Just when you thought his 2009 collaboration with Timbaland would be Chris Cornell’s all-time biggest misstep, the huge voice behind Soundgarden and Audioslave returns with a solo acoustic live album that recasts him as a guitar-strumming troubadour. But without Soundgarden’s heavy-metal thunder and Tom Morello’s waka-waka-waka backing him, Cornell sounds harsh, tentative, and out of his comfort zone on Songbook. And unlike similar projects by other, more interesting artists who share stories between songs, Cornell has very little to say about these tunes, which come off as empty navel-gazing without their loud and heavy backdrops. Cornell dips into his entire catalog (including Temple of the Dog and solo material), and also dusts off a moldy cover of John Lennon’s “Imagine.” Next time just bring the noise, dude. — Gallucci
This article appears in Nov 23-29, 2011.
Ohhhhhh Gallucci! There are many Chris Cornell fans that are simply ecstatic over this live accoustic album! This is Chris Cornell at his most raw. Tell me this. Did you bother to see him in concert this year? If not, watch a few YouTube videos. He began out of his comfort zone with this acoustic tour, but he’s settled in quite nicely and nicely interacts with his audience and fans.
The Songbook CD has been a long time coming and we’re so glad it’s finally released!
How is it possible to sound harsh AND tentative? Stupid review from someone who can’t listen to anything but noise.