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| Released = [[March 8]], [[1994]]
| Released = [[March 8]], [[1994]]
| Recorded = July 1993 – September 1993 in [[Seattle, Washington|Seattle]], [[Washington]]
| Recorded = July 1993 – September 1993 in [[Seattle, Washington|Seattle]], [[Washington]]
| Genre = [[Grunge music|Grunge]]
| Genre = [[Alternative rock]]<br>[[Grunge music|Grunge]]
| Length = 70:15<br />73:33 <small>(international edition)</small>
| Length = 70:15<br />73:33 <small>(international edition)</small>
| Label = [[A&M Records|A&M]]
| Label = [[A&M Records|A&M]]

Revision as of 21:34, 23 February 2008

Untitled

Superunknown is the fourth album by the Seattle grunge band Soundgarden. It was released in March 1994 through A&M Records.

Music and lyrics

The songs on the album are more experimental and diverse than the band's previous recordings, with some songs having a Middle-Eastern or Indian flavor (for example "Half"). Some songs also show a Beatles influence, such as "Black Hole Sun" and "Head Down". In a 1994 interview with Guitar World, guitarist Kim Thayil explains this: "We looked deep down inside the very core of our souls and there was a little Ringo sitting there. Oh sure, we like telling people it's John Lennon or George Harrison; but when you really look deep inside of Soundgarden, there's a little Ringo wanting to get out."[1]

Soundgarden utilized alternative tunings and odd time signatures on several of the album's songs. "Spoonman" and "Black Hole Sun" were performed in drop D tuning. Some songs used more unorthodox tunings: "My Wave" and "The Day I Tried to Live" are both in a E-E-B-B-B-E tuning. Soundgarden's use of odd-meter time signatures was varied as well; "My Wave" uses 5/4, "Fell on Black Days" is on 6/4, and "Spoonman" is rare for its unusual mix of 4/4 and 7/4 time signatures. Kim Thayil has said the band usually did not consider the time signature of a song until after they had written it, and said that the use of odd meters was "a total accident."[2]

The song "Spoonman" is notable for featuring a performance by Artis the Spoonman, a street entertainer in Seattle. The title of the song is credited to Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam. While on the set of the movie Singles, Jeff produced a list of song titles for the fictional band featured in the movie. Chris Cornell took it as a challenge to write a list of songs using those titles, and "Spoonman" was one of them. A demo version of the song appears in the movie.

Lyrically, the album is quite dark and mysterious, as much of it is often interpreted to be dealing with issues such as substance abuse, suicide, and depression.

Imagery and design

Album artwork

The cover artwork (known as the 'Screaming Elf') is a distorted photograph of the band members above an upside-down burning forest.

The album also saw a limited release on 12" colored vinyl (blue, orange, and clear), as a double-LP in a gatefold sleeve.

Album title

In a 1994 Pulse! magazine interview, Chris Cornell said that the inspiration for the album's title came from his misreading of a video entitled Superclown.[3]

Reception

In 1995 it was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Album, and picked up two Grammys for the songs "Black Hole Sun" and "Spoonman". The album went 5x platinum, had five charting singles, and granted Soundgarden huge international recognition. Template:RS500

Six singles were released from the album; these singles were "Spoonman", "The Day I Tried to Live", "Black Hole Sun", "My Wave", "Fell on Black Days", and the title track as an EP. The "Black Hole Sun" single was released shortly after the death of grunge icon Kurt Cobain in 1994. It is arguably the band's most recognizable and popular song. Its surreal music video received heavy airplay on music television and, in 1995, received the Clio Award for Alternative Music Video.

The songs "Kickstand" and "Superunknown" were featured in the PC and Sega Saturn versions of the Electronic Arts game, Road Rash.

Track listing

  1. "Let Me Drown" (Chris Cornell) – 3:51
  2. "My Wave" (Cornell, Kim Thayil) – 5:11
  3. "Fell on Black Days" (Cornell) – 4:42
  4. "Mailman" (Matt Cameron, Cornell) – 4:25
  5. "Superunknown" (Cornell, Thayil) – 5:06
  6. "Head Down" (Ben Shepherd) – 6:08
  7. "Black Hole Sun" (Cornell) – 5:17
  8. "Spoonman" (Cornell) – 4:06
  9. "Limo Wreck" (Cameron, Cornell, Thayil) – 5:47
  10. "The Day I Tried to Live" (Cornell) – 5:19
  11. "Kickstand" (Cornell, Thayil) – 1:33
  12. "Fresh Tendrils" (Cameron, Cornell) – 4:16
  13. "4th of July" (Cornell) – 5:08
  14. "Half" (Shepherd) – 2:14
  15. "Like Suicide" (Cornell) – 7:01
  16. "She Likes Surprises" (Cornell) – 3:16
    • "She Likes Surprises" only appears on the international versions of the album, and is also included as a bonus track on the U.S. 12" LP release.

Outtakes

The song "Flutter Girl" was written during the recording sessions but did not appear on the record. Instead, it eventually appeared on a promo called Poncier and later as a much different version on Chris Cornell's solo album, Euphoria Morning.

Chart positions

All information taken from various sources.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]

Albums

Year Chart Position
1994 Australian Albums Chart 1
New Zealand Albums Chart 1
US Billboard 200 1
UK Albums Chart 4
German Albums Chart 13
Preceded by Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album
March 6, 1994 		Succeeded by
Preceded by RIANZ number-one album
March 20, 1994 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Billboard 200 Number-one album
March 26, 1994 		Succeeded by

Singles

Year Single Chart Position
1994 "Spoonman" US Mainstream Rock Tracks 3
"Spoonman" US Modern Rock Tracks 9
"Spoonman" UK Singles Chart 20
"Spoonman" Australian Singles Chart 23
"Spoonman" Irish Singles Chart 23
"Black Hole Sun" Canadian National Airplay Charts 3
"Black Hole Sun" Australian Singles Chart 6
"Black Hole Sun" Irish Singles Chart 7
"Black Hole Sun" UK Singles Chart 12
"Black Hole Sun" US Billboard Hot 100 (Airplay) 24
"Black Hole Sun" US Mainstream Rock Tracks 1
"Black Hole Sun" US Modern Rock Tracks 2
"Black Hole Sun" US Top 40 Mainstream 9
"Black Hole Sun" German Singles Chart 26
"Fell on Black Days" UK Singles Chart 24
"Fell on Black Days" US Billboard Hot 100 (Airplay) 54
"Fell on Black Days" US Mainstream Rock Tracks 4
"Fell on Black Days" US Modern Rock Tracks 13
"My Wave" US Mainstream Rock Tracks 11
"My Wave" US Modern Rock Tracks 18
"My Wave" Australian Singles Chart 50
1995 "Fell on Black Days" Irish Singles Chart 14
"The Day I Tried to Live" US Mainstream Rock Tracks 13
"The Day I Tried to Live" US Modern Rock Tracks 25
"The Day I Tried to Live" UK Singles Chart 42

Personnel

References

  1. ^ Gilbert, Jeff. "Sleepless in Seattle". Guitar World. May 1994.
  2. ^ Rotondi, James. "Alone in the Superunknown." Guitar Player. June 1994.
  3. ^ Lanham, Tom. "In Search of the Monster Riff". Pulse!. March 1994.
  4. ^ "Soundgarden – Billboard Albums". All Music Guide. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
  5. ^ "Soundgarden - Superunknown". Billboard. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
  6. ^ "SOUNDGARDEN - SUPERUNKNOWN (ALBUM)". New Zealand-charts.com. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
  7. ^ "EveryHit.com". Retrieved 2007-12-08.
  8. ^ "Chartverfolgung / Soundgarden / Longplay". musicline.de. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
  9. ^ "Soundgarden Artist Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
  10. ^ "Soundgarden – Billboard Singles". All Music Guide. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
  11. ^ "SOUNDGARDEN - SPOONMAN (SONG)". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
  12. ^ "SOUNDGARDEN - BLACK HOLE SUN (SONG)". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
  13. ^ "SOUNDGARDEN - MY WAVE (SONG)". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
  14. ^ "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
  15. ^ "Chartverfolgung / Soundgarden / Single". musicline.de. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
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