Blind Melon’s Soup: Why NO ONE Understood This Album
Most people remember Blind Melon for a single song, but their 1995 album was raw and misunderstood. This is the story of Blind Melon’s struggles with fame after the success of “No Rain”, leading to the creation of an album that was completely misunderstood: “Soup.” Yet, it was a big leap from their earlier sound, showcasing the band’s fearless creativity amidst personal chaos. Today it’s regarded as one of the most under-appreciated albums of the 90s.
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✉️ Read the transcript & hear the music on the Poetic Wax Substack: https://poeticwax.substack.com
WATCH NEXT:
✓ Mouthful of Cavities: https://youtu.be/8phXR1K4TRw
✓ Fake Plastic Trees: https://youtu.be/UjzAvjWhuCA
✓ Interstate Love Song: https://youtu.be/cBUuqm_w5jI
✓ Nirvana Unplugged: https://youtu.be/9DwnXWmJVBs
🎥 90s Alt Rock on Poetic Wax: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLylroYWVYWWVMPcvhbgG6DncbcS9U05uh
Get Blind Melon on Vinyl 🎧 https://amzn.to/4m9h0lr
Poetic Wax is hosted by Andy Fenstermaker.
CHAPTERS:
0:00 Blind Melon’s Dark, Brilliant Album No One Understood
1:02 The Burden of “No Rain” and Instant Fame
4:04 The Raw, Southern Gothic Direction of Soup
6:46 Songs from the Edge
10:12 “2×4,” Addiction, and the Final Days of Shannon Hoon
12:31 Cult Status After Commercial Failure
CLIP & SOURCE REFERENCES:
A Devil On One Shoulder (Book, Greg Prato): https://amzn.to/4lqoWNT
Blind Melon “No Rain” (Music Video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qVPNONdF58
Blind Melon “Mouthful of Cavities” (Music Video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZhqoINx41o
#blindmelon #shannonhoon #90srock #altrock #norain
#vinylcommunity #vinylrecords #vinylcollection #andyfenstermaker #fensepost #vinylchannel #poeticwax #musicessay #musicstory #albumstory #musichistory #albumhistory #musicdocumentary
@AndyFenstermaker
April 8, 2026 at 7:49 pm
Next, dig into the story behind "Mouthful of Cavities" 👉 https://youtu.be/8phXR1K4TRw
Hear songs and read the transcript from this video 👉 https://poeticwax.substack.com/p/blind-melons-soup-the-dark-brilliant
@chikkenvoicesinmyhed
April 8, 2026 at 7:49 pm
"Haven't seen him smile in a little whiiiiiiile' 🥺
@andrewbatts7678
April 8, 2026 at 7:49 pm
My Uncle John's sister Sue was a mid thirties stoner music loving hipster in the early 90s before hipsters got lame she introduced my cousin and I to a wide range of music, Blind Melon was one of the bands
@timmymaher7562
April 8, 2026 at 7:49 pm
This is one of my favorite albums of the 90s.
@ArcherSmash
April 8, 2026 at 7:49 pm
I was fortunate to get most Blind Melon records from one of my teachers. I listened to Soup and was mesmerized, what a great album!
@coldpon3
April 8, 2026 at 7:49 pm
When i lived on a lake in Washington state i had my friends over to do acid in the back yard. all i had was Soup and Sailing the Seas of Cheese on cassette but we played them over and over on the boombox all day and it never got old lol
@Japonesesdenuca
April 8, 2026 at 7:49 pm
One of the best guitar albums of 1990.
@benjaminfowler4513
April 8, 2026 at 7:49 pm
Besides shannons amazing vocals, the other guys in the band weave in and out of each others parts in ways that blow my mind every time i run the album. I prefer it to their first album, though it is also great.
@marz_coelho
April 8, 2026 at 7:49 pm
So you read Prato's book and decided to make it into a 15 min video. Interesting.
@dennis8309
April 8, 2026 at 7:49 pm
No Rain, Changes, and Tones of Home are great tunes, but everything else is shitty and weak ..
@dennis8309
April 8, 2026 at 7:49 pm
Your cat is licking his own balls @3:25…
@Soviless99
April 8, 2026 at 7:49 pm
blind melon got me int music in 2014. I named my cat vernie after their song
@JamesOswalt
April 8, 2026 at 7:49 pm
“Dump Truck” is about Cancer and my first Cousin Bub’s loss to it. He drove a Dump truck for the County. Shannon would come sit with him when he was on hospice. Shannon was awesome and Brilliant. He was actually talking about doing a side project album.
@JamesOswalt
April 8, 2026 at 7:49 pm
When Shannon Came back Home from Recording in New Orleans he told me he thought the Devil lived there.
@capi.strano7620
April 8, 2026 at 7:49 pm
Every day you remind me how I'm desperately in need
@butterblood
April 8, 2026 at 7:49 pm
Don’t forget the hidden track when you “rewind” the CD past Galaxie.
@PanzikArtistry
April 8, 2026 at 7:49 pm
I'm a big fan. I sung my heart out to their first album a lot. Memorizing it all and having a high pitched voice myself. Soup album was hard to get into singing and memorizing for me. It's definitely more chaotic. Many bands try hard on their first album, then seems fame and drugs get to them, and spiral down. ~Panzik Artistry
@Haseltine333
April 8, 2026 at 7:49 pm
Not for blind melon fans got it peace
@jcmick8430
April 8, 2026 at 7:49 pm
Hell, Galaxy and Skin play in my head all the time
@KEVEN2RA
April 8, 2026 at 7:49 pm
One of my favorite albums. Great analysis. Thank you for doing this. The only complaint I have is that you focused on the lyrics and the themes, but what really deserves attention is the musicianship and musical composition. That's what drew me in even more than the lyrics and themes.
@stillwill761
April 8, 2026 at 7:49 pm
My favorite band of all time
@keef78
April 8, 2026 at 7:49 pm
shannon hoon was also a nasty bully pos.
@Fef-Ann
April 8, 2026 at 7:49 pm
The 2 Meter Sessions live acoustic version of No Rain is much more fitting, imo. A different take that's more in line with the lyrics. Shannon almost seems relaxed and playful.
@NathanCline12-21
April 8, 2026 at 7:49 pm
My favorite Blind Melon song is Change from the first album but Soup is one of the rare times I like a bands second album more than the debut.
@Worker_and_Parasite
April 8, 2026 at 7:49 pm
The Duke is so underrated it didn't even get a mention
@MagikMonkey1423
April 8, 2026 at 7:49 pm
Top 3 greatest albums ever!!! Rip, Shannon!!!
@Digital0182
April 8, 2026 at 7:49 pm
Nothing more amazing then when shannon sings soup at woodstock 94, “well ill pull the trigger and ill make it all go away”
@thegreatgambeeno
April 8, 2026 at 7:49 pm
The lead tone in that high guitar part in 2×4 is just so good. Epic. It hits right at the heart. Great album, Galaxie is one of my "I'm drunk and getting ready to get it on" tracks. Thank you for the video.
@NotQuiteRightGuitars
April 8, 2026 at 7:49 pm
I got this album from Columbia House. Back when you tore out stamps and stuck them to the order form and taped a penny to it. Then they sent you 7-10 CDs. I was 12 and had no idea what i was getting. I heard No Rain and got this instead. It has been one of my favorite albums of all time 30 years later.
@naes4822
April 8, 2026 at 7:49 pm
not me wearing my soup tee and this pops up
@mitchlemons8379
April 8, 2026 at 7:49 pm
Best shit ever.
@mitchlemons8379
April 8, 2026 at 7:49 pm
Loved them.
@OIP_1
April 8, 2026 at 7:49 pm
should be in all 'classic album' lists, it's unbelievably good
@Kee_Op
April 8, 2026 at 7:49 pm
I know people like to worship Kurt Cobain and Nirvana but in my opinion the two best rock albums of the entire 90s were Soup and Alice
In Chains Dirt. Period.
@welcomecataclysm
April 8, 2026 at 7:49 pm
I also love the letter that Robert Hunter wrote them after Rolling Stone tore the album apart.