Now I know why you've been shaking Now I know why you've been shaking Now I know why you've been shaking NOW I KNOW WHY YOU'VE BEEN SHAKING! (Slaves And Bulldozers)
Here’s a classic I don’t play very often at all, Soundgarden Badmotorfinger. Sitting here, gently headbanging away on occasion I was trying to work out why.
The songs are great, the performances are outta sight, the production is brilliant, the artwork features a spark plug* and I just love the album name. It is Soundgarden’s best LP by far, their later stuff mostly bores me limp. So why do I not give Badmotorfinger the airtime it merits?
I think it suffers from two things, excessive length** and a perception from me of a certain sludginess, bordering on monolithic. On one I’m right, 57 minutes is too long^ is too much^^ but on the other I am utterly wrong. Listening to Badmotorfinger now I am struck by nothing as much as how fleet-footed and dextrous the rhythm section are; forget Yes or Gentle Giant if you want three time changes per song and switches into 7/4 time then look no further than Soundgarden.
Chastened, I spin the black circle.
The singles ‘Rusty Cage’ and ‘Jesus Christ Pose’ stand tall in my memories from ’91-’92 and bloody rightly so, they are both real grunge metal bangers; Soundgarden being the band from the whole grunge scene who sounded the most metal by far. Both are brilliant, Cornell’s vocal heroics on the former are just beaten by the all-round rhythmic perfection on the latter, plus one ‘king cool song title.
But^* Badmotorfinger‘s real treasures lie elsewhere for me. It’s liable to change but today’s favourites are the pairing of ‘Outshined’ and ‘Slaves And Bulldozers’. There’s a real slinky intent to ‘Outshined’, a little sexy menace in the groove that was missing from Seattle back in ’91, when teamed with a towering performance from Cornell and a real seething heaviness, it just wins, especially when he doles out the line ‘I’m looking California, feeling Minnesota’, I love it.
As for the latter, I love a bit of S&B, Soundgarden really summon up an incredibly heavy psych sound here, dialling it back to elements of Louder Than Love but with a more confident, harder and more burnished production, pushing the mysticismometer into the red. Both tracks are galactically great.
The comparatively lightweight, in this company at least, but entertaining ‘Face Pollution’ and ‘Somewhere’ round off the first side without troubling the Watcher much. But, irritating narration-intro aside, ‘Searching With My Good Eye Closed’ is a real astral head fuck, epic in scale and brilliantly played, with a great tune to boot. ‘Room A Thousand Years Wide’ is even better, featuring one of Kim Thayil’s masterful riffs levering open the whole cosmos for us to toy with.
If I had my evil way ‘Mind Riot’ would close the LP, I like the weaponised Jane’s Addiction vibe of it. Taking the three final tracks off the album would slash 12 minutes off the running time and whilst there is nothing bad there, you wouldn’t be removing any supporting walls.
The playing on Badmotorfinger is absolutely off the scale, Matt Cameron is one of my favourite drummers, Ben Shepherd’s bass drives these tunes and Thayil, much as he does get lauded, is still a ridiculously underrated player, so expressive and unshowy. Oh, the rhythm guitarist guy can sing a bit too.
As I mentioned before the rhythm section here really duck and dive, taking the songs off on unexpected tangents and stopping anything being too linear and straightforward. Its clever and it keeps everything fresh.
It isn’t an original point of mine but unlike most metal or rock at the time Badmotorfinger doesn’t channel anger and frustration to hit out at targets*^, as much as turning it inwards. There aren’t any quick fixes Soundgarden show us, mend or at least know yourself first.
Badmotorfinger was released around the same time as Nevermind and Ten, which was some pretty heavyweight competition. To my mind it stands very much by itself, hewn from the living rock, but not totally of it either. This LP is very definitely worth your time, maybe not quite 57 minutes of it, but hey that’s what the tone arm lifter is for.
And there’s a spark plug on the cover.
1111 Down.
*always loved their shape. True story.
**sympathies, from a fellow sufferer.
^I blame CDs for that 90’s bloat.
^^I mean, I love Battenberg but I’d struggle to eat it for 57 minutes, straight. Word up.
^*never start a sentence with ‘but’.
^^^as a Welshman I immediately translate that into ‘Looking Carmarthen, feeling MIlford Haven’.
*^with the exception of ‘Holy Water’.
Funny you should dust this off (Good write up by the way). I went on a Soundgarden binge a week ago and was not disappointed. The music on this so good but I was also digging lots of the other stuff.
This record is, indeed, a monster affair and I love it dearly. Your words are my thoughts, on this one! Outshined is indeed slinky and menacing. But don’t stop here. Definitely give Superunknown another spin. You can leave off the later stuff, fair play, but Superunknown is such a worthy successor to this one, it’s a wonder the pair of them, when played together, don’t tear a new rift in the time-space continuum.
Okay, I just remember Superunknown being too long and one-paced; I’m really not a fan of Black Hole Sun. I’ll dig out the CD.
Yeah you might need to break it up into chunks, it’s a lot all at once, but there’s gold in them thar hills! Also, what is this “CD” you speak of? Is that some hipster youngster language?
I think 7/4 might be my favourite time signature – better yet when it’s one of a few changes within the same song as it is here!
I’m more of a 6/8 kinda guy myself geoff, maybe we could compromise on 9/7?
deal!
Spoken like a truth maths guy lol
I like Superunknown more than this one. Although it is longer, I think it justifies its length a bit better due its greater variety. Badmotorfinger is, like you said, a bit monolithic at times. Still, a great album.
By the way, 90s bloat is one of the worst things to have ever happened to music. Maybe I am being hyperbolic, but whenever I sit down to listen to an album from that decade I am 90% sure that it is going to be longer than it should, and most of the time I am correct.
We’re 50/50 in agreement then Matt, so in that case you’re only banned from 1537 for 20 minutes for the crime of independent thinking!
Lets just bond on the topic of 90s bloat!
Fair enough. 90s bloat is a topic that unites all sorts of people, regardless of race, class, religion, and political inclinations. =P
Go on Matt, stand for president on that platform – Brazil needs you!
I am sure I can get a few votes!
Once again, you have managed to pique my interest. Not just the Yes/Gentle Giant lure (are you having a lend, there?). It’s the wall-of-grunge thing that makes my brain hurt, so perhaps this is one to try?
It is a Big Rock LP Bruce, shades of Sabbath (they did a great updated politicised cover of Into The Void).
The rhythm section is truly a thing of awesomeness here. A friend at work lent me GG’s Octopus and another one, I forget the name of, I can appreciate and admire bits of their stuff, but that’s my limit.
Fascinating. A friend (whose path drifted elsewhere) was a dedicated progressive music fan and also regarded Soundgarden highly. With two votes from knowledgeable pals, I think I’ll have to add this to the list.
Was he the sort of fella who would rhapsodize about Henry Cow? I work with a guy like that.
He was *exactly* the kind of chap who would rhapsodize about Henry Cow.
I first heard this at the end of 91 going into 92. As you mentioned Joe these cats could play. This album sounds lean and mean.
I love this lot too, much better band for my money than Pearl Jam.
I second this comment!
Don’t tell my dad though, he’s a big fan.
Your secret is good with me!
That welsh translation floored me. I’ve always been a fan of this band. Since hearing this around the Nevermind/Ten era. But you’re right. Three less tracks would add more punch… To most albums around 30 years old. Slaves & Bulldozers though. That’s the good stuff
Thanks Steve, I may risk my family fortune manufacturing ‘Looking Carmarthen, feeling Milford Haven’ fridge magnets; not sure if that would make me a fridge magnate?
I was less of a fan at the time, I really wish I’d picked up on them properly at the time – really regret not seeing them back then too? did you?
Slaves is amazing, just amazing.