Louder than Love
Encyclopedia
Louder Than Love is the second studio album
by the American grunge
band Soundgarden
, released on September 5, 1989 through A&M Records
. After touring in support of its first full-length studio album, Ultramega OK
(1988), Soundgarden signed with A&M and began work on its first album for a major label. The songs on the album featured a heavy metal
sound with some songs featuring unusual or unorthodox time signatures.
Because of some of the song lyrics, a Parental Advisory
sticker was placed on the album packaging. The band faced various retail and distribution problems upon the album's release. Louder Than Love would become the band's first album to chart on the Billboard 200
. The band supported the album with tours of North America and Europe. It was the last Soundgarden album to feature the band's original bassist, Hiro Yamamoto
.
s in Seattle, Washington. The band worked with producer Terry Date
. The album was mixed by Steve Thompson
and Michael Barbiero
.
Regarding the sessions, frontman Chris Cornell
said, "At the time Hiro [Yamamoto] had excommunicated himself from the band and there wasn't a free-flowing system as far as music went, so I ended up writing a lot of it." Cornell would end up solely writing seven out of the album's twelve tracks. Cornell stated that there "was plenty of angst, anger, frustration and hell...but none of it had anything to do with Terry. He was very supportive." He said that the sessions as a whole were a "positive experience." Bassist Hiro Yamamoto
would leave the band once the sessions were over. Yamamoto was becoming frustrated that he wasn't contributing much, and opted to go back to college.
Regarding the album's production, Cornell said that the band tried to avoid 1980s production techniques. On the album's sound as a whole, Cornell stated that the album "was just a few degrees too produced and too clean, although I wouldn't want to change any of it."
mainstream" with "a slow, grinding, detuned mountain of Sabbath
/Zeppelin
riffs and Chris Cornell wailing." At the time the band was trying to avoid the "heavy metal" label, with guitarist Kim Thayil
stating that the band's sound was "as much influenced by British bands like Killing Joke
and Bauhaus
as it is by heavy metal." Cornell said that the band's sound is "enough for anyone into speed metal
, but we're heavy rock
...Neo-metal maybe."
Some songs on the album feature unusual or unorthodox time signatures. "Get On The Snake", for example, is played in 9/4. "I Awake" uses 4/4, 6/4, 9/8, 11/8, and 14/8. "Gun" features varying tempos, which speed up and slow down over the course of the song. A lot of the songs on the album are tuned down to a drop D tuning
.
Cornell said that "Hands All Over" is about how humans defile the environment, and that "Full on Kevin's Mom" is about "a friend of mine who slept with another friend of mine's mom. The guy who did it said to us, 'Yeah, full on Kevin's mom'." The lyrics of "I Awake" were originally part of a note written by Yamamoto's then girlfriend Kate McDonald. In the late 1990's, an urban legend circulated on internet message boards which stated that Yamamoto, after writing the music, wrote some lyrics on the back side of McDonald's note. When Yamamoto gave the paper containing these lyrics to Cornell, Cornell looked at the wrong side of the sheet and believed McDonald's note was the lyrics to Yamamoto's song. There was less material on the album intended as humorous compared with Ultramega OK
. However, the song "Big Dumb Sex" was written as a parody
of glam metal
bands, who often metaphorically addressed sexual intercourse in their lyrics. The song, with its many uses of "fuck
", was the reason the album gained a Parental Advisory
sticker upon release. "Ty Cobb
" (from Down on the Upside
) was the only other Soundgarden song to use the word "fuck".
album chart in 1990. It was the band's first album to chart on the Billboard Top 200. Louder Than Love spawned the Loudest Love
EP and the Louder Than Live
home video, both released in 1990.
Rolling Stone
staff writer J.D. Considine gave Louder Than Love three and a half out of five stars, saying that "Chris Cornell has the sort of soaring, muscular voice Ian Astbury
can only dream of, while guitarist Kim Thayil comes across like The Edge
with an attitude." He stated that "the songs on Louder Than Love are mean, lean and fighting fit." However, Considine criticized Cornell's lyrics, observing that "much of what the band has to say is clichéd, confused or generally incomprehensible." He ended his review by saying that "even when his lyrics are as dumb as rocks...Cornell delivers them with such full-throated intensity that they actually sound impressive." Allmusic staff writer Steve Huey gave the album three out of five stars, saying that "too much of the album drifts along without focus or variety." Critic Robert Christgau
gave the album a C+, stating that it is "covertly conceptual, arty in spite of itself, and I bet metal fans don't bite."
Two singles were released from the album, "Loud Love
" (1989) and "Hands All Over" (1990), each with accompanying music video
s. "Get on the Snake" was featured in the 1989 movie and soundtrack, Lost Angels
. Guns N' Roses
covered "Big Dumb Sex" on its 1993 album, "The Spaghetti Incident?"
, as part of a medley with T. Rex
's "Buick Mackane".
In 2001, Q magazine
named Louder Than Love as one of the "50 Heaviest Albums of All Time."
In 2010, Soundgarden released a music video for the song "Get on the Snake".
, features a black and white picture of Cornell. Cornell called the album cover "the quintessential angry young man." Regarding the title, Cornell said, "It's sort of making fun of heavy metal bravado. Metal bands would say Louder Than Thunder or something. So Louder Than Love, what is Louder Than Love?" Thayil said that the band really wanted to call the album Louder Than Fuck.
, formerly of Nirvana
. The band embarked on a North America
n tour that went from December 1989 to March 1990. On this tour the band served as the opening act for Voivod
on the band's Nothingface
tour, with Faith No More
also serving as an opening act at the beginning and end of the tour. Cornell's roommate, Andrew Wood, the lead singer of Mother Love Bone
, died on March 19, 1990 of a heroin overdose
, the day Cornell got back from touring in support of Louder Than Love.
As Cornell went on to tour Europe
with Soundgarden a few days later, he started writing songs in tribute to his late friend. The result was two songs, "Reach Down" and "Say Hello 2 Heaven
", that he recorded as soon as he got back from touring. The two songs would eventually lead into the Temple of the Dog
project. Bassist Jason Everman was fired immediately after Soundgarden completed its promotional tour for Louder Than Love in mid-1990. Thayil said that "Jason just didn't work out," and that the band "didn't need to go find someone better than him; we needed to find a kindred spirit that we'd hang out with anyway." The band later released the video compilation Louder Than Live
, which was filmed at the Whisky a Go Go
in 1989.
s from the Louder Than Love recording sessions that weren't included on the album, "Fresh Deadly Roses" and "Heretic". "Fresh Deadly Roses" was a B-side on the "Loud Love" single and was featured on the 1990 Pave the Earth compilation. "Heretic" was originally recorded for the 1986 Deep Six
compilation. However, the song was re-recorded during the Louder Than Love recording sessions and this version is featured on the "Hands All Over" single, the Pump Up the Volume
soundtrack, and the Loudest Love EP.
Production
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by the American grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
band Soundgarden
Soundgarden
Soundgarden is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984 by singer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto...
, released on September 5, 1989 through A&M Records
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
. After touring in support of its first full-length studio album, Ultramega OK
Ultramega OK
Ultramega OK is the debut studio album by the American grunge band Soundgarden, released on October 31, 1988 through SST Records. Following the release of the EPs Screaming Life , and Fopp , both for the Sub Pop record label, Soundgarden signed with the independent record label SST and went to work...
(1988), Soundgarden signed with A&M and began work on its first album for a major label. The songs on the album featured a heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
sound with some songs featuring unusual or unorthodox time signatures.
Because of some of the song lyrics, a Parental Advisory
Parental Advisory
Parental Advisory is a message affixed by the Recording Industry Association of America to audio and recordings in the United States containing excessive use of profane language and/or sexual references. Albums began to be labeled for "explicit lyrics" in 1985, after pressure from the Parents...
sticker was placed on the album packaging. The band faced various retail and distribution problems upon the album's release. Louder Than Love would become the band's first album to chart on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
. The band supported the album with tours of North America and Europe. It was the last Soundgarden album to feature the band's original bassist, Hiro Yamamoto
Hiro Yamamoto
Hiro Yamamoto is an American bassist who was a founding member of grunge band Soundgarden, along with Kim Thayil and Chris Cornell in 1984...
.
Recording
The album's recording sessions took place from December 1988 to January 1989 at London Bridge StudioLondon Bridge Studio
London Bridge Studio is a Seattle recording studio that has hosted and recorded many influential artists, producers and engineers since 1985. Founded by brothers Rick Parashar and Raj Parashar as a private studio space, the studio surged to fame with the 1991 release of Pearl Jam's multiplatinum...
s in Seattle, Washington. The band worked with producer Terry Date
Terry Date
Terry Date is an American record producer and engineer, specializing in the rock and metal genres...
. The album was mixed by Steve Thompson
Steve Thompson (musician)
-Biography:Steve Thompson is an American record producer, Having worked with Guns N Roses, Madonna, John Lennon, Wu Tang, Korn, Cutting Crew, Belouis Some,Public Enemy, Whitney Houston, Metallica and Red Hot Chili Peppers...
and Michael Barbiero
Michael Barbiero
Michael Francis Barbiero , is an American record producer, mixer, engineer, songwriter, and journalist.-Background:Michael Barbiero has worked with a number of artists, such as Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Tesla, Cinderella, Blues Traveler, Ziggy Marley, Belouis Some, Cutting Crew, Counting Crows,...
.
Regarding the sessions, frontman Chris Cornell
Chris Cornell
Chris Cornell is an American rock musician best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for Soundgarden and as the former lead vocalist for Audioslave. He is also known for his numerous solo works and soundtrack contributions since 1998...
said, "At the time Hiro [Yamamoto] had excommunicated himself from the band and there wasn't a free-flowing system as far as music went, so I ended up writing a lot of it." Cornell would end up solely writing seven out of the album's twelve tracks. Cornell stated that there "was plenty of angst, anger, frustration and hell...but none of it had anything to do with Terry. He was very supportive." He said that the sessions as a whole were a "positive experience." Bassist Hiro Yamamoto
Hiro Yamamoto
Hiro Yamamoto is an American bassist who was a founding member of grunge band Soundgarden, along with Kim Thayil and Chris Cornell in 1984...
would leave the band once the sessions were over. Yamamoto was becoming frustrated that he wasn't contributing much, and opted to go back to college.
Regarding the album's production, Cornell said that the band tried to avoid 1980s production techniques. On the album's sound as a whole, Cornell stated that the album "was just a few degrees too produced and too clean, although I wouldn't want to change any of it."
Music and lyrics
Steve Huey of Allmusic said that Soundgarden took "a step toward the metalHeavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
mainstream" with "a slow, grinding, detuned mountain of Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
/Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
riffs and Chris Cornell wailing." At the time the band was trying to avoid the "heavy metal" label, with guitarist Kim Thayil
Kim Thayil
Kim Thayil is an American guitarist best known as the lead guitarist of the Seattle-based grunge band Soundgarden, which he cofounded with singer Chris Cornell and bassist Hiro Yamamoto in 1984...
stating that the band's sound was "as much influenced by British bands like Killing Joke
Killing Joke
Killing Joke are an English post-punk band formed in October 1978 in Notting Hill, London, England; other sources report the band formed in early 1979.Related news articles: Founding members Jaz Coleman and Geordie Walker have been the only constant members.A key influence on industrial rock,...
and Bauhaus
Bauhaus (band)
Bauhaus was an English rock band formed in Northampton in 1978. The group consisted of Peter Murphy , Daniel Ash , Kevin Haskins and David J . The band was originally Bauhaus 1919 before they dropped the numerical portion within a year of formation...
as it is by heavy metal." Cornell said that the band's sound is "enough for anyone into speed metal
Speed metal
Speed metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from NWOBHM and hardcore punk roots. It is described by Allmusic as "extremely fast, abrasive, and technically demanding" music....
, but we're heavy rock
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
...Neo-metal maybe."
Some songs on the album feature unusual or unorthodox time signatures. "Get On The Snake", for example, is played in 9/4. "I Awake" uses 4/4, 6/4, 9/8, 11/8, and 14/8. "Gun" features varying tempos, which speed up and slow down over the course of the song. A lot of the songs on the album are tuned down to a drop D tuning
Drop D tuning
Drop D tuning, also known as DADGBE, is an alternate, or scordatura, form of guitar tuning — specifically, a dropped tuning — in which the lowest string is tuned down from the usual E of standard tuning by one whole step to D.- Uses of drop D tuning :In drop D the three bass strings...
.
Cornell said that "Hands All Over" is about how humans defile the environment, and that "Full on Kevin's Mom" is about "a friend of mine who slept with another friend of mine's mom. The guy who did it said to us, 'Yeah, full on Kevin's mom'." The lyrics of "I Awake" were originally part of a note written by Yamamoto's then girlfriend Kate McDonald. In the late 1990's, an urban legend circulated on internet message boards which stated that Yamamoto, after writing the music, wrote some lyrics on the back side of McDonald's note. When Yamamoto gave the paper containing these lyrics to Cornell, Cornell looked at the wrong side of the sheet and believed McDonald's note was the lyrics to Yamamoto's song. There was less material on the album intended as humorous compared with Ultramega OK
Ultramega OK
Ultramega OK is the debut studio album by the American grunge band Soundgarden, released on October 31, 1988 through SST Records. Following the release of the EPs Screaming Life , and Fopp , both for the Sub Pop record label, Soundgarden signed with the independent record label SST and went to work...
. However, the song "Big Dumb Sex" was written as a parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of glam metal
Glam metal
Glam metal is a subgenre of hard rock and heavy metal that arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States, particularly on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip music scene...
bands, who often metaphorically addressed sexual intercourse in their lyrics. The song, with its many uses of "fuck
Fuck
"Fuck" is an English word that is generally considered obscene which, in its most literal meaning, refers to the act of sexual intercourse. By extension it may be used to negatively characterize anything that can be dismissed, disdained, defiled, or destroyed."Fuck" can be used as a verb, adverb,...
", was the reason the album gained a Parental Advisory
Parental Advisory
Parental Advisory is a message affixed by the Recording Industry Association of America to audio and recordings in the United States containing excessive use of profane language and/or sexual references. Albums began to be labeled for "explicit lyrics" in 1985, after pressure from the Parents...
sticker upon release. "Ty Cobb
Ty Cobb (song)
"Ty Cobb" is a song by the American rock band Soundgarden. Featuring lyrics written by frontman Chris Cornell and music written by bassist Ben Shepherd, "Ty Cobb" was released in April 1997 as the fourth single from the band's fifth studio album, Down on the Upside...
" (from Down on the Upside
Down on the Upside
Down on the Upside is the fifth studio album by the American grunge band Soundgarden, released on May 21, 1996 through A&M Records. Following a worldwide tour in support of its previous album, Superunknown , Soundgarden commenced work on a new album...
) was the only other Soundgarden song to use the word "fuck".
Release and reception
Because of some of the song lyrics, most notably on "Hands All Over" (the "kill your mother" line) and "Big Dumb Sex", the band faced various retail and distribution problems upon the album's release. Louder Than Love peaked at number 108 on the Billboard 200Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
album chart in 1990. It was the band's first album to chart on the Billboard Top 200. Louder Than Love spawned the Loudest Love
Loudest Love
Loudest Love is an EP by the American rock band Soundgarden. It was released in October 1990 through A&M Records.-Overview:The EP was first released in Japan, and later released in the United States. The track listing is the same as that for the "Loud Love" single, but with the addition of "Hands...
EP and the Louder Than Live
Louder Than Live
Louder Than Live is a home video by the American rock band Soundgarden featuring songs performed live at the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles, California on December 7, 1989 and December 10, 1989. It was released on May 22, 1990.-Overview:...
home video, both released in 1990.
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
staff writer J.D. Considine gave Louder Than Love three and a half out of five stars, saying that "Chris Cornell has the sort of soaring, muscular voice Ian Astbury
Ian Astbury
Ian Astbury is an English rock musician and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist for the rock band, The Cult.-Pre-Cult:...
can only dream of, while guitarist Kim Thayil comes across like The Edge
The Edge
David Howell Evans , more widely known by his stage name The Edge , is a musician best known as the guitarist, backing vocalist, and keyboardist of the Irish rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 12 studio albums with the band and has released one solo record...
with an attitude." He stated that "the songs on Louder Than Love are mean, lean and fighting fit." However, Considine criticized Cornell's lyrics, observing that "much of what the band has to say is clichéd, confused or generally incomprehensible." He ended his review by saying that "even when his lyrics are as dumb as rocks...Cornell delivers them with such full-throated intensity that they actually sound impressive." Allmusic staff writer Steve Huey gave the album three out of five stars, saying that "too much of the album drifts along without focus or variety." Critic Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
gave the album a C+, stating that it is "covertly conceptual, arty in spite of itself, and I bet metal fans don't bite."
Two singles were released from the album, "Loud Love
Loud Love
"Loud Love" is a song by the American rock band Soundgarden. Written by frontman Chris Cornell, "Loud Love" was released on August 30, 1989 as the first single from the band's second studio album, Louder Than Love . It is the quasi-title track from album, and was also the basis for the EP Loudest...
" (1989) and "Hands All Over" (1990), each with accompanying music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s. "Get on the Snake" was featured in the 1989 movie and soundtrack, Lost Angels
Lost Angels
Lost Angels is a movie starring Donald Sutherland and Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys. It was released in 1989 and is an independent film. The movie was directed by Hugh Hudson and written by Michael Weller. It was filmed in and around San Antonio, Texas, that city "standing in" for Los Angeles...
. Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
covered "Big Dumb Sex" on its 1993 album, "The Spaghetti Incident?"
"The Spaghetti Incident?"
"The Spaghetti Incident?" is the fifth studio album by the American rock band Guns N' Roses. The album is unique for the band, consisting entirely of cover versions, mostly of punk and glam rock songs of the late 1970s and early 1980s....
, as part of a medley with T. Rex
T. Rex (band)
T. Rex were a British rock band, formed in 1967 by singer/songwriter and guitarist Marc Bolan. The band formed as Tyrannosaurus Rex, releasing four folk albums under the name...
's "Buick Mackane".
In 2001, Q magazine
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
named Louder Than Love as one of the "50 Heaviest Albums of All Time."
In 2010, Soundgarden released a music video for the song "Get on the Snake".
Packaging
The album's cover art, photographed by Charles PetersonCharles Peterson (photographer)
Charles Peterson is an American photographer well known for his work with the independent record label Sub Pop. His photos are presented in the movie Kurt Cobain: About a Son...
, features a black and white picture of Cornell. Cornell called the album cover "the quintessential angry young man." Regarding the title, Cornell said, "It's sort of making fun of heavy metal bravado. Metal bands would say Louder Than Thunder or something. So Louder Than Love, what is Louder Than Love?" Thayil said that the band really wanted to call the album Louder Than Fuck.
Tour
A month before touring for Louder Than Love commenced, Yamamoto left to go back to college. Cornell stated, "It seems an odd time to quit. We're doing real well. We've got a touring budget now. We don't haul amps or do such long van rides any more." He was replaced by Jason EvermanJason Everman
Jason Mark Everman is an American guitarist/bassist who played with Nirvana and Soundgarden. Everman is currently studying philosophy at Columbia University.-Nirvana:...
, formerly of Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
. The band embarked on a North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n tour that went from December 1989 to March 1990. On this tour the band served as the opening act for Voivod
Voivod (band)
Voivod are a Canadian heavy metal band from Jonquière, Quebec, Canada. Their musical style has changed several times since the band's origin in the early 1980s...
on the band's Nothingface
Nothingface (album)
Nothingface is the fifth album by Canadian thrash metal/progressive metal band Voivod. It was released by Mechanic/MCA Records on October 13, 1989. The album marked a change for the band, expanding their sound and exploring more progressive sounds...
tour, with Faith No More
Faith No More
Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed originally as Faith No Man in 1981 by bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist Wade Worthington, vocalist Michael Morris and drummer Mike Bordin. A year later when Worthington was replaced by keyboardist Roddy Bottum, and Mike...
also serving as an opening act at the beginning and end of the tour. Cornell's roommate, Andrew Wood, the lead singer of Mother Love Bone
Mother Love Bone
Mother Love Bone was an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington in 1988. The band was active from 1988 to 1990. Frontman Andrew Wood's personality and compositions helped to catapult the group to the top of the burgeoning late 1980s/early 1990s Seattle music scene...
, died on March 19, 1990 of a heroin overdose
Drug overdose
The term drug overdose describes the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities greater than are recommended or generally practiced...
, the day Cornell got back from touring in support of Louder Than Love.
As Cornell went on to tour Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
with Soundgarden a few days later, he started writing songs in tribute to his late friend. The result was two songs, "Reach Down" and "Say Hello 2 Heaven
Say Hello 2 Heaven
"Say Hello 2 Heaven" is a song by the American rock band Temple of the Dog. Written by vocalist Chris Cornell, "Say Hello 2 Heaven" was released in 1991 as the second single from the band's sole studio album, Temple of the Dog...
", that he recorded as soon as he got back from touring. The two songs would eventually lead into the Temple of the Dog
Temple of the Dog
Temple of the Dog was an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington in 1990. It was conceived by vocalist Chris Cornell of Soundgarden as a tribute to his friend, the late Andrew Wood, lead singer of Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone...
project. Bassist Jason Everman was fired immediately after Soundgarden completed its promotional tour for Louder Than Love in mid-1990. Thayil said that "Jason just didn't work out," and that the band "didn't need to go find someone better than him; we needed to find a kindred spirit that we'd hang out with anyway." The band later released the video compilation Louder Than Live
Louder Than Live
Louder Than Live is a home video by the American rock band Soundgarden featuring songs performed live at the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles, California on December 7, 1989 and December 10, 1989. It was released on May 22, 1990.-Overview:...
, which was filmed at the Whisky a Go Go
Whisky a Go Go
The Whisky a Go Go is a nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard, on the Sunset Strip.-History:...
in 1989.
Track listing
Outtakes
The album's singles featured two B-sideA-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
s from the Louder Than Love recording sessions that weren't included on the album, "Fresh Deadly Roses" and "Heretic". "Fresh Deadly Roses" was a B-side on the "Loud Love" single and was featured on the 1990 Pave the Earth compilation. "Heretic" was originally recorded for the 1986 Deep Six
Deep Six (album)
The Deep Six compilation was released March 1986 . It was the very first release by C/Z Records, a few months before the release of Sub Pop 100 from Sub Pop Records. It was also arguably the second record to influence the later "Seattle sound" that would be known worldwide as grunge...
compilation. However, the song was re-recorded during the Louder Than Love recording sessions and this version is featured on the "Hands All Over" single, the Pump Up the Volume
Pump Up the Volume (film)
Pump Up the Volume is a 1990 comedy-drama film written and directed by Allan Moyle and starring Christian Slater and Samantha Mathis.- Plot summary :...
soundtrack, and the Loudest Love EP.
Personnel
Soundgarden- Matt CameronMatt CameronMatthew David "Matt" Cameron is an American musician who serves as the drummer for the American rock bands Pearl Jam and Soundgarden...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Chris CornellChris CornellChris Cornell is an American rock musician best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for Soundgarden and as the former lead vocalist for Audioslave. He is also known for his numerous solo works and soundtrack contributions since 1998...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together... - Kim ThayilKim ThayilKim Thayil is an American guitarist best known as the lead guitarist of the Seattle-based grunge band Soundgarden, which he cofounded with singer Chris Cornell and bassist Hiro Yamamoto in 1984...
– lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure... - Hiro YamamotoHiro YamamotoHiro Yamamoto is an American bassist who was a founding member of grunge band Soundgarden, along with Kim Thayil and Chris Cornell in 1984...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
Production
- Nelson Ayres, Jack EndinoJack EndinoJack Endino is a producer and musician based in Seattle. Long associated with Seattle label Sub Pop and the grunge movement, Endino worked on seminal albums from bands such as Mudhoney, Soundgarden, and Nirvana...
, Stuart Hallerman – studio assistance - Michael BarbieroMichael BarbieroMichael Francis Barbiero , is an American record producer, mixer, engineer, songwriter, and journalist.-Background:Michael Barbiero has worked with a number of artists, such as Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Tesla, Cinderella, Blues Traveler, Ziggy Marley, Belouis Some, Cutting Crew, Counting Crows,...
, Steve ThompsonSteve Thompson (musician)-Biography:Steve Thompson is an American record producer, Having worked with Guns N Roses, Madonna, John Lennon, Wu Tang, Korn, Cutting Crew, Belouis Some,Public Enemy, Whitney Houston, Metallica and Red Hot Chili Peppers...
– mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may... - Art ChantryArt ChantryArthur S.W. Chantry II is a graphic designer often associated with the posters and album covers he did for bands from the Pacific Northwest, such as Nirvana, Hole and The Sonics. He is also notable for his work in logo design...
– design & art execution - Terry DateTerry DateTerry Date is an American record producer and engineer, specializing in the rock and metal genres...
– productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, engineeringAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including... - Michael LavineMichael LavineMichael Lavine is a portrait photographer based in New York City. He grew up in Denver, Colorado, and graduated from Denver's South High School in 1981....
, Charles PetersonCharles Peterson (photographer)Charles Peterson is an American photographer well known for his work with the independent record label Sub Pop. His photos are presented in the movie Kurt Cobain: About a Son...
– photographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film... - Bruce PavittBruce Pavitt-History:After briefly attending Blackburn College in Carlinville, Illinois and subsequently transferring to The Evergreen State College in Washington State, Pavitt started a fanzine entitled Subterranean Pop in Olympia, Washington in 1980, about American independent rock bands. Three cassette...
– Third Eye/front cover - Soundgarden – production
- Howie WeinbergHowie WeinbergHowie Weinberg is a music mastering engineer who has worked with numerous bands.- Career :He has worked at Masterdisk, New York City, since 1977...
– masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
Album
| Chart (1990) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
108 |
Singles
| Year | Single | UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... peak chart position |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | "Loud Love" | 87 |
| 1990 | "Hands All Over" | 82 |