chris cornell is a long way from grunge
by ben rayner, the star.com , july 19 2007
He mesmerized the grunge generation with his smouldering gaze, hairstyles of note and prototypical hard-rock howl while fronting Soundgarden and Temple of the Dog, then joined three-quarters of Rage Against the Machine and rocked on into the new millennium as part of Audioslave.
Chris Cornell is in a mellower mood, however, on Carry On, his first solo album since 1999's similarly laid-back Euphoria Morning. We spoke to the singer from the Jay Leno soundstage about the latest phase of his career.
Q: It seems every time you leave a loud rock band, you make a chilled-out folk-pop record. Is that intentional?
A: That's just kinda how it happens. If you're in a room writing songs with a rock guitar player, bass player and drummer, songs are going to be more aggressive. And if you're writing songs that are more melodic and chordal and there's more movement going on, that's the kind of music that gets written by somebody off on their own. So part of it, I think, is just a matter of where you're at and what you're doing.
Q: Your departure from Audioslave earlier this year seemed rather abrupt. What happened?
A: When it came time to start doing a fourth record we were already bumping into the things that bands bump into, the different conflicts that make moving forward complicated. And I'd been pretty clear from the beginning that if it got like that, then it wasn't gonna get like Soundgarden. Soundgarden was kinda like my first love – I was willing to go through a lot to make it happen – but if I was gonna be in a band again after that it was going to have to be uncomplicated. Having said that, I look at the experience as being a very positive one. I love those guys and we had a great time and I love the records, and that truly is the important thing.
Q: So is it going to take another eight years for another Chris Cornell record?
A: I want to make records often enough that I have the ability to experiment with different things, whether someone thinks it's a mistake or not. It doesn't have to be completely new, it doesn't have to be something you don't recognize, but there have to be certain elements of it that feel fresh.... All you have to do is listen to music for a day to realize the possibilities.
Reprinted from The Star Online - originally available as an online feature here
Chris Cornell Fan Page © Clare O'Brien 2007