A-Sides

Soundgarden

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 4, 1997)
• Original Release Date: November 4, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: A&M
• ASIN: B000001EZU
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (78 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,067 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > Hard Rock & Metal > Grunge

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Soundgarden combined the epic grandstanding of Led Zeppelin with the grunge buzz of Blue Cheer and the psychedelic undertones of the Butthole Surfers to create some of the definitive hard rock of the 1990s. This collection of what can loosely be defined as "hits" (hard rock isn't noted for its singles action) briefly sweeps over the indie years with SubPop and SST, placing emphasis on the band's successful A&M years. Singer Chris Cornell's histrionic wails grabbed the bulk of the attention, but the band's true power rested with the drumming of Matt Cameron and the twin guitar attack of Cornell and Kim Thayil. One need only listen to "Fell on Black Days" or "Blow Up the Outside World" to understand that Soundgarden's complex riffs and superb dynamics were its great strengths. --Rob O'Connor

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A near perfect collection of essential Soundgarden, February 17, 2003

By	N. Durham "Big Evil" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Before bands like Creed, Nickelback, Puddle of Mudd, Staind, etc. were mudding up the airwaves, there was a band from Seattle (no, I'm not talking about Nirvana) who kept their integrity from their indie days even when they won Grammys and had monster hits. This band was Soundgarden, and "A-Sides", a collection of mostly Soundgarden hits, is a nice collection that fans new to the band can use as a nice introduction. Though it is mostly compiled with the singles from later albums, we get songs from the Sub Pop days like "Flower" and "Loud Love". It would have been nice to see some more songs from the Sub Pop releases, but this is ok as we get well known songs (and fan favorites) "Jesus Christ Pose", "Rusty Cage", "Day I Tried to Live", and "Ty Cobb", and we get the monster hits "Outshined", "Black Hole Sun", and "Spoonman". We also get an unreleased track (from the "Down on the Upside" sessions) called "Bleed Together" which is a nice little track but ends too quickly. Being a big fan of Soundgarden no greatest hits package would be perfect, especially without songs like "My Wave", "Like Suicide", "Never the Machine Forever", and "Searching With My Good Eye Closed", all of which would have rounded this package out very nicely, but this is still a nice little collection (at least A&M Records isn't churning out pointless duplicate compilations every other year like Columbia does with Alice in Chains' catalog). All in all, this is a nice little collection that serves well as an introduction to one of the defining bands of the 90's.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One Of Seattle's Finest, September 1, 2000

By	David Baker (Nosgoth) - See all my reviews

Soundgarden. What can you say? Their music is absolutely timeless. They've made some of the best rock songs ever, and "A-Sides" captures a good amount of them. From anthems like "Black Hole Sun" and "Blow Up The Outside World", to the more soft rock songs like "The Day I Tried To Live" and "Burden In My Hand", to the proto-metal of "Jesus Christ Pose" and "Rusty Cage", to some of my personal favorites "Outshined" (I love the sludge riff) and "Pretty Noose" (the bass notes in this song are amazing), Soundgarden covered it all. Of course a few songs were missing (both "My Wave" and the title track on "Superunknown" come to mind), but it was obvious that was gonna happen, Soundgarden has a very big selection of material. With that said, you also shouldn't rob yourself by ignoring their other albums, as Soundgarden had just as many good songs that aren't singles. But the material here is more than worth your time and investment. And the extra track "Bleed Together" is a great song with a punk edge, but still being catchy. "A-Sides" isn't the best of the best, but some of the best from a legendary band. It's highly recommended to rock fans who have yet to get into the band. Soundgarden didn't just carry the grunge flag the longest, they were one of the last rock bands that actually mattered. After Soundgarden broke up, rock music just wasn't the same.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FANTASTIC !, July 3, 2000

By	T. Avallone (St Charles IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This greatest hits collection shows the listener the ENTIRE side of Soundgarden. They should not really be classified as a METAL band - If you listen to this disk ENTIRELY, you will know why. It takes you through ALL the most popular songs from the SCREEMING FOR LIFE ep through DOWN ON THE UPSIDE. (Along with an unrealeased track BLEED TOGETHER) Examples of why Soundgarden is one of the more crafty bands in the hard rock era can be heard throughout: The Sabbath-type riffs, with a touch of punk in NOTHING TO SAY....The rawness and brutality of FLOWER....The polished, change in tempo of RUSTY CAGE....The hard-rockin, politically charged HANDS ALL OVER....The smoothness and psychadelica of BLACK HOLE SUN and BLOW UP THE OUTSIDE WORLD...The hardcore punk sound of TY COBB....The list goes on and on...

Soundgarden is one of the only bands to experiment with all these styles and make them work. A sad thing they are no more. BUT - Do yourself a favor, and get everyone of Soundgardens CDs...There is ALOT more great music from Cornell & Co on their other releases..You dont KNOW what your missing. The only reason I purchased this was for the unreleased BLEED TOGETHER - and it was worth EVERY dime.