reunited and it sounds so good

by ed condran, atlantic city weekly, july 2011

 

Any recording artist who was part of a successful band is bound to be asked about a reunion. Chris Cornell faced questions about a Soundgarden reformation over the last few years even though he has had a successful solo career and a nice run with Audioslave.

It wouldn’t have been surprising if Cornell shot down reunion queries three years ago while discussing the possibility.

Cornell laughed whenever the subject was broached. The charismatic vocalist with the unparalleled set of pipes admitted that Soundgarden wasn’t asked about getting back together in 2008 and he was a bit surprised during a hot reunion wave, which included Police and Van Halen tours.

“It’s funny,” Cornell said. “I’m not sure why we weren’t asked [to reunite]. On the business side, someone probably said, ‘We have more than enough reunions this year,’ Next year, someone will say, ‘the reunion thing did great last year. What are we going to do now?’ Then they’ll call us.”

Well, it took longer than a year, but Soundgarden, which will perform Thursday, July 14, at the Borgata, is back.

The edgy but melodic Seattle band, which burst out of the grunge scene after the release of its powerful 1992 release Badmotorfinger, had no problem getting back together since the members of the band — Cornell, guitarist Kim Thayil, bassist Ben Shepherd and drummer Matt Cameron, had mended fences.?

“We needed the break from each other,” Cornell tells Atlantic City Weekly.

Soundgarden called it a day in 1997, but the hiatus was a necessity. The adventurous Cornell had the opportunity to explore other sonic options. In recent years he has worked with producer-rapper Timbaland, who was behind the board for Cornell’s solo album, Scream.

Cornell also offered a very somber, acoustic, un-Soundgarden-like cover of Michael Jackson’s massive hit “Billie Jean.”

“I got a lot out of my system,” Cornell says. “I needed to move on from Soundgarden. There was other things to check out and I went for it. I have no regrets. I think we all needed to move on. It was the healthiest thing that we could have done.”

Each member of the band has worked on solo projects and Cameron is Pearl Jam’s drummer. But Soundgarden is back and judging by footage and reports of recent shows, the group is in a groove.

The band isn’t just in it for a cash grab of a tour either. Soundgarden is currently working on a new album.

“There’s a lot of energy there,” Cornell says about the sessions.

The album won’t be out until next year, but Soundgarden is touring this summer and the group is eagerly cranking out old favorites.

“The [old] songs are fun to play,” Cornell says. “Those old songs are still pretty powerful. We left behind a real solid legacy.”

Cornell and company plan to add to an enviable legacy.

It was obvious during Cornell’s spring solo tour that he was getting revved up. He was most passionate when offering Soundgarden songs. Fans felt the same way as the audience and the performer fed off of each other during shows. Even though Cornell has been playing the Soundgarden songs for years — “Why shouldn’t I play them since I wrote them?,” he says — there is something fresh about recent renditions of the band’s tunes.

“I’m really recharged when it comes to Soundgarden songs,” Cornell says. “Soundgarden is a special band. There is no other group like it.”

That was evident since the group’s early days. Soundgarden took a major step with its second album, 1989’s Louder Than Love. On it, the band proved that it could still deliver monster power chords while being somewhat accessible. The group’s performance at Trenton’s late, lamented grungy club City Gardens at the time of the album’s release, was incendiary.

Soundgarden topped that show while previewing cuts from its breakthrough album Badmotorfinger, which was released in October 1991. I caught Soundgarden playing a record release party at a downtown Manhattan loft and it was obvious that the group was well on its way. The album was released just as the hair-metal bubble was bursting. However, Soundgarden was overshadowed by fellow Seattle band Nirvana, which released its epic disc, Nevermind, the week before Badmotorfinger dropped. It was a heady time in the Pacific Northwest, which was ushering a number of notable bands into the mainstream, such as Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains and Screaming Trees, among other acts.

“It was an amazing time,” Cornell recalls. “And we were right in the middle of it. It was unforgettable. It was exciting having all of these bands that were going to make their mark and they were coming up out of this one city. That was cool, but we were on our own as a band and we did really well during the ’90s. We had a great creative period and we really had a great time. I think we made the most of it.”

And now Soundgarden is back.

“There is still an audience for Soundgarden,” Cornell says. “That’s something we’re certain of and there’s [also] a band that wants to play together.”

 

Reprinted from Atlantic City Weekly- originally available as an online feature here

Chris Cornell Fan Page © Clare O'Brien 2011