voice of regeneration

Fronting a band or on his own, rock wailer Chris Cornell carries on

by jane stevenson, edmonton sun, june 2007

Chris Cornell, whose second solo album, Carry On, hits stores Tuesday, already has fronted two major rock bands; Seattle grunge kingpins Soundgarden in the 1980s and '90s, and supergroup Audioslave (which saw him playing with three ex-Rage Against The Machine members) in the early part of this century.

Not to mention the one-off 1991 project Temple Of The Dog, in which Cornell hooked up with members of what eventually would become Pearl Jam.

Not bad for a guy who's only 42-years-old.

So, has the impossibly handsome Seattle native, who now divides his time between Los Angeles and Paris with his second wife, Vicky, and their two young children (15-month-old Christopher and 2 1/2-year-old Toni), finally given up on the band thing?

"I don't know," said Cornell, while in Toronto recently to promote Carry On (his lone Canadian show is set for July 20 at Massey Hall). "Ever since Temple Of The Dog, I've really been hesitant to say that I would exclude the idea of collaborating with a band or another person."

Still, Cornell doesn't regret leaving Audioslave, which he quit earlier this year after three successful studio albums because of "irresolvable personality conflicts as well as musical differences."

"I think, ultimately, that ended up being the best thing for me," he said. "Once I got into making my record and writing the songs, I really had to open up personally and re-invent myself as a songwriter. And there are huge challenges in that and it's really scary and that makes life really exciting.

"I'm someone that has struggled with alcohol and substance abuse, probably you can say I have an addictive personality, and if I'm not doing that, I have so much energy to focus on music. And also, the aspects to (a solo career) that I find challenging or frightening or dangerous, I'm kind of drawn to it. Like pushing those buttons that scare me."

Carry On, which was recorded in L.A. with producer Steve Lillywhite, includes two notable songs. First up is the Casino Royale theme song, You Know My Name, which was left off the James Bond movie soundtrack last year at the request of Cornell.

"I've always believed that the coupling of movies and songs by bands or artists is not fair," said Cornell. "I love doing music for films and I'm a huge fan of films, but I'm going to put that song on my record, not yours, because it's my song. So yeah, they knew from the outset."

Much more curious is a surprising, slowed-down cover of Michael Jackson's Billy Jean.

"It came from a conversation I had with my wife Vicky about the art of a cover song and really kind of a challenge by her to prove my theory, which is it's the most unlikely couplings that usually create the most moving cover songs," explained Cornell.

"And I just thought, 'Okay, who's the least-likely person that would make the least sense?' I don't think Prince would make the least sense. I could do Purple Rain pretty much like Purple Rain and it would make sense.

"But Michael Jackson's like this weirdo pop icon who really did dance track after dance track with what I always felt to be positive but pretty obvious, non-veiled lyrics. How could I really lend any emotional depth to that? So then I was challenged to figure out what the song might be. It's really all just sort of an exercise that ended up working for me."

Cornell, one of the greatest rock singers out there, says he works very hard at his craft and genuinely enjoys being on the road.

"When I've seen performers who have been around for generations, the ones that really just kind of knock you over, not in that young, visceral way, but in that way of being a virtuoso in every way, I feel that happens through experience."

Cornell's own favourite singers include Paul McCartney and John Lennon -- "I kind of always thought of those two as my adopted parents, like a nice English gay couple that raised me," he says with a laugh -- and such soul-R&B greats as Al Green, Otis Redding, Mavis Staples, The Chamber Brothers and Solomon Burke.

"The kind of singing where it's very emotional and expressive and very raw. If you see the footage of Otis Redding, he's very present and there's no trick to what he did. He was literally just doing it. And there are layers to what the guy was doing. Not all R&B or soul singers had that. There's a depth to what he was doing. There is something going on in his head or his heart and you don't know what it is, and it's deeper, not necessarily hidden, but interesting. And it came out in his performing, sometimes aggressively. Even though he wasn't doing a form of music that anyone would ever consider aggressive, it could be."

ENJOYING LIVING

Cornell said he has been enjoying living part-time in Paris, where he ended up after meeting Vicky. "(But) I definitely miss Seattle," added Cornell, who also has another daughter, Lillian Jean, from his first marriage to ex-Soundgarden manager Susan Silver.

"But I don't regret leaving. I think it has really helped me as a person get out of not just Seattle, but to be more international has helped me get a view of my own country from the outside, which is important."

Given this summer is turning out to be the year of the reunion tour -- The Police, Genesis, Crowded House and Smashing Pumpkins to name a few -- have promoters been throwing piles of money at Chris Cornell to get his old Seattle band, Soundgarden, back together?

"No," said Cornell. "And I think there should be a trust factor here. They need to throw piles of money at me, wait a couple of years and then tell me what it was for, and then I'll make my decision."

Cornell hasn't talked with any of his Soundgarden bandmates in a long time, but added, "We're all friendly. We always have been.

"No one has called me with any suggestion that Soundgarden should get back together. We're a weird group of guys. We always were. It's why we made the music we made. Ultimately, we really mounted something that seemed impossible, we carried it through, made some great records, and actually managed to disband while we were at the pinnacle of our creative relationship and not abuse it and not leave, like, turd droppings for fans to have to deal with in the future.

"So I look at it now, getting back together. I just don't see the scenario where it made sense. Maybe like when we're really, really old, if we got together and did some performance that benefits somebody other than us. Instead of just saying, 'Wow, someone's offered us an enormous cheque.' That just seems like it would go against everything that the band was about from Day 1. So it'd have to be for some reason that I can't think of right now."

Still, he applauds a group like The Police hitting the road together for the first time in 23 years.

"I have a great attitude about The Police getting back together," said Cornell. "There have been opportunities where people are saying, 'There's a show coming up with The Police playing a festival, would you like to be on it?' Hell, yeah! I'm a huge fan.

"But I think it's great that they're together, and running around, playing Police songs. But I also feel like they can. In other words, there's no reason why fans would be let down by that.

"And, of course, it makes someone like me, who's 42, feel great, 'cause I can be like, 'If they can do it, I can do it!' "

Reprinted from the Edmonton Sun. Originally available as an online feature here.

Chris Cornell Fan Page © Clare O'Brien 2007