Customer Reviews

Ultramega Ok

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Ultramega OK was Soundgarden's first full-length release, coming out on SST Records. Chris, Kim, Matt, and Hiro definitely entered with a splash. Two previous EPs (Screaming Life and Fopp) were a good indication of what was in the works for this Seattle band. This CD does have it's share of filler (i.e. a cover of Smokestack Lightning, and a cover? of Two Minutes of Silence by John Lennon and Yoko Ono..called One Minute of Silence (Soundgarden cut out Yoko Ono's half)). What it has in filler it makes up with an awesome set of songs. Flower has a wonderful power riff and touches of psychadelia. Beyond the Wheel is probably one of Soundgarden's best performances, although most people have never even heard of it. The whole thing is truly frightening. The lyrics, the dark, heavy, grinding guitars, and the vocals work together in an almost god-like fashion. I love the weird industrial sounding guitar noises that Kim makes during this song. They also flow amazingly well with the rest of the piece. Soundgarden also shows the first signs of their odd sense of humor on this CD. In the song 665, you can hear Chris singing backwards in the background of the song. A satanic message? If you can play the song backwards, you'll find that Chris is saying "Hey Santa, you're my Christmas king, Santa is king! Santa is king! Hey Santa, I love you baby! You got what I neeeeed," and so on. All in all, this album is an awesome full-length debut.

After two very good EP's on Sub Pop Records-Screaming Life and Fopp-Soundgarden moved to SST Records to record their first full-lenght LP. And what a smashing debut it was. Ultramega OK offers a faint glimpse into what would become Soundgarden's signature sound:an intense,brooding mixture of wailing vocals, dark,noisy riffs, crunching rhythyms,steady but powerful drumming and intelligent,thought-provoking lyrics channeled through gloomy metal,punk fury,and surrealistic pschyedelia. This album opens with the chunky chords of the very heavy,very trippy ''Flower.'' Other highlights include the fiery,punkish ''All Your Lies''and the speed-changing,mood-changing brilliance of ''Mood For Trouble.'' But the record's centerpiece is ''Beyond The Wheel,'' a song with earth-shattering vocals and mind-blowing guitar sounds. Buy this cd, as well as all of Soundgarden's other cd's.

this is one of the heaviest and most original records of all time. listen to the song "beyond the wheel" and tell me those lyrics are not haunting and incredible.

you can really hear the ungodly amazingly excellent guitar playing of kim thayil on their cover of "smokestack lightning." tracks like "nazi driver" will make you want to kill someone or break something.

i would reccomend this album to anyone.

It's pretty cool to be able to go back and hear one of your favorite bands as they were when they were still finding their sound. On this album, you can hear their experimentation with various kinds of rock; heavy, raw metal and such. And you can also hear where they found what works for them, and developed it. Thayil's heavy, raw but sonically pleasing guitar grooves that were characteristic of the band are present here, as are (less often than later on) Cornell's emotion-racked shrieks. My personal favorite is the utterly explosive vibe of Incessant Mace.

There are some missteps, but those are taste-directed; I don't really like the abstract 665 and 667 interludes and the psychopathic Circle of Power. Still, it's very worth a listen.

In 1988 I walked into Tower Records on South Street in Philadelphia sporting a mohawk, a leather, and Doc's. I was looking for the latest Charged GBH album. As I strolled the isles I heard this album playing in the background. I stopped dead in my tracks. I listened to three songs and then asked the dude at the register who was playing. He smiled, reached under the counter, and pulled out this record. I immediately bought it and life changed forever.

Disregard reviews that compare this album with Superunknown or Badmotorfinger. You simply can't compare this (or "Louder than Love" for that matter) with their later works. It's like comparing Dark Side of the Moon with The Wall and declaring one inferior.

Listen to the samples and judge for yourself. In my humble opinion this is one black, hard, and raw album and also happens to be one the best rock-n-roll records of the 1980s.

What else is there to say about Soundgarden? From 1987 to 1997 this insanely talented band made some of the best rock music in decades. The combination of virtuoso guitarist Kim Thayil and the eerie, nearly inhuman wailings of Chris Cornell made for some truly cutting edge rock, the likes of which have never been replicated.

Where else are you going to hear musicianship and composition like that in Beyond the Wheel and Mood for Trouble? While not as polished as the band's later releases, Ultramega OK is ultimately a mind-bending and ear-shattering listening experience. It's not for everyone, but then again no ingenious music is.

One of the two albums before their big break Badmotorfinger and their international renown Superunknown, Ultramega OK is a dark and smashing melange of old school fried, Black-Sabbath meets Led Zeppelin melange of Punk rock, or something of that nature (it's hard to say, to be honest). Lacking the strained and lame attempts at classic heavy metal and progression of their average follow up (which in my opinion, is rather forgettable. Flame away if you want), Ultramega OK is a dark but grinding, infectious and awesome slab of GRUNGE (before it was a dirty word) that you would expect from Rock Gods Soundgarden. Cheesy to say so, but this album is great, much more than OK.

The production values are a bit noticeable here, as they lack a full bodied hit that their later albums had (remaster?). Despite this, don't let this get you down, because through songwriting they make these go away. The band here flogs through songs with speed and the wailing vocals of Chris Cornell, with pounding drums, dark guitar riffs, and an overall dark mood. Yes, it's much different from their other work, but then again, if you really know Soundgarden, you know that no work they do is alike, as it shows that they were willing to try new things and keep on progressing and expanding their own sound. So really, it's a new experience either way.

1. Flower-First single off the album. After an ethereal intro, the song has a very low, chunky, and sometimes gurgling groove drawn by the guitar. A great opener and a prime example how they can turn a basic set up into a four man orchestra of sound.

2. All Your Lies-A rather exhilarating track, filled with punk speed and soaring guitar riffs. After charging into it's wailing verses, It crawls along with menace, and roars into it's wailing, catchy chorus. It's got a wicked guitar solo too.

3. 665-The first of these backwards tracks aren't nothing too spectacular, but I have to admit they are pretty funny. Nothing too musical, but hey, backward tracks are great sonic novelty.

4. Beyond the Wheel-Such is the way of Soundgarden. When I first heard it, I thought it was awful. But it then creeped up on me again, and now I consider the song to be one of the best early SOundgarden songs you'll find, with a lumbering, grungy sea of guitars, and Cornell's Robert Plant on a brooding day vocals in top form. However, the production of the record does kind of bog it down, so it's not as powerful as it can be, considering how crushing the song can be played. (hint to record labels: Remaster!!!)

5. 667-See 665

6. Mood for Trouble-A moody, ever changing track, that goes from beautiful, yearning and slightly dark, gentle guitars, and melds into a chiming, psychedelic, and lightly acoustic passage. It has a melancholy, sunset type of feeling to it, which is all the more beautiful.

7. Circle of Power-The only song to feature somewhat else but Cornell on the vocals, and I have to admit, it's great! It's somewhat short, but it's an energetic and blasting punk song, and the vocals by (former) bassist Hiro Yamamoto are funny and sneering. The guitar solo here is absolutely killer, and the riffs churn through menacing melodies and mean riffs. A punk song that could have only been done by Soundgarden (also see: Ty Cobb, Face Pollution, Drawing Flies).

8. He Didn't-Of an absolute note here are the drums by Matt Cameron, which seem to drive the whole orchestra of guitars and bass along with it. Chris Cornell's vocals spew venomous and menacing vocals. I also like the passage in the near middle of it where the guitars take a life of their own and the instruments seem to sound confused.

9. Smokestack Lightning-One of the most underrated songs that Soundgarden has ever done, proving that they can pen some awesome covers. A raw, searing, soulful, and electric version of the master song by Howlin' Wolf (legend, by the way). The mid section bridge is raw blues, with an ascending riff and rad, psychedelic tinged blues-classic-metal guitar solo. Cornell gives off a soulful and searing performance.

10. Nazi Driver-Another song that uses the drum to drive the whole orchestra, apparently about cutting up Nazi's and putting them into stew. Well, it certainly sounds threatening at the least. Perhaps not too unique sounding, but a strong, kick @$$, and sometimes jazzy (!) melange of punk and classic rock.

11. Head Injury-AN early classic, here, another classic GRUNGE song with a wild vocal performance by Cornell. Great metallic guitar riffs and all, but I think the is the vocals, which are wild yet infectious.

12. Incessant Mace-Despite the tinny production values, this song kicks major @$$, an early composition that successfully blends enough minimalism and stripped down sound, while being a guitar mine filled with Led Zeppelin-Black Sabbath riffs, and searing off the wall guitar solos that only Kim could do. Cornell is great, but the music is the real star here. This one needs production touch up, because the music is so good.

13. One Minute of Silence-Alright, it's kind of filler, but it's pretty amusing at the least. Not much else to say, but it's just basically one minute of static.

I'll admit, it's not as strong as their other works, but it's still Soundgarden, and that pretty much means it's going to kick major @$$. Soundgarden are MY Rock Gods, so Understandably, the tracks here that are great are REALLY GOOD. the people who are fans of their later work (to you idiots complaining that it was selling out, it's called ARTISTIC PROGRESSION) may not like this. It's a different Soundgarden for sure, but for those who can't get enough, you will find that this diversion from their later sound to be quite refreshing. Rest assured, it's very, very good. Now that Soundgarden is back together I surely hope that they have some creative talent and great music left in their body. After Cornell's godawful Scream, I'm all the more ready.

The opening Track Flower can fill anybody's soul with power. Nazi driver with its crazy guitar riff and vocals will make your mind go haywire. Really an awesome, raw, dark, and kind of almost unknown album by one of the greatest American rock/alternative bands out there. A lot of people often credit these guys for building that style of music we call grunge. I relate to that totally, because I always thought Nirvana was overrated, and Pearl Jam, while are a good band just never came off to me as grunge or alternative. Pearl Jam had a cool sound but it was too generic and had a modern rock sound to it which is cool. I always think of Soundgarden, Mud Honey, and also STP when it comes to grunge music.

This is a great album even though its pretty old and dusty now it still delivers. Remember a while ago I had this machine operator job at this massive factory and I had to get up at like the crack of dawn to get there, and this album always got me and my cars engine burning!

this is my favorite soundgarden record. the recording is not very good at all, but the vibe of the record is magic, the songwriting is fantastic, and the performances are raw and inspired. i really wish they had continued in this direction as it is the most experimental of their records, with the psychedelic and post-punk elements more pronounced, whereas the laster albums were more metal. i would love to hear "mood for trouble," "flower," "nazi driver," and "incessant mace" with screaming life's production. rumor has it that all of these songs were recorded w/ jack endino after the fact because the band wasn't happy with the way the album sounded. i would love to hear that. (c'mon kim - put it on the box set!)

Flower starts off with a meandering, jangly guitar that evolves quickly into an incredible synchronized bass and guitar riff that grabs you immediately. I have never heard Soundgarden so patient and measured with their song architecture. There are some REALLY WIERD vocals from Chris on this one that make you wonder what the hell they were thinking. A really cool early cd from Soundgarden.