Maps of Music

Down on the Upside (1996)

Where the lyrics of Down on the Upside take you, and where it was really made.

Soundgarden produced their fifth album themselves, and it came out less heavy and less dark than any of their earlier records.

Key places

Recording at Studio Litho (1996)

Recording site Studio Litho — Recording sessions for the album ran from November 1995 to February 1996 here, one of the two Seattle studios used. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording and mixing at Bad Animals Studio (1996)

Recording site Bad Animals Studio — Recording sessions ran from November 1995 to February 1996 here, and the album was also mixed at this studio. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Down on the Upside is the fifth studio album by the American rock band Soundgarden
• Released 21 May 1996 through A&M Records
• Self-produced by the band, with Adam Kasper as co-producer who also mixed the album
• Notably less heavy and dark than the group's preceding albums, with the band experimenting with new sounds
• Last studio album before the band broke up in April 1997, until King Animal in 2012

Background

• Followed a worldwide tour in support of Superunknown (1994)
• Work on the album began in July 1995
• The band played several European festivals in between and road-tested the new material there
• Spent about a month writing additional material before tracking most of the album
• The title comes from a line in the song Dusty
• Played the 1996 Lollapalooza tour with Metallica, then supported the album with a worldwide tour
• Tensions within the band kept growing during the tour period

Recording

• Sessions took place from November 1995 to February 1996 at Studio Litho and Bad Animals Studio in Seattle, Washington
• Studio Litho is owned by Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard
• Chris Cornell said working without an outside producer avoided too many cooks
• Matt Cameron said the earlier work with Michael Beinhorn was a little more of a struggle than it needed to be
• Most material was written by Cornell and bassist Ben Shepherd
• Kim Thayil's Never the Machine Forever was the final song recorded for the sessions
• The band kept audio feedback and out-of-tune guitar parts to capture a live atmosphere

Cover

• Cover art photographed by Kevin Westenberg, showing the band members in silhouette
• A photograph of caterpillars eating a tomato was considered for the cover before it became the Blow Up the Outside World single art

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · pt.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto.
• The band named itself after A Sound Garden, a wind-channeling pipe sculpture in Seattle.
• Scott Sundquist joined on drums in 1985 so Cornell could focus on vocals; Matt Cameron replaced him in 1986.
• Soundgarden was one of the pioneers of grunge and released its first EPs through Sub Pop.
• The band signed to SST Records for Ultramega OK (1988), then to A&M Records, becoming the first grunge band on a major label.

Members

• Kim Thayil: lead guitar.
• Chris Cornell: lead vocals, rhythm guitar (died 2017).
• Matt Cameron: drums, later also a member of Pearl Jam.
• Ben Shepherd: bass, joined in 1990.

Career

• Badmotorfinger (1991) helped bring grunge into the mainstream.
• Superunknown (1994) debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and won Grammy Awards for "Black Hole Sun" and "Spoonman".
• The band broke up in 1997, reunited in 2010, and released King Animal in 2012.
• After Cornell's death in 2017, the band disbanded again, performed occasional reunions, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2025.

Reception

At release

• Ivan Kreilkamp of Spin gave the album 8 out of 10, calling it as sprawling and generous-spirited as Superunknown but looser and more live-sounding
• Rolling Stone's David Fricke gave the album 3 out of 5 stars, noting its quality frenzy but criticizing the lack of defining episodes of catharsis
• Alternative Press gave the album 3 out of 5, saying the band sounds more human here
• Entertainment Weekly's David Browne gave the album a B+, praising its acoustic and electric mix but criticizing the production and the overlong 16-song length
• AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album 3 out of 5 stars
• NME's Johnny Cigarettes gave the album 3 out of 10, a negative review
• Robert Christgau gave the album a one-star honorable mention

Records

• Debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with 175,500 units sold, behind only The Score by the Fugees
• Topped the New Zealand and Australian charts
• Limited 10,000-copy vinyl edition released 14 May 1996, a week before the CD and cassette release
• Sold 1.6 million copies in the United States and certified Platinum by the RIAA
• Singles Pretty Noose, Burden in My Hand, and Blow Up the Outside World charted on the Mainstream Rock and Modern Rock charts
• Burden in My Hand spent five weeks at number one on the Mainstream Rock charts
• Pretty Noose received a nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 1997 Grammy Awards

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The vinyl and CD release details, the Billboard debut, and the sales figures are recorded in one passage that also notes the Platinum certification by the RIAA.
• Cameron and Shepherd jokingly claimed that two alternative titles considered for the album were Mr. Bunchy Pants and Comin' At Ya!
• Kristi was eventually mixed in 2014 and included on the compilation box set Echo of Miles.
• Bleed Together, a B-side from the sessions, was not on the album because the band was not pleased with its mix.
• Studio Litho is owned by Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

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