Screaming Life/Fopp

Screaming Life/Fopp
Compilation album by Soundgarden
Released	May 11, 1990
Recorded	1987 at Reciprocal Recording and 1988 at Moore Theatre, Seattle, Washington
Genre	Grunge
Length	37:15 (original) 40:28 (remaster)
Language	English
Label	Sub Pop
Producer	Jack Endino, Steve Fisk, Soundgarden
Soundgarden compilations chronology
Screaming Life/Fopp (1990) A-Sides (1997)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
PopMatters	[2]
Rolling Stone	[3][4]
Consequence of Sound	C+[5]

Screaming Life/Fopp is an album by the American rock band Soundgarden that combines their debut EPs in their entirety into a single release. It was originally released on May 11, 1990 through Sub Pop Records. Sub Pop later remastered and re-issued the album on November 24, 2013.

Overview

The album combines the band's first two studio EPs: Screaming Life (1987) and Fopp (1988). It was released in 1990 by Sub Pop despite having been recorded in 1987-88, after Soundgarden's two subsequent full-length releases, Ultramega OK (1988) and Louder than Love (1989), had gained them considerable popularity. There are two cover songs on the album; "Swallow My Pride" is a Green River cover and "Fopp" is an Ohio Players cover.

The 2013 re-issue contains an extra track, "Sub Pop Rock City," that is not present on the original release. "Sub Pop Rock City" was a track recorded during the same pre-Ultramega OK era but previously only available on the Sub Pop 200 compilation.

Release and reception

AllMusic staff writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album three out of five stars. He said, "Soundgarden aren't as sonically powerful as they would later become, nor are their songs particularly compelling, making this only interesting as a historical recording."^[1]

PopMatters journalist J.C. Maçek III reviewed the 2013 remastered version of the album and said, "As for the 'remastering' aspect, to be sure, the album sounds as good as it ever has, especially to those of us who memorized every note by way of audio cassettes. However, the new version doesn’t sound markedly different from the previous release on CD, mostly because the songs were recorded tough and rough in the first place."^[2]

Track listing

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

Original release

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Hunted Down"			2:42
2.	"Entering"			4:36
3.	"Tears to Forget"		Hiro Yamamoto, Thayil	2:00
4.	"Nothing to Say"			4:00
5.	"Little Joe"			4:31
6.	"Hand of God"		Yamamoto	4:27
7.	"Kingdom of Come"		Chris Cornell	2:35
8.	"Swallow My Pride"	Mark Arm	Steve Turner	2:18
9.	"Fopp"	Billy Beck, Leroy Bonner, Marshall Jones, Ralph Middlebrooks, Mervin Pierce, Clarence Satchell, James Williams	Billy Beck, Leroy Bonner, Marshall Jones, Ralph Middlebrooks, Mervin Pierce, Clarence Satchell, James Williams	3:37
10.	"Fopp (Fucked Up Heavy Dub Mix)"	Beck, Bonner, Jones, Middlebrooks, Pierce, Satchell, Williams	Beck, Bonner, Jones, Middlebrooks, Pierce, Satchell, Williams	6:25
Total length:				37:15

Remastered 2013 release

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Hunted Down"			2:42
2.	"Entering"			4:33
3.	"Tears to Forget"		Hiro Yamamoto, Thayil	2:01
4.	"Nothing to Say"			3:57
5.	"Little Joe"			4:29
6.	"Hand of God"		Yamamoto	4:26
7.	"Sub Pop Rock City"			3:15
8.	"Fopp"	Billy Beck, Leroy Bonner, Marshall Jones, Ralph Middlebrooks, Mervin Pierce, Clarence Satchell, James Williams	Billy Beck, Leroy Bonner, Marshall Jones, Ralph Middlebrooks, Mervin Pierce, Clarence Satchell, James Williams	3:37
9.	"Fopp (Fucked Up Heavy Dub Mix)"	Beck, Bonner, Jones, Middlebrooks, Pierce, Satchell, Williams	Beck, Bonner, Jones, Middlebrooks, Pierce, Satchell, Williams	6:28
10.	"Kingdom of Come"		Chris Cornell	2:36
11.	"Swallow My Pride"	Mark Arm	Steve Turner	2:20
Total length:				40:28

Personnel

Soundgarden Matt Cameron – drums Chris Cornell – vocals Kim Thayil – guitar Hiro Yamamoto – bass guitar

Production (1990 original version) Jack Endino – production & engineering, tracks 1-6 Steve Fisk – production, tracks 7-10 Drew Canulette – engineering, tracks 7-10 Soundgarden – co-production on tracks 1-6 Charles Peterson – photography

Production (2013 remastered version) Jack Endino – remastering, all tracks; production & engineering, tracks 1-7 Steve Fisk – production, tracks 8-11 Drew Canulette – engineering, tracks 8-11 Soundgarden – co-production on tracks 1-7 JJ Golden – remastering, all tracks Charles Peterson – photography Katey Miller – logo design

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "AllMusic Screaming Life/Fopp Review". AllMusic. Retrieved May 20, 2009.
2. Maçek III, J.C. (26 November 2013). "Soundgarden: Screaming Life / Fopp (Remastered)". PopMatters.
3. Brackett, Nathan. "Soundgarden". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. November 2004. pg. 762, cited April 18, 2010
4. "Soundgarden: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
5. "Album Review: Soundgarden - Screaming Life". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2014-01-29.