AA.VV.
Sub Pop 200

Certainly, grunge wasn't born in 1988.
And certainly, this is not the first compilation-document on the Seattle scene, having been preceded by the primordial Deep Six (C/Z, 1985).
But without a doubt, it's during this time that we begin to more clearly sense what's fermenting in those remote, cold, and drizzly areas of the United States, a virus paving the way for something big, which will explode in 1991, needless to say with whom.

Moreover, it's the true programmatic manifesto of the quintessential grunge label; saying Sub Pop EQUIVALENT to saying grunge, at least until a good part of the '90s; an excellent overview ranging from punk to metal, through garage rock and more pop sounds, all recognized ingredients of the genre, demonstrating that at its core, the term "grunge" was nothing more than a label to harness a variety of sounds often very distant from each other, and bands that often had in common only the attitude, the look, or rather the geographical origin.

To already known names of the American underground, such as the fantastic Green River (first) and Mudhoney (later), Soundgarden led by a very young Chris Cornell, here grappling with "Sub Pop Rock City", hardcore punk in full swing, the Screaming Trees of Lanegan, who give us a gloomy remake of Hendrix's "Love or Confusion", and the quietly revolutionary Beat Happening, are joined by new names that in the years to come will play a leading role, like Nirvana, here grappling with Spank Thru (in their second official release after the EP "Love Buzz/Big Cheese"), and others that will maintain a decent quality level without reaching the same media fame as their more fortunate little cousins: we're talking about great bands like Tad, Fluid, or Blood Circus, which have remained anonymous to most, in contrast to so many kids popping up to ride the wave, like Silverchair, Candlebox, Bush, or Creed, often not at all innovative and praised for largely undeserved success.

In short, first and foremost, an excellent document to understand and know the foundations of the most important "non-genre" of the '90s, but also a nice compilation of 20 tracks almost all of high quality, many of which are unreleased and still available only here...

It's true, maybe grunge didn't start with Sub Pop 200.
But the beauty of the story begins here.