Summary
Screaming Life/Fopp is a compilation 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 reissued the album on November 24, 2013.
| Screaming Life/Fopp | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | May 11, 1990 | |||
| Recorded | 1987 at Reciprocal Recording and 1988 at Moore Theatre, Seattle, Washington | |||
| Genre | Grunge, alternative metal[1] | |||
| Length | 37:15 (original) 40:28 (remaster) | |||
| Label | Sub Pop | |||
| Producer | Jack Endino, Steve Fisk, Soundgarden | |||
| Soundgarden compilations chronology | ||||
| ||||
Overview
editThe 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
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Consequence of Sound | C+[3] |
| PopMatters | 6/10[4] |
| Rolling Stone |  [5][6] |
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."[4]
Track listing
editAll lyrics written by Chris Cornell, all music composed by Kim Thayil, except where noted.
Original release
edit| 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, Marvin Pierce, Clarence Satchell, James Williams | Billy Beck, Leroy Bonner, Marshall Jones, Ralph Middlebrooks, Marvin 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
edit| 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" | Yamamoto, Thayil, Matt Cameron | 3:15 | |
| 8. | "Fopp" | Billy Beck, Leroy Bonner, Marshall Jones, Ralph Middlebrooks, Marvin Pierce, Clarence Satchell, James Williams | Billy Beck, Leroy Bonner, Marshall Jones, Ralph Middlebrooks, Marvin 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 | |||
Chart performance
edit| Chart (2013) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Vinyl Albums (Billboard)[7] | 7 |
| US Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[8] | 22 |
Personnel
edit- Chris Cornell – lead vocals
- Matt Cameron – drums
- Kim Thayil – guitar
- Hiro Yamamoto – bass
|
Production (1990 original version)
|
Production (2013 remastered version)
|
References
edit- ^ Christe, Ian (2004). "Transforming the 1990s: The Black Album & Beyond". Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal. New York City: HarperCollins. p. 225. ISBN 978-0-380-81127-4.
- ^ Thomas, Fred. "AllMusic Screaming Life/Fopp Review". AllMusic. Retrieved May 20, 2009.
- ^ "Album Review: Soundgarden - Screaming Life". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2014-01-29.
- ^ a b Maçek III, J.C. (26 November 2013). "Soundgarden: Screaming Life / Fopp (Remastered)". PopMatters.
- ^ Brackett, Nathan. "Soundgarden". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. November 2004. pg. 762, cited April 18, 2010
- ^ "Soundgarden: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 23, 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
- ^ "Soundgarden – Chart history – Billboard Vinyl Albums". Billboard. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
- ^ "Soundgarden – Chart history – Billboard Tastemaker Albums". Billboard. Retrieved November 4, 2017.