Of the so-called "Seattle Four", this is the band that has always struck a chord with me the most. Nirvana are a given (who doesn't like them?), Pearl Jam have their moments, but I completely lost interest after their 3rd album and don't listen to them now at all. As for Alice in Chains, despite enjoying their music during my teen years, I now associate it with that embarrassing phase of mopey, teenage angst so many of us traverse, so cannot hear their songs now without cringing at the person I was back then.
All of the above makes Soundgarden the exception. I always considered them the most sonically diverse and interesting of the aforementioned "grunge" heavyweights, and I suspect that's been a big part of their appeal to me. And who could fuck with Chris Cornell's voice? With regard to their albums, all have something to offer, but 'Louder Than Love' is the one that resonates the strongest for me.
The production, the songwriting, the lyrics... everything is just spot on with this. The alternative metal formula is present and correct, but there's still plenty of experimentation to be had, and the band also shows that it doesn't take itself too seriously on occasion too, which is nice. Regarding the production again, I once read the band weren't too happy with the end result, thinking it overproduced, but I don't agree with this assessment at all. I love LTL's clear, spacious production (somewhat reminiscent of Sonic Youth's 'Evol'). If anything, it was 'Badmotorfinger', that was overproduced; so much so in my opinion, that it took a while for me to really get past that and enjoy it for what it was.
Nevertheless, 'Louder Than Love' is a perfect rock record and an all time favourite for me.
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