Chris Cornell - RIP

His was a voice unlike any other.  He could go from a whisper to a scream.  He was equally effective at either end of that range.  In this day of The Voice and American Idol, singers are here today, gone today.  They make that first album, and often they are never heard from again.  Some of them have staying power [Carrie Underwood comes to mind], but most of them don’t.  Chris Cornell had staying power.   Primarily known as the voice of Soundgarden, he had his solo work, he had Audioslave, he had Temple of the Dog.  His recorded legacy is an embarrassment of riches.

Carol found Soundgarden on MTV.  The song was Outshined.  The hook was the line I’m looking California and feeling Minnesota.  She told me “you have to see this”.  I did, and I’ve been hooked ever since.  She found Soundgarden, but I found Temple of the Dog.  In 1993, there was a movie called Singles.  Unlike most movie soundtracks, I bought that one.  That album was a Seattle music primer, with loose tracks from Soundgarden [Birth Ritual], Alice in Chains [Would?], and Pearl Jam [State of Love and Trust].  There were also two gems - Chloe Dancer / Crown of Thorns [from Mother Love Bone], and a song from Chris Cornell called Seasons.  It was a solo acoustic piece, and it was brilliant.  Between Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog and now a solo song, Chris Cornell burrowed himself into my music subconscious, where he remains.  The Soundgarden made what I think is “the last great rock album” – Superunknown, of which I’ve already written at length.  Two years later they put out Down On The Upside.  Some folks think it’s better than Superunknown – I’m not one of them.  They toured to support Down On The Upside, but after that tour Soundgarden broke up.  I felt cheated because I didn’t get to see them.

He started a solo career.  His first album was Euphoria Mourning (it used to be spelled “Morning” but changed when it was re-issued.)  He deliberately did not want to sound like Soundgarden.  Lyrically, it’s a dark album.  He told Rolling Stone this:  "It was a pretty dark album lyrically and pretty depressing, and I was going through a really difficult time in my life — my band wasn't together anymore, my marriage was falling apart and I was dealing with it by drinking way too much, and that has its own problems, particularly with depression.”  Stylistically, it’s all over the map.  Does he want to be a balladeer, a soul singer, a rock guy?  You get a little of everything, with some Middle Eastern sounds thrown in.  He’s not sure of the direction he wants to go in.  This problem would plague him on his next solo outing, Carry On.   Of his third album, Scream, the less said the better.  He collaborated with hip-hop producer Timbaland.  Synthesizers and drum machines replaced real instruments, and the production sucked the life out of his vocals.  Between Euphoria Mourning and Carry On, he teamed up with the instrumentalists from Rage Against the Machine.  They made three albums [Audioslave, Out of Exile, and Revelations].  Some of it is ok [but I want better than “ok” from someone with Chris Cornell’s talent], but the rest is forgettable.  I tried to like them, I really did.

At the beginning of 2010, he tweeted the following:  "The 12-year break is over and school is back in session. Sign up now. Knights of the Soundtable ride again!"  To me, that meant one thing – Soundgarden was back, and it was about damned time.  They started to tour again, and in 2011 I finally got to see them at my favorite venue – Red Rocks.  I was not disappointed.  Carol and I lost a little hearing at that show, but it was worth it.  Before Soundgarden would record King Animal [IMHO an excellent release], he released Songbook.  Compiled from solo acoustic shows, the songs from his solo career and Audioslave that I thought were merely “ok” became very, very good [see my list below].  Whether he did it deliberately or just stumbled upon it, Chris Cornell found his direction, that of “singer-songwriter”.  In my mind, that sobriquet means boring acoustic navel gazing from the likes of James Taylor, but Chris made it work.  His next solo release would he Higher Truth from 2015.  With this album, he hit the jackpot.  Finally, with a direction and a cohesive set of outstanding songs, he finally carved out a niche for himself while he wasn’t being the rock god frontman for Soundgarden.

His last release was a song he recorded for the movie The Promise.  The movie tells the story of the Armenian genocide from 1915.  The song, with the same name as the movie, would fit alongside those from Higher Truth.  I recommend it highly.  All proceeds from sales of the song go to the International Rescue Committee.

It is here that I will leave Chris Cornell’s story.  Below are the songs of his that I like the most that show his talents as a singer, musician, and songwriter.

Disc 1

Let Me Drown [Soundgarden – Superunknown]

My Wave [Soundgarden – Superunknown]

Fell On Black Days [Soundgarden – Superunknown]

Superunknown [Soundgarden – Superunknown]

Burden In My Hand [Soundgarden - Down On The Upside]

Black Hole Sun [Soundgarden – Superunknown]

Spoonman [Soundgarden – Superunknown]

Call Me A Dog [Temple of the Dog]

Times Of Trouble [Temple of the Dog]

Rusty Cage [Soundgarden – Badmotorfinger]

Outshined [Soundgarden – Badmotorfinger]

Slaves And Bulldozers [Soundgarden – Badmotorfinger]

Jesus Christ Pose [Soundgarden – Badmotorfinger]

Reach Down [Temple of the Dog]

Disc 2

Say Hello 2 Heaven [Temple of the Dog]

Pushin' Forward Back [Temple of the Dog]

Searching With My Good Eye Closed [Soundgarden – Badmotorfinger]

Room A Thousand Years Wide [Soundgarden – Badmotorfinger]

Mind Riot [Soundgarden – Badmotorfinger]

New Damage (With Brian May) [Soundgarden – Badmotorfinger Deluxe Edition]

Seasons [Chris Cornell - Singles OST]

Into The Void [Sealth] [Soundgarden – Echo of Miles]

Mailman [Soundgarden – Superunknown]
Limo Wreck [Soundgarden – Superunknown]

Switch Opens [Soundgarden - Down On The Upside]

Overfloater [Soundgarden - Down On The Upside]

Flutter Girl [Chris Cornell – Euphoria Mourning]
Mission [Chris Cornell – Euphoria Mourning]

Steel Rain [Chris Cornell – Euphoria Mourning]

Disc 3

I Am The Highway [Audioslave]

Arms Around Your Love [Chris Cornell – Carry On]

You Know My Name [Chris Cornell – Carry On]

Can't Change Me [Chris Cornell – Songbook; original from Euphoria Mourning]

Ground Zero [Chris Cornell – Songbook; original from Scream]

Like A Stone [Chris Cornell – Songbook; original from Audioslave]

Doesn't Remind Me [Chris Cornell – Songbook; original from Out of Exile (Audioslave)]

River of Deceit (Live) [Mad Season – Sonic Evolution]

By Crooked Steps [Soundgarden – King Animal]

A Thousand Days Before [Soundgarden – King Animal]
Taree [Soundgarden – King Animal]

Nearly Forgot My Broken Heart [Chris Cornell – Higher Truth]

Dead Wishes [Chris Cornell – Higher Truth]

Worried Moon [Chris Cornell – Higher Truth]

Before We Disappear [Chris Cornell – Higher Truth]

Murderer Of Blue Skies [Chris Cornell – Higher Truth]

Our Time In The Universe [Chris Cornell – Higher Truth]

‘Til the Sun Comes Back Around [Chris Cornell – 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi OST]

The Promise [Chris Cornell – The Promise OST]

RIP Chris Cornell.