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Superfuzz Bigmuff plus Early singles is a compilation consisting of their seminal Superfuzz Bigmuff E.P., one of the most important and seminal releases to come out of Seattle in the late 80's, as well as the singles they released from their inception in 1988 to 1990's split single with Sonic Youth.

The first half of this album contains their early singles. The album kicks off with a bang with their first and possibly most well-known single 'Touch Me I'm Sick', with frontman Mark Arm's snotty-nosed drawl spitting out lyrics such as "I feel bad, and I've felt worse. I'm a creep, yeah, I'm a jerk" over primal, sludgey, garage-riffs. The rawness and energy of this song is remarkable and really captured the care-free, rowdy nature of the band in their early years. Following this is the aformentioned song's b-side 'Sweet Young Thing Ain't Sweet No More', this song retains the same sound and production as 'Touch Me I'm Sick' but in contast has a slower, darker and moodier nature to it. It also showcases the incredible drumming talents of a certain Dan Peters, who is surely one of the most gifted drummers to come out of Seattle. The band increase the pace with the next two tracks 'Hate The Police' and 'Burn It Clean', with the former being a cover of The Dicks' rowdy anti-authority manifesto ("You can't find justice it'll find you") and paints a portrait of gun-obsessed America, and the latter featuring Mark Arm snarling over guitars so dirty they sound unhygenic. 'You Got It (Keep It Outta My Face)' is a single lifted from their debut self-titled album and stikes a very nice balance between noise and melody and makes for a great shout-along anthem. Ending the first half of this album is a cover of Sonic Youth's 'Halloween', which the band recorded for their 1990 split 45 with New York's finest (Sonic Youth covered 'Touch Me I'm Sick on the other side). While the original Sonic Youth version was quiet and remained relatively static throughout, Mudhoney brought a sleazier and slightly jazzier element to the song, which builds up to a breath-taking climax with Dan Peters showing off his prowness behind the drumkit along with some wild guitar noise from Steve Turner. Incredible stuff.

The second half of this album consists of their 1988 Superfuzz Bigmuff E.P. Starting off with 'No One Has', where drummer Dan Peters and bassist Matt Lukin form a steady, solid and driving rhythm backbone for Mark Arm and Steve Turner to display their chaotic, yet controlled guitar antics. The next track 'If I Think' shows a more bluesier and dynamic side to Mudhoney, with quiet blues-influcened verses alternating with the louder choruses to great dynamic effect. This song seems to show the band as more confident songwriters and musicians and allowing for other influences to shine through. Following this is, which in my opinion is one of the band's finest moments, the alternative rock classic 'In 'n' Out Of Grace'. This song opens with the same sample which was later used on Primal Scream's well-known song 'Loaded', and paves the way for a solid, fist-pumping Generation-X anthem. The energetic see-saw riffs and steady rhythm section form the perfect backing for Arm to cry out "Jesus take me to a higher place. Sliding in 'n' out of grace", not to mention the mind-bending middle-section where Dan Peters shows off his drumming skills with the help of some nice phasing effects. Quite simply a pivotal moment in 80's alternative music. The more restrained 'Need' showcases Arm's songwriting abilities and allows their Stooges influence to shine through nicely while 'Chain That Door' is a short, punky and intense yet controlled number which is guaranteed to get people jumping. The final track on the album 'Mudride' starts off slow, moody and threatening with Mark Arm's cries of "I got a mouth full of dirt, A hand full of charms, Got a rusty old spade, Don't care who I harm" making for a more downbeat affair. After some nice wah-wah guitar work the song ups the tempo to give us a more intense climax, a nice ending to the album.

Superfuzz Bigmuff plus Early Singles gives the listener an incredible taste of what was bubbling in the Seattle underground at the end of the 80's before alternative rock exploded into the mainstream at the start of the following decade. It shows both the band and alternative rock in all it's raw, primal energy before the corporate cats came knocking. An essential album for anyone who craves some fuzzy goodness.

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