Synopsis
The story of the band that rivaled Nirvana and Pearl Jam for the alternative-rock crown.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 1995-10-01 |
| Size | | Length: | 228 pages | | Height: | 8.5 in | | Width: | 5.5 in | | Thickness: | 0.8 in | | Weight: | 9.6 oz |
Publisher's Note
Seattle music reporter Chris Nickson has secured interviews with band members, record producers, and others vital to the group to cover the story of the "next Metallica", from their influences to their struggles as an opening act for Guns 'n' Roses to their current triumphs. Including photos and memorabilia.
Industry Reviews
This is not a book of epic proportions, but Seattle-based music journalist Nickson does a fantastic job of chronicling the arduous journey and arrival of a multimillion-dollar band in a style that makes you wish you had been along for the ride. Formed in 1985 and named for an outdoor metal sculpture, Soundgarten was and is an original Seattle band long before the term grunge was applied to their style of music. Nickson properly puts this in perspective by narrating the heavy metal and punk traditions and how they grew to intertwine uniquely in Seattle. Soundgarten has been true to this tradition, themselves, and their music for over ten years. During that time, they have gone from playing to 20 people in little hole-in-the-wall bars to sellout crowds in stadiums and coliseums all over the country. It's an exciting rags-to-riches story appropriate for any public library. Regina, L. Beach, Mississippi State Univ., Starkville
Breitman
Perhaps Soundgarden unnerved the competition with two heavy-hitting albums in a row (Badmotorfinger, Superunknown), but to declare them the reigning kings of any dominion, as Nickson does all too easily, dismisses the ``grunge''/``alternative'' aesthetic to which the band's most rabid fans subscribe. Soundgarden certainly isn't Metallica Lite or Guns N' Roses with a Pacific Northwestern twang, but apparently that's all Nickson (Brad Pitt, Mariah Carey) learned doing his research. His infrequent insights into alternate guitar tunings or behind-the-scenes personalities are mere pastiche. Chapters seem like slapdash affairs compiled in a hurry for fans who sped through the original magazine features the first time. This brand of ``journalism'' may be typical of quickie celebrity biographies, but die-hard fans always await the exception, such as Michael Azzerad's Nirvana bio, Come as You Are, or Peter Guralnick's near-masterpiece on the young Elvis, The Last Train to Memphis. That in mind, the problem could be Soundgarden, and not Nickson's efforts at all. Unlike the young Elvis, or Nirvana some 40 years later, Soundgarden hasn't reinvented how anyone listens to the radio. And though they've been playing at the top of their game for a couple of years, this is still one of the few Seattle bands not to be cursed by drugs, celebrity or everyday bad luck. Good news makes for dull news in rock and roll and biography. (Nov.)
Bernstein
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