Excellent Vocals but Flawed Songwriting - A Review of Soundgarden's Telephantasm

Soundgarden is one of the most influential alternative rock and grunge bands throughout the nineties and Telephantasm remains the group's best compilation to date. It was initially released to hype the band's reunion that ended up being rather short-lived. Today, this release can be seen as a wonderful memory of this band that came to an end with its singer's and guitarist's tragical suicide.

This compilation combines songs from all eras of the band except for its last studio album King Animal that was only released two years later. Telephantasm offers twelve entertaining songs with a total running time of one hour. Band label A&M Records could have used the remaining twenty minutes of this disc for about four or five other songs but ultimately opted for this more compact approach that makes the release sound like a regular studio effort.

Highlights on this compilation include the desperate, energetic and vibrant ''Outshined'', the atmospheric, experimental and playful ''Birth Ritual'', dynamic, joyful and percussive ''Spoonman'' and of course the band's greatest hit with gloomy, hypnotizing and mysterious ''Black Hole Sun'' that qualifies as the band's most memorable tune.

One of the band's greatest elements are Chris Cornell's charismatic vocals. He is able to convince in lower registers, has natural ease in regular registers and shines most when hitting higher registers. In his best moments, his vocal style reminds of Thin Lizzy's Phil Lynott and Rainbow's Ronnie James Dio. This also explains why Soundgarden is quite beloved among hard rock and heavy metal fans if compared to similar genre groups.

The band's biggest flaw is however its songwriting. While the vocals stand out very positively, the guitar melodies often need some time to grow and the rhythm section doesn't always manage to get to the point. Numerous songs are at least a minute too long and end with repetitive loops failing to conclude on high notes.

At the end of the day, I would describe Soundgarden as a good alternative rock and grunge band. The band is certainly better than many copycats from the new millennium but they can't quite compete with the genre's earliest pioneers. I would suggest picking this compilation up for a reduced price and to spin it from time to time while driving a car or going for a walk. This compilation's final song ''Black Rain'' is exclusive to this release even though it had already been written two decades earlier and turns out to be a decent grunge tune with an interesting instrumental coda that should convince collectors and fans of old date to pick this release up as well.

Final Rating: 70%