When you have such a distinct voice, hearing it in other bands and songs can be a real treat or pulverizing in both good and bad ways. One such voice is Chester Bennington. His time with Linkin Park literally brought his voice into millions of cars, headphones, houses, parties, arenas and more. Though not known for his guest spots, the ones he did each have their own charm. Check these out and let me know what your favorites are. Enjoy!
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Back in 2006, Chris Cornell wrote a song for the film Casino Royale. Since this was to be a new beginning for the James Bond franchise (and it’s a great film too), the film’s producers wanted to reflect this new direction of James Bond with a “strong male singer.” Well, they definitely got that with Chris Cornell. The end result is “You Know My Name.” One of the intriguing things about this song is that during the making of it, Ken Andrews of Failure was asked to help out. Chris would wind up doing some vocals with Ken behind the board. Which is a totally awesome thing all on it’s own. I still to this day wonder what Audioslave or even Chris’s solo album would sound like if Ken was the producer and or mixer. When you watch this performance check out who is playing guitar and doing backing vocals!
Chris Cornell- You Know My Name (Live on The Tonight Show w/ Jay Leno- 2006):
It was announced yesterday that the members of Soundgarden and Chris Cornell’s widow have finally settled on an agreement to allow the release of the songs that Soundgarden were working on prior to Chris’s death. There are about 7 finished songs that will see the light of day in the near future. Which is very exciting as I remember a few interviews with Chris and Kim saying the new material was a bit more in line with some of their earlier work. That being said, naturally, I do what I usually do when I hear good news about a band I like a lot and I’ve been on a Soundgarden kick now. The first album I went for was Bad Motor Finger and when “Rusty Cage” began I knew I made the right choice. What a killer song to start off an album with. It’s a song with such groove and vibe that you wouldn’t be remiss if you played it again after it ended. That’s the making a great song! Interestingly, “Rusty Cage” was the third and final single released on the record. Chris you are very missed!
Soundgarden- Rusty Cage:
Alternate Version:
Soundgarden- Rusty Cage (Live Lollapalooza 1992):
Back in 2012, while still riding high from their return, Soundgarden played Hyde Park in the UK for the first time. This performance from the set list, crowd, the weather (it was raining), and the level of excitement you can feel from the band, makes this one quite memorable. Chris Cornell sounds superb and gets better with each song. When you watch this, you can tell there is an excitement amongst the band members. It’s really a shame that Chris is no longer with us but, at least we still have his body of work to celebrate. Hopefully too, the legal issues between his estate and the band gets settled soon so we can hear the final songs Soundgarden was working on.
Soundgarden- Live At Hyde Park 2012:
Setlist:
01 Searching With My Good Eye Closed
02 Spoonman
03 Gun
04 Jesus Christ Pose
05 Black Hole Sun
06 Outshined
07 Hunted Down
08 Drawing Flies
09 Blow Up the Outside World
10 Fell on Black Days
11 Ugly Truth
12 My Wave
13 The Day I Tried to Live
14 Beyond the Wheel
15 Let Me Drown
16 Pretty Noose
17 Superunknown
18 4th of July
Encore
19 Rusty Cage
20 Slaves & Bulldozers/(In My Time of Dying)
In 2015, the surviving members of Mad Season, Mike McCready and Barrett Martin reconvened for an evening to celebrate the band and it’s album, Above. This special concert titled “Sonic Evolution. At this show they were accompanied by the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. The late Chris Cornell filled in on vocals for the dearly departed Layne Staley and Duff McKagan filled in on bass for the late John Baker Saunders. This concert is quite poignant and emotional. The songs picked for this show were quite interesting and the performances by each person really stand out. It just goes to show how great these songs are and how much of a lasting effect they still have. Enjoy this show!
Mad Season & Friends- Sonic Evolution:
Today marks 3 years since the passing of Chris Cornell, I thought why not celebrate him with some really awesome deep cuts from Soundgarden’s catalog. I’m sure we are all at the point where we’ve heard “Black Hole Sun” and a few others enough times now. So, this will be fun to explore.
From Louder Than Love:
Uncovered:
From Badmotorfinger:
Mind Riot:
Holy Water:
From Superunknown:
Limo Wreck:
From Down On The Upside:
Tighter & Tighter:
No Attention:
The other day I was talking to a friend about Audioslave. While chatting, I got the urge to skip around and listen to a few of my favorite songs by them. One thing I noticed was, the first few songs I picked also happened to be the last song on each album. So, with that in mind, take a few moments and delve into these really great songs. I truly wish, they would have toured on their third and final album, Revelations. That album is superb. RIP, Chris!
The Last Remaining Light (from Audioslave):
The Curse (from Out Of Exile):
Moth (from Revelations):
I’ll never forget the first time I saw the video for Audioslave’s “Cochise.” I thought to myself, what a way to make an impact and come out of the gates running. Everything about the video is stunning. The little narrative of Chris Cornell alone atop the structure waiting and Tom Morello, Brad Wilk and Tim Commerford arriving together, then them coming together and then BANG! The song itself and this Mark Romanek directed video are just perfect. There’s an interesting story about the making of the video as well. Due to the large number of pyrotechnics used in the video, local residents believed that the explosions were caused by terrorists; speaking about the filming process, Morello revealed that “The local police and news stations literally received thousands of calls from people who thought the city was under siege … All the freeways were blocked because they thought there was an attack occurring.” This song, still to this day when it comes on, gets me going. It’s the perfect song to kick off the album and it’s the perfect song to start your day.
Audioslave- Cochise:
The other day I woke up with the Audioslave song “Moth” in my head. That song is from their highly underrated third album, Revelations. If you haven’t ever delved into that one, I suggest you do, it’s incredible! While on my little Audioslave kick, I remembered that there are a few songs that were “B-Sides” and I thought I’d share those with you. So here we go!
Audioslave- Give (from their debut):
Audioslave- Super Stupid (Funkadelic Cover from Out Of Exile):
Turn To Gold (Quick Story: Audioslave was originally called “Civilian.” After they got together and starting recording, a sound technician leaked this song on the internet):
I’m in absolute shock over the news of Chris Cornell. It’s mind boggling to think that he is gone. Chris had such a profound impact on rock music with his voice, lyrics, and songwriting. I would even put Chris on the list of greatest singers ever. I remember the first time I heard Soundgarden way back when I was a little kid around 7 or 8 and “Outshined” came on. I was mesmerized by it. My mom was really into it and she’s the one that went out and bought Bad Motor Finger. From that point, I was hooked on Soundgarden. I spent many a night when I was young listening to music and studying the lyrics of my favorites. Chris Cornell had such a poetic touch to his words. My personal favorite Soundgarden album is Down On The Upside. There is something about that album that really hits home. I can’t tell you what, but, there is something really magical about that record.
When I heard that Chris had joined forces with the remaining members of Rage Against The Machine, I was beyond excited. Then I heard “Cochise” and was instantly sold. Audioslave became such a great vehicle for Chris to expand his already poetic sensibilities, and share a different side of himself. It wasn’t until the bands last album Revelations, that Audioslave truly found their sound but, Chris really went for it lyrically and vocally on that album. Check out the songs “Wide Awake” and “Moth” and you’ll hear what I mean.
I feel lucky to have seen Chris perform 4 times over the years. Twice with Audioslave, once solo, and once with Soundgarden when they toured with Nine Inch Nails a few years ago. Chris was always great live. His presence on stage was gripping and captivating. I’ve had this thought for a while that, if Robert Plant really didn’t want to be a part of doing shows with Led Zeppelin that, they should get Chris Cornell to fill the spot. If you think about it, you know that would be something great and amazing.
Here’s to all the great music and words Chris left us. His legacy is intact with great songs and performances. I feel for his children. I hope at some point they can come to terms with this loss.
Here are a few of my favorite songs Chris has been a part of.
Soundgarden-
Burden In My Hand:
Fell On Black Days:
4th Of July:
Outshined:
Audioslave-
Cochise:
Wide Awake:
Moth:
Chris Solo-
Temple Of The Dog-
Say Hello To Heaven:
