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Rating: In 1988, the original Soundgarden (Hiro Yamamoto, Kim Thayil, Matt Cameron, and Chris Cornell) were four university students already with a single and two EPs under their belt. Their sound was still in its testing phase but nonetheless caught the attention of the legendary SST, who signed them.
The four young men were greatly influenced by Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, and this CD certainly doesn’t hide it. From the former, they emphasize the guitaristic verve and electric blues, and from the latter, the gloomy ability to create funeral march rhythms rich with pathos. Not only that. On more than one track, the young Cornell gives the impression of wanting to emulate the myth Ozzy (listen to "All Your Lies", "Beyond The Wheel", "Mood For Trouble" to believe it). It's certain that, willing or not, at times the imitation borders on a mere parody. The theory of "mockery" is further supported by the lyrical content. "665" and "667" are outright parodies, deliberately avoiding the sacred number of Beelzebub and steering clear of presenting hell as a terrifying place, opting instead for a more decaying and decadent image, almost ridiculous. The same "Beyond The Wheel" and "Circle Of Power" (with their frantic rhythm) should be reread from this perspective.
Desecrating the themes so dear to the heavy-metal school (Satan, death, the occult), considered puerile, perhaps outdated, using a musical style that draws heavily from heavy-metal: this is one of the main aims of the young Soundgarden. But not the only one. The band members showcase all their technique even in slow psychedelic blues like "Smokestack Lightning" and "Incessant Mace". Cornell proves to be extremely versatile, shifting from cathartic interpretations to senseless pseudo-demonic screams, from Robert Plant-style falsettos (sometimes unbearable or prolix) to pleasant ballads. There is a certain lack of restraint, justifiable by the artistic rawness of the singer. Who doesn’t fall into predictability is the bassist Hiro Yamamoto, who delivers excellent performances in every track (the peak being the visceral "Flower", my favorite). A great merit of the rhythm section is their ability to recreate with hard sounds obsessed atmospheres, never claustrophobic, in the faster tracks (an example is "Nazi Driver") and at the same time, the ability to bring originality to slower pieces (see the exhausting "Incessant Mace"). Kim Thayil's guitar is already the Soundgarden's "crazy guitar", capable of extemporaneous and creative incursions. The end result is an original sound that can be appreciated, which does not skimp on the experimentation front either (see "He Didn't").
An album and a band that demonstrate how wide and varied the range of sounds of the Grunge scene was.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Flower (03:29)
All of seventeen
Eyes a purple green
Treated like a Queen, she was
On borrowed self esteem
She would do a dance
A painful masquerade
Spinning you into her web
Along her vain parade
In her uniform
Studded brass and steel
Kissing napkin, lipstick stains
And smearing sincerity
Along her vain parade
Along her veins
Time crept up on her
She's early gray
Her reflection looks concerned
As flowers hit her grave
02 All Your Lies (03:51)
All your fears are lies
All your fears are lies
All your fears are lies
All your fears are lies
See through your
Tripless, falling, limping, crawling,
Biting, fighting, back from dying
Endless ending, comprehending
Nothing of the sin she's sinning
Loosely buying your cheating, your lying
Will make it mine
While never crying
Corralled like a cat
With my head in a sack
And I feel like I'm tied to a railroad track
04 Beyond the Wheel (04:21)
Far beyond the road
Between your house and home
There is a churning storm
Of hailing burning bones
Tiny baby cries
Little, tiny pawn
In the profit gain
Tiny baby grows
Mother, who's your man
Is he doing what he can
To make a proper home, home
By overturning other stones, stones
Father, mighty man
Loves his little boys, boys
Shows them how to kill
To save his precious stones, stones
Far beyond the wheel
Spin your life around
By driving flesh and blood
Deep into the ground, ground
Far beyond the wheel
Steers life around
By driving flesh and blood
Deep into the ground, ground
06 Mood for Trouble (04:25)
My mood was in full swing
My mood was in full swing
I wanted to be free
Free to watch the hail
I did not want to hear
The perfect thing to say
Dying to squeeze out
The ugly truth for everyone to hear
I did not wanna fight
I did not wanna kill
I wanted to be real
I wanted to believe
That I was not the only one alive
09 Smokestack Lightning (05:07)
Smokestack lightning
Shine a light home
Smokestack lightning
Shining like gold
Treats me like a clown
Wheels go driving slow
Trucks me out of town
Wheels go driving slow
Tell me baby
So when you coming home
Tell me baby
When you coming home
Wheels go driving slow
Wheels go driving slow
Wheels go driving slow
10 Nazi Driver (03:57)
I don’t care if it takes some time
I’m gonna make it right
I’m gonna make it right
Turn the head 360 degrees
Bite the hand that feeds
I don’t care if it tasted like poison
Rip the legs from the thighs
Feed the prison, open the eyes
I don’t care if it tastes like poison
I’m gonna feed the prison, feed the prison
Color in the lakes of red
Pile of bones for my bed
I’m gonna take some time, I’m gonna take some time
[mystery scream]
Feed the prison
Not a tear will be shed
The only color is red.........red
I don’t care if it takes some time
I’m gonna make it right, I’m gonna make it right
Turn the head 360 degrees
Bite the hand that feeds
I don’t care if it tastes like poison
Feed the prison and open the eyes
Not a tear will be shed
The only color is red
I don’t care if it tastes like poison
I’m gonna feed the prison
I’m gonna feed the prison
I’m gonna feed it
12 Incessant Mace (06:27)
So he's afraid he'll suffer his father's fate
Two sets of silverware, cups and plates
Two burning hands and bleeding hearts
Don't feel it's not too late to start
Only the photographs on your wall
Are chained and down your hall
Reminding you of all the days
When you collected hell to pay
Well hell to pay
I said it's not too late
Not it's not too late
Incessant mace, incessant mace
Oh God I can see it, you know it's incessant mace
Magazine stacks and broken backs
Are what you get for piling stacks
Beneath your treasure chest
You wonder why you're under stress
I said it's not too late
No, no, it`s not too late
Yeah it`s not too late
Incessant mace, incessant mace,
Incessant mace, incessant mace
Oh God I can see it, you know it's incessant mace
Mace, mace, mace, mace
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