Soundgarden Guitarist Kim Thayil Discusses 'Echo of Miles'

Soundgarden Guitarist Kim Thayil Discusses ‘Echo of Miles’

2014-11-24

Story by Anne Erickson

Soundgarden’s ‘Echo of Miles: Scattered Tracks Across the Path,’ features never-before-released tracks

Seattle grunge pioneers Soundgarden have a new, three-disc set of rarities, titled “Echo of Miles: Scattered Tracks Across the Path,” out this week. As it turns out, guitarist Kim Thayil says it wasn’t easy to find a home for those tracks, although the guys knew they wanted a physical pressing.

“You tangibly have it in your hands. If you want to put it in your car or on your bookshelf, there it is. That’s been the goal,” Thayil told Artist Direct. “Convincing the record company of that was a little more work. Even convincing our band’s management of that over the years has been tough.”

He added that he thinks record companies tend to “orient themselves towards proven sales leaders and winners.”

“That’s why you might think about a “Superunknown” 20th anniversary deluxe box set, because there’s a track record of people having success with that,” Thayil said.

He added, “I suppose most recently it was Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Alice in Chains, and now Soundgarden. For the B-Sides, you’ve got to think like a fan—not even just a collector—but a fan of a band. If you’re a really strong or crazy fan, you’ve got everything. For people who are more casual fans, have other things to do, or have a number of bands they may like, this package is certainly for them because it’s likely they don’t have all of these collected together.”

Thayil also explained the compilation album features many songs that haven’t appeared on any other Soundgarden releases, calling it a “compilation of non-album tracks.”

“Echo of Miles: Scattered Tracks Across the Path” is in stores today (Nov. 24).

Photo by Anne Erickson

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Anne Erickson

Meet the expert - Author, writer and editor Anne Erickson is a Detroit-based music reporter and radio host. She has written for the USA Today Network, Consequence.net, Blabbermouth.net, Loudwire.com and many more. Anne holds a master's degree from Michigan State University. Contact Anne at anne@audioinkradio.com.