''Deep Six'' is a 1986

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

featuring six

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

-based rock bands. It was the first release by

C/Z Records C/Z Records was a Seattle-based punk rock record label that was established in early 1985 by Chris Hanzsek and Tina Casale. It started with the release of '' Deep Six'' which collected the earliest recordings of what later came to be known as ...

, with a catalogue number of CZ01 for 2,000 copies. The album was reissued as a joint C/Z Records/

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

release on April 5, 1994.

Development

The album was compiled by Seattle locals

Chris Hanzsek Chris Hanzsek is an American musical engineer and record producer, living in Snohomish, Washington. He was co-founder, with then partner Tina Casale, of C/Z Records and their recording studio, Reciprocal Recording, in 1984. He produced bands in ...

and Tina Casale of CZ Records to showcase what was going on in the Seattle rock community at this time by drawing on the talents of six like-minded bands. The album was not a commercial success; however, it is vital to the history of

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...

. It represents the early recordings of a handful of bands that would later become legendary, and dictated what grunge was by establishing its concepts and nuances of sound. In the early 1980s, the Seattle branch of the

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

movement was influenced by punk rock; however, it removed its speed and its structure and added elements of

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

. The

Melvins Melvins (sometimes The Melvins) are an American rock band formed in 1983 in Montesano, Washington. Their early work was key to the development of both grunge and sludge metal. Initially, they performed as a trio but later also sometimes appeare ...

slowed down punk rock to develop their own slow, heavy, sludgy sound. When they contributed four tracks to Deep Six they were regarded as one of Seattle's top bands.

Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil (both of whom are the only members to appear in every incarnation of the band), and bassist Hiro Yamamo ...

provided the most abrasive sound on the album after having formed only a year before.

The U-Men The U-Men was an American rock band, formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1980 and active until 1989. They toured extensively across the United States. Their musically "dirty" sound and off-the-wall sense of humor were a forerunner for the later gr ...

contributed minimalist punk with "Sabbath" style metal.

Skin Yard Skin Yard was an American grunge band from Seattle, Washington, who were active from 1985 to 1992. The group never gained a mainstream audience, but were an influence on several of their grunge contemporaries, including Soundgarden, Screaming T ...

's guitarist,

Jack Endino Jack Endino (born Michael M. Giacondino; 1964) is an American producer and musician based in Seattle, Washington. Long associated with Seattle label Sub Pop and the grunge movement, Endino worked on seminal albums from bands including Mudhon ...

, would go on to record and produce many of the grunge bands, and helped to establish Soundgarden,

Mudhoney Mudhoney is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1988, following the demise of Green River. Its members are singer and rhythm guitarist Mark Arm, lead guitarist Steve Turner, bassist Guy Maddison and drummer Dan Peters. Orig ...

, and

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

. He was able to bring a similar sonic quality to some of the tracks recorded by bands who had diverse sounds.

Green River Green River may refer to: Rivers Canada *Green River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Lillooet River *Green River, a tributary of the Saint John River, also known by its French name of Rivière Verte *Green River (Ontario), a tributary of ...

had released its debut EP '' Come On Down'' several months before ''Deep Six''; therefore, ''Come On Down'' is considered the first grunge record. Members from this band would later form

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guita ...

and Mudhoney, two bands that would become internationally famous. However, ''Deep Six'' featured several other bands' first appearance on record and is regarded as the first grunge compilation.Deep Sixed: The Making of the First Grunge Compilation
/ref>

Track listing

– "10,000 Things" – 3:37 #

– "Scared" – 2:19 #Melvins – "Blessing the Operation" – 0:44 #

Malfunkshun Malfunkshun is an alternative rock band formed in 1980 by Andrew Wood and his brother Kevin Wood. The band formed around the same time as other Washington state bands such as The U-Men (1980), Melvins (1983), Green River (1984), Soundgarden (1 ...

– "With Yo' Heart (Not Yo' Hands)" – 3:54 #

– "Throb" – 5:29 #

– "Heretic" – 3:22 #Soundgarden – "Tears to Forget" – 2:06 #Malfunkshun – "Stars-N-You" – 1:46 #Melvins – "Grinding Process" – 2:09 #Melvins – "She Waits" – 0:40 #Skin Yard – "The Birds" - 3:56 #Soundgarden – "All Your Lies" – 3:53 #Green River – "Your Own Best Friend" – 6:21 #

– "They" – 3:32 An alternative version of Soundgarden's "Heretic" appears on the soundtrack for the 1990 film '' Pump Up the Volume'', as well as on the Soundgarden EP ''

Loudest Love ''Loudest Love'' is an EP by the American rock band Soundgarden. It was released in October 1990 through A&M Records. Overview The EP was first released in Japan, and later released in the United States. The track listing is the same as that for ...

''. A re-recorded version of Soundgarden's "All Your Lies" (with new drummer

Matt Cameron Matthew David Cameron (born November 28, 1962) is an American musician who is the drummer for the rock band Pearl Jam. He first gained fame as the drummer for Seattle-based rock band Soundgarden, which he joined in 1986. He appeared on each of ...

) appears on their 1988 album ''

Ultramega OK ''Ultramega OK'' is the debut studio album by American rock band Soundgarden, released on October 31, 1988 by SST Records. Following the release of the EPs ''Screaming Life'' (1987) and ''Fopp'' (1988), both for the Sub Pop record label, Soundga ...

''; the original also appears only on the double-disc version of band's 2010 compilation album ''

Telephantasm ''Telephantasm'' is a compilation album by the American rock band Soundgarden. Featuring songs that span 23 years of the band's career, it was released on September 28, 2010, through A&M Records. The album was certified platinum by RIAA after its ...

'', while a re-recorded version of "Tears to Forget" (with Cameron) appears on their 1987 EP ''

Screaming Life ''Screaming Life'' is the debut EP by the American rock band Soundgarden, released in October 1987 through Sub Pop Records. ''Screaming Life'' was later combined with the band's next EP, ''Fopp'' (1988), and released as the '' Screaming Life/Fopp ...

''. Alternative versions of the Melvins' "Blessing the Operation" and "Grinding Process" appear on '' 26 Songs''.

Personnel

–

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

*Tina Casale – producer *Reyza Sageb – original blue album artwork * Charles Peterson –

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

*Jane Duke – photography *

Mark Arm Mark Arm (born Mark Thomas McLaughlin; February 21, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter, best known as the vocalist for the grunge band Mudhoney. His former group, Green River, was one of the first grunge bands, along with Malfunkshun, So ...

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

Jeff Ament Jeffrey Allen Ament (born March 10, 1963) is an American musician and songwriter who is best known as the bassist of the American rock band Pearl Jam, which he co-founded alongside Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder. Prior to his wo ...

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

Stone Gossard Stone Carpenter Gossard (born July 20, 1966) is an American musician who serves as a guitarist and songwriter for the rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of the band. G ...

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

Bruce Fairweather Bruce Ian Fairweather (born December 12, 1960) is an American guitarist/bassist based in Seattle. Biography Fairweather grew up in Hawaii and moved to Montana for college where he met Jeff Ament skateboarding the brick banks at the University of ...

– guitar ** Alex Vincent –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

King Buzzo Roger "Buzz" Osborne (born March 25, 1964), also known as King Buzzo, is an American guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. He is a founding member of the rock band Melvins, as well as Fantômas and Venomous Concept. Biography Born in Morton, Wa ...

– vocals, guitar **

Matt Lukin Matthew David Lukin (born August 16, 1964) is an American former musician, best known as a bassist and founding member of the Melvins and Mudhoney. Career Melvins (1983–1987) Lukin co-founded the Melvins in 1983 with guitarist/vocalist B ...

– bass **

Dale Crover Dale Crover (born October 23, 1967) is an American rock musician. Crover is best known as the drummer for Melvins and has also been the drummer for Men of Porn, Shrinebuilder, Crystal Fairy and, for a brief time, Nirvana. He is also guitarist an ...

– drums *

Regan Hagar Regan Hagar is an American musician. Primarily a drummer, he also plays keyboard and guitar on occasion. He was the drummer in Malfunkshun from 1980 to 1988, featuring Andrew Wood of Mother Love Bone on vocals and Kevin Wood on guitar. He had pr ...

– drums ** Kevin Wood – guitar ** Andrew Wood – vocals, bass *

**Ben McMillan – vocals,

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

on "The Birds" **

– guitar **

Daniel House Daniel House may refer to: * Daniel House (musician) (born 1961), American musician and entrepreneur *Daniel House (Knoxville, Tennessee), historic U.S. home See also * Danuel House (born 1993), American basketball player *Danielle House Danielle ...

– bass **

– drums *

Chris Cornell Christopher John Cornell (né Boyle; July 20, 1964 – May 18, 2017) was an American singer and musician best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and primary lyricist and songwriter for the rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave. H ...

– vocals **

Hiro Yamamoto Hiro Yamamoto (born April 13, 1961) is an American bassist who was a founding member of grunge band Soundgarden, along with Kim Thayil and Chris Cornell in 1984. He left the band in 1989, and two years later, he started the independent rock ban ...

– bass **

Kim Thayil Kim Anand Thayil (born September 4, 1960) is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of the Seattle-based rock band Soundgarden, which he co-founded with singer Chris Cornell and bassist Hiro Yamamoto in 1984. Cornell and Thayil rem ...

– guitar **

Scott Sundquist Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil (both of whom are the only members to appear in every incarnation of the band), and bassist Hiro Yamamo ...

– drums *

**John Bigley – vocals **Tom Price – guitar **Jim Tillman – bass **Charlie Ryan – drums

References

Bibliography

External links

CZRecords.com''Deep Six'' at the Unofficial Soundgarden Homepage
{{Authority control Grunge compilation albums 1986 compilation albums A&M Records compilation albums C/Z Records compilation albums