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Soundgarden are an American rock band formed in 1984 in Seattle, Washington. They are considered pioneers of the grunge genre.

Soundgarden are a legendary name and a piece of US music history. The band who currently consist of Chris Cornell, Kim Thayil, Matt Cameron and Ben Shepherd merge elements of punk rock with metal to create their unique, experimental grunge style. Taking influences from 70's juggernauts including Black Sabbath and Led Zepplin, the band began life under the name The Shemps before touring, writing and honing their sound as a group, preparing to release their debut album.

It took a while for Soungarden to achieve a commercial success to match the cult notoriety they were receiving on the live scene. They picked up an early Grammy nomination for Ultramega OK which led to a signing with to A & M Records. Their third album 'Badtomyfinger' gained them moderate UK and US chart success and another Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance. However it was the following album 'Superunknown' that is considered to be their most iconic and successful record to date, it topped the charts in the US and included huge singles including 'Spoonman', 'Black Hole Sun' and 'My Wave'. Incorporating experimental sounds from across the globe, the band's dark lyrical matter and evolving style captivated fans and new listeners alike to this incredible body of work. They won their first two Grammy awards with this album and toured the world extensively.

The follow-up to this album, 'Down On The Upside' was considered to be both a commercial and critical success yet it failed to emanate the stature of its predecessor. Due to inter-band disputes, they decided to split with Cameron stating that Soundgarden was "eaten up by the business." The band all continued to work on solo projects and material before an inevitable reunion occurred in 2010 and the band released their first single since 1997 which led to a new original album entitled 'King Animal' coming out in 2012. Soundgarden has left a huge legacy as band, they are cited as inspiration to some of the most iconic performers including Kurt Cobain and Nirvana, Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam. They are hailed for their technical abilities, development of sound and pioneering qualities to the genre of grunge.

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So. friggin'. good. This is the standard to which rock concerts should be held. Soundgarden illustrated why Chris Cornell still has one of the most powerful, rafter shaking rock voices. Nine Inch Nails however, brought it. Reznor is a man of few words, but searing intensity. He and his band did not disappoint. So much electronica/alt based fury. The lightning storm that began and continued throughout both shows simply added to the intensity. So damn good.

First and foremost, however, the set lists: SOUNDGARDEN SET LIST: Searching With My Good Eye Closed Spoonman Flower Outshined Black Hole Sun Jesus Christ Pose The Day I Tried to Live My Wave Superunknown Blow Up The Outside World Fell on Black Days A Thousand Days Before Rusty Cage Beyond the Wheel

NIN SET LIST: Copy of A Sanctified Came Back Haunted 1,000,000 March of the Pigs Piggy Terrible Lie Closer Gave Up Me, I’m Not Find My Way The Great Destroyer Eraser Wish Only The Hand That Feeds Head Like a Hole ENCORE: Hurt Soundgarden opened around 7:40 and played a sonic assault for 70 minutes afterward. Starting off with 'Searching With My Good Eye Closed' Cornell set the stage for a 90s trip down memory lane. As they were celebrating the 20th anniversary of "Superunknown", their biggest selling and arguably best album, they played no new material. This really wasn't an issue as the older material is more a bit more challenging in some respects, requiring more of a vocal work out. Cornell now 47, proved he could easily attain the vocal heights he once effortlessly hit in his 20s. Spoonman was delivered with Kim Thayil's pounding guitar vibrato and stiff drum work from Matt Cameron. "Outshined" was preceded by Cornell decrying the current state of music, namely the profligation of disco style music and the world's state of affairs not really improving in the past 20 years, before dropping into a grindy rendition of "Outshined". It is with "Jesus Christ Pose" and "Beyond the Wheel" that Cornell showered (pun intended) the audience with a true vocal onslaught that easily have come from 1994. "Black Hole Sun", "My Wave" and "Superunknown" got fans moving and singing in unison. "Rusty Cage" covered beautifully by the great American country music outlaw/icon Johnny Cash, was perfectly executed, with throbbing bass, warbling alt guitar styling and of course, stellar vocal work. I would have liked to hear a little more as really these guys have been around over two decades now, but I am also aware that it is a double bill and allowances for both acts had to be made. Overall, however, Soundgarden came, saw and conquered.

NIN was something else. Trent Reznor came out pounding on key boards with the fury of armaggdeon. He might has well have had his fists taped up as he came in fighting. As I stated earlier, the man is intense and it literally permeates through his music. Now happily married and seemingly in a good place overall, his energy while performing is undiminished. Starting off with a furious version of "Copy of A" from the fantastic, revitalizing "Hesitation Marks", Reznor showed he came to play. Smoothly flowing into "Sanctified" the fury began building. By "March of Pigs" with thunder and lightning and heavy rains bashing the place, Reznor lit the place up with "March of Pigs". Throughout his 90 minutes plus performance no one was sitting. There was just too much energy flowing.

Playing like a manic, sinister maestro, Reznor's NIN shook the stadium with a collecton of classics and newer material. "Closer" was magnificent. It is a little bit hilarious that a song with such an angry emotional core, featuring such lyrics as "I want to @#$% you like an animal" is so intensenly "singable". It is dark, scathing, intimate and amazingly danceable with its pounding beat, and "oop, oop" backing vocal tracks. "Only", "Hand That Feeds", from arguably his best album 2006's "With Teeth, rounded off the concert with powerful, energetic vibration. Everyone was up as if they had no choice in the matter. Trent Reznor is a man of few words as I have already stated, so when he thanked everyone for sticking around throughout the stormy show and for their support of over the years, it was a genuine moment.

"Head Like a Hole", one of NIN's trademark finishers closed out the show and kept everyone moving. The encore and final capper unquestionably was...and had to be... the classic "Hurt", from "Downward Spiral", covered so evocatively and beautifully by Johnny Cash. Reznor just brought so much with this final song, pouring out all he had left. That a thunder clap should strike at the end of his performance was just perfect. Simply outstanding and well, well worth one's time.

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I've followed this band since owning a cassette back in 1989 of Ultramega. I was hooked.

Listening to their music and seeing them live takes you back to when you cranked all their albums when we were younger. The band always played well together and when they play the new with the old classics like "Big Dumb Sex", "Like Suicide", "Spoon Man" especially it's a great feeling. Thayil still cranks it out. You can just close your eyes and feel the guitar.

I am disappointed however by their "Citi" show that was limited to only some fans. But for their music I guess I can forgive.

Looking forward to seeing them this summer.

Soundgarden put on a great show. Chris Cornell still has the pipes and is not afraid to show off. Kim Thayil put on a great guitar clinic as well.

In support of Nine Inch Nails, Soundgarden only did about an hour-long set. Pretty much their greatest hits from Badmotorfinger and Superunknown, they also played a couple early tracks and one or two from their most recent album. For an outdoor venue, Shoreline does a great job with the mixing levels. All the instruments and vocals came through very clearly, so everyone sounded amazing for such a large venue - even in the cheap lawn seats.

I have waited years to see Chris Cornell live, he's the final act on my "bucket list" and the Tuscaloosa Amphitheatre should have been the perfect setting...

The sound crew was obviously not experienced with the acoustics of the venue and tried to blow everyone out of the arena.

There were multiple instances of uncontrolled feedback and being unable to hear Chris over the music half of the time was a profound disappointment...

Of everything they played "spoonman" was the best song of the show...

Soundgarden put on great show 7 days ago with at Rockfest it was my first time seeing them, and first time seeing Chris Cornell and I didn't know that was going to be my last time seeing him live. RIP Chris Cornell.

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1984 – Chris forms Soundgarden with Hiro Yamamoto and Kim Thayil, naming the band after an art installation in Seattle’s Sand Point. Chris initially plays drums while singing, but in 1985 the band enlists drummer Scott Sundquist to allow him to concentrate on vocals. They play their first show at a club called Top of the Court in Seattle. The band’s first recordings are three songs for a C/Z Records compilation called Deep Six.

1987/1988 – Kim Thayil introduces the two eventual founders of the Sub Pop label and encourages them to start a label. Scott Sundquist is replaced by Matt Cameron and the band signs to Sub Pop, releasing the Screaming Life EP in 1987, and the Fopp EP in 1988. A combination of the two is later issued as Screaming Life/Fopp in 1990.

1988 – Though the band is the first of the Seattle grunge acts to generate major label interest, in 1988 they sign to the lesser known SST Records to release debut album Ultramega OK.

1989 – The band release their first album for a major label, Louder than Love on A&M Records. Bassist Yamamoto leaves the band to return to college. Jason Everman, formerly of Nirvana, joins the band briefly. He plays bass on the band’s cover of The Beatles’ Come Together and appears in the Loud Love video. Shortly afterwards, he is replaced by Ben Shepherd. The band’s first music video, Flower, is directed by Mark Miremont.

1990 – Soundgarden receives a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance for Ultramega OK.

1991 – The new line up records Badmotorfinger in 1991. The band tours with Guns N’ Roses to support the album, and later releases the video compilation Motorvision, filmed on that tour.

1992 – Soundgarden appears in the Cameron Crowe movie Singles performing Birth Ritual and Chris Cornell solo song Seasons is also included on the soundtrack. From July, the band joins the Lollapalooza tour alongside the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, and Ministry.

1993 – Under the name M.A.C.C, Chris Cornell covers Jimi Hendrix’s “Hey Baby (House Of The New Rising Sun)” along with Mike McCready, Jeff Ament and Matt Cameron. The track is released in October on Hendrix tribute album Stone Free, alongside tracks by Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Paul Rodgers and others.

1994 – Soundgarden plays in Australia and Japan for the first time. In March, the album Superunknown is released and becomes the band’s breakout album as they continue to tour worldwide. The music video for Black Hole Sun is a hit on MTV and wins Best Metal/Hard Rock Video at the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards. Soundgarden receive two Grammy Awards in 1995; Black Hole Sun for Best Hard Rock Performance and Spoonman for Best Metal Performance.

1996- The band’s final album is 1996’s self-produced Down on the Upside. Singles include Pretty Noose, Blow Up the Outside World, and Burden in My Hand.

1997 – February 9 sees Soundgarden’s last 90s show at Honolulu’s Blaisdell Arena. Exactly two months later, they disband. A greatest-hits compilation titled A-Sides, is released in November.

2010 – In August, Soundgarden make a historic return to the live stage as headliners for Chicago’s Lollapalooza festival, and release their retrospective album ‘Telephantasm’ in September.

2011 – Soundgarden announce the March release of live album ‘Live on I5’, taken from their 1996 US tour, and enter the studio to begin recording new material. In Summer, following Chris Cornell’s ‘Songbook’ solo acoustic tour, Soundgarden embark on a tour of the US and Canada.

2012 – Soundgarden tour in Australia, New Zealand, Europe and North America. Their album ‘King Animal’ is released on November 13.

2013 – Soundgarden tour North America.

2014 – Soundgarden tour in North America and Europe. Superunknown received a 20th Anniversary reissue. In November, rarities collection “Echo of Miles: Scattered Tracks Across The Path” is released.

2015 – Soundgarden tour in Australia and New Zealand.

2016 – The album Badmotorfinger receives a 25th Anniversary reissue.

2017 – The band tour the USA.

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A Soundgarden Tour of Seattle – 9 spots you can still visit

Posted by Brian Cicioni | Apr 6, 2020 | Music , Pacific Northwest | 13 |

Soundgarden

Coryell apartments, the moore theatre, museum of pop culture, paramount theatre, ray's boathouse, a sound garden, west point lighthouse, ray’s boathouse.

Chris Cornell started working in this Seattle institution as a dishwasher back in the early 1980s. According to a Seattle Times article from around the one-year anniversary of his death, the young, long-haired teenager used to enjoy impersonating rock stars while he hosed off floor mats down by the dock. His older brother (Peter) got him the job, and he in turn, got his friend Kevin a job. Some say that Kevin from the song “Full On Kevin’s Mom” off Soundgarden’s 1989 major label debut is a reference to Chris’ former friend and co-worker.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Brian Cicioni (@brianmayroam) on Aug 16, 2019 at 12:34pm PDT

The first of the Seattle grunge bands to sign to a major label, Soundgarden took their name from this outdoor public artwork located on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) campus. The sculptural group of a dozen 21’ high steel towers makes un-grunge-like soothing sounds when the wind passes through. This is because each one is topped with an organ pipe attached to a weather vane. Bring your imagination and visit during a windy day, and maybe you’ll hear the intro to “The Day I Tried to Live” or “ Beyond the Wheel .”

Coryell Court Apartments (The Apartment Building from Singles)

The building first appears at the 8 minute and 35-second mark after the humorous black and white caption, “Have Fun Stay Single.” We first meet Cliff (played by Matt Dillon) and Steve in the building, and it makes numerous appearances throughout the film. Janet (played by Bridget Fonda) lives there as well.

Towards the end of the movie, there’s a hilarious scene where an excited Cliff surprises Janet with a new car stereo he installed for her. As the music starts ( “Jinx” by Tad ), a stoned-looking Chris Cornell comes walking out of one of the apartments dressed in black. As he’s standing beside Cliff bobbing his head, Cliff continues to turn up the music until all of the windows blow out on Janet’s car.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Brian Cicioni (@brianmayroam) on Aug 22, 2019 at 8:07am PDT

This is the lighthouse you see in Temple of the Dog’s “Hunger Strike” video. Just months before Chris Cornell broke his Rusty Cage and Eddie Vedder let the world know that he’s still alive, Temple of the Dog released their only album . It started as a tribute to Mother Love Bone (Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard’s pre-Pearl Jam band) frontman, Andrew Wood. The project started with two songs, “Say Hello 2 Heaven” and “Reach Down” and eventually was released as an album featuring Chris Cornell and the Pearl Jam lineup from 1998-present. 

The Paramount Theatre

The Paramount has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1974. Soundgarden’s March 6, 1992, Paramount show was released in its entirety under the same name as part of the 25th-anniversary re-release of Badmotorfinger .

The Moore Theatre

Dating back to 1907, the Moore is the oldest Seattle theatre that is still in use. Soundgarden recorded their 1988 Fopp EP here before signing with A & M.

MoPOP (Chris Cornell Statue)

In November 2016, the former Experience Music Project rebranded itself as the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) . The famous guitar sculpture is still there, and you can still play with an array of instruments on the second floor, but the 140,000 square foot museum now focuses on film as well. Outside the museum, there’s a life-sized bronze statue of Chris Cornell, with guitar in hand.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Brian Cicioni (@brianmayroam) on Aug 25, 2019 at 8:15am PDT

The 5th floor at the Hotel Max pays tribute to Sub Pop Records. Each door is designed with a black and white Charles Peterson photograph of a Seattle rock icon. Each room has a Crosley record player with a small Sub Pop vinyl collection along with some books about the grunge era. The door of room 509 has a Soundgarden picture from the Louder Than Love era. Inside the room, the vinyl version of Ultramega Ok hangs on the wall, held up by guitar straps.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Brian Cicioni (@brianmayroam) on Aug 11, 2019 at 11:40am PDT

KEXP started in 1972 as part of the University of Washington. With a team of 60 employees and 45 deejays, they are on air 24/7, 365 days a year. Unlike other radio stations in the United States, KEXP disc jockeys are allowed to play what they want.

Tours are offered daily at 2 PM. In the summer months, there’s also a morning tour. They are limited to 45-minutes, which is not much time if you want to check out their extensive vinyl and CD collections. Two of the more interesting items in their collection are original 1991 vinyl releases of Nirvana’s Nevermind and Soundgarden’s Badmotorfinger . Numerous stickers are attached to the sleeves with comments from KEXP deejays. Comments include, “This entire album ( Badmotorfinger ) is a perfect fusion of rock/metal/punk.” When Chris Cornell died, hundreds of fans descended on the KEXP lobby area. The place quickly reached capacity, and an impromptu memorial service was held for one of the most iconic vocalists to come out of Seattle in the past 35 years.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Brian Cicioni (@brianmayroam) on Aug 10, 2019 at 6:54pm PDT

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I stayed at the Kimpton Palladian Hotel , which is conveniently located across the street from the Moore Theatre and within walking distance of many other Seattle grunge landmarks . Here’s a more general list of rock and roll landmarks in Seattle .

About The Author

Brian Cicioni

Brian enjoys exploring different cities along public transit lines and writing about it on his blog, IMayRoam.com. He also writes about food tours, layovers, and exploring movie and musical landmarks. You can find some of his work on Fodor’s, Insider, InsideHook, Travel + Leisure, and USA Today. Brian has traveled to more than 50 countries as well as every state. On weekends, he leads music and film-focused tours of New York City. His five-star rated Goodfellas Tour of NYC has been featured in Airbnb Magazine. Always happy to offer tips to aspiring travel writers and tour guides, Brian has spoken at events, including the Travel & Adventure Show, TBEX, and the New York Times Travel Show.

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13 Comments

Wow! I only see this place when I’m watching movies. Thank you for the virtual tour!

Wow this place looks totally awesome! How I wish I have chance to visit in Seattle someday nice pictures!

You know growing up a Gen X kid, I definitely was aware of Soundgarden but I have to say in the 90s I very much disliked the whole grunge scene coming out of Seattle. It wasn’t until Chris Cornell took over the lead of Rage and became Audioslave that I suddenly fell in love with his voice and styles. Then after I returned to Soundgarden and my ear suddenly became appreciative of their music. I personally would love to see all the old places he played at in Seattle. I missed that the last time I was there but it is a great reason to return.

I was thrilled in 2005, when Audioslave began playing Soundgarden songs. But I didn’t think Chris sounded right singing RATM songs at all.

Yeah, I can see that. I preferred Rage over soundgarden back then, so it never bothered me. Did you ever see the Audioslave live concert in Cuba? Its amazeballs!!!

Yes, I have the Live in Cuba DVD. I actually prefer the Audioslave version of Outshined to the original.

Yeah, its great.

Omg, I can only imagine Seattle was a paradise for you! I lived there for a few years (in the 90s!) and love love loved the music scene. So happy I was there for it!

What a great unique way to visit a place, especially if you are a music lover. I would think that all the places you mention are visited regularly by fans of Soundgarden.

When in Seattle one definitely should check out the grunge spots!

I just visited Seattle for the first time in September and really loved it. Thanks for sharing a unique way to visit the city and how the area influenced Soundgarden.

Absolutely Loved your informative Soundgarden Tour of Seattle with real life references and photos.

Thanks, Vicky. Heading back out there this week.

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SOUNDGARDEN

Chris Cornell (vocal & guitar) / Kim Thayil (lead guitar) / Matt Cameron (drums) / Ben Shepherd (bass)

Hiro Yamamoto (bass 1984-1989) / Scott Sundquist (drums 1985-1986) / Jason Everman (bass 1989-1990)

Hailed as grunge innovators, Soundgarden redefined rock music for a generation. In the 80s and 90s, its punk ethos, coupled with a brutal metal soundscape and Chris Cornell’s ravenous roar, seduced audiences hungry for something new.

Initially a drummer, Cornell soon moved on to vocals and guitar, writing songs alongside guitarist Kim Thayil and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Jagged and ferocious, their music was deeply at odds with the synth-pop and hair metal which dominated the ‘80s airwaves.

Early indie releases, including seminal EP Screaming Life and Grammy-nominated album Ultramega OK, quickly collected a dedicated indie following as the band toured on both sides of the Atlantic.

After the departure of Yamamoto and a brief stint by Jason Everman on bass, Ben Shepherd completed what now became the band’s classic lineup and Soundgarden became the first of the new generation of Seattle bands to sign to a major label.

1991’s platinum album Badmotorfinger attracted critical applause from all over the world (NME called it “stripped down, lithe and lethal”) and a tour supporting Guns ‘n’ Roses gave wider exposure to Soundgarden’s wild originality and outsider allure.

Mainstream success came with the 1994 release of Superunknown, recently re-released in a special 20th anniversary edition. An immediate #1 album in the States, it netted Soundgarden two Grammys, shifted millions of units worldwide, and introduced the band to a mass TV audience via the video for Black Hole Sun. At the same time it explored a menacing interior landscape teeming with pain, fear, fury and defiance. As Rolling Stone concluded, “it demonstrates far greater range than many bands manage in an entire career.”

Two years later, Down on the Upside continued the band’s musical development away from alt-metal into hard-edged experimentation. Rave called it “full of dualities and binary oppositions”; People said “Soundgarden breaks down the walls and pulverizes them.” Self-produced and stylistically various, it was perhaps the most complete expression of just how far the band had travelled.

After a dozen years, five pioneering albums and a slew of singles, Soundgarden played its final live show of the century in Honolulu on February 9 1997 and spent the next thirteen years on hiatus while its members pursued other musical projects.

At the dawn of 2010, Soundgarden announced a new beginning. The first 21st century show in front of hometown fans and Seattle greats at the city’s Showbox venue sold out in mere minutes. After headlining the famous Lollapalooza festival, the Chicago Tribune hailed Soundgarden as “one of the last great hard-rock bands to emerge in the last 25 years.”

2010’s Telephantasm was a career-spanning retrospective celebrating the band’s legacy; along with rediscovered 90s live set Live on I5, it introduced Soundgarden’s work to a new generation. An acclaimed world tour was followed by the release of single “Live To Rise”, specially written for the end-credits of Josh Whedon’s smash-hit movie, Marvel’s The Avengers.

2012’s King Animal continued Soundgarden’s courageous musical exploration while maintaining its special identity. The album’s character is rooted deeply within the wild landscape of the Pacific North West – an atmosphere which still resonates strongly for the band. In their review, the BBC dubbed 2012’s Soundgarden “dark Americana…a stadium band yet still outsiders.” Rolling Stone called the album “a weirdly cool beast…as ageless as it is anachronistic.”

In 2014 the band toured South America and Europe before embarking on a co-headlining tour with Nine Inch Nails in the US. The following year, they visited Australia and New Zealand and released a triple album of B-sides and rarities, Echo Of Miles: Scattered Tracks Across The Path.

Whether in the studio or on the road, Soundgarden remains a truly ‘alternative’ band in an age when the word has been devalued to just another genre label. Though firmly anchored in their shared sense of place and happy to be honouring their legacy, they continue to be instinctive pathfinders. In Chris Cornell’s words – “I don’t think we’ve ever had to find a compass and redirect ourselves to the north.”

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The Story Behind the Soundgarden Concert That Helped Launch Sub Pop Records

Click here to read the full article on SPIN.

(Editor’s note: Total F*king Godhead , author Corbin Reiff’s outstanding new biography on Chris Cornell is out tomorrow. Ahead of its release, we’re sharing a blurb on how Soundgarden ’s 1985 concert in Seattle helped spur on Sub Pop Records . Before that, Reiff gives some background to how that all went down)

You really can’t tell the story of Soundgarden and Chris Cornell without talking about the genesis of Sub Pop Records. You also can’t recount the expansive history of Sub Pop without acknowledging the important role that Soundgarden played in getting that label off the ground. One of the very first releases that Sub Pop ever put out was Soundgarden’s first single, “Hunted Down / “Nothing to Say” in July 1987, followed just a few months later by the band’s six-track, debut EP Screaming Life. Limited to 500 copies initially and pressed into a subdued orange vinyl, “Hunted Down” served as a savage, riff-riddled introduction to Soundgarden’s heavy aesthetic.

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Before Sub Pop became the launching pad for some of the most culturally impactful artists in American musical history, it began as an underground fanzine penned by a Chicago-born transplant to the Pacific Northwest named Bruce Pavitt. Pavitt had long been friends with Soundgarden’s guitarist Kim Thayil, who once played in a band called Identity Crisis with Pavitt’s younger brother John while they both lived in the Midwest. Once Pavitt started putting out tapes and records under the Sub Pop name, it only made sense that he and Thayil might work together on something. The only problem was that while Pavitt had the credibility and connections within the world of indie rock, he didn’t have the funds to make it happen. That’s when another Midwest transplant to Seattle, a guy named Jonathan Poneman, entered the picture.

Poneman was one of Soundgarden’s earliest and most dedicated fans. It all started with a gig he happened to catch early on in the band’s career at the Rainbow Tavern near the University of Washington in Seattle. After that night, he came away convinced that he had to do whatever he could to help this group put out a record. He ultimately partnered with Pavitt and put up $20,000 of his own money to help Chris and the band realize their dreams.

While researching my book Total F*cking Godhead: The Biography of Chris Cornell , I swung by Sub Pop headquarters and sat down with Poneman to interview him about his memories of Chris, Soundgarden, and that fateful night that changed the music scene in Seattle forever. Here it is, recounted below:

Credit: Alison S. Braun/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images

It was an unseasonably chilly evening in Seattle on July 30, 1985. Having just finished band practice, Jonathan Poneman was driving his buddy Mark home when he decided to swing through the University District to settle up with the promoter of a small venue named the (Fabulous) Rainbow Tavern.

Poneman had recently moved from Toledo, Ohio, and enrolled at the University of Washington where he landed a role as one of the DJs for the college’s Audioasis hour on KCMU. To help raise funds for the station, he started booking and promoting a weekly showcase of local bands at the Rainbow. It was a good look for the station, building a tangible link between themselves and the musicians within the local music scene. It was also a good look for the Rainbow who figured that whatever young band might play that typically sleepy weekday evening would bring in at least a few dozen of their friends eager to spend their money on drinks.

Through the large window at the front of the venue, Poneman could see the opening band Skin Yard was onstage. He liked what he heard, and was especially taken by their drummer, a kid named Matt Cameron who was playing out of his mind. “I thought, ‘This is a guy who’s a cut above everyone else,’” Poneman said. “The guitar player was good, the bass player was good, but the drummer was really great.” Skin Yard’s singer Ben McMillan, also a KCMU DJ, had lobbied Poneman hard for this Tuesday night slot and was glad to get it, but he also had an added request. “He said, ‘Would you entertain putting on a show with my band and K-Clone’s band?’”

K-Clone was another on-air talent at KCMU: the alter-ego of Kim Thayil. His band had only been together for about seven months and didn’t even have a single out yet. “I didn’t know Kim, I just knew him as his air name,” Poneman said. “I remember Ben mentioning Hiro from the Altered was in this band, and I used to like the Altered.” McMillan’s co-sign, along with his affinity for Hiro Yamamoto’s other group, was enough for Poneman to add Soundgarden to the bill, despite their hippie-dippy name.

Soundgarden hit the stage after Skin Yard, and Poneman hung around for a bit to hear K-Clone and Yamamoto for himself. A few dozen people seated in chairs dotting the floor watched the four-piece group as they launched into their rage-fueled set. They opened with “No Wrong No Right,” and Poneman’s eyes widened. Brimming with menace and stacked frenetic guitar runs, this was about as far from shoe-gazing hip- pie jams as it got.

Yamamoto and Thayil concocted an impressive cacophony, but Poneman couldn’t take his eyes off the young lead singer. Chris Cornell was unlike anything he’d ever seen before. He was a total rock star in the making, with more raw, untapped talent and charisma than any of his local peers could ever hope to have. “Chris was bare-chested, as he was apt to be,” Poneman recalled. “He was buff and had one of those teenager mustaches. He kinda reminded me of a high school football player on a PCP bender. He didn’t look like he belonged there, but his voice was incredible. His stage presence was unbelievable.”

Poneman ended up staying for the entire set. When it was over, he raced to say hello to the band. “I walked up to the front of the stage after and introduced myself to Chris, and I said, ‘My name is Jonathan, I’m the host of Audioasis and I do the booking down here, and I gotta tell you, that was one of the best shows I’ve seen in my whole life.’” Chris listened thoughtfully as Poneman gushed over his singing, his music, and his band. “I remember him sitting there, nodding his head and smiling, saying ‘That’s great!’”

Soundgarden hadn’t even played ten shows together, and even this small bit of encouragement from someone like Poneman meant a lot. “He was the first person to me that planted that seed that, ‘You guys will be the future of rock music,’” Chris remembered. “You guys will be playing huge places. You guys will be the ones on commercial rock radio stations that kids listen to in their Camaros.”1

That show at the Tavern that brusque summer night began as just another gig for Soundgarden. Chris had no way of knowing that the guy who booked them, sight unseen, would start up a record label of his own called Sub Pop. He had no way of knowing that Poneman would ultimately use Soundgarden as a critical springboard to showcase the best rock and roll the Pacific Northwest had to offer the world. To bor- row a phrase from Bruce Springsteen’s legendary manager Jon Landau, Poneman glimpsed the future of rock and roll that night at the Rainbow, and its name was Soundgarden.

“When I went into that Rainbow show, I was a struggling musician,” he said. “When I walked out of that Rainbow show, I was a struggling someday-to-be record-label head. When you confront that sort of brilliance, you just go, ‘Wow!’”

From the book TOTAL F*CKING GODHEAD: THE BIOGRAPHY OF CHRIS CORNELL by Corbin Reiff. c 2020 by Corbin Reiff. Reprinted by permission Post Hill Press.

1 “Interview With Chris Cornell Part I,” YouTube, HardDrive Radio, June 4, 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYejbFOKz5U.

To see our running list of the top 100 greatest guitarists of all time, click here .

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Remembering Soundgarden’s Final Concert

As Chris Cornell tore through a typically supercharged set with Soundgarden on the night of May 17, 2017, at Detroit's Fox Theatre, there was nothing to indicate he'd be dead just a few hours later.

Even guitarist Kim Thayil subsequently told  Billboard , "I thought the show was good. I remember Chris had just gotten [into town] and was a little tired and his voice was a little rough, but by about the fourth or fifth song, it kicked in and then it was just, like, super amazing – beautiful, clear and strong and, I thought, particularly emotive."

Cornell was discovered unconscious at 12:15AM in the bathroom of his hotel room at the nearby MGM Grand with an elastic exercise band wrapped around his neck. He was pronounced dead at 1:30AM, and Detroit police ruled it a suicide — which the Wayne County Medical Examiner confirmed a little more than two weeks later. His family, however, rejected the finding, claiming instead that Ativan, an antianxiety medication he used in his acknowledged battle against depression, played a role in his death.

Five years later the discussion of whys and wherefores has faded. The crucial thing is that Cornell, who was 52, is no longer with us, though the music he left behind has been celebrated via reissues of Soundgarden and Temple of the Dog albums and the career-spanning 2018 compilation Chris Cornell , which was curated by Cornell's widow, Vicky, Soundgarden A&R rep Jeff Fura and Thayil, who wrote an essay for the package.

There was, not surprisingly, some sentiment in the immediate wake of the tragedy that the final show was filled with hints that all was not right with Cornell. But that was simply not the case. The two-hour, 19-song show offered a wide-ranging romp through Soundgarden's six-album catalog, with plenty of expected favorites such as "Spoonman," "Burden in My Hand," "My Wave," "Fell on Black Days" and "Black Hole Sun." The group also dug into deep cuts such as "Hunted Down" from its first Sub Pop EP, 1987's Screaming Life , along with Superunknown tracks such as "Kickstand" and "Mailman." Interestingly, there was nothing from 1988's Ultramega OK , Soundgarden's full-length debut, which the group had reissued in an expanded, remastered edition just two months earlier.

Watch Soundgarden Perform 'Black Hole Sun' at the Last Concert in 2017

Cornell was energetic and ebullient through the show, in a strong voice and hitting all the expected screams as well as fist-bumping with fans in the pit in front of the stage. He also went out of his way to flatter the city, tweeting , "Finally back in Detroit Rock City" with a picture of the Fox Theatre earlier in the day and telling fans at the show, "It's great to be back here, honestly."

"I have bragged about Detroit crowds for 30 years," he added. "There's no other crowd that never, ever disappoints" He saved more praise for the encore, declaring, "Detroit, you guys show up! I feel sorry for the next place we play, but we don't have the same expectations."

There was a point mid-show where Cornell was absent from the stage for a protracted period, but Thayil said it was simply because the guitar Cornell was playing next had fallen out of tune and a backup wasn't immediately ready. "He had to leave the stage, I remember," said Thayil, "and he just kind of poked his head around and said, 'Go ahead, start without me,' at which point [bassist] Ben [Shepherd] started jamming on something and we all fell in until Chris was ready." More telling about Cornell's state of mind to many came when he slipped a bit of Led Zeppelin 's "In My Time of Dying" into the closing "Slaves & Bulldozers." But Thayil noted "that wasn't the first time he did that. He liked the song – he liked Led Zeppelin. ... And he often added bits or snippets of other songs like that into the shows, especially at the end. So, maybe ... but I don't think so."

Thayil largely agreed that hindsight was inevitable but not exactly 20/20. "You know, people speculate, and they get causality in reverse," said the guitarist, who, along with drummer Matt Cameron, visited with friends backstage after the show. The rest of the group didn't hear about Cornell's death until they were on a bus headed to the next show, at the Rock on the Range festival in Columbus, Ohio, which turned into a multi-band wake for the singer. "I guess it's natural to try to fill in the blanks to explain a particular mystery. I think it's natural to say that 'We know something terrible happened, so we know there must have been some sort of problem. Let's see what that problem might be. Well, come to think of it, the show was kind of messy.'"

Cornell was cremated on May 23 – the same day Norah Jones played a solo piano version of "Black Hole Sun" at the Fox Theatre in Cornell's honor — and his ashes were buried three days later at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, next to Johnny Ramone's memorial statue. Thayil, Cameron, Shepherd and former Soundgarden members Hiro Yamamoto and Scott Sundquist spoke, as did Pearl Jam 's Jeff Ament and Mike McCready , who played with Cornell in Temple of the Dog, and his Audioslave bandmate Tom Morello . Linkin Park 's Chester Bennington and Brad Delson performed Leonard Cohen 's "Hallelujah." (Bennington, who was a close friend,  killed himself on July 20, which would have been Cornell's 53rd birthday.) Cornell's death would be mourned around the world for months to come, from Seattle's Space Needle to baseball games. Heart 's Ann Wilson and Alice in Chains ' Jerry Cantrell paid tribute to Cornell with a performance of "Black Hole Sun" at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on April 14, 2018, in Cleveland. (Soundgarden have been nominated, but not yet voted into the Rock Hall.)

Watch Norah Jones Perform 'Black Hole Sun' on May 23, 2017

The next Rock on the Range festival coincided with the first anniversary of Cornell's death. Alice in Chains honored him by playing two Soundgarden songs , "Hunted Down" and "Boot Camp," arranging the stage lights to spell out "CC" and "SG" at the end of the latter. Two nights later,  Tool dedicated their Rock on the Range set to Cornell.

Cornell's family continued to question the official autopsy and also criticized what seemed like an excessive wait — 41 minutes – to get a medical team to the hotel. In November 2018, it sued Cornell's physician, Dr. Robert Koblin, for "negligently and repeatedly" prescribing "dangerous mind-altering controlled substances ... which impaired Mr. Cornell's cognition, clouded his judgment and caused him to engage in dangerous impulsive behaviors that he was unable to control, costing him his life." Details of the April 2021 out-of-court settlement were kept confidential .

Soundgarden, meanwhile, have continued to exist in archival form with releases such as Live From the Artists Den and Essentials , both from 2019. Cameron continues his membership in Pearl Jam, while Thayil pulled himself out of a post-Cornell " fetal position " to be part of Wayne Kramer's MC50 band, with which Cameron also made appearances. The guitarist has also made guest appearances on several other projects, and he and Cameron are part of the Seattle band 3rd Secret with Nirvana bassist Kris Novoselic and others. More vault projects are likely in the future, though another version of Soundgarden has not been spoken about publicly.

"We often reference rock history, and we've often commented on what other bands in similar situations have done," Thayil explained, "not as a plan or anything but just commenting on how bands have handled situations like this and what bands seem to have been graceful and dignified in how they manage their future musical endeavors and how some maybe were clumsy and callous. We think about those things. We try not to go too deep into these conversations, but stuff comes up after a few beers."

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The best Soundgarden live performances show how the group transcended even their own recordings to become an unparalleled force of nature.

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As the best Soundgarden live performances prove, the rock legends weren’t simply a band, they were a sonic strike-force unrivalled in music. With dextrous rhythm section Matt Cameron and Ben Shepherd providing that all-important bedrock for guitarist Kim Thayil to unleash the deadliest riffs this side of Tony Iommi, and frontman Chris Cornell ’s multi-octave vocal range and commanding stage presence sealing the deal, there were absolutely no weak links in the chain.

The versatile Seattle quartet’s illustrious body of work includes highly-acclaimed alt.rock touchstones such as Badmotorfinger and 1994’s formidable Superunknown . But while the band’s studio recordings have enshrined their legend, they can’t quite match the elemental power of Soundgarden onstage. In celebration of this singular outfit, uDiscover Music presents a career-spanning, 15-song selection of the best Soundgarden live performances.

Are we missing any of your favorites? Or were you even at some of the ones we have picked? If so, let us know in the comments section below.

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Listen to Soundgarden’s Live At The Artist’s Den right now.

15: Get On The Snake (Whiskey A Go Go, Los Angeles, 1989)

Soundgarden was the first of the Seattle grunge acts to sign to a major label, with A&M releasing their second album, 1989’s Louder Than Love . The group’s new label also gave future Nirvana / R.E.M. director Kevin Kerslake the green light to film one of the shows on the ensuing US tour. Released as the Louder Than Live video in May 1990, the hand-held black-and-white footage vividly captures Cornell and co riding their first surge of popularity. An incendiary set, performed at LA rock shrine Whiskey A Go Go, it peaks with a relentlessly heavy version of “Get On The Snake.” The audio recording was later released on 2010’s career-spanning anthology, Telephantasm.

14: Burden In My Hand ( Saturday Night Live , 1996)

As the follow-up to the colossal Superunknown , Soundgarden’s fifth album, Down On The Upside , was one of 1996’s most hotly-anticipated releases. The band trailed the record with the anthemic ‘Pretty Noose’, but also stopped by at NBC’s Saturday Night Live studio in New York to perform a coruscating version of its follow-up single, “Burden In My Hand,” in May 1996. Introduced by Jim Carrey and filmed using split-screen techniques, the Seattle quartet performed with power and charisma to spare, with Chris Cornell looking especially sharp in a black shirt with matching Fender Telecaster.

13: Fell On Black Days (Henry J Kaiser Convention Center, Oakland, 1996)

Soundgarden had planned to release their first official live album in the wake of Down On The Upside . With this in mind, they commissioned producer Adam Kasper ( Aerosmith , Foo Fighters) to record several of the West Coast shows on their 1996 US tour, on a mobile, 24-track facility. The project was shelved after the band split in 1997, but revisited when they reunited 13 years later. Live On I-5 (the title referenced the Pacific Coast Highway’s Interstate 5) was released in March 2011, revealing that Soundgarden was in lean and hungry live form on their Down On The Upside trek. Several of Live On I-5 ’s tracks are contenders for inclusion in this list of the best Soundgarden live performances, with this intense version of Superunknown ’s “Fell On Black Days” ranking among the essentials.

12: Beyond The Wheel (Exhibition Stadium, Toronto, 1993)

They’d long since proved themselves, but Soundgarden was simply a force of nature as they worked towards their colossal fourth album, Superunknown . All the proof you need exists in this monolithic version of their Black Sabbath -esque Ultramega OK stand-out “Beyond The Wheel” (later released as a “Black Hole Sun” B-side), captured at a 1993 show at Toronto’s Exhibition Stadium. Chris Cornell’s octave-defying vocals have to be heard to be believed.

11: My Wave (Jones Beach Amphitheatre, New York, 1993)

This magnificent live version of one of Superunknown ’s key tracks later appeared on the album’s deluxe reissue. Again captured during 1993, from a show at New York’s Jones Beach Amphitheatre, this remarkable take of “My Wave” is both joyful and turbulent, with Matt Cameron performing minor miracles behind the drum kit and Cornell’s vocal expertly riding the waves as Kim Thayil throws out riff after riff.

10: Jesus Christ Pose (Rushmore Plaza Civic Center, Rapid City, South Dakota, 1993)

Arguably the most visceral of all Soundgarden songs, “Jesus Christ Pose” was always performed live with a manic intensity that matched Chris Cornell’s self-flagellating lyric. While you’re hard-pressed to identify the definitive live take of this exceptional song, this seven-minute blow-out from Rushmore, South Dakota, circa ’93 (initially an extra on the CD single of “Black Hole Sun” and later released on Telephantasm ) is as good as any.

9: Searching With My Good Eye Closed ( Hype! film performance, 1996)

The looming, Badmotorfinger -era psych-rocker “Searching With My Good Eye Closed” was a high point of most Soundgarden live sets during the 90s, so fans are spoilt for choice where live performances of this song are concerned. The Live On I-5 cut is terrific, as is this version, which was included in director Doug Pray’s grunge movie, Hype! , from 1996, and intercut with a brief interview with Kim Thayil and Matt Cameron. Sub Pop released a spin-off soundtrack to Hype! which featured Soundgarden performing an excellent version of ‘Nothing To Say’ instead.

8: Blind Dogs ( Live From The Artists Den , 2013)

Soundgarden submitted “Blind Dogs” for Island Records’ soundtrack to the 1995 U.S. crime drama The Basketball Diaries , based upon Jim Carroll’s autobiographical novel of the same name. While the song was widely acclaimed, the band never played “Blind Dogs” live until 2013, when they afforded it a suitably mesmeric debut during their career-spanning Live From The Artists Den set at The Wiltern in LA.

7: Rowing ( The Late Show With David Letterman , 2012)

In celebration of their 2012 comeback, King Animal , Soundgarden played an exclusive hour-long set for The Late Show With David Letterman . They dipped into their back catalog for Superunknown’s “Fell On Black Days” and Ultramega OK ’s “Beyond The Wheel,” but inevitably concentrated on their new album. All of its material sounded mighty fine, though the leftfield, loops- and electronica-based “Rowing” was agreeably robust in a live setting.

6: Outshined (Paramount Theatre, Seattle, 1992)

A&M’s initial Soundgarden live video, Louder Than Live , was a relatively low-key affair and, to date, has not been reissued. Again directed by Kevin Kerslake, their second in-concert release, Motorvision , was a significantly higher-profile title that captured the Seattle quartet just as Badmotorfinger launched them on the international stage. Filmed at an absolutely rammed hometown show at the Paramount Theatre, Soundgarden are in electrifying form, with a setlist including superb versions of “Jesus Christ Pose,” “Slaves And Bulldozers” and a truly stupendous “Outshined.”

5: Black Rain ( Conan , 2010)

Effectively the song that resulted in Soundgarden’s fully-fledged reunion, “Black Rain” had been demoed as early as 1991, but was only finished by the band and Down On The Upside producer Adam Kasper in 2010, when it was uncovered during a search for archival material. The song was released a single and included on the Telephantasm compilation, while the band’s memorably visceral performance of it on Conan O’Brien’s TBS talk show marked their first TV appearance together in 13 years.

4: Room A Thousand Years Wide/Somewhere (1996)

The 1996 live recordings which were eventually compiled for Live On I-5 also spawned a 2011 Black Friday Record Store Day exclusive, Before The Doors: Live On I-5 . A limited-edition orange-vinyl EP, it was compiled from soundcheck recordings from the Down On The Upside tour, but the ferocious versions of Badmotorfinger stand-outs “Room A Thousand Years Wide” and “Somewhere” were worth the price of admission alone.

3: Rusty Cage ( Later… With Jools Holland , 2012)

In addition to their widely-hailed Live On Letterman performance, Soundgarden also ventured to the UK to turn in a blinding mini-set for the ever-popular Later… With Jools Holland , in November 2012. They performed a squalling version of King Animal ’s “Been Away Too Long” that night, but their truly blistering take of Badmotorfinger ’s “Rusty Cage” is the one we’ll still be talking about for decades to come.

2: Black Hole Sun ( Live From The Artists Den , 2013)

Even when pitted against a body of work such as Soundgarden’s, a song as singular as “Black Hole Sun” will stand apart. With its dreamy, “White Album” -esque atmosphere and dazzling ensemble performance, the band’s signature hit has an indefinable quality that renders it timeless. It’s always a song Chris Cornell and the troops put their heart and soul into onstage, so it’s no surprise that the rendition Soundgarden turned in for their Live From The Artists Den extravaganza is one of the most memorable of all.

1: Spoonman (Del Mar Fairgrounds, Del Mar, 1996)

One of Soundgarden’s most wonderfully peculiar quirks was their penchant for songs with unlikely time signatures. Indeed, any number of the selections here, from “Get On The Snake” (played in 9/4) to “Black Rain” (in 9/8), illustrate this point. However, their most daring, tempo-defying set-piece, Superunknown ’s “Spoonman,” vacillates from 7/4 to 3/4 (during the spoon solo) and back into a slightly less hair-raising 4/4. Soundgarden loved the challenge of performing the song and it became a highlight of their set from 1993 on. This version, from their 1996 Del Mar Fairgrounds show, which turned up on Live On I-5 , surely ranks among the very best in their career.

Soundgarden’s Live At The Artist’s Den performance is available as a 4LP, 2CD or Blu-ray release, and can be bought here .

gene claywell

July 26, 2019 at 10:02 pm

Rowing u2 Stadium london hands down best live performance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvVpNZMRzfU

July 27, 2019 at 2:20 am

(song #4) it’s “Room a Thousand YEARS Wide” not Yards

July 27, 2019 at 4:07 am

ALL OF THESE TRACKS ARE PHENOMENAL CHRIS CORNELL IS A MUSICAL GOD RIP YOU ARE MISSED IMMENSELY!!!!

david seaman

July 27, 2019 at 6:14 pm

Obviously you guys are Fairweather fans if you don’t put their cover of Body Counts Cop Killer from Lollapalooza 92 at the top of the list.

Go find it on YouTube…40k+ people chanting along fuck the police while Chris dedicated the song to the “too much coffee drinking, too much donut eating, too quick on the trigger motherfuckers”

Please. Do your homewirk.

September 29, 2020 at 7:17 am

Birth Ritual https://youtu.be/vB4x2LF7FT8 Cornell went full on rock god on this one

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"I don't like the production of that record. I don't like how it sounds. I don't like how it looks": Soundgarden look back at their breakthrough album Superunknown

Grunge‘s founding fathers, Soundgarden watched the bands they inspired shoot past them. But with their mighty fourth album, Superunknown, they would help define the 1990s

In 2014, Soundgarden celebrated the 20th anniversary of Superunknown , the album that catapulted them into the major leagues. To mark the occasion, band members Chris Cornell, Kim Thayil and Ben Shepherd spoke to Classic Rock about their memories of the album's creation, and the uncomfortable places it took them.

It begins with a simple question. On the line is Ben Shepherd, bassist with Soundgarden, and a man whose speaking voice sounds like Tom Waits were his batteries running down. With a truck driver’s abruptness and heavily creased look, ‘rustic’ would be a good word to describe him. This evening Shepherd is on the stump to talk about his band’s fourth album, the timeless Superunknown , which this year celebrates its 20th anniversary. I ask him what it is he hears when he listens to the album now.

“I’ve never listened to it,” Shepherd says in a voice that sounds like a heavy door slowly creaking shut.

Right. What?

“I’ve never listened to it. I turned my back on it.”

Okay . And why did you do that?

“Because it went to number one. I thought, Oh crap, we’re now one of those bands. Fuck everything,” he says. When Shepherd says this, he sounds not like a well-cossetted rock musician who has earned significant wealth from his trade, but rather like his younger self: a man whose band were once signed to Black Flag guitarist Greg Ginn’s avowedly do-it-your-fucking-self label SST , and who has never risen above this station.

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“I don’t like the production of that record,” he says. “I don’t like how it sounds. I don’t like how it looks. If people like it then I’m flattered and I’m honoured and all that ‘make people happy bullshit’. But, for me, when an album is done, it’s done, it’s time to move on to something else.”

Here – and there is a reasonable chance that he knows this – Shepherd is talking out of his hat. Even before the passage of time had enabled listeners to properly separate the wheat from the Weetabix of the rock music released in the 1990s, it was obvious that Superunknown was the most exceptional offering from a band whose overall body of work is rarely less than exceptional. 

Painted on a canvas that may as well have been hung on the side of a 15-storey apartment building, the 16-song set cruised from the impossibly claustrophobic ( Limo Wreck , 4th Of July ) to the oddly anthemic ( Superunknown, Black Hole Sun ) to the downright playful ( Kickstand ). The album – as Soundgarden themselves would never dream of putting it – exploded into the sky, debuting at No.1 on the US Billboard Hot 200 chart and going on to sell more than five million copies in the US alone.

“Musically we were ready to try on a lot of new clothes, in a sense,” says singer and occasional guitarist Chris Cornell , a man whose squeeze-my-lemon looks and captivating voice gave his band an organic, classic rock quality. “Although we had only been known internationally for a couple of years, we had been a band for quite a long time by that point. So we needed to express ourselves differently… And for me personally, I finally had the tools to take the music I heard in my head and express it in the way that I really wanted to.”

The album that would elevate its creators to much the same level as some of the bands they initially influenced shimmered into view in increments, the fragments of which can be traced back well before its release in March 1994. Four years previously the group were riding on the Santa Monica Freeway when the radio station KROQ tossed Get On The Snake on to the air. The song was from the group’s second album and major-label debut Louder Than Love , as gnarled and testing a record as Soundgarden would ever make. Cornell couldn’t believe that his band were being played on a mainstream US rock station. He was also struck by how at home the song sounded on the radio, even though “it was different from everything else that was being played”.

Of course, this was at a time when the tectonic plates beneath the very foundations of modern rock music were soon to buckle and crack. The site of all this activity was not located on the San Andreas fault, but the hitherto unheralded and charmingly rain-soaked North-Western city of Seattle. Before you could say ‘the times they are a-changing’, Soundgarden had been joined at the major label table by fellow Seattle-ites and kindred spirits Mother Love Bone, Alice In Chains , Nirvana and, later, Pearl Jam . Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic claims that it was Soundgarden’s decision to sign with A&M Records – and the advice given by the latter’s then-manager, Susan Silver – that had given his own three-piece group the confidence to sign with the Geffen label.

And then it all happened. Within four weeks of each other, Nirvana released Nevermind and Pearl Jam unveiled Ten , and suddenly scores of well-groomed hard rock and metal bands found that overnight their futures had been cancelled and their pasts negated. With what was at the time almost a footnote, on October 8, 1991 Soundgarden released their third album, Badmotorfinger , a record that, despite paling in comparison to these other two albums, would sell more than a million copies in America.

Suddenly – and it really was very sudden indeed – it wasn’t so much a case of the Jet City being placed on the map, but rather there no longer being any maps at all, just a handwritten sign that pointed to one destination: Seattle.

“When Nevermind came out and Ten came out, this was the year that we released our fourth album,” says Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil. “We’d been a band then for seven years. We’d toured the country more than once in a van. So I think we definitely did look at those albums and think, well we’ve definitely paid our dues, so it would be nice if we had a bit of that actual success rather than just critical acclaim, you know? 

"At the time, we were getting by pretty much on positive [press] reviews alone. It would be nice to be able to buy a home, I remember thinking, because at that time I was living in the same place that I lived in when I went to college. That kind of security would make the emotional and musical investment worthwhile.”

Cryptically, Cornell describes the writing process for Superunknown as being “as easy or as difficult as we wanted to make them”. Writing sessions began after the band’s appearance at 1992’s Lollapalooza tour. The process was reactive, rather than mapped out in advance.

“We’d listen to the material we’d gotten together and then analyse what we had, what we felt about it and what it said about where we were as a band,” says Thayil. “Nothing was premeditated. We weren’t the kind of band that talked about that kind of stuff.”

“I can’t say that we knew that what we had was significant in a wider sense,” says Cornell, “but I think we knew that what we were writing was different from what we’d done before. I knew that internally we were now really stretching our limbs.”

Recording sessions for the album began at Bad Animals Studios in Seattle in July ’93 and ran for almost three months. In an effort to fully re-imagine their sound, the band took the unusual decision to record each track one at a time. It was an exacting process. And in order to help shape their material in the unforgiving confines of the studio they enlisted the services of a producer whose pursuit of specific sounds for certain songs was recognised as being relentless.

Michael Beinhorn began his musical life as a musician in the 1970s. As a producer he made his bow with the great jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, and by the time Nirvana had rerouted the musical A To Z, he had worked with Red Hot Chili Peppers and Soul Asylum, among others.

“To me, Beinhorn was an innovator,” says Ben Shepherd – this despite the bassist claiming to dislike the sound of Superunknown . “He totally thought outside of the box. Then again, I’d just go in there, record my parts and then leave.”

Kim Thayil remembers the recording experience rather differently. The guitarist says that Soundgarden “were strong-headed enough not to do anything that we didn’t want to do”, and so Michael Beinhorn’s reputation as “a taskmaster wouldn’t really have worked with us because we would have stood up to that. He wasn’t a drill sergeant, but he could certainly be a monumental pain in the ass. If he got us motivated he did so by being the flea on the elephant’s bum.”

For example?

“He was difficult because he’d want us to repeat things over and over again, whereas we wanted things to be fresh; we certainly didn’t want to beat something to death. I remember I played the main riff to Limo Wreck for about two or three days, over and over again, trying to hone it down and to get the sound right. Now as far as I’m concerned, he’s the engineer, so he can be concerned about the sound. If he’s having me play a riff over and over again for three days trying to get a good amp sound, then he’s wearing out my fingers in order to impress his ears.”

In the intervening years other stories of complications of a different kind have leaked into the public domain. Several years ago, Cornell revealed that he was “drunk” for the recording of Soundgarden’s final two albums. On hearing this today, Thayil says: “Chris said he was what? Drunk?” in the same way he might say: “Chris said he was a sabre tooth tiger?”

“Alcohol was never part of our creative process,” says Cornell. “It was never an inspiration for writing songs. If anything, it slowed us down. But if a song was written, then I might get drunk in the studio. There is the thing of making things as difficult for yourself as you can. You still triumph, but if there’s no impediments in the way then sometimes you don’t really get a sense of achievement out of it. So making things difficult for ourselves was definitely something that we did.”

If Cornell – or any other member of Soundgarden, for that matter – was blind drunk during the recording of Superunknown , it doesn’t show. Mixed by Brendan O’Brien, it was unveiled to the rest of world on March 7, 1994 and a day later in the US. Reviews were effusive, and advance chatter volcanic. Better yet, in the three years that had elapsed since the release of Badmotorfinger Soundgarden had been the beneficiaries of that most precious of things: word-of-mouth buzz. The ground, clearly, was prepared for the eruption that followed. Within seven days the album was the most sought-after property in America.

For all their achievements inside and outside of the studio, there was a nagging doubt at the heart of Soundgarden. The profile of other bands from their home town both lessened and enlarged the impact of Superknown ’s success.

“There was an impact that the record had that was definitely piled on top of all the other success stories that were coming out of Seattle at that time,” says Thayil. “We felt that what was good for Nirvana was good for us. Without that context, whatever success Superunknown would have had would have been more personal. But because of that wider context, it made the success a lot bigger, but also in some ways a bit smaller, if that makes sense.”

A corollary to this was a city-and movement-wide uneasiness regarding the pursuit of commercial success. This was a musical first. The alternative generation of the 1990s was a movement ridden with guilt. And despite the fact that Superunknown utilised the marketing and promotional tools of the day with some panache – with videos for the album’s five singles (most notably the magnificently creepy clip for Black Hole Sun ) being shown on heavy rotation on MTV – this was a concern from which Soundgarden were not excused.

“It was the first time that successful bands became very self-conscious about what success would mean for them,” says Cornell. “We felt as if we had to explain ourselves. We came from a world where commerce was frowned upon and where it seemed that there had to be some of kind of deception involved in getting mass amounts of people to buy your music. That was the world that we hated. But not just that, we took a platform on the fact that we hated it, as in: ‘Look, we hate this – we hate commercial music.’ And then we became that thing. So now what do we say? That we were liars? It was a moment of crisis, although I think it was less for us because we weren’t a band that had had overnight success.

“But we toured with Guns N’ Roses , and saw what the ultimate end result of that kind of thing could be. And that wasn’t something we were comfortable with. It wasn’t something we aspired to; we were self-conscious on stage in a 60,000-seat stadium.”

But then everything changed again. Just a month after Superunknown had been introduced to its waiting public, Soundgarden were in Paris, on tour with another Seattle band, Tad, when their tour manager took a call from their then-manager Susan Silver relaying the news that Kurt Cobain had called time on the alternative movement by firing the finishing gun. What followed, according to Chris Cornell, “was a strange and emotional night”.

And that, really, was the end of that. On an individual level Soundgarden would continue apace, releasing one more album, Down On The Upside , in 1996, before disbanding the following year (they re-formed in 2010 and released the excellent King Animal album in 2013). But the passion and energy of the movement as a whole had been sucked from the room. Within months of Cobain’s suicide, listeners signalled a weariness with the tone of despondency inherent in much alternative rock. This they did by voting into power a related yet fundamentally different movement, spearheaded by Green Day.

What remains is music that has aced the test of time. Of this, no record stands taller than Superunknown , an album that, even a generation on, still stands coiled and rattling with turmoil, trouble and spite. On the subject of which, the final word goes to Ben Shepherd.

“You know,” he says, “I like playing the iTunes festivals for those Apple robber barons. We play Superunknown and people are all: ‘Yay, we’re happy!’ But then we get to Limo Wreck and suddenly they’re all: ‘Oh, Soundgarden is dark!… No wonder they never got to be as big as Pearl Jam.’ I like that some people don’t like us. I like that we’re smarter than them and that we’re darker than them.”

This feature originally appeared in Classic Rock 199, published in June 2014. 

Barnsley-born author and writer Ian Winwood contributes to The Telegraph, The Times, Alternative Press and Times Radio, and has written for Kerrang!, NME, Mojo, Q and Revolver, among others. His favourite albums are Elvis Costello's King Of America and Motorhead's No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith. His favourite books are Thomas Pynchon's Vineland and Paul Auster's Mr Vertigo. His own latest book, Bodies: Life and Death in Music, is out now on Faber & Faber and is described as "genuinely eye-popping" by The Guardian, "electrifying" by Kerrang! and "an essential read" by Classic Rock. He lives in Camden Town.

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The Sotheby's of classic rock is in Glendale: Inside rock history auction house Analogr

I n a spacious, all-white showroom in Glendale, the music-obsessed auction house ANALOGr has collected an intriguing bounty of rock and pop artifacts. One of Elvis Presley’s many motorcycles, a 1976 black-and-blue Harley Davidson FLH 1200 — which he kept ready for impromptu desert rides at his spread in Palm Springs — is parked inside near the front door.

Nearby is the burgundy drum kit used by Radiohead to record its 1997 breakthrough album, “OK Computer,” sitting only inches from a peppermint candy-swirled set of drums from the White Stripes. Several hot-rodded guitars played by Eddie Van Halen fill another corner, while microphones used by Nirvana and Stevie Wonder are also within reach.

There are collectibles connected to the Beatles, the Supremes, David Bowie and the Go-Go’s, but at the moment, ANALOGr founder and Chief Executive Thomas Scriven is deep into a discussion on the Grateful Dead. The firm’s current auction, Grateful Dead 2: Rare and Curated Items, is a wide-ranging gathering of band treasures and ephemera, artwork and vintage sound equipment.

“Some of these artifacts that we're touching, they impacted music culture, pop culture, some of the biggest moments in people's lives,” says Scriven, 44, bearded in tie-dyed jeans, sounding like a true fan as he describes the many items spread out around him.

The auction was already in the planning stages when it was announced that the band’s latter-day offshoot, Dead & Company, would perform a high-profile residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas, where it is currently scheduled to remain through Aug. 10. ANALOGr likely will host another Dead auction later this year.

“We work exclusively with the artists to tell their story, authenticate everything, and then really work in partnership with them,” says Scriven. “We have a team of experts that we deal with on the Dead.”

A key ingredient in the ANALOGr marketplace is the company’s effort to tell the stories of each collectible in detail, which often means tracking down documentation and interviewing artists and experts connected to the pieces, then posting photographs and video on its website and social media. While competitors like Sotheby’s and Julien’s deal in music collectibles as part of a much broader menu of valuables, ANALOGr has found a niche with a music-only focus, giving special attention to vintage recording gear.

“They are painstakingly accurate in terms of the history,” says Butch Vig, the accomplished record producer (Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Green Day) and drummer-songwriter for Garbage. Vig will be the subject of an upcoming auction this year that will include coveted recording gear from his now-closed Smart Studios in Madison, Wis., and at least one Garbage drum set from 2005. “When Thomas was showing me all his pieces of recording gear and instruments, they have it all really well documented. That's a big part of the company that makes them special.”

For the Grateful Dead auction, ANALOGr gathered tour itineraries, backstage crew passes, sound gear, original paintings, rare posters and one-of-a-kind mockups of tour shirts that were never put into full production. At the smaller end of the scale is a pair of NBC checks to singer-guitarists Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir from a 1992 appearance on “Late Night With David Letterman,” revealing the modest fees typically paid then for performing on a network talk show: $476.76 each.

The largest piece is a 10-by-14-foot orange banner marking the Dead’s 53 sold-out nights at the Philadelphia Spectrum arena; it hung from the rafters for many years beginning in the mid-1980s. Most impressively, ANALOGr has the traveling workstation from Dead production manager Robbie Taylor, and it's an incredible time capsule of real life on the road in the 1990s — with drawers still full of guitar strings, picks, tools, batteries, Band-Aids, Advil, a hairdryer and more. Taped to one surface are the handwritten set times for the Dead's final performance with Jerry Garcia at Chicago's Soldier Field on July 9, 1995.

“This was the main production case for the Grateful Dead,” says Scriven, brushing his hand reverently over its polished wooden surface, inlaid with the Dead’s 13-point lightning bolt insignia. “This was basically your fix-every-problem case. There's even rolling papers here, lighters. There's a Polaroid camera, prescription medication, ginseng vials, all of these backstage passes throughout all the years. I haven't seen anything like this before — ever .”

It's a vivid example of ANALOGr's obsessive attention to detail, and the kind of unexpected material that only emerges when digging below the surface with artists, crew and their most fanatical followers. A large number of the auction’s items originated from Club Dead, a fan-fueled company that produced bootleg shirts, hats, stickers and posters that were popular in the Dead community.

Club Dead founder Tom Stack closed up his business in 1999 and ultimately became vice president for licensing and merchandise for the Dead. He never stopped collecting, and now, at 66, he’s decided to part with a lot of what he’s gathered .

“It takes a while to get in the let-go mode. When you have a collector mentality, you have to snap yourself out of it,” says Stack, who saw more than 400 Grateful Dead shows led by Garcia. “If I leave this stuff behind, my son won’t know what the hell to do, and he’ll get 10 cents on the dollar. So might as well. This stuff will bring joy to people. I’ve got awesome [stuff].”

ANALOGr started in December 2020 with a space at Mates Rehearsal Studios in North Hollywood, but as its collection and amount of merchandise tripled in size, things got crowded for everyone. “One day they're like, ‘You gotta get outta here,’” Scriven recalls with a grin. The company landed in its current Glendale space a year ago, splitting the 8,900-square-foot building between showroom, storage and a working recording studio in back. The showroom is open by appointment only.

One item on the floor is the broken body of a Fender bass currently under investigation. The story behind the bass began when it was brought in by someone who says he was a 16-year-old extra at the 1991 music video shoot for Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” in Culver City. He says he was allowed to take the bass wreckage home that night. At the time, Nirvana was still a mostly unknown underground band newly signed to DGC Records, and months away from becoming one of the biggest rock acts in the world.

The problem is that another bass claiming the same rock ’n’ roll provenance currently hangs in the Hard Rock Cafe in New York, preserved in a glass case. Unless it turns out multiple Fender basses were left in pieces at the Nirvana video shoot three decades ago, one of them is fake.

Tracking down that history is a typical task at ANALOGr. Scriven says the company reached out first to the video’s director, Samuel Bayer, followed by the producer of the video, and then the label exec who commissioned the video — all in search of written records of the production to confirm that the kid’s name is listed among the young fans hired to appear on camera. The search has been a six-month project so far.

“We're trying to eliminate the guesswork from anybody that would be interested in purchasing these things and looking at them long-term,” says Scriven. “We're about the facts.”

ANALOGr has occasionally had to give collectors bad news about the authenticity of their items. “The ones that we've dealt with have really good batting averages, but there's no collector out there that's not picked up fake stuff,” says ANALOGr co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Francis Porter, 50, who brought to the operation expertise from a career in technology and filmmaking.

In some cases, the company has flown overseas to investigate and talk to the principals behind an item. “There's a real need for it,” Porter adds. “There's a lot of legacy artists who are getting close to having to pass on their assets. And they're like, ‘We need to understand what we have for my kids, for my family. What's the real value?’ If we don't get the story now, no one will ever get the story behind this stuff.”

Clientele for collectibles tend to reflect the fan base of an artist. For an act that began in the 1960s, that fan base could be multigenerational but inevitably leans older. Studio gear tends to draw younger buyers regardless, in most cases because they plan to use it. One sale was to a van full of recording students in their late teens who drove out from Phoenix to pick up a classic Neve console.

“They all pooled their money. Their parents helped them,” Scriven recalls of the sale. “When it comes to studio gear, they're usually professionals working in the music business and are investing in their future.”

As he talks, the sound of a grinding guitar can be heard coming from the studio space in the back, where producer-engineer Manny Nieto is surrounded by layers of eclectic recording gear. A friend and protégé of the late musician and engineer Steve Albini, Nieto is sitting with indie rock guitarist Sal Lorenzana as they record with a mic that was used by Soundgarden on the ’90s rock hit “Black Hole Sun.”

“I walk in here every day and I'm walking by Elvis' bike. I'm walking by Pink Floyd's microphones,” says Nieto. “It just makes you feel like there's something important going on here. I feel like there's little shadows and ghosts floating around here.”

One of ANALOGr’s first major clients was the widow of producer-engineer Al Schmitt, a fixture at Capitol Studios whose work stretched from Frank Sinatra and Ray Charles to Michael Jackson and Neil Young. He was the winner of 20 Grammy Awards before he died in 2021 at age 91, leaving behind many rare recording tools.

“We started working with everybody that was in Al's life that would know anything about this stuff — ‘This is why it was Al's favorite,’ ‘This is what he used it on,’” Scriven says. For each piece of equipment, they tracked down what records it had been used on. “The majority of the stuff based upon our work sold for massive premium, and it sold right back to Capitol Studios because they wanted to keep it.”

The competition has never been more intense for these rock and pop artifacts, Scriven notes. He calls the Hard Rock Cafe “probably the biggest memorabilia collector in the world,” now totaling 86,000 pieces at restaurants and hotels around the world (according to its website). “There's a couple of big whales that sort of own the market right now,” he says of that competition. “But it's also time to start looking toward the future of what new artists are doing.”

To that end, Scriven has his sights beyond the classic rock era to items connected to contemporary artists like Bon Iver and Phoebe Bridgers. Newer acts also present an opportunity for less moneyed fans to begin collecting, expanding the market beyond the usual billionaire collectors and the Hard Rock. Scriven sees that as the future of collecting.

Until then, the big-dollar items will always draw the most attention. On the floor at ANALOGr is a black and white Fender Stratocaster that Eric Clapton played around the world in the early ’90s, at dozens of concerts from the Royal Albert Hall to Cream's 1993 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. He also played it standing beside Stevie Ray Vaughan in East Troy, Wis., hours before Vaughan was killed in a helicopter crash in 1990, and the following year during a tour of Japan with his friend George Harrison.

The guitar is paired here with a Soldano SLO-100 amplifier stack also used by Clapton at the Hall of Fame event. Together, they are currently insured for $2.5 million.

“It's also the last guitar he used before he quit smoking,” Scriven adds, pointing to a deep cigarette burn on its neck, savoring the detail in the guitar’s history. “This is the stuff that we love. And when you love something and you dig into it like this, people can see the value. At the end of the day, it's truth. And we can get behind the story.”

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times .

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Amid Orchestral Waves, the Sound of Cultures Conversing

“Natural History,” performed in Cincinnati, is a collaboration between the composer Michael Gordon and the Native American ensemble Steiger Butte Drum.

By Zachary Woolfe

Reporting from Cincinnati

Eleven members of Steiger Butte Drum sat in a circle around a large elk-hide drum at the front of the stage of Cincinnati’s Music Hall last Thursday. Washes of sound from the orchestra behind them built and receded in grand waves.

The group was the concerto soloist, of a kind, in “Natural History” by Michael Gordon , one of the Bang on a Can composers who infused Minimalism with rough, rebellious energy in the 1980s. A few times over the course of the 25-minute piece, Steiger Butte Drum, a traditional percussion and vocal ensemble of the Klamath Tribes of Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest, broke out in a ceremonial song, the members beating the drum in fast, dramatic unison as they made a piercing, tangily pitch-bending, wordlessly wailing chant.

They were joined by a full chorus, placed in the first balcony: the men on one side of the hall, the women on the other. Percussion in the upper balcony evoked woodland animals; brasses, also up there, let out joyful, squealing bits of fanfare that seemed to tumble down and join lines coming from the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra onstage — eventually rising to a powerful, churning finale, with all these sprawling forces, conducted by Teddy Abrams, going at once.

Unsettled and unsettling, both celebratory and threatening, imposing and ultimately harmonious, this was the sound of a cultural conversation that is still, after centuries, in its nascent stages.

Native American composers and performers are slowly gaining more visibility after having long been largely ignored by institutions associated with the Western classical tradition. Raven Chacon , a Diné composer and visual artist, won the Pulitzer Prize in Music in 2022. In March, the New York Philharmonic premiered an orchestral version of the Chickasaw composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate’s “Pisachi.”

And yet Native music, kaleidoscopically varied across the country and its many tribes and heritages, remains only rarely heard, and so only vaguely understood and appreciated, by non-Natives. This is hardly surprising, given the country’s more general neglect of a full, sustained reckoning with its history with — and its often stunningly cruel treatment of — Native Americans.

“It’s weird that in America, we’re often the last minority to be thought of,” said Timothy Long, a conductor and pianist of Muscogee Creek and Choctaw descent who is at work on a library of vocal music written by Indigenous composers.

Some of the increased exposure for Native American artists has come through collaborations with non-Native musicians. “Out of these relationships, this music, things can happen,” said Brent Michael Davids, a Mohican and Munsee Lenape composer. “It’s a way we can start to deal with this genocidal history.”

Gordon’s partnership with Steiger Butte Drum on “Natural History” is enshrined on the front page of the score; the group owns half of the piece’s publishing rights, and will participate in — and be paid for — any future performances. But the optics of a white composer working with Native American musical material has made “Natural History” a no go for many orchestras Gordon has approached, at a time when cultural borrowings are being strictly policed.

The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, which performed the piece as part of the May Festival, an annual event focused on choral music, was a happy exception. (It didn’t hurt that Julia Wolfe, another Bang on a Can composer and Gordon’s wife, helped program this year’s festival.)

“The classical people, they look at the piece and they go, ‘This is appropriation,’ or something like that,” Gordon said in an interview the morning after the performance. “They don’t know what appropriation is. Steiger Butte Drum is there; they’re giving authorization. It’s also an opportunity to share not only their culture but their situation, too. People don’t understand that.”

Commissioned by the Britt Music and Arts Festival to celebrate the centennial of the National Park System, “Natural History” had its premiere in 2016 at Crater Lake, a huge caldera in southern Oregon that formed about 8,000 years ago when a volcano collapsed on itself. The site is sacred to the Klamath, who have been connected to the land since before the lake formed; Gordon sought to incorporate Steiger Butte Drum into the piece.

The group, which usually performs in ceremonial settings rather than on concert stages, was initially a little wary. “There’s always somebody asking to do something with the tribe, and do it for free,” Taylor Tupper, one of the members, said over lunch in Cincinnati.

Crater Lake and its conservation by the federal government is a fraught topic for the Klamath, who consider the site to be land that was taken from them. When Gordon approached the tribe, Tupper said, her thought was that “nothing like that should be done without us.” Gordon traveled to Oregon and met with the group, listening to and recording a variety of songs, which he brought back to New York and used to form a work that conjures a sense of both separation and connection between cultures.

“I can’t tell them what to do,” Gordon recalled thinking, mindful of the dynamics of a white composer foisting adjustments on Native performers. “And on the other hand, I can’t just accompany them, because that’s going to be kitschy. The only real solution is, I’m just going to do what I do, and I’m going to have them do what they do.”

In “Natural History,” Steiger Butte Drum’s song is the same as it would be at a tribal ceremony — except for a few moments when there is singing but not drumming, and vice versa. (Neither would ever be without the other in the song’s original context.)

“It’s an honor song,” Tupper said. “You would sing it at a powwow — say there’s a veteran who’s being honored, or somebody being married. So we felt we were honoring Crater Lake, we’re honoring the 100th anniversary.”

The rehearsals for the premiere were a leap of faith that depended on the Klamath group’s trust in Abrams, who also conducted at Crater Lake; many Native performers don’t read music, one of the artistic and logistical challenges of collaborations like this one. Steiger Butte Drum arrived not knowing there would be so many other musicians, let alone a full chorus.

“I didn’t know what to expect,” Tupper said, “and I was kind of blown away.”

“Natural History” is the rare, subtly profound work that isn’t didactic but nevertheless feels like it has some real power to inspire deeper and more nuanced attitudes, even on the smallest scale. It’s unclear, though, when or if it will be heard again.

“I would like to share it with more people,” Gordon said, “but I just don’t know.”

Zachary Woolfe is the classical music critic of The Times. More about Zachary Woolfe

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