SPCD 773 Superfuzz Bigmuff
Recorded and mixed by Jack Endino
Released on November 1988
no chart information
Find it at GEMM
SPCD 773 cover
[high resolution scan]

K ronomyth 1.0: MUFFIN’ FUZZIN’ AWESOME. The early recordings of Mudhoney represented this wild convergence of punk humorists, post-punk sonic experimentalists (Sonic Youth, Butthole Surfers) and seminal bad-ass rock (Motorhead, Stooges) that, once heard, wasn’t soon forgotten. It came through loud and muddy on their first single, “Touch Me I’m Sick” b/w “Sweet Young Thing Ain’t Sweet No More,” on the subsequent Superfuzz Bigmuff EP and everything in between. The double feedback attack of Steve Turner and Mark Arm, the bored drone vocals and ultra high-energy rhythm section sound like the Butthole Stooges but better. The two-disc Deluxe Edition combines all of the early stuff into an amazing collection of songs during which the band seems incapable of anything less than awesomeness; even the demos are incredible. Of course, it’s clear in hindsight that the band was never going to leave the commercial mark of Pearl Jam. They built their sound around a pair of cheesy effects pedals. They skewered “The Rose” and honored The Dicks. The way they baited the audience in Berlin would have made the Igmeister proud. Maybe the man-boys of The Thrown-Ups should have just renamed themselves The Screw-Ups, seeing as how they couldn’t capitalize on so much talent. But Mudhoney was never meant for the masses, any more than The Stooges. They were the fish moshing madly in the muddy banks while the other Seattle bands were swimming upstream with big dreams of eating the bear. The Superfuzz EP is an avowed classic, but you really want to hear this in the Deluxe Edition it deserves. The extra disc of live material, recorded just before the EP’s release, reeks of snottiness and drunk genius on the Berlin half. The KCSB show is barely up to bootleg standards, but does include early versions of “By Her Own Hand” and “Dead Love,” which turned up on their eponymous album a year later.

SPCD 773 booklet gatefold
SPCD 773 booklet gatefold

TRACK LISTING

  1. NEED
  2. CHAIN THAT DOOR
  3. MUDRIDE
  4. NO ONE HAS
  5. IF I THINK
  6. IN 'N' OUT OF GRACE

    Superfuzz Bigmuff Plus Early Singles
  7. TOUCH ME I'M SICK
  8. SWEET YOUNG THING AIN'T SWEET NO MORE
  9. HATE THE POLICE
  10. BURN IT CLEAN
  11. YOU GOT IT (KEEP IT OUTTA MY FACE)
  12. HALLOWEEN
  13. NEED
  14. CHAIN THAT DOOR
  15. MUDRIDE
  16. NO ONE HAS
  17. IF I THINK
  18. IN 'N' OUT OF GRACE

    Superfuzz Bigmuff Deluxe Edition: Disc One
  19. TOUCH ME I'M SICK    2:32
  20. SWEET YOUNG THING AIN'T SWEET NO MORE    3:46
  21. TWENTY FOUR    2:45
  22. NEED    2:58
  23. CHAIN THAT DOOR    1:49
  24. MUDRIDE    5:42
  25. NO ONE HAS    3:24
  26. IF I THINK    3:35
  27. IN 'N' OUT OF GRACE    5:28
  28. THE ROSE    (Amanda McBroom)    4:02
  29. HATE THE POLICE    (The Dicks)    2:07
  30. YOU GOT IT    2:54
  31. BURN IT CLEAN    2:56
  32. HALLOWEEN    (Sonic Youth)    6:10
  33. NEED (DEMO)    3:22
  34. MUDRIDE (DEMO)    6:01
  35. IN 'N' OUT OF GRACE (DEMO)    4:52

    Superfuzz Bigmuff Deluxe Edition: Disc Two
  36. NO ONE HAS (LIVE IN BERLIN)    3:58
  37. SWEET YOUNG THING AIN'T SWEET NO MORE (LIVE IN BERLIN)    3:45
  38. NEED (LIVE IN BERLIN)    2:47
  39. CHAIN THAT DOOR (LIVE IN BERLIN)    1:59
  40. IF I THINK (LIVE IN BERLIN)    3:18
  41. MUDRIDE (LIVE IN BERLIN)    6:19
  42. HERE COMES SICKNESS (LIVE IN BERLIN)    4:11
  43. TOUCH ME I'M SICK (LIVE IN BERLIN)    2:51
  44. IN 'N' OUT OF GRACE (LIVE IN BERLIN)    6:55
  45. MUDRIDE (LIVE ON KCSB)    5:34
  46. HERE COMES SICKNESS (LIVE ON KCSB)    4:10
  47. NO ONE HAS (LIVE ON KCSB)    3:31
  48. BY HER OWN HAND (LIVE ON KCSB)    3:31
  49. TOUCH ME I'M SICK (LIVE ON KCSB)    3:13
  50. DEAD LOVE (LIVE ON KCSB)    14:18

    All songs written by Mudhoney unless noted

CREDITS

MARK ARM -- vocals, superfuzz
MATT LUKIN -- bass guitar
DAN PETERS -- bigmuff, vocals
STEVE TURNER -- traps
Johnny Sangster -- mixing (disc 2)
Lisa Orth -- original cover design
Ed Fotheringham -- scratch type
Charles Peterson -- cover photo, live photos
Dusty Summers -- deluxe edition package design
Michael Lavine -- studio photos

return to MUDHONEY discography

REGION RELEASE DATE LABEL MEDIA ID NUMBER FEATURES
US November 1988 Sub Pop EP SP-21 avail. in blue vinyl
UK/GER 1988 Glitterhouse EP GR-0034  
UK/GER 1989 Glitterhouse CDEP GRCD-34  
US September 10, 1990 Sub Pop CDX SP-21B PLUS EARLY SINGLES w. bonus tracks
US May 20, 2008 Sub Pop 2CD SPCD 773 DELUXE EDITION w. bonus tracks/disc

 

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