Soup

by

Blind Melon

Edit

Blind Melon is the number-one underappreciated band of the 1990s. It is a crime that the Bee Girl from the "No Rain" video is the image most think of when asked about Blind Melon. The truth is, this band was one of the most talented of their generation; nowhere else is this evidenced as well as on Soup, the band's 2nd full length album. The band trades in some jam elements from their debut in favor of concise, well written songs that act as a perfect representation of what this band was capable of. Unfortunately, Shannon Hoon's death left us to only imagine what could have come next.

Soup is opened with an offbeat horn and vocal intro that segues into the outstanding "Galaxie". This song is fast paced but with melodies to die for. Another highlight is "Vernie", a touching tribute to Shannon Hoon's grandmother set to a mellow, almost psychadelic musical backdrop. "Toes Across the Floor" is probably my favorite song from Soup, if not my favorite Blind Melon song of all time. Dark, brooding verses explode into a screaming chorus that perfectly represents the hopelessness of Hoon's addictions. "St. Andrew's Fall" is another benchmark in quality and it's probably the most complicated Blind Melon song, consisting of three very distinct sections that stir up many emotions, good and bad. "New Life" is the album's most heart-wrenching song, with Shannon singing the line "when I'm looking into the eyes of our own baby will it bring new life into me?". Shannon was a great person, someone hopelessly addicted. He wanted badly to be a father, but the grip of addiction was too strong and he is missed. "Mouthful of Cavities" is the album's last highlight, the song that sparked my love for the music of Blind Melon with its acoustic guitar and vocal interplay between Shannon and a girl named Jena Kraus.

In truth, I could rave about every song contained within this disc; there is no filler and every song is well written and well performed. Sometimes when listening to Soup I shudder when I think of what Blind Melon could have accomplished. To the few Blind Melon die-hards, this album is a classic. To those who know of Blind Melon only through the "No Rain" video: there is much more to this band. This is a classic album of the 1990s and should be in every self respecting alternative/rock fans collection.

This album is in no way amazing. Neither is it unbelievably terrible.

The album kicks off with a horns section that is, lets face it, all over the place. Shannon Hoon sings some out-of-time gibberish, but then comes in one heck of a good song. Sure, the lyrics are a bit random, but Galaxie is this album's gem.

Next comes 2x4, which has a beginning and middle of pure rock goodness but ends with a solo - if it can even be called that - which is, quite frankly, annoying. Especially after the third ear-shattering blast.

Vernie is nothing special, but by no means is the album's weakest track. One of its let-downs, but not bad.

Skinned is a fantastic, catchy tune that you're guaranteed to be singing all-day long. 'Hey I could really use a couple of hands/To make one hell of a plant stand' Hoon sings with a great grit. The second best song on the album.

Toes Across The Floor is a good song with a rather good bass line. Hoon manages to sing possibly the most depressing lyrics on the album with just a tiny uplifting hint in his voice.

Walk is just a nice cool-down from the intensity that is Toes with a nice, happy harmonica mid-way. Hoon's voice in indistinct and at his worst in this song, but it's just a nice song.

Dump Truck is a horrible song. The beginning of the song is just one big noise. Where the middle saves the song with Hoon's best falsetto lyrics, the end is a large let-down. Some nice random guitar licks, though.

Car Seat (God's Presents) is a vile song. With egyptian sounds, this will probably be the song you skip past. The mega-phone talk at the end seems like a strange attempt at diversity.

Wilt is like Vernie in the fact that it is nothing special. At this point in the album, you realise it isn't as good as when you first put it on.

The Duke comes next and has a sinister bass line but Hoon's most innocent, choir boy vocals. A nice song, but that's about it.

St. Andrew's Fall is a nice song and the most reminiscent of their debut. A nice acoustic number and Hoon really gets his mental abscence across. A nice little number.

New Life starts with two random shouts, but then goes into a lovely, dreamy song. A really nice, calming song. However, it seems too eager to break out of the boundaries of a ballad and goes awry after that. Tries to recover, but Hoon's voice is too excited.

Mouthful of Cavities is a nice duet. That's it. It has an unnecessary 10 second blank gap at the beginning, but Hoon's voice is best here. I didn't like his partner's voice, she was far too different and failed to match Shannon Hoon's tune. A good song, but sounded like they put two different versions of the song together. If she wasn't there, it would be a very good song.

Lemonade is the worst song on the album and a horrible way to end the album. Totally unnecessary and sounds totally amateur. Headache-worthy.

Overall, not a bad album, but its bad songs are far too bad to constitute this album as good. As written before, highs are high; the lows are low.