Wednesday 2 January 2008

SOUNDGARDEN – OUTSHINED (A&M RECORDS)


SOUNDGARDEN – OUTSHINED (A&M RECORDS)

“Outshined” does not necessarily spring to mind when you think of great Soundgarden songs or indeed their tracks worthy of being singles.  In fact it’s something of a slog, tasting like a bulldozer stuck in the mud.  Who made this decision?

That said this is my favourite era of Soundgarden.  On the cusp of fully going overground the songs from/on Batmotorfinger are lengthy, measured pieces of work that see the band in anything but a hurry.  They know what’s coming and it’s going to be kept on their terms.

From that perspective “Outshined” perfectly fits such a mindset and criteria.  It’s a song bathed in apprehension and any necessary recovery.  It is not the sound of an outfit enjoying themselves.  However by the time Cornell is questioning “who gets mystified?” the resolution is pointing towards something almost calm.  Indeed, the lyrics are nonsense.

If I’m being honest I do not really like this song.  Its slow, it’s overblown and it’s lumbering.  The apparent sentiments of the track are what often made grunge wide open to mockery.  And on top of that there are two versions of the track on this CD single (“Edit” and “LP Version”).

On this occasion perhaps more interesting are the b-sides that were taken from a BBC session.  “I Can’t Give You Anything” is a Ramones cover that sees Cornell sounding like Mark Arm while “Homicidal Suicidal” is a meandering cover of a Budgie song that all gets very denim and does not sound a million miles away from earlier Soundgarden songs such as “Louder Than Love” and “Nothing To Say”.  Is this them revealing their sources or are they stamping their mark on the metal that came before them?

Releasing their song as a single stunted their growth.

Thesaurus moment: blip.

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