Deep Six (album)
First grunge compilation featuring early Seattle bands.
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In 1986, C/Z Records launched with its first release, the compilation Deep Six, catalog number CZ01, limited to 2,000 copies. It gathers six rock bands from Seattle. A joint reissue with A&M Records followed on April 5, 1994.
Development
Chris Hanzsek and Tina Casale of C/Z Records compiled the album to showcase the Seattle rock community by drawing on the talents of six like-minded bands. It became a vital document of Seattle’s local music scene and is regarded as the first grunge compilation, representing early recordings of bands that later became key figures in grunge. In the early 1980s, the Seattle indie movement was influenced by punk rock but removed its speed and structure, adding elements of metal.
The Melvins slowed down punk rock to develop a slow, heavy, sludgy sound and contributed four tracks, being considered one of Seattle's top bands at the time. Soundgarden, formed only a year before, provided the most abrasive sound on the album. The U-Men contributed minimalist punk with Sabbath-style metal.
Skin Yard's guitarist Jack Endino later recorded and produced many grunge bands, helping establish Soundgarden, Mudhoney, and Nirvana, and brought a similar sonic quality to tracks by bands with diverse sounds. Green River had released its debut EP Come On Down several months before Deep Six, making that EP the first grunge record; members of Green River later formed Pearl Jam and Mudhoney. Deep Six featured several bands' first appearance on record.
Track listing
Green River contributed '10,000 Things' (3:37) and 'Your Own Best Friend' (6:21). The Melvins contributed four tracks: 'Scared' (2:19), 'Blessing the Operation' (0:44), 'Grinding Process' (2:09), and 'She Waits' (0:40). Malfunkshun contributed 'With Yo' Heart (Not Yo' Hands)' (3:54) and 'Stars-N-You' (1:46).
Skin Yard contributed 'Throb' (5:29) and 'The Birds' (3:56). Soundgarden contributed 'Heretic' (3:22), 'Tears to Forget' (2:06), and 'All Your Lies' (3:53). The U-Men contributed 'They' (3:32).
An alternative version of Soundgarden's 'Heretic' appears on the soundtrack for the 1990 film Pump Up the Volume and on the Soundgarden EP Loudest Love. A re-recorded version of 'All Your Lies' appears on Soundgarden's 1988 album Ultramega OK; the original also appears on the double-disc version of the band's 2010 compilation Telephantasm. A re-recorded version of 'Tears to Forget' appears on their 1987 EP Screaming Life. Alternative versions of the Melvins' 'Blessing the Operation' and 'Grinding Process' appear on 26 Songs.
More in A&M Records Compilation Albums
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Deep Six (album) (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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