A-Sides

A-Sides is a compilation album by the American alternative 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 album. It debuted at number 63 on the Billboard 200 chart. It has since sold over 500,000 copies in the United States 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. Also, the 1990 Sub Pop single "Room a Thousand Years Wide" does not appear on A-Sides.

Allmusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album four 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. 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.

Track listing

All songs written by Chris Cornell, except where noted:

1. "Nothing to Say" (Cornell, Kim Thayil) – 3:56
• Originally from Screaming Life.
2. "Flower" (Cornell, Thayil) – 3:25
• Originally from Ultramega OK.
3. "Loud Love" – 4:57
• Originally from Louder Than Love.
4. "Hands All Over" (Cornell, Thayil) – 6:00
• Originally from Louder Than Love.
5. "Get on the Snake" (Cornell, Thayil) – 3:44
• Originally from Louder Than Love.
6. "Jesus Christ Pose" (Matt Cameron, Cornell, Ben Shepherd, Thayil) – 5:51
• Originally from Badmotorfinger.
7. "Outshined" – 5:11
• Originally from Badmotorfinger.
8. "Rusty Cage" – 4:26
• Originally from Badmotorfinger.
9. "Spoonman" – 4:06
• Originally from Superunknown.
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
• Originally from Down on the Upside.
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" (Cornell, Shepherd) – 3:05
• Originally from Down on the Upside.
17. "Bleed Together" – 3:54
• Originally from the "Burden in My Hand" single.

Personnel

• Chris Cornell – guitar, vocals
• Kim Thayil – guitar
• Ben Shepherd – bass on tracks 6-17
• Matt Cameron – percussion, drums
• Hiro Yamamoto – bass on tracks 1-5
• Soundgarden – production, mixing
• Michael Beinhorn – production
• Drew Canulette – production, engineering
• Terry Date – production, engineering
• Adam Kasper – production, engineering, assistant engineering, mixing assistance
• Michael Barbiero, Ron Saint Germaine, Brendan O'Brien, Steve Thompson – mixing
• Jack Endino – engineering, assistant engineering
• Jason Corsaro, Lance Limbocker – engineering
• Efren Herrera, Stuart Hallerman, Sam Hofstedt, Matt Bayles – assistant engineering
• Nelson Ayres, John Jackson – mixing assistance
• Howie Weinberg, Dave Collins – mastering
• Larry Brewer – production assistance
• Steve Gilbert, Charles Peterson, Michael Lavine, Kevin Westenberg, Mark Seliger, Larimie Garcia, Jan Van Oldenmark – photography

Chart positions

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1997	New Zealand Albums Chart	6
	US Billboard 200	63
	UK Albums Chart	90
1998	Australian Albums Chart	39

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1997	"Bleed Together"	US Mainstream Rock Tracks	13
		US Modern Rock Tracks	32

References

External links

• A-Sides on the Unofficial Soundgarden Homepage