A-Sides

Soundgarden | Format: Audio CD

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: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #37,647 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

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

Product Description

Lots of people think of Nirvana and Pearl Jam when they think of the Seattle scene, but the genre-shattering Soundgarden were among the true founders of the Seattle sound. This collection follows them from their early years in the late '80s through today, including big hits like Black Hole Sun and Outshined from their multi-platinum A&M releases and some rare selections. The best from one of the most influential bands of the decade.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 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

This review is from: A-Sides (Audio CD)

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.

23 of 27 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
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This review is from: A-Sides (Audio CD)

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.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Futile Offerings From Clueless Executives, July 1, 2007

By 

D. C. Wilks (Washington State) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A-Sides (Audio CD)

A best-of album from Soundgarden is like a best-of album from Led Zeppelin: it's ridiculous. In many ways Soundgarden is the Led Zeppelin of the grunge era. Both bands are about power and mystique, each offering up a relentlessly heavy edge that overshadowed their contemporaries like Manute Bol standing next to Spud Web. Also, both bands went extinct way too soon. In Soundgarden's case, they issued only five albums and two eps. While their earlier work (1985-1989) was an inchoate combination of sweaty hard rock and shifty punk music, sometime during the process of the "Louder Than Love" album (1989) the band just locked into a sound that can never be duplicated. Everything that followed this period (-1997) was simply brilliant. So, who can argue with a greatest hits collection? My main gripe is that their record label has been incredibly stingy about their treatment of this band's catalog - not to mention the Temple of The Dog album, which should be remastered and offered with live tracks/outtakes. This is not just great music, it's music that defines an era, defines the feeling you get when you look back on this part of your life. And why is the awesome "Birth Ritual" from the Singles soundtrack or "Heretic" from Pump Up The Volume missing? Whatever media giant owns Soundgarden's catalog needs to remaster everything and release something from the live vaults. It's been 12 damn years since this release! Gimme a break.