When done right and handled with care, reissues of revered albums can give a powerful new perspective on a much loved classic. Of course over the years there’s been plenty of undercooked examples of poorly done reissues, so when an album of the influence and magnitude of Soundgarden’s Superunknown gets the 20th anniversary deluxe reissue treatment, expectations are naturally cranked high. Well the lowdown is this is an exceptionally well crafted reissue of a Seattle rock classic that resonates just as strongly now as it did 20 years ago.
The famed Seattle rock scene was beginning to fall upon tougher times in 1994, after the world conquering momentum the grunge movement had gained during the early 90’s. Not that grunge was on it’s death bed by any means, but certainly the personal turmoil and trials of some of the key individuals in the scene, most notably Kurt Cobain, had begun to take its toll and the commercial peak had generally begun to plateau out. But mostly due to Soundgarden’s commercial breakthrough of their epic Superunknown album, the Seattle scene burst into another creative upswing, further consolidated by Alice In Chains’ classic Jar of Flies EP and Nirvana’s bittersweet Unplugged album.
The grunge term was always a broad and rather vague classification, particularly when Soundgarden was concerned. The band’s heavier foundations and classic rock influences owed significant debts to Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, and by the time Soundgarden had crafted their fourth full-length album, Superunknown, they had taken their song-writing down a decidedly more exploratory and psychedelic path. This adventurous and refined take on their established sound resulted in Soundgarden’s most complex, varied and accessible album, yielding such timeless classics as the dark and brooding ballad ‘Black Hole Sun’, and the upbeat cutlery-infused rocker ‘Spoonman’.
Although the five prominent singles from the album drew rightful praise and achieved deserved mainstream exposure, Superunknown stands as a multi-dimensional and remarkably consistent album, especially considering its weighty run-time. Chris Cornell, Kim Thayil, Ben Shepherd and Matt Cameron are at the top of their game, both musically and compositionally, crafting an album of great depth and character. Unsung gems like the brooding, blues-infected thwump of the Matt Cameron penned ‘Mailman’; the doomy punch of Cornell’s ‘4th of July’, and the uptempo punk rocker ‘Kickstand’ sit comfortably alongside well known songs like ‘My Wave’, ‘Fell on Black Days’ and the powerhouse title track. Soundgarden had really begun stretching themselves compositionally on Superunknown, exploring varied moods and textures while still keeping things very song-based and hook-heavy. The complex and versatile song-writing highlights much of Superunknown’s greatness, without sacrificing the overall cohesiveness of the album.
This deluxe reissue comes superbly packaged in a hardbound book complete with a beautiful lenticular cover, animating a solar flaring eclipse around the original cover art. There are extensive liner notes by David Fricke and interviews going into incredible depth about the creation of the album, writing process and various other interesting tid-bits. There’s striking artwork created by Josh Graham featured throughout the book, along with some wonderful photography and rare band photos. The five discs are slotted in at the back of the extensive book, with the first disc featuring the original album remastered; disc two compiles 14 b-sides and two unreleased Alternative Mixes; the third disc features nine unreleased demos, and disc four includes 16 unreleased rehearsals from June 1993, just prior to the recording sessions for Superunknown. Last but certainly not least is the fifth audio-only Blu-ray disc featuring the album in 5.1 digital surround sound. It’s a rather exhausting package that does justice to the lofty price tag (of around $100). I’ve heard some audiophile rumblings about the remastering job but to my ears the dynamic range isn’t greatly compromised and the album is a touch crisper and louder than the original.
There are plenty of worthy curiosities amongst the demos and rehearsals, however as is often the case they serve best as historical, bare bones snapshots of the songs before they were fully fleshed out and delivered in far superior form on the album proper. There’s some decent to very good live recordings, while the drastically different and bluesy alternate take on ‘Fell on Black Days’, entitled ‘Black Days III’, is the pick of the b-sides.
Superunknown is a timeless rock album that has been treated with the utmost respect and the lavish detail that it richly deserves, resulting in an outstanding reissue that’s a must-have for devoted Soundgarden fans.
9.5/10
Reviewer: Luke Saunders
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdRGwq3_txM