Soundgarden Album: “Down on the Upside”

Compared to other Soundgarden albums, this one tends to be more raw and bass-heavy than others. It also tends to be a bit more slower and psychodelic than its predicessors, which is why it will take you 3-4 times to really get used to the feel of this release. I honestly didnt care for DOWN ON THE UPSIDE that much after its first two listenings, but being a hardcore Soundgarden fan, I HAD to give it another chance.....And Im glad I did.

PRETTY NOOSE is your typical radio-friendly type of rock with its upbeat tempo, but after that, Chris Cornell & Company take you on a journey through psychadelic songs (BLOW UP THE OUTSIDE WORLD, APPLEBITE, SWITCH OPENS), a punk song (TY COBB), acoustic laidened tracks (BURDEN IN MY HAND and ZERO CHANCE) and my favorite track, NO ATTENTION has the energy and brutality to leave you wanting more.

After listening to the solo release of Chris Cornell, I can see why Soundgarden broke up...This is truely a release that was done completely as a band. You have slower, emotional songs (BOOT CAMP) and heavy rockers (RHINOSAUR) all in the same breath...A very good final studio recording by the best band in the 90s.

Just give it a chance.

DOWN ON THE UPSIDE is the finale album from one of the Seattle Three that typified the Grunge Age (Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, and Nirvanna) - and can be seen as the swan song of Grunge itself. It eschews the vaguely Zepplinish angle of its predecessor SUPERUNKNOWN, in favor of a raw, up-front approach that befits its genre.

First and foremost in its songs are straight rock like "Pretty Noose" or "Rhinosaur" (the former has an almost Tool-like sound - think "Undertow").

But this album has another side. Songs like "Zero Chance" "Burden in My Hand" and "Switch Opens" are largely acoustic, and keep the album from grating. or becoming too monotonous. The former two, in particular, are wonderful in their simplicity and heartfelt lyrics. The latter is done in a very strange rhythm that gives it a catchy, experimental feel.

On the note of experiment, there is "Applebite", a five-minutes-odd song that seems to be built from third or fourth-generation recordings.

"Ty Cobb" is an angry song that is its own chapter in the album. It begins with 22 seconds of peaceful acoustic music and then, with absolutely no warning, lunges into punk at breakneck speed. Strangely enough, one can hear a banjo or mandolin somewhere in the mix, about halfway through the song, that gives it a sarcastic tinge of folk.

The album builds up to "Tigher and Tighter", which is probably the conceptual peak of the album. From there we find several angles ("No Attention", a song of loathing, and "Overfloater", which rails against dismal, sluggish apathy).

However, in my opinion, the high point of the album is "An Unkind", a protest against the pathetic viciousness of the majority of mankind.

The album closes out with "Boot Camp", a plea for nonconformity that is at once wistful and sad.

All in all, DOWN ON THE UPSIDE is a fitting and worthy end to the age of Grunge, an age that had far more highlights, I might add, than our current one.

At the time of Soundgarden's amicable breakup in 1997, "Down on the Upside" appeared to be their finale, but then "A-Sides" was released later that year. Though "Down on the Upside" is not my favorite Soundgarden CD ("Superunknown" still takes that title), it definitely has its highlights, including such hits as "Pretty Noose," "Blow Up the Outside World," and "Burden in My Hand." Another two of my favorites are "Applebite"--a slow and eerie track with minimal words and great bass--and "Ty Cobb." This latter song (as well as a few others) took awhile for me to enjoy, basically because I was impatient with its deceptively slow beginning. But after 20-odd timid seconds, it erupts into a fierce bluegrass romp complete with mandolin/mandola (played by Chris and Ben) and a catchy f-word chorus. Once I heard it all the way through, it soon become an unexpected favorite.

As usual, Chris Cornell is in charge of most of the singing/songwriting on this CD and does an excellent job of it. Kim Thayil (lead guitarist) and Ben Shepherd (bassist) also try their hand at songwriting with "Never the Machine Forever" and "An Unkind." Lyrics are included in the booklet, though not all of them match the words actually spoken. Still, this a great CD and a must-have for any Soundgarden fan.

Its been ten years as of 2006 since this album was released.

Many consider this album the end of an era, for grunge and

alternative. Some say it was In utero that was the last and

best album of grunge. Not sure. This is my favorite soundgarden

album, I'm just starting to realize that. Its just so good,

so unique. They rock hard, "Ty cobb" "Never named" "No

attention" "Dusty" " Pretty noose." Everybody wrote songs on

this album. It was such a group effort. Chris Cornell only

wrote seven of the sixteen songs. Even Kim Thayil wrote one on

the not so favorite, " never the machine forever". But its

still interesting its on the album. Everything about this

album is great. The lyrics, although they can be depressing,

but nowhere near as depressing as superunknown songs, " like

suicide"," fourth of july"...etc. Here: " Born without a friend

and bound to die alone" [ Zero chance]

"So kil your health and kill yourself And kill everything you love And if you live you can fall to pieces And suffer with my ghost." [ Burden in my hand] I think Ben shepard wrote some of the best songs. Ben,who wrote some of soundgarden previous more weirder songs like " head down". That song is so bizarre. Here, a song like, " Switch opens" was just a great add. All the main

singles Cornell wrote, except for "Ty Cobb" by Shephard.

" Tighter and Tighter" also was a great song by chris. Brillant, catchy, creative, rocking.Matt cameron did a fantastic drumming job and wrote some great songs too. Fantastic. Cornells, " Boot Camp" is one of the best enders of any album.

Years from now fans will look back at the Seattle scene of the early 1990s and they will say "man, that Soundgarden did not really get the attention they deserved." Soundgarden was true to the music all the way through. Like with this album, they could belt out the catchy tune with songs like "Pretty Noose" and then jam out on "Rhonosaur" and "No Attention." Yes, this album is maybe a tad more mellow than the first ones, probably Chris Cornell's mellowing, which would sadly lead to the founding of Audioslave. But make no mistake, just because this is their last and least talked about album, does not mean it is not great.