Soup (Blind Melon album)

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Soup
BlindMelonSoup.jpg
Studio album by Blind Melon
Released August 15, 1995
Recorded April 1994-January 1995
Genre Alternative rock, grunge, psychedelic rock, neo-psychedelia, folk rock
Length 46:04
Label Capitol
Producer Andy Wallace
Blind Melon chronology
Blind Melon
(1992)Blind Melon1992		 Soup
(1995)		 Nico
(1996)Nico1996
Singles from Soup
  1. "Galaxie"
    Released: 1995
  2. "Toes Across the Floor"
    Released: 1995

Soup is the second album by the American alternative rock band Blind Melon, released eight weeks before vocalist Shannon Hoon's fatal drug overdose, making it his final album with the band.

Thematically, the album is much darker than the band's multi-platinum debut. "2 X 4" is about Hoon's experience at a drug detox, the country-tinged "Skinned" is about serial killer Ed Gein, "Car Seat (God's Presents)" is about Susan Smith who killed her children by driving her car into a lake in Union, SC, and "St. Andrew's Fall" is about suicide by jumping from a 20-story building. When asked about "Mouthful of Cavities" the band's guitarist, Rogers Stevens, was quoted as saying, "It's probably about the convoluted nooks and crannies of Shannon's brain." It featured haunting harmonies between Shannon Hoon and female vocalist Jena Kraus. Alternatively, "New Life" is about the birth of Hoon's daughter Nico Blue, "Wilt" is about having bad breath, although in Captain Beefheart-esque lyrics, "Galaxie" is about Hoon's experience with his car, a 1964 Ford Galaxie, and "Lemonade" is a tongue-in-cheek song about a bar brawl.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 4/5 stars[1]
Rock Hard (de) 7.5/10[2]

In issue #716 of Rolling Stone (dated September 7, 1995), Ted Drozdowski gave a scathing review of the album, ending his write-up with the statement, "With such slight fare to offer – and no kid in a bee suit – Soup puts Blind Melon in hot water."[3]

Also in 1995, Soup was ranked number 13 in Kerrang! magazine's "Albums Of The Year" list, above releases by the likes of Alice in Chains, Faith No More, Green Day, Ozzy Osbourne, and AC/DC.[4]

Legacy

In 2005, Soup was ranked number 357 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.[5]

In the 2009 book, A Devil on One Shoulder and an Angel on the Other: The Story of Shannon Hoon and Blind Melon, drummer Glen Graham is quoted as saying, "I talked to a guy from Spain yesterday [from Popular 1 Magazine], and he was saying, "Soup is the top album of the ‘90s according to our readers.' It was like, 'What?'" [6]

In 2014, Soup came in at #1 on a "Top 10 Underrated 90’s Alternative Rock Albums" list at the Alternative Nation website. [7] Around the same time, the album took the #5 spot on a "Top 10 Most Overlooked and Underrated Albums of the 90s" on the V+C website [8] and was placed #43 on the "50 Best Alternative Albums of the ’90s" list on the MetroWeekly site. [9]

Track listing

  1. "Hello Goodbye"/"Galaxie" – 3:31
    • Contains a hidden track in the pregap. It is composed of music by Mike Kelsey, and backward lyrics (From "New Life") by Hoon.[citation needed] This track also appears after a few minutes of silence at the end of "Lemonade" on some editions.
    • "Hello Goodbye", the album's intro, is a rejected, slowed-down intro to the album's final track, "Lemonade". It coincides with the ending of the song, which is based on brass instruments.
  2. "2 X 4" – 4:00
  3. "Vernie" – 3:15
  4. "Skinned" – 1:57
  5. "Toes Across the Floor" – 3:07
  6. "Walk" – 2:47
  7. "Dumptruck" – 3:40
  8. "Car Seat (God's Presents)" – 2:42
  9. "Wilt" – 2:30
  10. "The Duke" – 3:37
  11. "St. Andrew's Fall" – 4:12
  12. "New Life" – 3:35
  13. "Mouthful of Cavities" – 3:33
  14. "Lemonade" – 3:37 (at the end of this track, a reprisal recording of "Hello Goodbye" plays for about 30 seconds, at which point the sound of hand-clapping can be heard)
  15. "Soup" Japan Bonus Track

Personnel

Chart positions

Year Chart Position
1995 Billboard 200 28
2009 (reissue) Billboard 200 200

Singles

Year Single Chart Position
1995 Galaxie Mainstream Rock Tracks 25
Modern Rock Tracks 8

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ http://blindmelons.proboards.com/thread/4888
  4. ↑ http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/kerrang.html#1995
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ http://amzn.com/0615252397
  7. ↑ http://www.alternativenation.net/10-underrated-90s-alt-rock-albums/
  8. ↑ http://www.vinylandcocktails.com/blog/2013/6/23/top-10-most-overlooked-and-underrated-albums-of-the-90s
  9. ↑ http://www.metroweekly.com/2014/04/50-best-alternative-albums-of-the-90s/
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