Soup (album)
Encyclopedia
Soup is the second album by the American
alternative rock
band Blind Melon
, eight weeks before vocalist Shannon Hoon
's fatal drug overdose, making it his final album with the band. Thematically, the album is much darker than the band's multi-platinum debut. "2 X 4" is about Hoon's experience at a drug detox, the country-tinged "Skinned" is about serial killer Ed Gein
, "Car Seat (God's Presents)" is about Susan Smith
who killed her children by driving her car into a lake in Union, SC, and "St. Andrew's Fall" is about suicide by jumping from a 20-story building. When asked about "Mouthful of Cavities" the band's guitarist, Rogers Stevens
, was quoted as saying, "It´s probably about the convoluted nooks and crannies of Shannon´s brain." It featured haunting harmonies between Shannon Hoon
and female vocalist Jena Kraus
. Alternatively, "New Life" is about the birth of Hoon's daughter Nico Blue, "Wilt" is about having bad breath, although in Captain Beefheart
-esque lyrics, "Galaxie" is about Hoon's experience with his car, a 1965 Ford Galaxie
, and "Lemonade" is a tongue-in-cheek song about a bar brawl.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Blind Melon
Blind Melon
Blind Melon is an American rock band active from 1989 to 1999, and from 2006 onward.Best remembered for their 1993 single "No Rain", the group enjoyed critical and commercial success in the early 1990s with their neo-psychedelic take on alternative rock...
, eight weeks before vocalist Shannon Hoon
Shannon Hoon
Richard Shannon Hoon was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He was the frontman and lead singer of the band Blind Melon until his death from a cocaine overdose in 1995.-Early life:...
's fatal drug overdose, making it his final album with the band. Thematically, the album is much darker than the band's multi-platinum debut. "2 X 4" is about Hoon's experience at a drug detox, the country-tinged "Skinned" is about serial killer Ed Gein
Ed Gein
Edward Theodore "Ed" Gein - July 26, 1984) was an American murderer and body snatcher. His crimes, committed around his hometown of Plainfield, Wisconsin, gathered widespread notoriety after authorities discovered Gein had exhumed corpses from local graveyards and fashioned trophies and keepsakes...
, "Car Seat (God's Presents)" is about Susan Smith
Susan Smith
Susan Leigh Vaughan Smith is an American woman sentenced to life in prison for murdering her children. Born in Union, South Carolina, and a former student of the University of South Carolina Union, she was convicted on July 22, 1995 of murdering her two sons, 3-year-old Michael Daniel Smith, born...
who killed her children by driving her car into a lake in Union, SC, and "St. Andrew's Fall" is about suicide by jumping from a 20-story building. When asked about "Mouthful of Cavities" the band's guitarist, Rogers Stevens
Rogers Stevens
Thomas Rogers Stevens is the guitarist from Blind Melon, an alternative rock band which began in the 1990s and is most famous for their hit song "No Rain"...
, was quoted as saying, "It´s probably about the convoluted nooks and crannies of Shannon´s brain." It featured haunting harmonies between Shannon Hoon
Shannon Hoon
Richard Shannon Hoon was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He was the frontman and lead singer of the band Blind Melon until his death from a cocaine overdose in 1995.-Early life:...
and female vocalist Jena Kraus
Jena Kraus
Jena Kraus is an American singer/songwriter and self taught musician born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Discovered at the age of nine by vocal coach Rita Cavell and was thrust into the world of entertainment...
. Alternatively, "New Life" is about the birth of Hoon's daughter Nico Blue, "Wilt" is about having bad breath, although in Captain Beefheart
Captain Beefheart
Don Van Vliet January 15, 1941 December 17, 2010) was an American musician, singer-songwriter and artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. His musical work was conducted with a rotating ensemble of musicians called The Magic Band, active between 1965 and 1982, with whom he recorded 12...
-esque lyrics, "Galaxie" is about Hoon's experience with his car, a 1965 Ford Galaxie
Ford Galaxie
The Ford Galaxie was a full-size car built in the United States by the Ford Motor Company for model years 1959 through 1974. The name was used for the top models in Ford’s full-size range from 1959 until 1961, in a marketing attempt to appeal to the excitement surrounding the Space Race...
, and "Lemonade" is a tongue-in-cheek song about a bar brawl.
Track listing
- "Hello Goodbye"/"Galaxie"Galaxie (song)"Galaxie" is a 1995 single by the alternative rock band Blind Melon. It appeared on the album Soup.-Track listing:# "Galaxie" 2:52# "Wilt " 2:30# "Car Seat " 2:43# "Change" 3:41-Song meaning:...
– 3:31- Contains a hidden trackHidden trackIn the field of recorded music, a hidden track is a piece of music that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, vinyl record or other recorded medium in such a way as to avoid detection by the casual listener...
in the pregapPregapThe pregap on a Red Book audio CD is the portion of the audio track that precedes "index 01" for a given track in the table of contents . The pregap is typically two seconds long and usually, but not always, contains silence...
. It is composed of music by Mike Kelsey, and backward lyrics (From "New Life") by Hoon. - "Hello Goodbye", the album's intro, is a rejected, slowed-down intro to the album's final track, "Lemonade". It coincides with the ending of the song, which is based on brass instruments.
- Contains a hidden track
- "2 X 4" – 4:00
- "Vernie" – 3:15
- "Skinned" – 1:57
- "Toes Across the Floor" – 3:07
- "Walk" – 2:47
- "Dump Truck" – 3:40
- "Car Seat (God's Presents)" – 2:42
- "Wilt" – 2:30
- "The Duke" – 3:37
- "St. Andrew's Fall" – 4:12
- "New Life" – 3:35
- "Mouthful of Cavities" – 3:33
- "Lemonade" – 3:37 (at the end of this track, a reprisal recording of "Hello Goodbye" plays for about 30 seconds, at which point the sound of hand-clapping can be heard)
Personnel
- Shannon HoonShannon HoonRichard Shannon Hoon was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He was the frontman and lead singer of the band Blind Melon until his death from a cocaine overdose in 1995.-Early life:...
- 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...
, GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, HarmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes... - Brad Smith - Bass GuitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, Double BassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
, FluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening... - Christopher Thorn - GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, MandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single... - Rogers StevensRogers StevensThomas Rogers Stevens is the guitarist from Blind Melon, an alternative rock band which began in the 1990s and is most famous for their hit song "No Rain"...
- GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, PianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, OrganOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with... - Glenn Graham - 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 ....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... - Jena KrausJena KrausJena Kraus is an American singer/songwriter and self taught musician born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Discovered at the age of nine by vocal coach Rita Cavell and was thrust into the world of entertainment...
- Backing Vocals on "Mouthful of Cavities" - Miles Tackett - CelloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
on "Car Seat", "St. Andrew's Fall" - Steve Sisco - Mixing Assistant
- Andy WallaceAndy Wallace (producer)Andy Wallace is a Grammy Award-winning music studio engineer with a long track record of successful productions, beginning with the 1986 production of the Run-DMC/Aerosmith collaboration on "Walk This Way" with Rick Rubin...
- Producer, Engineer
Chart positions
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... 200 |
28 |
| 2009 (reissue) | Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... 200 |
200 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Galaxie | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 25 |
| Modern Rock Tracks | 8 |