Album · 30 years old this year
Down on the Upside
Down on the Upside is Soundgarden's fifth studio album, released by A&M Records on 21 May 1996. It followed a worldwide tour for Superunknown (1994), and the band produced this one themselves. The music is noticeably less heavy and dark than on the records before it, and the group used the sessions to try out new sounds.
It went to number one in Australia and New Zealand and entered the US Billboard 200 at number two. Four singles came from it: "Pretty Noose", "Burden in My Hand", "Blow Up the Outside World" and "Ty Cobb". It also turned out to be the band's last studio album for sixteen years, as tensions led to a split in April 1997, and King Animal only arrived in 2012. For anyone who knows Soundgarden at their heaviest, this is the more exploratory side of the story.
Down on the Upside: tracklist, credits and charts
16 tracks · 1:05:56Tracklist
- 1Pretty NooseChris Cornell4:12
- 2RhinosaurMatt Cameron and Chris Cornell3:14
- 3Zero ChanceBen Shepherd and Chris Cornell4:18
- 4DustyBen Shepherd and Chris Cornell4:34
- 5Ty CobbBen Shepherd and Chris Cornell3:05
- 6Blow Up the Outside WorldChris Cornell5:46
- 7Burden in My HandChris Cornell4:50
- 8Never NamedBen Shepherd and Chris Cornell2:28
- 9ApplebiteMatt Cameron and Chris Cornell5:10
- 10Never the Machine ForeverKim Thayil3:36
- 11Tighter & TighterChris Cornell6:06
- 12No AttentionChris Cornell4:27
- 13Switch OpensBen Shepherd and Chris Cornell3:53
- 14OverfloaterChris Cornell5:09
- 15An UnkindBen Shepherd2:08
- 16Boot CampChris Cornell2:59
- Produced by
- Adam Kasper, Soundgarden, Adam Kasper, Matt Cameron
- Recorded at
- Studio Litho (Seattle, Washington), Bad Animals (Seattle, Washington)
- Recorded
- November 1995 – February 1996
- Mixed by
- Adam Kasper, Soundgarden, Matt Bayles
- Mixed at
- Bad Animals Studio
- Engineered by
- Adam Kasper
- Label
- A&M Records
- Length
- 1:05:56
Line-up
- Chris Cornell · mandola, mandolin, guitar, vocals, Rhodes piano · guest
- Ben Shepherd · mandola, mandolin, bass · guest
- Matt Cameron · drums (drum set), Moog · guest
- Kim Thayil · guitar · guest
- Adam Kasper · piano · guest
Singles
- “Pretty Noose” · 7 May 1996
- “Burden in My Hand” · 16 September 1996
- “Blow Up the Outside World” · 16 December 1996
- “Ty Cobb” · April 1997 (Aus)
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · Combined | 2 |
| UK Albums Chart · Combined | 7 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1996–2025 | 1 |
| New Zealand Albums · Combined | 1 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · Combined | 1 |
| Canada Albums (The Record) · 1996–2025 | 2 |
| Icelandic Albums (Tónlist) · Combined | 3 |
| Swedish Albums · Combined | 3 |
| Finnish Albums · 1996–2025 | 4 |
| Europe (European Top 100 Albums) · 1996–2025 | 6 |
All 29 charts
| Norwegian Albums · Combined | 6 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI) · Combined | 7 |
| Estonia Albums (Eesti Top 10) · 1996–2025 | 8 |
| Scottish Albums · Combined | 11 |
| Austrian Albums · 1996–2025 | 12 |
| Dutch Albums · 1996–2025 | 12 |
| French Albums · 1996–2025 | 12 |
| US Hard Rock Albums (Billboard) · 2017 | 14 |
| US Vinyl Albums (Billboard) · 2016 | 14 |
| Danish Albums (Hitlisten) · 1996–2025 | 15 |
| German Albums · 1996–2025 | 15 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 1996–2025 | 18 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 1996–2025 | 19 |
| Swiss Albums · Combined | 20 |
| Portuguese Albums (AFP) · Combined | 23 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · Combined | 31 |
| Hungary Albums (MAHASZ) · Combined | 34 |
| US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) · 2017 | 39 |
| US Top Catalog Albums (Billboard) · 2017 | 45 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Australia · 1997 | Platinum |
| Canada | Platinum |
| New Zealand | Platinum |
| United Kingdom · 2013 | Silver |
| United States | Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
68.3
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
5.8k
ListenBrainz listeners
99k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
19k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 21 May
Every year →
More from Soundgarden
Full discography →
Screaming Life
1987
Fopp
1988
Ultramega OK
1988
Louder Than Love
1989
Screaming Life / Fopp
1990
Loudest Love
1990
Badmotorfinger
1991
Superunknown
1994
Songs From the Superunknown
1995
A‐Sides
1997
Telephantasm
2010
Before the Doors: Live on I-5
2011
King Animal
2012
Echo of Miles: The Originals
2014
Echo of Miles: Scattered Tracks Across the Path
2014
Satanoscillatemymetallicsonatas
2016
The best of 1996
All of 1996 →
Hero of the Day EP
Metallica · 1996
Evil Empire
Rage Against the Machine · 1996
Ænima
Tool · 1996
Load
Metallica · 1996
Pinkerton
Weezer · 1996
Life Is Peachy
Korn · 1996
Roots
Sepultura · 1996
No Code
Pearl Jam · 1996
The Great Southern Trendkill
Pantera · 1996
October Rust
Type O Negative · 1996
MTV Unplugged
Alice in Chains · 1996
Everything Must Go
Manic Street Preachers · 1996
More on A&M Records
The label →Superunknown
Soundgarden · 1994
Badmotorfinger
Soundgarden · 1991
Louder Than Love
Soundgarden · 1989
Telephantasm
Soundgarden · 2010
Satanoscillatemymetallicsonatas
Soundgarden · 2016
Echo of Miles: The Originals
Soundgarden · 2014
Loudest Love
Soundgarden · 1990
A‐Sides
Soundgarden · 1997
Songs From the Superunknown
Soundgarden · 1995
Before the Doors: Live on I-5
Soundgarden · 2011
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata; also seen: 1996-05-13 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 13 May 1996 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 21 May 1996 | |
| Wikidata | 21 May 1996 | |
| US release | 21 May 1996 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 13 May 1996 | earliest UK or European date |
14 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | XE | A&M Records | 731454052627 | other |
| 1996 | US | A&M Records | other | |
| 13 May 1996 | XE | A&M Records | 731454052627 | original |
| 13 May 1996 | JP | A&M Records | 4988005179869 | original |
| 20 May 1996 | AU | A&M Records | 731454052627 | other |
| 21 May 1996 | CA | A&M Records | 731454052627 | other |
| 21 May 1996 | US | A&M Records | 731454052627 | other |
| 14 January 1997 | AU | A&M Records | 731454068321 | other |
| 2016 | XW | A&M Records | 00602557008425 | other |
| 26 August 2016 | XE | A&M Records | 602547924469 | other |
| 26 August 2016 | US | A&M Records | 602547924469 | remaster |
| 11 November 2016 | XW | A&M Records | 00602557008432 | other |
| 18 November 2016 | XW | A&M Records | 00602557008449 | other |
| — | — | A&M Records | 00731454052627 | other |
Cover art sources
itunes · native: native 3000x3000
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| itunes ✓ | 3000×3000 | native: native 3000x3000 |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 953×953 | upscaled |