A-Sides is a compilation album by Soundgarden with songs spanning the band’s thirteen year career. It was released on November 4, 1997. The album was released in 1997 on A&M Records and was Soundgarden‘s last official release for 13 years, until 2010’s Telephantasm. It debuted at number 63 on the Billboard 200 album chart. A-Sides has sold over 500,000 copies in the United States according to Nielsen SoundScan and over 700,000 copies worldwide, but has not yet been certified by the RIAA. It peaked at number 51 on the UK Albums Chart, number 39 on the Australian Albums Chart, and number 6 on the New Zealand Albums Chart.
It contains one song absent from previous albums (Bleed Together) which appeared on import copies of the Burden in My Hand single. The opening track Nothing to Say was originally not an A-side. It appeared as the B-side to the band’s first single Hunted Down on Sub Pop in 1987. In addition, Get on the Snake from Louder Than Love was released as a promo only single in 1989. Also, the 1990 Sub Pop single Room a Thousand Years Wide does not appear on A-Sides, nor the 1994 single My Wave from Superunknown. Following Chris Cornell‘s death in May 2017, A-Sides re entered the Australian albums chart at number 47. On Record Store Day 2018, A-Sides was released on double green translucent vinyl.
Tracklist:
- Nothing to Say (Screaming Life EP)
- Flower (Ultramega OK)
- Loud Love (Louder Than Love)
- Hands All Over (Louder Than Love)
- Get on the Snake (Louder Than Love)
- Jesus Christ Pose (Badmotorfinger)
- Outshined (Badmotorfinger)
- Rusty Cage (Badmotorfinger)
- Spoonman (Superunknown)
- The Day I Tried to Live (Superunknown)
- Black Hole Sun (Superunknown)
- Fell on Black Days (Superunknown)
- Pretty Noose (Down on the Upside)
- Burden in My Hand (Down on the Upside)
- Blow Up the Outside World (Down on the Upside)
- Ty Cobb (Down on the Upside)
- Bleed Together (Burden in My Hand single)
Soundgarden
Matt Cameron: drums
Chris Cornell: lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Ben Shepherd: bass on tracks 6–17
Kim Thayil: lead guitar
Hiro Yamamoto: bass on tracks 1–5
Production
Nelson Ayres, John Jackson: mixing assistance
Michael Barbiero, Brendan O’Brien, Ron Saint Germain, Steve Thompson: mixing
Matt Bayles, Stuart Hallerman, Efren Herrera, Sam Hofstedt: assistant engineering
Michael Beinhorn: production
Larry Brewer: production assistance
John Burton, Tom Smurdon: additional tracking assistance
Drew Canulette: production, engineering
Dave Collins, Howie Weinberg: mastering
Jason Corsaro, Lance Limbocker: engineering
Terry Date: production, engineering
Jack Endino: production, engineering, assistant engineering
Larimie Garcia, Steve Gilbert, Michael Lavine, Jan Van Oldenmark, Charles Peterson, Mark Seliger, Kevin Westenberg: photography
Adam Kasper: assistant engineering, mixing assistance, co-production, engineering, mixing
Oogie: art direction and design
Soundgarden: production, mixing
Chris Cornell (July 20, 1964 – May 18, 2017).
