A-Sides

A-Sides
Greatest hits album by Soundgarden
Released	November 4, 1997
Recorded	1987–1996
Genre	Alternative metal, grunge, alternative rock, heavy metal
Length	79:10
Language	English
Label	A&M
Producer	Michael Beinhorn, Drew Canulette, Terry Date, Jack Endino, Adam Kasper, Soundgarden
Soundgarden compilations chronology
Screaming Life/Fopp (1990) A-Sides (1997) Telephantasm (2010)
Singles from A-Sides
"Bleed Together" Released: November 1997

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	(A)[2]
Pitchfork Media	(7.5/10)[3]
Q	[4]
Robert Christgau	[5]
Rolling Stone	[6][7]

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

Overview

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

It contains one song absent from previous albums ("Bleed Together") which appeared on import copies of the "Burden in My Hand" single. Interestingly, the opening track "Nothing to Say" was originally not an A-side. It appeared as the B-side to the band's first single "Hunted Down" on Sub Pop in 1987. In addition, "Get on the Snake" from Louder Than Love was released as a promo-only single in 1989.^[8] Also, the 1990 Sub Pop single "Room a Thousand Years Wide" does not appear on A-Sides, nor the 1994 single "My Wave" from Superunknown.

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

Track listing

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

1. "Nothing to Say" (Kim Thayil) – 3:56
   • Originally from Screaming Life (EP), 1987
2. "Flower" (Thayil) – 3:25
   • Originally from Ultramega OK, 1988 (U.S.)/1989 (UK)
3. "Loud Love" – 4:57
   • Originally from Louder Than Love, 1989
4. "Hands All Over" (Thayil) – 6:00
   • Originally from Louder Than Love
5. "Get on the Snake" (Thayil) – 3:44
   • Originally from Louder Than Love
6. "Jesus Christ Pose" (Matt Cameron, Cornell, Ben Shepherd, Thayil) – 5:51
   • Originally from Badmotorfinger, 1991
7. "Outshined" – 5:11
   • Originally from Badmotorfinger
8. "Rusty Cage" – 4:26
   • Originally from Badmotorfinger
9. "Spoonman" – 4:06
   • Originally from Superunknown, 1994
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, 1996
14. "Burden in My Hand" – 4:50
    • Originally from Down on the Upside
15. "Blow Up the Outside World" – 5:46
    • Originally from Down on the Upside
16. "Ty Cobb" (Shepherd) – 3:05
    • Originally from Down on the Upside
17. "Bleed Together" – 3:54
    • Originally from the "Burden in My Hand" single, 1996

Personnel

Soundgarden Matt Cameron – percussion, drums Chris Cornell – vocals, rhythm guitar Ben Shepherd – bass guitar on tracks 6–17 Kim Thayil – lead guitar Hiro Yamamoto – bass guitar on tracks 1–5

Production Nelson Ayres, John Jackson – mixing assistance Michael Barbiero, Brendan O'Brien, Ron Saint Germain, Steve Thompson – mixing Matt Bayles, Stuart Hallerman, Efren Herrera, Sam Hofstedt – assistant engineering Michael Beinhorn – production Larry Brewer – production assistance John Burton, Tom Smurdon – additional tracking assistance Drew Canulette – production, engineering Dave Collins, Howie Weinberg – mastering Jason Corsaro, Lance Limbocker – engineering Terry Date – production, engineering Jack Endino – production, engineering, assistant engineering Larimie Garcia, Steve Gilbert, Michael Lavine, Jan Van Oldenmark, Charles Peterson, Mark Seliger, Kevin Westenberg – photography Adam Kasper – assistant engineering, mixing assistance, co-production, engineering, mixing Oogie – art direction and design Soundgarden – production, mixing

Chart positions

Album

Chart (1997 - 1998)	Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[9]	39
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[10]	51
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[11]	6
UK Albums (OCC)[12]	90
US Billboard 200[13]	63

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions
		US Main[14]	US Mod [14]
1997	"Bleed Together"	13	32

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "allmusic ((( A-Sides > Review )))". Allmusic. Retrieved May 20, 2009.
2. Browne, David (1997-12-12). "A-Sides". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 21 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
3. Schreiber, Ryan. "Soundgarden: A-Sides". Pitchfork Media. November 1, 1997. Retrieved on May 20, 2009.
4. (October 2000). "Review: A-Sides". Q.
5. Christgau, Robert. "Soundgarden". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved on May 20, 2009.
6. Brackett, Nathan. "Soundgarden". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. November 2004. pg. 762, cited April 18, 2010
7. "Soundgarden: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
8. "Soundgarden - Get On The Snake at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2016-06-22.
9. "Australiancharts.com – Soundgarden – A-Sides". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 November, 2016.
10. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 3387." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 7 November, 2016.
11. "Charts.org.nz – Soundgarden – A-Sides". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 November, 2016.
12. "Soundgarden | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved 7 November, 2016.
13. "Soundgarden – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Soundgarden. Retrieved 7 November, 2016.
14. "Soundgarden – Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Retrieved 2007-12-08.