Screaming Life

Screaming Life is the debut EP and release by the American grunge band Soundgarden. It was released in October 1987 on Sub Pop. Screaming Life was later combined with the band's second EP, Fopp (1988) on the compilation album, Screaming Life/Fopp (1990).

Recording
Screaming Life was recorded in 1987 in Seattle's Reciprocal Studios with producer Jack Endino, who also produced albums for Nirvana and Mudhoney. The EP was recorded a year prior to its release. It was held up due to financial reasons at Sub Pop.

Prior to recording, Jack Endino found old rolls of quarter-inch tape at a garage sale, and some recordings of a Christian preacher giving sermons in the early 1950s. Vocalist Chris Cornell had the idea to use the preacher's voice on "Hand of God". The recording was synched with the eight-track machine, copied to an empty track and by coincidence (or because, as Endino says, "God smiled upon us") the tape rolls matched perfectly with the song. Cornell also added his own sarcastic preacher-style vocals, with the lines "let it be known today that if you've got two hands you're supposed to pray!". However, according to Endino, the labels on the rolls of tape were near-illegible, so  the name of the preacher is unknown.

Composition and lyrics
Drummer Matt Cameron described the sound of the EP as "pretty raw.""Haughty Culture". Kerrang!. April 8, 1989. Guitarist Kim Thayil added that prior to Screaming Life, the band souded more "angular and jagged." They did "a lot of psychedelic stuff built around the feedback and Hiro's bass lines. Gradually, that psychedelia made it so I was pushed into doing solos. Then the riffs started getting heavier. You just see how the audience responded to what we were doing, and you flow with that. Our songs started getting a little bit slower and heavier." The resulting sound was described as "pure art-punk" that showed "just how malleable grunge could be," by Kory Grow of Rolling Stone, and "more in common with what was truly going on in alternative metal circa 1987 and 88," by Jason Heller of Pitchfork.

"Hunted Down", the band's debut single, is representative of the early "grunge" sound — with its dirty guitar, dissonant atmosphere and lyrics concerning entrapment and escape. "Nothing to Say" features drop D tuning, which would become a signature of Soundgarden's sound on later albums. Guitarist Kim Thayil said he learned about the tuning from the Melvins's Buzz Osborne.Gilbert, Jeff. "Primecuts: Kim Thayil". Guitar School. May 1994. The original version of "Tears to Forget" appeared on the 1985 Deep Six compilation album, which featured some of the first recordings by the earliest Seattle grunge bands, including Soundgarden. That version was recorded with drummer Scott Sundquist, but the version on Screaming Life was recorded with Cameron.

Packaging
The cover of Screaming Life was taken by grunge photographer Charles Peterson, and features Cornell singing and Thayil playing guitar in the background. The album cover was an attempt by Sub Pop to capitalize on Cornell's image.Gold, Jonathan. "Chris Cornell: Great Voice. Great Face. Great Soul". Details. December 1996. The first 500 copies of the EP were pressed on orange vinyl; after that, they were released on standard black vinyl.

The title of the EP inspired the title of a book of photography by Peterson, named Screaming Life: A Chronicle of the Seattle Music Scene. Published in 1995, it is composed mainly of live photos taken by Peterson from the mid 1980s though the mid 1990s. Many of Peterson's photographs were used as album artwork for grunge bands. The book is accompanied by a CD, with 9 songs selected by Peterson from bands of the era – Soundgarden's "Entering" is one of these songs.

Release and reception
Cornell said that the EP was met with rave reviews and that "everybody loved it."White, Richard. "Soundgarden Rocks". Rockpool. October 1, 1989. "Hunted Down" was Soundgarden's first single and also the first song on Sub Pop's "hold music" tape. According to Thayil, "you would call them up, and when they put you on hold you heard 'Hunted Down'". It was the only single released from the EP. "Nothing to Say" was Soundgarden's first B-side. It was released on the "Hunted Down" single. The song also appeared on the KCMU compilation tape Bands That Will Make Money, which was distributed to record companies. Upon hearing the song, record labels began contacting the band, which eventually led to the band signing with A&M Records.

Track listing

 Outtakes 
The song "Toy Box" was recorded during the sessions for Screaming Life. It was later featured on the "Flower" single.  The instrumental track "The Telephantasm" was mostly recorded during these sessions. It was released as a separate single in late 2010 and as an iTunes bonus track on Telephantasm.

Personnel
Soundgarden

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

Production

 Jack Endino – production, engineering
 Soundgarden – production
 Charles Peterson – snapshots

References

Other websites
 Screaming Life on the Unofficial Soundgarden Homepage 

Category:1987 albums
Category:Soundgarden albums