one of the greatest albums nobody knows about

Blind Melon's Soup makes a radical departure from their guitar-rock debut, adding brass, mandolins, banjos, and even kazoos into the mix. the result is an album filled with songs that stick in your head and just don't seem to get old. here now is a track-by-track breakdown:

" " - this is a secret song, also known as "Before One" that comes, appropriately, before the first track. to access this track, one must begin playing track one, then go backwards beyond the designated beginning of the disc (note - many, but not all, CD players can do this). " " is an "instrumental" track, slightly more than 2 minutes long. the creation of this song began when a friend of Shannon Hoon gave the band a tape of a song he had written/performed on an acoustic guitar. the band then added other elements to it, including drums and piano. finally, they took Shannon's vocal track for the song "New Life" and played it - backwards - over the music. the result is a dreamy tune that hops from gloom to folk to blues without missing a step.

"Hello Goodbye" - this is the official name to the beginning of "Galaxie". the band wanted to make the album sound like a New Orleans funeral (where they have brass bands playing), so they began (and ended) the album with an actual New Orleans brass band playing. "Hello Goodbye" has a similar sound and feel to "Lemonade", the album's last song. it's essentially a fun, almost silly, little ditty just a couple minutes long.

"Galaxie" - a delightfully bipolar song that goes from angry grunge-like verses to light, poppy choruses and back. this song is perfect for secret air-guitar jamming (or just enjoying).

"2x4" - a song about Shannon's drug problems with the catchiest riff ever. the lyrics are appropriately abstract ("needle, fetal, someone's pouring warm gravy all over me"), and although the majority of the song has a general "up" feel to it, it transforms itself into angry wailing at the end.

"Vernie" - a tribute to Shannon's grandmother. a wonderful song by itself, but it seems to get lost in the album. peaceful and slow with a quiet lull in the middle that then cresendos back into another chorus where Shannon croons "I wish i could be a little more like vernie".

"Skinned" - an oddly cheery/playful song about serial killer Ed Gein, who would utilize the body parts of his victims for food and furniture (i.e., lampshades of skin). the body of this song is built from a decidedly hoedown-sounding banjo. it is then spiced up with a couple kazoo solos that work suprisingly well (i.e., they actually sound like music!). this song is loveable from the start (even for a city boy like me :).

"Toes Across The Floor" - Guitar harmonics begin this song, then give way to a distorted lead guitar melody as Shannon sings quietly about the problems with the modern world. the chorus then comes in with full distorted bombast which gives way to a slide-o-riffic "ahh-oohhh-ahh" session. a great mix of sadness and despair.

"Walk" - a sad, mournful tune with only an acoustic guitar, harmonica, mandolin, lead bass, and Shannon's voice. interestingly, the guitar the usually lies in the foreground of the mix gives way to nice, round bass-plucking. the song is then accentuated with occasional mandolin solos that add even more gloom to the song.

"Dumptruck" - a punk-rock riff starts this song, then quickly decays into a verse that just builds up suspense. the sufficiently-loud chorus it then introduced with a slippy-slidy ascending guitar riff that'll stick in your head for days. the tune later gives way to a less angry, more mournful verse before it ends.

"Car Seat (God's Presents)" - a beautifully depressing song about the Susan Smith murders. this song's sound is remeniscent of a mafia movie set it the '20s - one can almost hear the mobsters sipping their drinks as the song plays on their record player. the song has 2 quick verses and no chorus - after the verses, the listener is treated to Shannon Hoon reciting the poem "God's Presents"(with distortion filters placed over his voice). the poem speaks of the all-encompassing nature of God and was written by Shannon's grandmother Blanch Bridge in the 19th century.

"Wilt" - another fun jam-song, supposedly about a bus driver with severe halitosis. while most of the song is just a standard '90s guitar song, one should note the dreamy, phased-out guitar part in the chorus.

"The Duke" - supposedly written about a statue of the son of a Hawaiian king, this song has an otherworldly feel to it, calm and serene. most of the song's guitar parts have been phased to the point where they sound as if they are being played backwards and fowards at the same time, adding to the overall effect of the song.

"St. Andrew's Fall" - a song about the band witnessing a girl commit suicide in Detroit by jumping from a 20-story building. it begins with a light-heartred verse, then leads to a dark chorus. after a second verse and chorus, the song turns into a chaotic, cacophonous mess, which i personally feel is a representation of the girl's fall. then it turns into a quiet guitar-and-two-voices-singing-different-things verse (i.e., the stillness/shock after she hits the ground). finally, the song ends with the band joined by a strings, mourning over the tragic loss of life.

"New Life" - following the death song, this song about the birth of Shannon's daughter helps to represent the circle of life. the lyrics detail his feelings and preparation for change as he recieves news that his wife is pregnant. an immediately likeable song with good quiet-loud shifts.

"Mouthful Of Cavities" - quite possibly the saddest song on the entire album. Shannon is backed by Jenna Klaus, a fan who got to sing backup on the song after showing up at countless shows, insisting she could sing. the song starts off quietly with the two vocalists and an acoutic guitar clearly very vulnerable and weakened by disappointment and/or rejection. the distorted guitars, bass, and drums come in later, but they do not sacrifice the raw emotion of the song. this is, in itself, a masterpiece.

"Lemonade" - a fun song that concludes the "funeral". as the name suggests, this is a very bright and poppy song. the guitar solos in this tune are not too complex, but fit perfectly into the song's vibe. it concludes with the brass band playing an infectious tune that, corny as it may sound, will get your toes tapping and fingers snapping.

...so there you have it! the album is great and never gets boring - i've been listening to it daily (sometimes twice or thrice daily!) for the past 3 months and i'm still not sick of it. if you liked anything about the '90s music scene, i would recommend that you give this album a listen