Soundgarden

Soundgarden’s third album found them making a bid for the mainstream. Though often lumped in with other Seattle bands that broke during the early '90s, Soundgarden was always unabashedly classic rock—less a departure from The Doors and Led Zeppelin than a post-punky extension of them, carried in part by the wail of singer Chris Cornell. Poised between the heavy-metal leanings of their earlier albums and their dark commercial peak (1994’s Superunknown), Badmotorfinger found the band sharpening their songs and clarifying their sound, turning piles of sludge and grit into viable radio hits (like “Outshined” and “Rusty Cage”). Here, a remastered edition of the album joins a spate of demos and outtakes, as well as a blistering 1992 live set previously released only on VHS.

The 2012 box set Classic Album Selection rounds up all the albums Soundgarden released between 1989 and 1996 – Louder Than Love, Badmotorfinger, Superunknown, Down on the Upside – and adds the 2011 live album Live on I-5, which itself is comprised of recordings from the 1996 tour supporting Down on the Upside. All five of the albums are presented as mini-LPs in paper sleeves, making this a handsome, easy way to acquire the prime of Soundgarden's career.

"Best of Soundgarden Redux" is the customary companion album, which is released alongside each full-album cover editions of the Redux Series. Accompanying "Superunknown Redux", another 15 all-time classics and deep cuts from across the rest of the grunge gods' extensive catalogue are delivered by as many exciting acts on "Best of Soundgarden Redux".

Soundgarden along with the Chris Cornell Estate, UMe and the critically-acclaimed music series Artists Den, have announced the release of Soundgarden: Live from the Artists Den on 26 July.