Blind Melon / Soup (1995)

Without counting the posthumously released odds and sods disc Nico (which is also excellent), Soup is the final Blind Melon album. Of course, no one knew this was the end, so you get all the velocity of a young band still in its prime. It’s a tense affair, practically bursting at the seams with impassioned vocals and punchy instrumentation. It was recorded at the band’s communal house in New Orleans, and the atmosphere comes through in the production. The sonics and songwriting are a touch grittier than on the self-titled debut, and in some places more delicate, too. On the heavy rocking cuts like "New Life" and "Galaxie," the group retains their signature stop-and-go dynamic while making an earthier, more organic sounding record with overtly darker lyrical themes. The album is surprisingly cohesive in spite of the sequencing, which plays out like an emotional roller coaster ride. This works a charm, of course, an expert sequence having been wrought from the unavoidable happenstance of the material's content. Listening out loud is an adrenaline fueled romp not unlike watching a Dario Argento movie -- you're seemingly never allowed to sit at ease, even during calm moments when nothing scary is happening. Quiet spaces take on the haunted quality of troubled introspection, and more upbeat sections are often jarring and come on with a sudden tumult that startles you into alarm. What, that song about drug detox wasn’t strong enough for you? Then here, enjoy an snappy tune about Ed Gein. And such sentiments -- abandonment, murder, suicide, comfort, lies, insecurity -- they're all pages torn from Shannon Hoon’s conflicted psychology, bedded snugly within a ripping good rock and roll record. “Mouthful of Cavities” is a favorite, and features a vocal from Jena Kraus. Kraus also appears on the album's bonus track -- push play for track 01, then hold down the skip button on your CD player until you arrive at track 00.