"Hands All Over" is a song by the American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

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 ...

. Featuring lyrics written by frontman Chris Cornell and music written by guitarist Kim Thayil, "Hands All Over" was released in 1990 as the second single from the band's second full-length studio album, '' Louder Than Love'' (1989). It also appeared on the band's EP '' Loudest Love'', released in 1990. The song was included on Soundgarden's 1997 greatest hits album, '' A-Sides'' and appeared on the band's compilation album '' Telephantasm''.

Composition

"Hands All Over" features lyrics written by frontman Chris Cornell and music written by guitarist Kim Thayil. The song is in the key of D major. Thayil on the song:

What I liked about the song was that it was just one simple riff—one note, one chord—but with a lot of dynamics. In some ways it's simple and basic; in other ways, it's very sophisticated in how it was layered. We don't really have many songs that are like "Hands All Over".Gilbert, Jeff
"Primecuts: Kim Thayil"
''Guitar School''. May 1994.

Lyrics

Regarding "Hands All Over", Cornell said that "it's just sort of an environmental thing. Not strictly environmental, but mostly. It's basically about how we humans tend to screw up everything that's good enough as it is ... or everything that we're attracted to, we love to go and defile it."Gilbert, Jeff
"Big Ugly Truth"
'' The Rocket''. March 1990.

Release and reception

The single for "Hands All Over" marked the beginning of Soundgarden having cover versions as

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

s. The B-side to the single is a cover of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

song " Come Together". Producer Jack Endino provided the backing vocals on the song. This was also the last time that Soundgarden recorded with him. Outside the United States, the single was released commercially in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Due to some of the lyrics contained in the song (most notably the "kill your mother" line), this song and "Big Dumb Sex" led to the band facing various retail and distribution problems upon the release of ''Louder Than Love''. Tom Maginnis of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

called "Hands All Over" a "walloping behemoth of a track". He said, "The song combines an Eastern-tinged rock riff in an extended arrangement, as singer Chris Cornell airs out his impressive lung capacity while lyrically taking a stab at environmental politics." J. D. Considine of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' said that the song "applies swooping bass and jazzily vigorous drumming to counterbalance the static intensity of the song's bone-simple guitar hook."Consideine, J. D
"Soundgarden: ''Louder Than Love''"
''

''. June 17, 1997. Both the song and video were featured in the 1990 film '' Pacific Heights'', but the song was not included on the film's soundtrack.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "Hands All Over" was directed by

Kevin Kerslake Kevin Kerslake is an American filmmaker and photographer. He has directed documentaries on Joan Jett ('' Bad Reputation''), DJ AM (''As I AM: The Life and Times of DJ AM''), The Ramones (''We're Outta Here!''), Nirvana (''Live! Tonight! Sold Out! ...

, who had previously directed the "

Loud Love "Loud Love" is a song by the American rock music, rock band Soundgarden. Written by frontman Chris Cornell, "Loud Love" was released on August 30, 1989 as the first single from the band's second studio album, ''Louder Than Love'' (1989). It is the ...

" music video for the band. The video was shot in a factory and features the band members swinging on equipment amid scenes of the band performing the song. Thayil described the video as "one of the lamest ever made. It really sucked." Cornell added, "Making this video was fun because we were in a steel foundry. And there was like a black cancer dust all over everything. We're all gonna get cancer from it and die. So I hope you enjoy it. This will be the video that killed Soundgarden." The video was released in January 1990. The video is available on the home video release ''

Louder Than Live ''Louder Than Live'' is a home video by the American rock band Soundgarden, featuring songs performed live at the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles, California on December 7 and 10, 1989. It was directed by Kevin Kerslake, and released on May 22, 1990 ...

''.

Track listing

;Promotional CD (US) and Promotional 12" Vinyl (US) #"Hands All Over" ( Chris Cornell, Kim Thayil) – 6:00 #" Come Together" ( John Lennon, Paul McCartney) – 5:52 ;Promotional Cassette (US) and 7" Vinyl (Australia) #"Hands All Over" (Cornell, Thayil) – 6:00 ;7" Vinyl (Australia) #"Hands All Over" (Cornell, Thayil) – 6:00 #"Big Bottom" (live) ( Spinal Tap) – 4:58 #*Recorded live on December 10, 1989 at the Whisky a Go Go in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. ;CD (UK) and 10" Vinyl (UK) #"Hands All Over" (Cornell, Thayil) – 6:00 #"Come Together" (Lennon, McCartney) – 5:52 #"Heretic" (Thayil, Hiro Yamamoto) – 3:48 #"Big Dumb Sex" (Cornell) – 4:11

Chart positions

References

{{authority control 1990 singles Environmental songs Protest songs Soundgarden songs Song recordings produced by Chris Cornell Song recordings produced by Matt Cameron Song recordings produced by Terry Date Songs written by Chris Cornell Songs written by Kim Thayil 1989 songs A&M Records singles Music videos directed by Kevin Kerslake