A-Sides

This article is about the Soundgarden compilation. For other uses, see A-Sides (disambiguation).
A-Sides
Greatest hits album by Soundgarden
Released November 4, 1997
Recorded 1987–1996
Genre Alternative metal, grunge, alternative rock, heavy metal
Length 79:10
Language English
Label A&M
Producer Michael Beinhorn, Drew Canulette, Terry Date, Jack Endino, Adam Kasper, Soundgarden
Soundgarden compilations chronology
Screaming Life/Fopp
(1990)		 A-Sides
(1997)		 Telephantasm
(2010)
Singles from A-Sides
  1. "Bleed Together"
    Released: November 1997
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Entertainment Weekly(A)[2]
Pitchfork Media(7.5/10)[3]
Q[4]
Robert Christgau[5]
Rolling Stone[6][7]

A-Sides is a compilation album by the American rock band Soundgarden with songs spanning the band's thirteen-year career. It was released on November 4, 1997 through A&M Records.

Overview

The album was released in 1997 on A&M Records and was Soundgarden's last official release for 13 years, until 2010's Telephantasm. It debuted at number 63 on the Billboard 200 album chart. A-Sides has sold over 500,000 copies in the United States according to Nielsen SoundScan and over 700,000 copies worldwide, but has not yet been certified by the RIAA. It peaked at number 51 on the UK Albums Chart, number 39 on the Australian Albums Chart, and number 6 on the New Zealand Albums Chart.

It contains one song absent from previous albums ("Bleed Together") which appeared on import copies of the "Burden in My Hand" single. Interestingly, the opening track "Nothing to Say" was originally not an A-side. It appeared as the B-side to the band's first single "Hunted Down" on Sub Pop in 1987. In addition, "Get on the Snake" from Louder Than Love was never released as a single. Also, the 1990 Sub Pop single "Room a Thousand Years Wide" does not appear on A-Sides, nor the 1994 single "My Wave" from Superunknown.

Allmusic staff writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album four and a half out of five stars. He said, "For an act that was one of the definitive album artists of the late '80s and '90s, Soundgarden was a surprisingly effective singles band. Their singles effectively conveyed all of their best ideas, from their sludgy early Sub Pop recordings to the elaborate, post-metal psychedelia of their last two albums, Superunknown and Down on the Upside. That's the reason why the 17-track compilation A-Sides is such a successful overview of the band's too-brief career."[1] Entertainment Weekly reviewer David Browne gave the album an A. He said, "Pruning their best early songwriting ("Hands All Over", "Nothing to Say") and wisely highlighting chunks of their last two (and best) albums, A-Sides presents the band in all its evolving, bridling-horses glory and thunder. When all those Hanson fans grow up and want to educate themselves on the flannel era they missed, here's where they should turn."[2]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Chris Cornell; all music composed by Cornell, except where noted.

  1. "Nothing to Say" (Kim Thayil) – 3:56
  2. "Flower" (Thayil) – 3:25
  3. "Loud Love" – 4:57
  4. "Hands All Over" (Thayil) – 6:00
    • Originally from Louder Than Love
  5. "Get on the Snake" (Thayil) – 3:44
    • Originally from Louder Than Love
  6. "Jesus Christ Pose" (Matt Cameron, Cornell, Ben Shepherd, Thayil) – 5:51
  7. "Outshined" – 5:11
    • Originally from Badmotorfinger
  8. "Rusty Cage" – 4:26
    • Originally from Badmotorfinger
  9. "Spoonman" – 4:06
  10. "The Day I Tried to Live" – 5:19
    • Originally from Superunknown
  11. "Black Hole Sun" – 5:18
    • Originally from Superunknown
  12. "Fell on Black Days" – 4:42
    • Originally from Superunknown
  13. "Pretty Noose" – 4:12
  14. "Burden in My Hand" – 4:50
    • Originally from Down on the Upside
  15. "Blow Up the Outside World" – 5:46
    • Originally from Down on the Upside
  16. "Ty Cobb" (Shepherd) – 3:05
    • Originally from Down on the Upside
  17. "Bleed Together" – 3:54

Personnel

Soundgarden
Production

Chart positions

Album

Chart (1997) Position
Canadian RPM Albums Chart[8] 51
New Zealand Albums Chart[9] 6
US Billboard 200[10] 63
UK Albums Chart[11] 90
Chart (1998) Position
Australian Albums Chart[12] 39

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions
US Main[13] US Mod
[13]
1997 "Bleed Together" 13 32

References

  1. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "allmusic ((( A-Sides > Review )))". Allmusic. Retrieved May 20, 2009.
  2. 1 2 Browne, David (1997-12-12). "A-Sides". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 21 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
  3. ↑ Schreiber, Ryan. "Soundgarden: A-Sides". Pitchfork Media. November 1, 1997. Retrieved on May 20, 2009.
  4. ↑ (October 2000). "Review: A-Sides". Q.
  5. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Soundgarden". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved on May 20, 2009.
  6. ↑ Brackett, Nathan. "Soundgarden". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. November 2004. pg. 762, cited April 18, 2010
  7. ↑ "Soundgarden: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 66, No. 11, November 17, 1997". RPM. Retrieved 2013-01-27.
  9. ↑ "SOUNDGARDEN — A-SIDES (ALBUM)". New Zealand-charts.com. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
  10. ↑ "Soundgarden – Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
  11. ↑ "Chart Log UK: 1994–2006". Retrieved 2007-12-08.
  12. ↑ "Australian-Charts.com". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
  13. 1 2 "Soundgarden – Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
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