Surprise-release and “personally selected and sequenced to celebrate artists and songs that inspired him,” the new Chris Cornell album of cover versions is truly the gift that continues to give. A passionate vocalist with a famed four-octave range and a super alt-rock pedigree of time spent in Soundgarden and Audioslave (to say nothing of a series of solo albums invested in acoustic pop and nu-soul), having Cornell tracing over familiar lines such as those laid down by songwriters like John Lennon or interpreters such as Janis Joplin is to work the magic of true transformation.
What’s nice about “No One Sings Like You Anymore” is that this is not a portrait of the vein-popping Cornell screeching his way through a rager such as “Spoonman.” The ten tunes here are subtly sung numbers soft and poignant—focused on often-unsuspectingly melodic gems (like Guns N’ Roses’ “Patience,” done here as a dramatic mid-tempo ballad) with a quieter ensemble as backing. Not that he ever had to fight to be heard over Kim Thayil’s guitar army of lace and metal, Cornell could always sing loud enough to beat the band. On No One Sings Like You Anymore it’s clear—he doesn’t have to tangle in battle, and he sounded as if he was loving that ease of motion.
While Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” is played and sung like the grooviest chamber soul with a few twists and turns for rapt theatricality, Lennon’s latter-day “Watching the Wheels” is done humbly and straight, reverent to the ex-Beatle’s longing for normalcy, with just a supple kick to remind you of Cornell’s heft. Harry Nilsson’s riff-happy “Jump Into the Fire,” a favourite rocking cover of Cornell’s Temple of the Dog, is given an oddball, epic French horn break in its bridge.
If you want more epic, Lorraine Ellison’s “Stay With Me Baby,” done here with a souped-up organ whirring below him, allows Cornell to dip, dive, swoop, and soar without screeching. This is the true high point of the package, and one familiar to those (few) fans of Martin Scorsese’s HBO show Vinyl. If you want another epic with a sympathetic horn line, “You Don’t Know Nothing About Love” from songwriter/producer Jerry Ragovoy and nearly forgotten R&B vocalist Carl Hall—is Cornell’s passionate passageway into ragged vocal display.
Ragovoy and Mort Shuman’s bluesy “Get It While You Can,” scuffed up and scowled over by Janis Joplin, is made into a synth-pop track for Cornell to do his own gruff and soulful thing over. Same with Jeff Lynne’s slick, bluesy “Showdown.” Cornell and his band give the track an electro sheen and rhythmic tick, along with some noisy guitar. With so many colours and moods for Cornell to rise through, it’s such a damned shame he didn’t stick around to see this arc of his life, particulary this chapter and verse of his career.
The first post-humous Chris Cornell release has finally been announced and it’s huge! The self-titled album is a career spanning set of tracks from the iconic artist who passed away last year. Released by Cornell’s wife, VickyCornell on behalf of The Chris Cornell Estate through UMe, the album is available in a standard 17 track edition as well as a massive 64 track limited edition deluxe box-set.
Out on the 16th of November, the collection of tracks covers Cornell’s lengthy career. Featuring tracks from his solo career as well as music from his bands Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, and Audioslave, it will include previously unreleased music. The first of the 11 unreleased tracks “When Bad Does Good” is out now.
Produced, recorded, and mixed by Cornell, the song was found in his personal recordings archive, the track was a favourite of his. Cornell’s friend Josh Brolin reminded Vicky of the unreleased song which she decided to share with his fans. On the upcoming release, Vicky Cornell says “Since Chris’ sudden passing I have put all my efforts and energy into sharing his music and legacy with his fans from all over the world”, says Vicky. “I felt we needed to create a special collection to represent all of him – the friend, husband and father, the risk taker and innovator, the poet and artist. His soaring vocals found their way into the hearts and souls of so many. His voice was his vision and his words were his peace. This album is for his fans”.
The standard edition also features Cornell’s stunning rendition of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U“, whilst the deluxe edition boasts nine more unheard tracks and two unreleased videos.
Cornell passed away in May 2017, a coroner reported suicide as cause of death, and confirmed that it was not due to an overdose. Since his death, many artists have paid tribute to the iconic artist.
Zack de la Rocha’s abrupt departure from Rage Against the Machine in October of 2000 was a blow to the remaining core of the band who wanted to continue as a unit. Rather than seek out a replacement for the frontman, guitarist Tom Morello, bassist Tim Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk sought to launch an entirely new musical entity, tapping Chris Cornell, who hadn’t been in a band situation since Soundgarden had called it a day in 1997. The result was Audioslave, and the self-titled record from the bona fide super group landed on shelves November. 19th, 2002. Audioslave’s sound was created by blending styles of 1970s hard rock with 1990s alternative rock. Moreover, Morello incorporated his well-known, unconventional guitar solos into the mix. As with Rage Against the Machine, the band prided themselves on the fact that all sounds on their albums were produced using only guitar, bass, drums, and vocals.
It was announced in late September that the release of the debut album from Audioslave. For many who downloaded the internet-leaked demos of the project that May, the album couldn’t come soon enough as they had been waiting breathlessly for the fully-realized version of the LP. The previous month brought the initial single and lead off track, “Cochise.”
“Cochise was the last great American Indian chief to die free and absolutely unconquered,” Morello said in a statement. “When several members of his family were captured, tortured, and hung by the U.S. Cavalry, Cochise declared war on the entire Southwest and went on an unholy rampage, a warpath to end all warpaths … Cochise the Avenger, fearless and resolute, attacked everything in his path with an unbridled fury. This song kinda sounds like that.”
The song was a dream come true for both Rage and Soundgarden fans; showcasing Cornell’s caterwaul and the potency of the instrumental attack was a boon to starving early ’00s hard rock fans. If that was indicative of the rest of the record, the project was going to take off brilliantly. To a degree, it was; the fury of the melding was expected and delivered on many levels, be it the stomp of “Gasoline,” the rumbling of “Bring ‘Em Back Alive” and the thunder of “Set It Off,” very few admirers of either act could complain there.
The second single, “Like a Stone,” was a game-changer, for better or worse, regarding the union. It was one of the most mellow pieces the Rage guys had ever done together, and not only was a massive FM rock radio hit, it showed the deep and uncharted waters to which the outfit was willing to venture into in the name of separating themselves from their former affiliations. Yet the fourth single, “I Am the Highway,” would truly demonstrate how diverse a road Audioslave were willing to venture.
“We had written a bunch of pretty powerful rock songs,” Morello said on a promo interview compact disc sent to radio stations at the time. “It felt so free in rehearsal and I, kind of the night before, was strumming the chord progression from ‘I Am the Highway,’ because it’s very, very different than anything that’s on a Soundgarden or Rage Against the Machine record. So the end of the next rehearsal, I kinda started timidly strumming those chords, sort of pretending I’m putting my stuff away [laughs] and see if anything happens. Chris goes, ‘What’s that?’ and I go, ‘Oh, I don’t know, just a couple of chords …’ and the next day we worked that one up and it ended up being one of my favorite songs.”
The restraint of that track in particular is what led to the criticism of the album by those who wanted more heavy bluster and less surprising gentleness. That harmonious softness was woven into the sonic fabric of Audioslave though, and not only added to the band’s appeal, but made them stronger than the collective sum of their prior parts. It also drew in an entirely new audience who may not have been attracted to Rage or Soundgarden.
Producer and friend Rick Rubin suggested that they play with Chris Cornell, the ex-frontman of Soundgarden.Rubin was confident that with the right new voice, Rage Against the Machine had the potential to become a better band; he believed “it could turn into a Yardbirds-into-Led Zeppelin scenario.”Commerford later credited Rubin for being the catalyst that brought Audioslave together. He called him “the angel at the crossroads” because “if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be here today.
The chemistry between Cornell and the other three was immediately apparent; as Morello described: “He stepped to the microphone and sang the song and I couldn’t believe it. It didn’t just sound good. It didn’t sound great. It sounded transcendent. And…when there is an irreplaceable chemistry from the first moment, you can’t deny it.” The quartet wrote 21 songs during 19 days of rehearsal, and began working in the studio in late May 2001 with Rubin as producer,
In its six years of existence, Audioslave released three albums, sold more than 8 million records worldwide and became the first American rock band to perform an open-air concert in Cuba. Audioslave disbanded in February 2007 when Cornell issued a statement announcing that he was permanently leaving the band “due to irresolvable personality conflicts as well as musical differences.”
The five-year, three-effort output was way too short in retrospect, and it would’ve been interesting to see where the reconstituted Audioslave might have gone had an oft-speculated reunion gone down before Cornell’s untimely passing.
‘Audioslave’ (2002)
Despite receiving a mixed bag of reviews upon its release, the eponymous Audioslave debut, for the most part, delivered precisely what was expected; the wail of Soundgarden’s lead singer backed by the foundation of RageAgainst the Machine. “Light My Way,” “Set It Off” and “Cochise” could’ve been Rage songs in another life. But Chris Cornell brought out a more mellowed side to tracks like “I Am the Highway” and “Getaway Car,” and showed that Tom Morello, Brad Wilk and Tim Commerford weren’t one-dimensional when it came to their musical abilities. Overall though, the album skewed toward the heavy end – led by Morello’s from-outer-space guitar histrionics – a boon to fans who were desperate to hear Cornell rock again after his tempered 1999 solo output, ‘Euphoria Morning.’
The music video for “Like a Stone” was written and directed by Meiert Avis. It was shot in the Los Angeles house where Jimi Hendrix wrote “Purple Haze”. The video uses negative space to invoke the memory of musicians past.
‘The Civilian Project’ (2002)
Guitarist Tom Morello said that these demos have as much in common with the first Audioslave album as “a hunk of coal has with a diamond.” Still, for music fans salivating at the prospect of a musical collaboration between members of two of the ‘90s most revered hard rock acts, it would do just fine. Recorded in late 2001 and leaked online by an Italian website the following May, it was dubbed “Civilian” after the rumored name of the union. In spite of the sketch arrangements, the power of the music was discernible. Eleven of the tracks were polished up and appeared on the band’s debut. “We Got the Whip” ended up as a B-side on the “Cochise” single while “Turn to Gold” remains to date the sole unreleased song.
Audioslave made their live debut on November 25, 2002, performing a brief concert on the roof of the Ed SullivanTheater on Broadway in New York City for the Late Show with David Letterman. This was the first time any band had appeared on Letterman’s marquee
‘Out of Exile’ (2005)
If the first Audioslave endeavor packed the punch of Rage Against the Machine, its follow-up veered more to the speed where Chris Cornell was most comfortable. There’s still the issue of trying to find a common ground, with the pendulum swinging in the direction of Cornell. “Be Yourself,” “Doesn’t Remind Me” and “The Curse” are prime examples where it sounds like he has backing musicians as opposed to being a part of a band. The boundaries get pushed only when Tom Morello cuts loose on guitar, especially when he goes a bit too far, often furiously inserting a bunch of unnecessary notes. ‘Out of Exile’ is a looser outing at its core, relaxed in all the places the debut might have wrapped itself too tight.
‘Revelations’ (2006)
Though Chris Cornell was ready to leave Audioslave at this point, as evidenced by his refusal to tour in support of the record and exit from the group five months after its release, he was hardly phoning it in. ‘Revelations’ feels the most like a fully functioning band is at work, less dependent on the member’s respective musical histories and more coming together cohesively as a unit.
The punishing riffs were accounted for — see “Shape of Things to Come” — and dips into introspective balladry like “Until We Fall.” But there was also a sense of adventurous expansion. Lead single “Original Fire” and “One and the Same” are steeped in funk, while “Jewel of the Summertime” sounds like nothing else in the Audioslave catalog, leaning heavily on Tim Commerford’s thick bass groove. Cornell even lyrically invests himself politically for the first time on “Wide Awake,” a scathing commentary on the slow response by the Bush administration to Hurricane Katrina.
American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was the lead vocalist of the bands Soundgarden and Audioslave. He was also known for his numerous solo works and soundtrack contributions since 1991, and as founder and frontman for Temple Of The Dog , the one-off tribute band dedicated to his late friend Andrew Wood.
A preliminary autopsy into the death of Soundgarden and Audioslave singer Chris Cornell has revealed that he took his own life. Chris Cornell it appears took his own life on wednesday night after a storming show in Detroit, he was aged 52, with a statement made to the Associated Press by his representative Brian Bumbery labeling the death “sudden and unexpected”. Cornell had spoken online when arriving in the city, and played for Soundgarden’s Detroit fans only hours earlier.
The Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office told the public it had completed the preliminary autopsy, the New York Times reports, although a full autopsy report has not been completed.
A Detroit Police spokesperson revealed in an interview that police responded to a call regarding the suicide of a man, and found him unresponsive with a band around his neck. The man’s wife had called a family friend out of concern, prompting the visit.
A police report from the death of the Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell provides some details about the last 90 minutes of his life. The report appears to back up, in part, what his widow, Vicky, about the role that the prescription drug Ativan may have played in Cornell’s decision to take his own life.
According to The Detroit News , Cornell was in his hotel suite by 11:30PM when his bodyguard, Martin Kristen, stopped by to help him fix his computer. Kristen also gave him two Ativan pills, which he took for anxiety issues. Five minutes later, Vicky spoke with Chris on the telephone, and she told police that he was slurring his words and that he may have taken “an extra Ativan or two.”
At 12:15AM, Vicky called Kristen’s room to ask him to check on Chris, She said that “he did not sound like he is okay,” adding that he was “groggy and just kept saying, ‘I am just tired,’ and hung up the phone.” Upon arriving, Kristen found the door to his room latched and phoned security to get them to open the door, but they refused on the grounds that the room was not registered to Kristen, even though he had a key.
Kristen then kicked the door down, as well as the door to the bedroom of the suite, and found him on the bathroom floor, “with blood running from his mouth and a red exercise band around (his) neck,” the report says. The hotel’s medic, Dawn Jones, arrived at 12:56AM, untied the band and attempted CPR, which was unsuccessful.
An EMS unit arrived on the scene shortly thereafter and was also unable to revive the singer. He was pronounced dead at 1:30AM.
A toxicology report will be able to determine the amount of Ativan Cornell had in his system at the time of his death. Suicidal thoughts are a known side effect of the drug Ativan.
So as we mourn the loss of another musical hero, who has tragically took his own life after one last show in Detroit yesterday, we take a look back at some of the best songs that Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell put his name to.
Say Hello 2 Heaven
One of Cornell’s most emotional and powerful vocal performances, not surprising considering it was delivered as part of Temple Of The Dog. The group — essentially Cornell fronting what would become Pearl Jam — was formed in tribute to his friend Andrew Wood, frontman of Mother Love Bone, who had died from a heroin overdose.
Seasons
A simple acoustic number, just Cornell and a guitar (doubled at times), it was a world away from the raucous heavy rock of Soundgarden. It featured the delicacy of his voice too, gentle falsetto creeping in where before there was rock god howls and screaming. It was also on the Singles soundtrack that they captured the zeitgeist of the grunge movement (Pearl Jam! Mudhoney! Alice In Chains! And damn near every other Seattle grunge band of note at the time, but not Nirvana).
You Know My Name
Cornell, Chris Cornell. Here he goes bombastic, courtesy of having a theme song to a James Bond movie (the 2006 version of Casino Royale). Goes to a whole other level beyond a standard Cornell rock song courtesy of orchestral backings
Billie Jean
Takes the funky Michael Jackson track and slows it right down. Its almost dirge-like delivery is a perfect showcase of Cornell’s voice. You can imagine it being performed from the corner of a dive bar somewhere. It’s devoid of its original groovin’ bass line and synth stings, but this acoustic guitar- and drums-driven version gives it a level of power not witnessed in the original. Quite possibly the best take on it too (even including The Bates).
Cochise
As statements of intents for new acts go, this one was one of the best. Anticipation was already at fever pitch for the project (Chris Cornell fronting Rage Against The Machine? Holy hell!), but they knocked it out of the park with their debut song. It deserved all the fireworks that accompanied the song in the video clip. Oh, and that 11 second wail too about three-quarters of the way through the song. Goddamn.
![Audioslave [Explicit]](https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51dA0T9P%2BqL._SS500.jpg)
![Revelations [Clean]](https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61D0stdJI2L._SS500.jpg)
The Fat Angel Sings 