By Chris Nixon
Union-Tribune
August 2, 2007
After 13 years in the seminal Seattle band Soundgarden and six more in the band of refugees called Audioslave, singer Chris Cornell finally has time to focus on the one aspect of his musical path he's yet to fully explore: a solo career.
With its bombastic Black Sabbath inspired riffs and Cornell's signature pipes, Soundgarden helped launch the grunge revolution of the early 1990s. The group scored huge critical and commercial victories with 1991's “Badmotorfinger” and 1994's “Superunknown,” both albums rife with odd-time signatures and alternative guitar tunings.
In the midst of Soundgarden's success, Cornell collaborat ed with members of Pearl Jam in the Temple of the Dog project, which featured the duet with Eddie Vedder titled “Hunger Strike.”
Due to the band's hard-edged sound, record labels and music critics tried to pigeonhole Soundgarden into the metal scene. Through its six studio albums the band proved it had more artistic acumen and punk attitude than the run-of-the-mill hair-metal band, thus leading to a new genre labeled “grunge.”
DETAILS
CHRIS CORNELL
When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Viejas Concerts in the Park, 5000 Willows Road, Alpine
Tickets: $40
Phone: (619) 445-5400
Online: www.viejas.com
“Soundgarden struggled in the early '90s with the major labels not knowing necessarily who we were or what to do with us, at a time when there was a huge commercially successful metal scene,” said Cornell during a recent interview from his home in Los Angeles. “They started to try and run us down that pipe. And that didn't really work. We were in crisis, trying to stay away from it and carve out our own niche. Which we did, but it was difficult.
“Nowadays, it's easier for me. It's kind of like: Take the record or leave it.”
After the band's success petered out and the artistic focus of the band dwindled, Cornell launched his first crack at a solo career in the form of 1999's “Euphoria Morning” (though 1992's “Singles” soundtrack featured his acoustic song “Seasons”). Surrounded by bittersweet harmonies and acoustic instrumentation, “Euphoria Morning” exposes the quieter side of Cornell songwriter abilities.
“With 'Euphoria Morning,' it came after the end of my band, which was extremely important to me,” recalled Cornell. “I decided to start a solo career and that's that: done deal.
“But I always felt like since Temple of the Dog, I'm not ever going to be completely against the idea of collaborating with somebody else 'cause that was such a great experience. So, when the opportunity came up to do Audioslave, I was open-minded.”
Meanwhile, Rage Against the Machine vocalist Zach de la Rocha left his band in favor of a solo career in 2000, leaving guitarist Tom Morello, bassist Tim Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk searching for a singer. Cypress Hill's B.Real and Tool's Maynard James Keenan jammed with the ex-Machines, until producer Rick Rubin suggested Cornell.
Post-“Euphoria Morning,” three former members of Rage Against the Machine approached Cornell about collaborating on a new band called Audioslave.
“To a degree, I think people were surprised by the first record,” said Cornell, who just celebrated his 43rd birthday. “When we put out 'Like a Stone,' that wasn't new territory for me. I'd done things with Soundgarden and Temple of the Dog and the solo record that were melodic and mellow and psychedelic and trippy.
“For me, it was no big deal. For them, they were Rage, which was known for pretty much one thing. They were taking big risks.”
The big risks paid off.
Six years, three albums and millions of record sales later, internal interest in Audioslave faded. Morello focused on his solo project, “The Nightwatchman.” Rage Against the Machine actually reunited for a series of shows this summer, including a date at this year's Coachella Festival. And Cornell turned to recording his second solo disc, eight years after the release of “Euphoria Morning.”
“It ended up being a good thing and yielding some great music and some great tours, but it also put me back to square one with the solo career,” admitted Cornell. “It was a lot of time between solo records. There was a little bit of the perception: Oh, he's going solo after splitting up with a band – again.”
On the heels of Audioslave, Cornell has crafted an album of overt pop music on his long-awaited sophomore solo disc “Carry On,” released in June of this year. The album features an acoustic cover of Michael Jackson's “Billy Jean” and “You Know My Name” from the 2006 James Bond remake “Casino Royale.” Despite the radio-friendly soft rock that dominates “Carry On,” Cornell's voice remains one of rock's best.
“It's a little bit like starting over on a solo career,” said Cornell, who plays Viejas Concerts in the Park Saturday in support of “Carry On.” “That's sort of the give-and-take of (Audioslave): I got three great records out of it and the great experience of making records with these other three guys. “Where it hurt me is I had just started to develop a solo career and abandoned it. Now, I have to come back and start it over again.”
Chris Nixon is a San Diego music writer.
An artist ready to embrace change
Chris Cornell has paid his dues: navigating the underground music scene and signing with big labels in Soundgarden, exploring the world of arena rock with Audioslave and fostering his own solo career.
And each step has given him insight in the music business.
“Fortunately for me, I started making records in a time when there was a great U.S. indie scene,” said Cornell. “We came into it when it was really healthy. We were an indie band, so we made our own records. We drew up our own contracts with SST and SubPop. We sold our own T-shirts. We drove our own van that we owned. Then, we signed to a major label with the prior knowledge of how it's done. Then, we just started doing the same thing on a bigger scale.”
But as his popularity has grown and he's become a household name among the music-savvy, the industry has become focused on the bottom line more than developing artists.
“The music industry is not healthy,” said Cornell. “It's changing, and to a large degree it's dying. Ultimately, that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's transforming into something very different, but it can benefit the fans. And it can definitely benefit the artists, if the artists are willing or able to embrace the change. I think there will be an organic flow in the way people end up buying and supporting music.”
No matter the changes in the music industry down the road, Cornell will continue to be himself: a talented songwriter with a great voice.
“I'm not someone who's struggling to be known in the world of popular music: I am known,” said Cornell. “So, I'm just making records and writing songs. I'm not really worrying about how anyone might place it or how it's perceived. It doesn't really matter to me. – I'm just going to write songs, make records, tour and do what I do.”
– CHRIS NIXON
