Louder Than Love (1989)
Big Dumb Album.
Grade: D
Badmotorfinger (1991)
A quantum leap up from ‘Louder Than Love’, this album is quite respectable, if not fully likeable. In retrospect, it fits nicely in the middle of a BAD record (‘Louder Than Love’) and a GREAT one (‘Superunknown’).
(“Outshined”, “Rusty Cage”)
Grade: B-
2012: I grew up in the 80’s, so the thought that this music gets better with age because of all the sh1t I hear these days is inapplicable. The sh1t from the 80’s doesn’t get any better. Upped a grade for sonics alone.
Grade: B
Superunknown (1994)
Fourteen out of fifteen. That’s a pretty good ratio. Where the HELL did this come from? The lyrics are often puzzling, but the music more than makes up when necessary. Where else can you find a song about a guy who plays at being a drummer with some spoons and a few plastic barrels that is actually GOOD? It’s quite good, actually. Some of these hooks are downright dangerous – they’ll dig into your inner musical junkie and demand satisfaction from time to time. And you’ll enjoy every minute.
(“Fell On Black Days”, “Head Down”, “Like Suicide”, “Fresh Tendrils”)
Grade: A+
Down On The Upside (1996)
It was impossible to follow ‘Superunknown’ with anything as good…that was probably a once-in-a-lifetime album by an otherwise maddeningly inconsistent, occasionally really bad band. So they put out something with almost as much material as ‘Superunknown’, and at least can’t be faulted for trying. I’m a big fan of quitting at your peak, but in this case I’m somewhat glad they didn’t, as this is a decent album, with a coupla songs that could have fit on ‘Superunknown’.
(“Blow Up The Outside World”, “Applebite”)
Grade: C+
2012: See ‘Badmotorfinger – 2012’.
Grade: B-
A-Sides (1997)
Not worth it. Not because the music is bad, but because everything good here is good somewhere else, with MORE good stuff.
‘Superunknown’ by itself is better than this. ‘Badmotorfinger’ is worth owning, and maybe ‘Down On The Upside’.
The early stuff is just inferior versions of later, greater stuff.
Grade: B
Telephantasm (2010)
Ummm…yeah. See above.
Grade: B