It’s May 13th 1996, I’m 15 years old, and I’m waiting for the record store to open at midnight with a very specific task at hand. I’m not there for the new Soul Coughing or the Def Leppard. No, I’m there because as a member of the Knights of the Soundtable (Soundgarden’s fan club) I know there is a limited release of 10,000 vinyl records being released the week before the May 21st release date. There is no intention of keeping this wrapped up to sell some day. I am going to hear this full album before the rest of the country and unbeknownst to me, fall in love with a track that is still my favorite 30 years later.
The album opens with Pretty Noose which if memory serves was the first single off the record, so this is a track I was already familiar with. Then Rhinosaur hits. The music in this song is written by Matt Cameron and that feels evident right away. Even now looking at sites to find the time signature, there are some that say it’s in 6/4, some say 3/4, some say parts in 4/4 and other parts are in 3/4. I don’t really care, but I think it’s important that it’s not a standard timing because when the song opens the riff feels like it’s not being finished, leaving me a little bit off-kilter. But by the time Chris Cornell starts singing, it has resolved, the groove is excellent, and I realize that this is all by design. I love it.
The song is not an in my face thrasher of a song like Ty Cobb. It’s measured, it’s melodic. Chris Cornell does as only Chris Cornell could do, somehow simultaneously screaming while calmly speaking. It lulls me in and then around the two minute mark all hell breaks loose with the Kim Thayil solo and Matt Cameron and Ben Shepherd reminding me why they are my favorite rhythm section on planet earth. Of course they bring it all back together after the solo and Thayil adds even more flavor at the very end. Just over 3 minutes have elapsed, less than 10 minutes into the album, and I cannot wait to tell my friends what they’re missing.