Superfuzz Bigmuff

Superfuzz Bigmuff is the debut EP by the Seattle grunge band Mudhoney. It was released on October 20, 1988 through record label Sub Pop. The album was later re-released in 1990 in the form of Superfuzz Bigmuff Plus Early Singles.

Superfuzz Bigmuff
EP by Mudhoney
Released	October 20, 1988
Recorded	July 22–24, August 6, 15, 21, 25 and September 29, 1988
Studio	Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, Washington
Genre	Grunge garage punk
Length	22:25
Label	Sub Pop (USA) Au Go Go (Australia) Glitterhouse (Germany)
Producer	Jack Endino
Mudhoney chronology
Superfuzz Bigmuff (1988) Boiled Beef & Rotting Teeth (1989)

Album information

The album was named after two of the band's favorite guitar effects pedals: the Univox Super-Fuzz and the Electro-Harmonix Big Muff, which helped to provide the band's signature "dirty" sound.

The cover artwork is a photograph of frontman Mark Arm (left) and guitarist Steve Turner (right) performing live by photographer Charles Peterson. Other artwork on the album includes more photos of the band performing and them posing topless.[1]

Song information

"In 'n' Out of Grace" opens with a sample of the eulogy from Peter Fonda's character in the 1966 movie The Wild Angels, saying "We wanna be free to do what we wanna do…"; the same sample was later used on Primal Scream's song "Loaded".[2]

Reception and legacy

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Mojo	[3]
Pitchfork	9.1/10[4]
PopMatters	9/10[5]
Record Collector	[6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[7]
Spin Alternative Record Guide	8/10[8]
Uncut	[9]

During initial release, the EP sold incredibly poorly (even by Sub Pop standards), however, it has since been acknowledged as one of the seminal records of the Seattle scene. In mid-2008 the EP charted at #25 on the UK Indie Album Chart, a peak for the EP, twenty years after its release.

Along with Mudhoney's second album Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge, it was included in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In its review, Jamie Gonzalo called it "sexy, smart, humorous and hard", as well as writing "[Mudhoney] emerged from the underground with this mischievous workout, achieving tense and dramatic musical structures with Turner's scalping guitars, Mark Arm's angry vocals, Matt Lukin's mighty bass and Dan Peters' propulsive drums."[10] Kurt Cobain listed the EP in his top fifty albums of all time.[11][12] Guitarist Turner also considered it to be Mudhoney's first official studio album, despite it being an EP initially.[13]

Track listing

Original Release (1988)

All tracks are written by Mudhoney[14].

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Need"	3:01
2.	"Chain That Door"	1:51
3.	"Mudride"	5:43
4.	"No One Has"	3:26
5.	"If I Think"	3:37
6.	"In 'n' Out of Grace"	5:28
Total length:		22:25

Superfuzz Bigmuff Plus Early Singles (1990)

All tracks are written by Mudhoney except where noted[15].

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Touch Me I'm Sick"	2:35
2.	"Sweet Young Thing Ain't Sweet No More"	3:46
3.	"Hate the Police" (Dicks)	2:08
4.	"Burn It Clean"	3:00
5.	"You Got It (Keep It Outta My Face)"	2:53
6.	"Halloween" (Sonic Youth)	6:12
7.	"No One Has"	3:26
8.	"If I Think"	3:37
9.	"In 'n' Out of Grace"	5:28
10.	"Need"	3:00
11.	"Chain That Door"	1:51
12.	"Mudride"	5:43
Total length:		43:39

Deluxe Edition (2008)

All tracks are written by Mudhoney except where noted[16].

Disc 1

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Touch Me I'm Sick"	2:35
2.	"Sweet Young Thing Ain't Sweet No More"	3:46
3.	"Twenty Four"	2:46
4.	"Need"	3:01
5.	"Chain That Door"	1:51
6.	"Mudride"	5:43
7.	"No One Has"	3:26
8.	"If I Think"	3:37
9.	"In 'n' Out of Grace"	5:28
10.	"The Rose" (Amanda McBroom)	4:04
11.	"Hate the Police" (Dicks)	2:09
12.	"You Got It (Keep It Outta My Face)"	2:55
13.	"Burn It Clean"	2:58
14.	"Halloween" (Sonic Youth)	6:12
15.	"Need (Demo)"	3:23
16.	"Mudride (Demo)"	6:03
17.	"In 'n' Out of Grace (Demo)"	4:53

Disc 2

No.	Title	Length
1.	"No One Has"	3:59
2.	"Sweet Young Thing Ain't Sweet No More"	3:45
3.	"Need"	2:47
4.	"Chain That Door"	1:59
5.	"If I Think"	3:18
6.	"Mudride"	6:20
7.	"Here Comes the Sickness"	4:12
8.	"Touch Me I'm Sick"	2:51
9.	"In 'n' Out of Grace"	6:55
10.	"Mudride"	5:34
11.	"Here Comes the Sickness"	4:10
12.	"No One Has"	3:32
13.	"By Her Own Hand"	3:32
14.	"Touch Me I'm Sick"	3:14
15.	"Dead Love"	14:18

• On Disc 2, tracks 1–9 are live in Berlin, 10 October 1988, and tracks 10–15 are live on KCSB-FM, Santa Barbara, 16 November 1988.

Personnel

Mudhoney

• Mark Arm – vocals, guitar
• Steve Turner – guitar, backing vocals
• Matt Lukin – bass
• Dan Peters – drums

Technical personnel

• Jack Endino – producer, engineer, mixing

Charts

Chart (1989)	Peak position
UK Indie Chart[17]	3

References

1. Superfuzz....liner notes
2. Screamadelica#Musicology and samples
3. "Mudhoney: Superfuzz Bigmuff". Mojo: 120. Grunge pathfinders, their six-track mini-LP still sounds wild 20 years on...
4. Masters, Marc (May 20, 2008). "Mudhoney: Superfuzz Bigmuff Deluxe Edition / The Lucky Ones". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
5. Ranta, Alan (May 29, 2008). "Mudhoney: Superfuzz Bigmuff". PopMatters. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
6. "Mudhoney: Superfuzz Bigmuff". Record Collector: 100. [I]t sounds as mighty as ever...
7. Kot, Greg (2004). "Mudhoney". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 566. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
8. Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
9. "Mudhoney: Superfuzz Bigmuff". Uncut: 104. When it was first released Superfuzz... came out of nowhere and blindsided you. Now, even though the references may be a little more identifiable, it still hits like a force of nature.
10. Dimery, Robert (2009). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Octopus Publishing Group, London. p. 589. ISBN 9781844036240. Retrieved 2012-09-23.
11. "Top 50 by Nirvana [MIXTAPE]". Retrieved 8 May 2013.
12. Cross, Gaar, Gendron, Martens, Yarm (2013). Nirvana: The Complete Illustrated History. p. 121. ISBN 978-0-7603-4521-4.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
13. "Steve Turner Ranks the Band's 10 Albums". Retrieved October 30, 2020.
14. http://www.discogs.com/Mudhoney-Superfuzz-Bigmuff/release/833064 Superfuzz Bigmuff Original Track listing Discogs
15. http://www.discogs.com/Mudhoney-Superfuzz-Bigmuff-Plus-Early-Singles/master/30019 Superfuzz Bigmuff Plus Singles Track listing Discogs
16. http://www.discogs.com/Mudhoney-Superfuzz-Bigmuff/release/1698667 Superfuzz Bigmuff Deluxe Track listing Discogs
17. Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1989. Cherry Red Books. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved September 5, 2014.

External links

• Superfuzz Bigmuff (Adobe Flash) at Radio3Net (streamed copy where licensed)