mr dave

Soundgarden - Ultramega OK (1988)

Not only my favourite debut disc, it's also my favourite Soundgarden album. I'm left to assume Hiro Yamamoto's initial presence and influence in the band is what puts this disc on par with Superunknown and the fact that it was released before CDs became the defacto album standard forced a more focused effort.

The album also showcases the dark humour that permeated the band in their early days before success turned them into serious musicians. The title specifically was meant to poke fun at the superfluous and absurd re-branding of boring products in the late 80s. It seemed like everything being sold on shelves was some sort of Super Ultra Extra Wowwie! version of the same OK grade stuff from the not too distant past.

Lucky for the listeners the album was not OK grade stuff. It was freaking awesome. Cornell actually sounds a bit like Ozzy at some points but when he starts wailing on a track like 'Beyond the Wheel' or the cover of 'Smokestack Lightning' it's all Cornell. The production on Thayil's guitar playing might have cleaned up a bit over the years but it's still obvious he's had his sound since the start. Cameron's drumming is just as fluid and innovative as anything else he'd go on to do with the band, check out 'He Didn't' for proof.

The one thing that does stand out from the rest of their catalog is again Yamamoto's bass playing. His leads were far more melodic than Ben Shepherd's subsequent work, it's not that one is better than the other, just different. He also handles vocal duties on 'Circle of Power' granting that song a manic feel that I just can't imagine Cornell being able to pull off.

Then you get the hilarious 665 / 667 as well as the cover of John Lennon's 'One Minute of Silence' where if you pay close attention you can hear one them b!tching to the other about looking at his watch. 665/667 were recorded in direct response to the parental groups looking to blame heavy metal being played backwards for all the ills of the world and Satanic shenanigans. It kind of does sound like Cornell is signing about Satan due to the heavy post-production, but the reality is - he's asking Santa to please bring him a bike.

The song I linked above really encapsulates the disc and band for me. Starting with an acoustic guitar, then some borderline shred-punk riffing before a psychedelic breakdown with a nice bass lead. It's got something of everything and so did this album. It would take the band 3 more albums before they reached this level again and it would only last for that one disc.

Soundgarden was not like the others, and this debut proves it.

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