Send "Soundgarden " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Pitchfork |
 Unlike a fair number of their PacNW peers, Soundgarden suffered through some growing pains. The problem wasn't so much that the band was trying to find its own voice, but that Chris Cornell wasn't always sure how to best utilize his. Cornell's apocalyptic shriek is the sort of weapon of mass destruction that needs to be implemented with care and precision. Letting it run free on the sludgy metal-punk of "All Your Lies" or faking the funk on a cover of the Ohio Players' "Fopp" were baby steps. And yet, getting to hear songs like these-- and, more importantly, to hear the band hit its stride on "Hunted Down" (from the Screaming Life EP) or "Beyond the Wheel" (from their first full-length, Ultramega OK)-- alongside the alt-rock standards, is a big part of the hook for Telephantasm.This new career-spanning collection comes in a few packages-- the woefully skint single-disc version that will be packaged with copies of Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, the collector-baiting 2xCD/DVD/3xLP/book-and-pictures version, and a 2xCD version that serves as a somewhat serviceable overview of Soundgarden's career. For most people, the one to consider is the 2xCD version, and if there's one thing it does better than its best-of predecessor (1997's now-deleted A-Sides), it's acknowledging that the band released a fair amount of music before signing with A&M Records. The potential displayed in their early years, coupled with the group's impeccable pedigree-- not many bands can say they released records on both Sub Pop and SST-- made that major-label jump a foregone conclusion. When Soundgarden did issue their A&M debut, 1989's Louder Than Love, they were still trying to figure things out. A track like "Hands All Over" has Cornell and friends striking the sort of po-faced martyrs' pose they'd later mock mercilessly, while "Big Dumb Sex" (the "I wanna fuck fuck fuck fuck you" song) seems to confuse being a parody of overblown cock rock with being the real thing. Group those two tracks with a half-decent live version of the half-decent "Get on the Snake" (speaking of cock rock) and a sloppy pre-Badmotorfinger take on "Room a Thousand Years Wide", and that's a third of Telephantasm out of the way without much of note happening....full text |
| Bbc |
| With the Knights of the Soundtable riding once more after 13 years apart, the time is right for an in-depth retrospective of one of the grunge era’s best-loved bands. Soundgarden, Seattle natives at the epicentre of the early 1990s’ plaid-and-flannel rock scene, already have one best-of to their name, 1997’s A-Sides. But Telephantasm goes further, spreading itself across 24 tracks and two discs, including excellent live performances alongside commercially released singles. Favourites from these two-dozen numbers are sure to be selected according to listener age. As someone (just) in their early 30s, the Badmotorfinger and Superunknown cuts are instant reminders of my early explorations into what most parents would, at the time, have considered an unlistenable racket. These two long-players – the band’s third and fourth, from 1991 and 1994 respectively – are widely acknowledged to be the band’s best collections, and with good reason: plot a graph of their MTV-assisted mainstream fortunes and it’ll peak between the pair, primarily due to the plethora of brilliant singles from the period. From Badmotorfinger, Outshined and Rusty Cage enjoyed minor success in the UK; from Superunknown, Black Hole Sun reached number 12 in the UK and topped the chart in the US, while Spoonman and Fell on Black Days were also stateside top ten hits....full text |
| Music |
| You know the winds of musical change have shifted when a band's compilation CD is timed to the release of a new videogame. That's exactly what has happened with Soundgarden's latest greatest hits CD, Telephantasm. Released to coincide with Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, Telephantasm also contains Soundgarden's newest cut "Black Rain" (the single is also playable in-game). "Black Rain" is the first Soundgarden track in quite awhile and it fits comfortably in the pantheon of their music. While it not be as vital or catchy as "Outshined," "Rusty Cage" or "Fell on Black Days," it's a welcome gift to fans who have missed the band. The rest of this set is a tour through the history of Soundgarden's biggest hits, and a good sampling of music that casual fans might not have explored. What stands out is how consistently amazing the band has been through the years. The early stuff is a little rough around the edges (which is not necessarily a bad thing), but by Badmotorfinger, the band was at the height of their powers. During the Nineties they were one of the most impactful and hardest rocking bands around, and this collection highlights the songs that led to their legacy....full text |
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