Soundgarden Album: “Live On I-5”

Being a 'garden fan forever I'm very critical of their work. I have tons of bootlegs of shows and rare discs. When people say Cornell can either be really off or really on, they are very right. Hell, even Cornell himself said Soundgarden was a band that could just as easily be off as it could be on while performing... but when they were on, they were golden greek gods wrapped in heavenly buttered tortillas.

With that being said, on this record they are ON. Believe me. You will hear people say that Cornell's not hitting the notes on the songs the way he did on the record blah blah blah. Here's what they don't understand though... Chris interprets songs differently live and I don't think he ever gave a crap about recreating the exact same thing as on the studio recording. To him and the rest of the band their music is living and breathing art... and it naturally evolves the more they play it. On this record he's not hitting bad notes, he's just doing some different melodies here and there and doing things completely different than he did in the studio. To me that is AMAZING. But some people aren't comfortable with that. Would I want a live record of a band that does everything the exact same way as they did on the record? Hell no! And I can't imagine why anyone else would. Before getting this album, the thought of hearing improvisations and new melodies excited me... especially since we've been listening to the same songs with the same melodies for 20 years. If you're a real fan of the band and understand what I'm gettin' at, you will LOVE this record. People bent out of shape because Cornell's not hitting the same melodies as on record should just listen to what they are comfortable with... the studio recordings. If you want to hear one of the reasons Soundgarden was legendary (creativity, improvisation, and thunderfuk of a live show), then pick this up ASAP!

After many years of Soundgarden, we finally get the band's first live album. I pre-ordered the album and recieved it a few days ago, allowing me sometime to let it soak in. Having let that happen, I can definitely say that this album is totally worth getting for hardcore Soundgarden fans (duh) and kinda Soundgarden fans. It's not really a great place to enter into the band I think. If you've just barely heard of them (i.e. just know Black Hole Sun and Spoonman), I suggest going out and getting Superunknown and Badmotorfinger. Those two albums are the main ones represented here, with a few from Down on the Upside and one older song (Nothing to Say).

So with all that said, I think I'm going to give an overview, pointing out some lows and highs, general trends, etc. It starts off with a thundering crowd into the instantly recognizable riff of Spoonman. The vocals here are a little whack, and we're missing Cornell's signature screaming at times, which was kind of a bummer. And there's some weirdly timed "all my friends are brown and red" and "beat the rhythm with their bones" thrown in. Not a huge fan. But nevertheless, Spoonman sets the pace for the rest of the album. Cornell might not be 100%, but Thayil, Cameron and Shepherd are bringing their A-game. They absolutely rock. Thayil's guitar is fantastic throughout almost the entire album, Cornell has his moments of awesomeness and some really impressive vocals, but this album stands out to me as the Shepherd/Cameron show. They are just locked in throughout the entire album, and that was a really great thing to listen to.

I was a little bummed about Let Me Drown, because that is maybe my favorite Soundgarden song. The vocals here did not come off well, Cornell sounds reluctant to go to a high octave. But again, the rest of the band...rock. It was great to see Head Down in there, another one of my favorites. And they pull that one off well. Then we come to two Badmotorfinger hits right in a row, Outshined and Rusty Cage. I like this version of Outshined more than the album version...the energy is tremendous and it's unbelievably heavy. Rusty Cage too is fierce.

The psychadelic combo of Helter Skelter and Boot Camp also is well done. I'm glad they went with that version of Helter Skelter, and then made such a great transition into one of the lesser known songs off Down on the Upside. It sounds amazing. Then there's the longest song on the album, the 9+ minute version of Slaves and Bulldozers. The band sounds strong, and all of them are performing to their highest ability. Cornell sounds intense and gets up there in his vocal range, delivering one of his best performances of the album. When I initially saw the tracklist and noticed "Ty Cobb", I freaked out. The metal/bluegrass Ty Cobb is one of my favorites from Down on the Upside, and I was pumped to see that they were throwing it in here. But Cameron pushes it a bit too much, and Cornell obviously has trouble keeping up with that blistering pace. That was a bit of another bummer.

Black Hole Sun is Chris Cornell without the rest of the band, giving another one of his best performances of the albm (tied probably with Slaves and Bulldozers). It really is a beautiful version and sounds great. It's not necessarily better than the Superunknown with band version, but it's great. I do kind of like Matt Cameron's drums and the bass work in the album version, but it's cool to hear this version as well.

But whatever drums I was missing in Black Hole Sun....then there's Jesus Christ Pose. Jesus Christ. It's been called the definitive live version of the song by a lot of people, and I can understand why. It's set at another blistering pace by Cameron, but the pace doesn't really ruin it like it did with Ty Cobb. It's just disgusting how brutal this song is. Based on his work with Soundgarden and Pearl Jam, I've always been inclined to see that Matt Cameron is one of the best drummers alive and of all time. And if you don't believe me, listen to this song. Do it. It's like the band is playing on a 5 minute drum solo. Whenever I hear those thundering drums coming, I get chills. The rest of the band does a great job with it, but it's Matt Cameron who makes this song what it is.

The Bonus Disc is a great touch as well. It's weird to hear the accoustics with just an empty venue and no crowd. Not better, just different and very cool. They do two from Down on the Upside (No Attention and Never the Machine Forever), which are great songs from Down on Upside. I think with those two, they do basically all the greats from the album. There's a fantastic Doors cover in there, which is the standout from that bonus disc, along with Somewhere. They do a bit of a jam at the end of Somewhere which is absolutely fantastic. Definitely worth it to get those extra few songs.

Clear reflection of one of the greatest rock bands of all time.

Great sound, great setlist and great interpretation of the songs.

Highly recommended.

One thing I've noticed, and repeatedly read, is how Led Zeppelin's live work consistently showcased what a powerhouse drummer John Bonham was - while Jimmy Page was "the man" in the studio, on the stage Bonzo was the driving force behind Zep. Soundgarden's 'Live on I-5' does the same for drummer Matt Cameron. While all the performances on the disc are outstanding, I think Matt's unerring precision, groove and power behind the kit is the most impressive. Soundgarden, largely due to Matt's skill, has always been acknowledged for their ability to play in unusual time signatures [albeit "accidentally", according to Kim Thayil], and while that is in evident display on 'I-5', what I found most intriguing was the grooves that Matt worked into a number of songs, most notably on "Slaves and Bulldozers". The studio version of "S&B" is a lumbering beast, but the live recording has a groove and swagger to it that takes it to a completely different place altogether. And then of course, there's "Jesus Christ Pose". It seems appropriate this was placed at the end of their set, and on the album, because it's such a jaw-dropping, devastating, look-what-we're-capable-of moment, I don't know what else could possibly follow. The studio version of the song is intense enough, but somehow they manage to pick up the pace live, to simply inhuman speed. How Matt, and the rest of the band, are able to keep playing with precision and control at this insane speed is a testament to their well-deserved prowess among the hard-rock elite. I challenge anyone to listen to "JCP" on here and not be awed and impressed.

At long last, we have a worthy live document from one of the best bands of the '90s, or any era. It's long-overdue, but better late than never.

I have purchased this double vinyl because i have loved Soundgarden's first period! After some listenings i think that the sound of the band is awesome but i kept keeping doubts on Chris Cornell's performance. His voice is not "at the best" on this album and it is the only disappointment i had while the vinyl was turning on my stereo! Bye bye.