Hungarian Albums Chart 34
French Albums Chart 44
Singles
Year Single Chart Position
1996 "Pretty Noose" US Modern Rock Tracks 2
US Mainstream Rock Tracks 4
Finnish Singles Chart 10
UK Singles Chart 14
New Zealand Singles Chart 18
Australian Singles Chart 22
Swedish Singles Chart 42
Swiss Singles Chart 47
"Burden In My Hand" US Mainstream Rock Tracks 1
US Modern Rock Tracks 2
UK Singles Chart 33
"Blow Up the Outside World" US Mainstream Rock Tracks 1
US Modern Rock Tracks 8
UK Singles Chart 40
1997 "Rhinosaur" US Mainstream Rock Tracks 19

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "Black Hole Sons!". Kerrang!. August 12, 1995.
  2. ^ Blush, Steven. "Soundgarden". Seconds. 1996.
  3. ^ a b c Warden, Steve. "A Degree of Intensity". Access. June 1996.
  4. ^ Cross, Charles R. "The Joys of Noise: Soundgarden Throw a High-Frequency Sludgefest". Rolling Stone. February 8, 1996.
  5. ^ a b c "Soundgarden Man in Near Death Drama". Kerrang!. March 16, 1996.
  6. ^ Atkinson, Peter. "Soundgarden: From Superunknown to Superstars". Jam. May 24, 1996.
  7. ^ Zogbi, Marina. "Upshot on "The Upside" from Kim Thayil". Metal Edge. August 1996.
  8. ^ a b "Down on the Upside". The Buzz Word. August 1996
  9. ^ a b Appleford, Steve. "Soundgarden". Ray Gun. June 1996.
  10. ^ "Soundgarden's New Video Causes Controversy". Toronto Sun. May 10, 1996.
  11. ^ "Soundgarden". Hard Music. June 1996.
  12. ^ a b Colopino, John. "Soundgarden Split". Rolling Stone. May 29, 1997.
  13. ^ Turman, Katherine. "Soundgarden: Seattle's Sonic Boom". Metal Edge. July 1996.
  14. ^ a b c Maloof, Rich. "Kim Thayil of Soundgarden: Down on the Upbeat". Guitar Magazine. July 1996.
  15. ^ a b "Soundgarden Sound Off". Melody Maker. March 23, 1996.
  16. ^ a b c Clay, Jennifer. "Soundgarden: Painting Beautiful Pictures". RIP Magazine. June 1996.
  17. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Down on the Upside". All Music Guide.
  18. ^ a b "Soundgarden: The Garden of Earthly Delights". Rave. May 15, 1996.
  19. ^ Turman, Katherine. "Soundgarden: Seattle's Sonic Boom". Hypno. 1996.
  20. ^ "Seattle Supersonic: The Screaming Life & Odd Times of Soundgarden's Kim Thayil". Guitar Player. July 1996.
  21. ^ Leonard, Michael. "Unknown Pleasures". The Guitar Magazine. December 1996.
  22. ^ True, Everett. "Soundgarden". Melody Maker. May 25, 1996.
  23. ^ "Soundgarden Returns". MTV.com. April 12, 1996.
  24. ^ a b "Gardener's Question Time". Kerrang!. March 1, 1997.
  25. ^ a b Gold and Platinum Database Search. Retrieved on 2007-02-12.
  26. ^ Fricke, David. "Soundgarden: Down on the Upside". Rolling Stone. December 2, 1996.
  27. ^ Browne, David. "Down on the Upside". Entertainment Weekly. May 24, 1996.
  28. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Soundgarden". robertchristgau.com.
  29. ^ Josephes, Jason. "Soundgarden: Down on the Upside". Pitchfork Media. June 1, 1996.
  30. ^ "Blow Up the Outside World". Unofficial SG Homepage.
  31. ^ Ewing, Jerry. "Shooting from the Hip! 20 Questions with Chris Cornell". Metal Hammer. July 1996.
  32. ^ Bell, Max. "Soundgarden - Like Falling Off a Hog". Blah Blah Blah. June 1996.
  33. ^ "Soundgarden". Hard Music. June 1996.
  34. ^ a b c "Soundgarden's End Called the End of Grunge". St. Petersburg Times. April 15, 1997
  35. ^ Waters, Rodney. "Getting Down with Soundgarden". Hit Parader. October 1996.
  36. ^ "Soundgarden". Kerrang!. May 29, 1996.
  37. ^ "Nirvana and the Story of Grunge", pg. 100.
  38. ^ Berger, John. "'Garden' of supersonic delight". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. February 10, 1997.
  39. ^ Gilbert, Jeff. "Sound of Silence". Guitar World. February 1998.
  40. ^ "Kim Thayil's A-Sides". Metal Hammer. January 1998.
  41. ^ a b Rule, Greg. "Matt Cameron of Soundgarden: Balance of Power & Grace". Drum!. September 1996.
  42. ^ Soundgarden – Billboard Albums. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
  43. ^ EveryHit.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
  44. ^ Chartverfolgung / Soundgarden / Longplay. musicline.de. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
  45. ^ Soundgarden – Billboard Singles. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
  46. ^ Schweizer Hitparade. hitparade.ch. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  47. ^ Swedish Single/Album Chart / Soundgarden / Longplay. swedishcharts.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  48. ^ Norwegian Single/Album Chart / Soundgarden / Longplay. norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  49. ^ Dutch Single/Album Chart / Soundgarden / Longplay. dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  50. ^ Austrian Single/Album Chart / Soundgarden / Longplay. austriancharts.at. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  51. ^ French Single/Album Chart / Soundgarden / Longplay. lescharts.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  52. ^ Finnish Single/Album Chart / Soundgarden / Longplay. finnishcharts.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  53. ^ Schweizer Hitparade. hitparade.ch. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  54. ^ Swedish Single/Album Chart / Soundgarden / Longplay. swedishcharts.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  55. ^ Finnish Single/Album Chart / Soundgarden / Longplay. finnishcharts.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  56. ^ Belgian Single/Album Chart / Soundgarden / Longplay. belgiancharts.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  57. ^ Soundgarden in Australian Charts. Australian-Charts.com. Retrieved on May 28, 2008.
  58. ^ Soundgarden in New Zealand Charts. Charts.Org.NZ. Retrieved on May 28, 2008.
  59. ^ Soundgarden in Hungarian Charts. Hungarian chart Retrieved on June 4, 2008.

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Older by George Michael		 Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album
June 2, 1996 - June 8, 1996		 Succeeded by
Load by Metallica
Preceded by
Older by George Michael		 RIANZ number-one album
June 2, 1996 - June 8, 1996		 Succeeded by
Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette
v • d • e
Soundgarden
Chris Cornell · Kim Thayil · Matt Cameron · Ben Shepherd
Scott Sundquist · Hiro Yamamoto · Jason Everman
Studio albums
Ultramega OK · Louder than Love · Badmotorfinger · Superunknown · Down on the Upside
EPs
Compilations
Videos
Singles
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