Soundgarden Release Previously Unreleased Song “Kristi”

This one will have you head banging. And then you’ll be standing up. Then you’ll be in full body powerstance rocking harder than you have in your darkest grunge-distortion laced dreams.

In 1996, Soundgarden recorded sessions for an album called ‘Down On The Upside’, which was an ominous and obfuscated grunge rock odyssey that had only been played live one time, during a set at the Reading Festival in 1995. This unreleased song, called ‘Kristi’, which is reportedly the drummer Matt Cameron’s favorite track, was left out of the cut for the final tracklist of the album, and is now available as a single for part of ‘Echo of Miles: Scattered Tracks Across the Path’. There will be over 50 songs on this unreleased treasure trove, including a cover of Sly and the Family Stone’s ‘Thank You (Falmettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)’, as well as a monstrous instrumental called ‘Twin Tower’.

The 3CD release coincides with the announcement of a tour that Soundgarden  embarked upon with Death Grips and Nine Inch Nails. Their drummer Matt Cameron did not join them, as he had to fulfill commitments to the promotion of Pearl Jam’s album Lightning Bolt. The collection of rarities exhibits unreleased material that covers the entirety of the group’s career. Along with ‘Twin Tower’ and ‘Kristi’, there are others called ‘Birth Ritual; and ‘Black Rain’. There is also another track that was recorded before Matt Cameron joined the band, called ‘The Storm’, which is being released as ‘Storm’. Jack Endino, who did work producing Nirvana’s infamous ‘Bleach’, is responsible for producing ‘Storm’ as well as Soundgarden’s ‘Screaming Life’ also mixed ‘Storm’.

Soundgarden’s influences are heavily indebted to early 1970’s rock and roll. Toni Iommi once remarked that he dug their sound, and the Zeppelin influence on many of their tracks is palpable, but ‘Kristi’ is more of a one note track that rides a wave that never ends. It is very temperate, staying in its comfortable vein of grunge-rock monosyllable for most of the song. Check it out below, as well as the tracklist for their new compilation.

Disc 1 (Originals)
01-Sub Pop Rock City
02-Toy Box
03-Heretic
04-Fresh Deadly Roses
05-H.I.V. Baby
06-Cold Bitch
07-Show Me
08-She’s A Politician
09-Birth Ritual
10-She Likes Surprises
11-Kyle Petty, Son of Richard
12-Exit Stonehenge
13-Blind Dogs
14-Bleed Together
15-Black Rain
16-Live To Rise
17-Kristi *
18-Storm *

Disc 2 (Covers)
01-Swallow My Pride
02-Smokestack Lightnin’
03-Everybody’s Got Something (John Peel BBC Session) *
04-Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again) (John Peel BBC Session) *
05-Come Together
06-Stray Cat Blues
07-Into The Void
08-Girl U Want
09-Touch Me (Friday Rock Show BBC Session)
10-Can You See Me? (Friday Rock Show BBC Session)
11-Homicidal Suicidal (Friday Rock Show BBC Session)
12-I Can’t Give You Anything (Friday Rock Show BBC Session)
13-I Don’t Care About You (Friday Rock Show BBC Session)
14-Waiting For The Sun (Live)
15-Search And Destroy (Live)
16-Big Bottom (Live)
17-Earache My Eye (Live)

Disc 3 (Oddities)
01-Twin Tower *
02-Jerry Garcia’s Finger
03-Ghostmotorfinger
04-Night Surf *
05-A Splice Of Space Jam
06-The Telephantasm
07-Black Days III
08-Karaoke
09.-Fopp (Fucked Up Heavy Dub Remix)
10-Big Dumb Sex (Dub Version)
11-Spoonman (Steve Fisk Remix)
12-Rhinosaur (The Straw That Broke The Rhino’s Back Remix)
13-Dusty (Moby Remix)
14-The Telephantasm (Steve Fisk 2014 Remix) *
15-One Minute Of Silence