Chris Cornell written by Lynn
Rated
X5
As far as I'm concerned, there is nothing that Chris Cornell can't do, at
least musically.

We were first introduced to his swooning, crooning voice as the
frontman of Soundgarden, which became one of the greatest
grunge/metal bands of the '90s. Then, upon the breakup of the band,
we were at first only lukewarm about the idea that he'd assumed the
front position of this new thing called Audioslave, which included who?
Members of Rage Against the Machine? Well that wouldn't ever work
out, right? And does anyone remember that little side project Temple of
the Dog, which, with its eclectic roster of talent became a sort of
lesser-known 'music cult classic'? I remember first hearing about it
when the single Hunger Strike was released, and being highly intrigued.
Sure, it was one of those "Super Bands," one of those musical
conglomerates and I won't go on to mention the number of failed
attempts that had been created before then, but at least Temple of the
Dog enjoyed a good bit of success. And then in between all of that going
on, we scarfed up whatever solo work he gave us, just to be able to hear
his style of musical poetry, that personal touch that had made
Soundgarden, and yes Audioslave too - my, how we've eaten our initial
words about that band - his personal trademarks. Through the entire
journey it's seemed as though we just can't get enough of Chris Cornell.
Which I'm sure makes him very, very happy, since it's created sold-out
venues everywhere he and his bands have played; although I also
suspect, just from the songs and the lyrics, that he'd be just as happy
to play to ten people, so long as he could continue creating, and sharing
what he creates. Apparently Chris has now parted ways with Audioslave
citing creative differences, so it's unclear if we've seen the last of that
project or not, but it seems that Chris has plenty more of himself to
share with us, despite that. With the release of his latest effort, Carry On,
released on June 5, 2007 by Suretone/Interscope Records, Chris is

back on tour again, packing houses everywhere he goes and giving us another much-needed dose of some of, if not the best Seattle rock
sounds that exist today.

Having a chance to finally see Chris Cornell performing in the flesh, needless to say, I was really excited going to the show. The opening
band, Earl Greyhound, I had never heard of before, and I'll say it right now, this trio from New York City are well worth the listen.
They're very reminiscent of good 70's rock like Led Zeppelin or Aerosmith (back in the day when they were worth listening to), and look
the part as well, with lead singer Matt Whyte's waist-length hair and white jeans and bassist Kamara Thomas' (and boy, can she kick ass
on bass) baby-doll dress and headband. I can sometimes be a little leery of bands I haven't heard, or haven't heard of, and quite honestly I
generally don't like music from the 70s near as much as I enjoy more contemporary stuff, but I have to say, I really enjoyed Earl
Greyhound, so if that's a testament to anything at all, I'd suggest looking them up. They put on a great show, and were well-suited to
open up Chris' show that night.
































After that bit of a break the band came back, Chris handed off his guitar and his chair, and they launched full speed into Audioslave hit
Cochise, bringing the tempo back up and getting everyone rocking once more. The set was concluded with two Soundgarden songs, Ty
Cobb, and super-hit Spoonman, a song that his show would not have been complete without. Of course by this time I was asking myself
whether he'd purposely missed one massive favorite on purpose, but my question was thankfully answered with the powerful encore.
You Know My Name from Carry On, Out of Exile the title track off the Audioslave CD, and then, his grand finale, one of the songs that
he is most famous for, Soundgarden's Black Hole Sun, sung to a screaming, cheering, crazy Philly crowd that made me proud to be a
Philadelphia music fan (as opposed to a couple of other times this summer when the local crowds have been downright embarrassing
with their apathetic responses to some notable shows).

Just sitting here writing this and thinking about the experience of finally seeing Chris Cornell live has brought a smile to my face and made
me feel like getting in the car, popping in Carry On, and reliving that evening, just for a little bit. If you haven't seen him yet - or even if
you have - I suggest you do it whenever you can, because it's a show that you will truly enjoy if you're any bit of the fan of anything
Chris has worked on. I cannot say enough about how wonderful his performance was, so I will simply end by saying this: I have seen a
lot of concerts this summer doing reviews and photographing the bands. More than I ever have in my life, but last month's show with
Chris Cornell has surpassed just about all of them, and made me realize that he really is an American music icon. I rarely, if ever, give an
X5 rating to any show that I review - I think I've only done it once so far - but the show I saw at the Electric Factory definitely deserves
that top rating.


Currently, Chris Cornell is touring in the  UK and across Europe. There will be a
California date on 9/15 in Los Angeles  with Smashing Pumpkins, Velvet Revolver,
Foo Fighters and others, and then starting  on 9/25 he'll be headed through Canada for
some shows.10/3 has the band back in the  pacific northwest for a few more US
dates, and then on 10/11 they'll be down under,  doing a few shows in Australia and
New Zealand. Check the official Chris Cornell  website for more information, for
anymore  upcoming dates or to buy a copy of  Carry On at The bands
Official Website.
BAND: Chris
Cornell with Earl
Greyhound
DATE: July 29,
2007
VENUE: The
Electric Factory,
Philadelphia, PA
When Chris took the stage to a screaming, cheering house, the
electricity that went through the place was simply amazing, and he
hadn't sung a single note yet.
It was thrilling to see him walk onstage with the way the audience
reacted to him, and you just don't get that from every show. Once the
crowd finally began to quiet a little, the band started up, and Chris began
his performance with Silence off the new CD, Original Fire from
Audioslave's self-titled first CD, and then Let Me Drown, off
Soundgraden's Superunknown. Although I realize that Chris currently
only has two solo CDs to his name, what with all the other work he's
done in other arrangements, I was really surprised to hear any
Soundgarden at all, one of the bands that I would have loved to have
seen but just never got the chance to. To here as much Soundgarden as
we did that night, it was definitely a pleasant surprise to me.
Really, the night was like seeing three concerts in one, and you definitely
can't beat that!

Continuing on with the mixture of tracks from all of his works, Chris
and his band played a long, but never boring set of nearly two-hours,
and including favorites such as Outshined, Show Me How to Live, Like
A Stone, Arm Around Your Love, Seasons, What You Are, and Rusty
Cage. Then, while the band took a little break. Chris brought over a
chair and his acoustic guitar, and we were treated to a gorgeous
acoustic version of Can't Change Me, which happens to be my favorite
Cornell song, and I Am the Highway, and one of the bonus tracks off of
Carry On, The Roads We Choose, and Doesn't Remind Me. Somewhere
in there, I can't recall exactly, he also gave us a special treat, playing a
very personal song called Cornell, one that was apparently written for
his wife and has never been released, so that was a really nice touch.