Was the weakest of the 4 solo shows I have seen in the past year and a half. Also the shortest at around 1:45.Didnt look close to being sold out and not near as many as the last time he played HOB Vegas. Really no rarities or something you would say ,damn didnt think I would hear that.
First thing was the dreadlocked gangsta dude on the keyboards, I couldn't really hear him at all but he seemed to be doing something on all the songs except for the 3 Chris did acoustic. Kinda pissed me off when Chris was sitting on the base of the drums at the beggining of "Hunger Strike" and the black dude was swaying his hands back in forth slowly like it was some sort of joke. He was doing that sort of Hip Hop shit all night on most songs.
The 2 new songs he played "Watch Out" and "Long Gone" were better than the studio version of course but were still very sub-par. The band looked really uninspired playing them and Chris seemed to be trying to sell them very hard. One thing I noticed was some thug-like characters backstage which seemed almost like some of Timbalands crew making sure he was playing these songs and trying to promote them. Never seen those types at a Cornell show or hanging side stage. I was front row side of balcony , which was really close and right over the stage at the HOB, when "Long Gone " started just seemed like a mass of people left their seats for a pis or beer break and the pit just kinda stood in a stupor. I noticed a couple people going (Outshined crazy) overly crazy, either they were Cornell Forum KoolAid Drinkers or Timbaland plants. Either way the 2 new songs were the least recepted. It really killed the momentum of the set.
Anyways alot of classics, Spoonman , Rusty Cage, Outshined , JCP, Like A Stone, Black Hole Sun, Hunger Strike , Cant Change Me and Sunshower was a fabulous opener. All in all I guess it was a decent performance, but more than likely I wont spend the money on another anytime soon. Definitely not ever travelling to see him and wont buy the new album.
Thanks for the memories Chris, I hope one of the new Timbaland era fans is as dedicated as I have been for the past 18 years. Good Luck with the new crap.
So the actual show was still good, right? Seems like you read a little too much into the "characters" there. I mean, he is opening for another band that has a definite hip-hop side. Your assumptions are pretty far out there. In every show I've seen, the crowd doesn't respond to the new songs very much, especially when the album is yet to be released. PJ fans are no different in that respect. Of course many of the songs on this album may never warrant much of a response, just like I can't see myself getting too excited about hearing most songs off Avocado live.
This wasnt the projekt revolution tour show , this was his own solo show , the only one so far. He said that since that tour didnt come through Vegas so he was gonna stop by and see us on his own.
Like I said it was the weakest of the 4 solo shows Ive seen. The 1st HOB show last year was amazing. It blew me away. It was 2:15 min of awesome. This show in the same venue was 1:45 and sounded way worse than the previous. His equipment may have been different. His band was awesome , those guys dont get enough credit. They really rock.
Chris Cornell is a great performer and I dont think he could ever suck. The new songs are horrible. Thats my opinion. They ruin the flow of the concert. Hopefully it will all blow over when the album doesnt sell and Timbaland quits wasting his time with Chris. Its not about music its about the bling for Timbaland.
Oh Yeah , and it does really suck to have to hear these new songs in place of a TOTD track or a Euphoria Morning song. I love pretty much everything Chris has done even Carry On was cool with me. Just sad ....
This wasnt the projekt revolution tour show , this was his own solo show , the only one so far. He said that since that tour didnt come through Vegas so he was gonna stop by and see us on his own.
Like I said it was the weakest of the 4 solo shows Ive seen. The 1st HOB show last year was amazing. It blew me away. It was 2:15 min of awesome. This show in the same venue was 1:45 and sounded way worse than the previous. His equipment may have been different. His band was awesome , those guys dont get enough credit. They really rock.
Chris Cornell is a great performer and I dont think he could ever suck. The new songs are horrible. Thats my opinion. They ruin the flow of the concert. Hopefully it will all blow over when the album doesnt sell and Timbaland quits wasting his time with Chris. Its not about music its about the bling for Timbaland.
Oh Yeah , and it does really suck to have to hear these new songs in place of a TOTD track or a Euphoria Morning song. I love pretty much everything Chris has done even Carry On was cool with me. Just sad ....
I like your review, I've kind of been waiting to hear some feedback on how the other band members seem to "enjoy" playing the new crap. And I agree about him mixing this new shit in place of something older. "That song was Say Hello 2 Heaven everyone, a song about a lost friend...anyway, this next song is called WATCH OUT!!!"
Not starting a new thread... I was just playing #1 Zero on the Itunes. Its got to be one of the best songs in Cornell's catolog. I saw Audioslave perform the song in concert. He should play this one live.
Come on this is a guy who has def payed his dues in the music business, if he wants to work with Timbaland and make this kind of stuff then he should be able to. Did you expect him to have a solo album full of songs like jesus christ pose, he is older and his music is gonna vary. Eddie talked a while back about making a techno record...god forbid if he did something he wanted to do. Chris's song isn't bad its just not what were used to.
"Being undecided...it's dangerous. And I'll give you a perfect example: people with mullets, that's indecision."-EV
Come on this is a guy who has def payed his dues in the music business, if he wants to work with Timbaland and make this kind of stuff then he should be able to. Did you expect him to have a solo album full of songs like jesus christ pose, he is older and his music is gonna vary. Eddie talked a while back about making a techno record...god forbid if he did something he wanted to do. Chris's song isn't bad its just not what were used to.
How would you feel if he did it in the most generic way possible, to hit a Top 40 crowd?
I'm sure if Cobain was still alive, he would have come up with some weird shit too. But, that's the key. Weird, different, creative, whatever. This is really none of that. Chris is capable of writing so much better than this, even if he has to meet Timbaland in the middle, and you know, maybe challenge him to do something better than his usual pro tools fare with the occasional annoying noise as a beat.
Did he meet him in the middle? Hell no. I don't think Timbaland nudged one bit on this. Kinda ironic.
And I don't think anyone expects a Badmotorfinger reprise. That would be just as silly. But, geez, use your talent some, he was a much better musician when he didn't want to be a rock star, instead of now, where he fully embraces it, and he floats.
I mean, where's the guitar? It's gone missing. The guitar smashing cover art for this album is hilarious. He left the guitar behind years ago. LOL, you normally see frontmen who can't play the guitar and pick it up as they go along. I mean, even Axl Rose got off his ass and tried to. Chris has done the opposite.
Come on this is a guy who has def payed his dues in the music business, if he wants to work with Timbaland and make this kind of stuff then he should be able to. Did you expect him to have a solo album full of songs like jesus christ pose, he is older and his music is gonna vary. Eddie talked a while back about making a techno record...god forbid if he did something he wanted to do. Chris's song isn't bad its just not what were used to.
cmon dude, i know youre entitled to your opinion and he can of course do whatever he wants but how many 44 year old skinny white guys are making hip hop records? If he wrote the songs himself I think people might be a little more open to the new direction. But this is just Timbaland songs featuring " any artist here" there is nothing original about it. I f you like hip hop or Timbalands crew , youre in luck but most of Chris Cornell faithful who have been around for the better part of 20 years are smart and music savvy and they know what is good and what is bad. If Ed did a techno record you better believe there would have been 10x the backlash Cornell has heard. Face the facts, He didnt sell out the House of Blues in Las Vegas last night , the smallest live music venue on the strip. Its sad but as great as Cornell is live, his relevence declines every day.
cmon dude, i know youre entitled to your opinion and he can of course do whatever he wants but how many 44 year old skinny white guys are making hip hop records? If he wrote the songs himself I think people might be a little more open to the new direction. But this is just Timbaland songs featuring " any artist here" there is nothing original about it. I f you like hip hop or Timbalands crew , youre in luck but most of Chris Cornell faithful who have been around for the better part of 20 years are smart and music savvy and they know what is good and what is bad. If Ed did a techno record you better believe there would have been 10x the backlash Cornell has heard. Face the facts, He didnt sell out the House of Blues in Las Vegas last night , the smallest live music venue on the strip. Its sad but as great as Cornell is live, his relevence declines every day.
I don't like the new stuff, but I totally expected cornell to do some far out shit. With SG he spent the better part of 10 years in the underground Seattle Scene, washing dishes before they made it big- the guy has def paid his dues.
Cornell has made his career out of genre jumps. I think his fans are used to it to a *degree*. Ed is comfy within the scared fold of PJ.
And wasn't that like his fourth show in that city? I don't know many artists that would sell out repeatedly including PJ.
I don't like the new stuff, but I totally expected cornell to do some far out shit. With SG he spent the better part of 10 years in the underground Seattle Scene, washing dishes before they made it big- the guy has def paid his dues.
Cornell has made his career out of genre jumps. I think his fans are used to it to a *degree*. Ed is comfy within the scared fold of PJ.
And wasn't that like his fourth show in that city? I don't know many artists that would sell out repeatedly including PJ.
Where were these genre jumps? The music just got progressively less noisy and then he hooked up with the RAtM band, and they eventually segued off into a slightly funk/R&B direction. (Which I don't think was a leap for Morello) Then they ceased to be.
Yeah, his last album was kinda singer-songwriter "beach music" type stuff, but you make it sound like he's been everywhere. He jumped about 5 steps
between these two albums, which would be the first time he's ever done anything like that.
Well he's written straightforwrd punk( SU/DOTU), metal (Pre-SU), hard rock (SU/DOTU/Audisolave), blues (Audioslave ST and TOTD), prog rock (DOTU), pop (EM/Carry On) and now Rnb (shit new record). Plus any combination of those. He's a guy who has mixed t up more than any of his contempories from the hard rock world.
I don't like the new stuff, but I totally expected cornell to do some far out shit. With SG he spent the better part of 10 years in the underground Seattle Scene, washing dishes before they made it big- the guy has def paid his dues.
Cornell has made his career out of genre jumps. I think his fans are used to it to a *degree*. Ed is comfy within the scared fold of PJ.
And wasn't that like his fourth show in that city? I don't know many artists that would sell out repeatedly including PJ.
he played HOB Vegas in May 2007 and The Pearl at the Palms in November 2007 so its been awhile. Plus Las Vegas is a city of almost 2 million and is notorios for alot of tourists , you might have heard. HOB lists capacity at 2000, the reserved seating which I tried estimating last night has maybe 750 seats which were about half full. The floor was nowhere near as tight as previous shows Ive seen there so I guess maybe 2/3 full. So he drew 1200-1300 people last night. Rationalize anyway you want. A rock icon like Chris Cornell? At 40$ a pop, youre grossing around $50,000 - $60,000. Nothing. He may have lost money on that show.
he played HOB Vegas in May 2007 and The Pearl at the Palms in November 2007 so its been awhile. Plus Las Vegas is a city of almost 2 million and is notorios for alot of tourists , you might have heard. HOB lists capacity at 2000, the reserved seating which I tried estimating last night has maybe 750 seats which were about half full. The floor was nowhere near as tight as previous shows Ive seen there so I guess maybe 2/3 full. So he drew 1200-1300 people last night. Rationalize anyway you want. A rock icon like Chris Cornell? At 40$ a pop, youre grossing around $50,000 - $60,000. Nothing. He may have lost money on that show.
all good signs
hopefully he reads it as a response to his new material and not a defense of even further pop pandering down the road
Well he's written straightforwrd punk( SU/DOTU), metal (Pre-SU), hard rock (SU/DOTU/Audisolave), blues (Audioslave ST and TOTD), prog rock (DOTU), pop (EM/Carry On) and now Rnb (shit new record). Plus any combination of those. He's a guy who has mixed t up more than any of his contempories from the hard rock world.
You're stretching in alot of places. Ben should get credit for pretty much every up-tempo "punk" song they've written. That's his influence. Ben had a ton of influence in SG, I never realized it until I started playing and ripping up their songs in fancy tabs and such. Didn't understand why he was so pissed off back in the day when it was obvious they were having problems. Now I know why, that was almost as much his baby as Chris', especially at the end.
EM isn't pop. It's Chris' Soundgarden influence with input from Eleven. Much less noisy and a logical progression from Chris' DOtU work. You could have dropped alot of his DOtU songs on there and they would have worked.
The biggest difference between their "metal and hard rock" is production. Soundgarden wasn't leaping genres, it was a bunch of people's influences melted down into something.
Temple of the Dog was something different, definately in his singing, but it does sound alot like Mike, too, though. Working with different musicians gets different results.
Well he's written straightforwrd punk( SU/DOTU), metal (Pre-SU), hard rock (SU/DOTU/Audisolave), blues (Audioslave ST and TOTD), prog rock (DOTU), pop (EM/Carry On) and now Rnb (shit new record). Plus any combination of those. He's a guy who has mixed t up more than any of his contempories from the hard rock world.
I think we have a winner of the annual PJMP straw clutching contest.
You're stretching in alot of places. Ben should get credit for pretty much every up-tempo "punk" song they've written. That's his influence. Ben had a ton of influence in SG, I never realized it until I started playing and ripping up their songs in fancy tabs and such. Didn't understand why he was so pissed off back in the day when it was obvious they were having problems. Now I know why, that was almost as much his baby as Chris', especially at the end.
EM isn't pop. It's Chris' Soundgarden influence with input from Eleven. Much less noisy and a logical progression from Chris' DOtU work. You could have dropped alot of his DOtU songs on there and they would have worked.
The biggest difference between their "metal and hard rock" is production. Soundgarden wasn't leaping genres, it was a bunch of people's influences melted down into something.
Temple of the Dog was something different, definately in his singing, but it does sound alot like Mike, too, though. Working with different musicians gets different results.
I don't see any stretch at all. They are still legitimate differences between albums no matter what your calling them. I find it hard to belive that the difference between BMF and SU are only production-SU is a totally differant beast. They sound like two completely differant bands.
BTW I also don't honestly like the idea of calling EM pop (my bad) but I don't really no what to call it to be honest. Perhaps its the closest thing to Jeff Buckely I've heard.
And sure Ben has influence-Im well aware of his punk ties but which ever way you pull it, Cornell is the common denominator. The fact is SG (and Cornell) has surrounded himself continously with people which allow him to try differant things.
I think we have a winner of the annual PJMP straw clutching contest.
Sure I wasn't claiming that the entire albums are genre specific-but large parts of them are.
Take "get a way car" or "last remaining light" off Audioslave's ST-that sounds like blues to me. "Kick Stand/ Ty Cobb/ No Attention/ An Unkind etc" are punk songs. I don't care and it doesn't matter who wrote them or that the band was considered a "hard rock band". Thats what they sound like to me.
I don't see any stretch at all. They are still legitimate differences between albums no matter what your calling them. I find it hard to belive that the difference between BMF and SU are only production-SU is a totally differant beast. They sound like two completely differant bands.
BTW I also don't honestly like the idea of calling EM pop (my bad) but I don't really no what to call it to be honest. Perhaps its the closest thing to Jeff Buckely I've heard.
And sure Ben has influence-Im well aware of his punk ties but which ever way you pull it, Cornell is the common denominator. The fact is SG (and Cornell) has surrounded himself continously with people which allow him to try differant things.
Not to get in on this arguement, but remember SG did have alot of up-tempo puck influenced songs before Ben was even there.
This thread has been amazing: hilarious and insightful. I saw Cornell last night in Phoenix; here was what I posted as a review on his site shortly thereafter:
Pros:
- Overall performance. Despite headlining last night (8/6) in Las Vegas, Cornell showed little signs of fatigue. He engaged the crowd between virtually every song and, most importantly, demonstrated once more his return to near-peak vocal form since the start of the Carry On/Scream touring.
- Intro/outro. The string version of "Black Hole Sun" was an excellent touch, and got the audience pumped before Cornell and Co. hit the stage.
Cons:
- Predictable setlist. He played all but one of the 12 songs during his concert in Tucson last April. The exception was "Be Yourself," which is hardly a personal favorite. Fans inexplicably voted for "Can't Change Me" over "Set It Off," "Blow Up The Outside World," or "Loud Love."
- New songs (and, by extension, additional touring band member). Cornell stuck to "Watch Out" and "Long Gone" from his new album, and both drew only polite applause and groans from fellow listeners on the venue lawn. The keyboardist, obviously a Timbaland lackey, managed to not be too intrusive, as Cornell's vocals stampeded over his.
Setlist (more or less in chronological order):
Cochise
No Such Thing
Outshined
Spoonman
Watch Out
Hunger Strike
Like A Stone
Can't Change Me
Show Me How To Live
Long Gone
Black Hole Sun
Rusty Cage
***
Epilogue: I consider this performance the best I've seen from Cornell live. Although I would have liked to hear something relatively underplayed from within his catalog (even "What You Are" would have sufficed), he nailed every song he did and then some.
However, a thought nagged me as I drove home. I still can't help but suspect that Cornell, to a slight extent during the Carry On touring and to an exponentially greater one at present, is intent on selling out his past work to return to mainstream relevance. I scanned the audience frequently last night, and what I noticed was a vast range in age, representing not only the younger fans who might have learned of him through Audioslave or later, but also quite a few middle-aged folks who doubtless rocked out to "Outshined" and that ilk when they first hit airwaves. Throughout the performance, I picked up on at least three indicators of Cornell trying to exploit these people, for lack of a better phrase, to sustain their interest in him and get them to purchase Scream.
The first was the setlist, which included songs recorded from 1990 to 2008. It was clearly meant to correspond to the age disparity above described. The second, curiously enough, was his outfit. With his long, curly hair, lack of shirt, long shorts, and black boots, Cornell appeared fresh-picked from filming the music video for "Jesus Christ Pose." Older fans could conceivably recognize that, presumably making his renditions of the new songs more palatable despite an inherent juxtaposition, while perhaps younger fans would appreciate his "edgy" choice of outfit and/or well-toned physique. The final indicator was a rather blunt marketing tactic: the depiction of the Scream album cover before, during, and after Cornell performed each new song. The cover art, as we well know by now, shows him breaking a guitar -- maybe while muttering, "Didn't use this; might as well get rid of it" -- and looking generally fierce and very rock-star. This visual, I'm sure, was meant to have the same effect as his outfit, and each of those images basically reinforces the other's effectiveness. In all, I believe these indicators point to Cornell trying to rein in as many diverse groups of people as he can at each venue, playing to their respective sensibilities and tastes toward a profitable end once Scream (not the hit Michael Jackson single, remember) is ready for purchase.
This is an extremely cynical view, especially as an addendum to a positive concert review, but too many ominous pieces were apparent to me and seemed to fit. I'm interested to see what others think, especially if anyone actually agrees with this outlook.
***
Sorry for the length here, but I know that people have been interested in how he's performed of late, as well as integrated his new material. The two new songs he played were mostly atrocious (though better than the recorded versions) and sounded woefully out of place with the likes of "Outshined," "Rusty Cage," and even "Be Yourself."
Final note: I'm betting that "Never Far Away" comes immediately after "Long Gone" on the album. The music that ends the latter would seem to flow well into that of the former, and thematically the lyrics are complimentary ("Now I'm gone" --> "Now that's I'm gone, you're still never far away").
Forgive the immediate above: I like to do CSI in my spare time ...
nice review and observations! glad were able to give you shelter and more objective feedback than the folks over at the CC board... im done over there... i dont even wanna stop by to laugh at how ridiculous the whole thing is... what was the response btw to your review? probably alot of people saying how the only negatives you list are "irrelevent to the music" and chris is still GOD
and for my 7,500 post (and new song title) id just like to say...
"Listen, hear, he is inside
One who lives while others lie
I close my eyes and walk a thousand years
A thousand years that arent mine
It seems hes near me as I walk
One who loved what love denied
He lives these years that I walk blind
All these years cannot be mine
Tomorrow begat tomorrow"
Epilogue: I consider this performance the best I've seen from Cornell live. Although I would have liked to hear something relatively underplayed from within his catalog (even "What You Are" would have sufficed), he nailed every song he did and then some.
However, a thought nagged me as I drove home. I still can't help but suspect that Cornell, to a slight extent during the Carry On touring and to an exponentially greater one at present, is intent on selling out his past work to return to mainstream relevance. I scanned the audience frequently last night, and what I noticed was a vast range in age, representing not only the younger fans who might have learned of him through Audioslave or later, but also quite a few middle-aged folks who doubtless rocked out to "Outshined" and that ilk when they first hit airwaves. Throughout the performance, I picked up on at least three indicators of Cornell trying to exploit these people, for lack of a better phrase, to sustain their interest in him and get them to purchase Scream.
The first was the setlist, which included songs recorded from 1990 to 2008. It was clearly meant to correspond to the age disparity above described. The second, curiously enough, was his outfit. With his long, curly hair, lack of shirt, long shorts, and black boots, Cornell appeared fresh-picked from filming the music video for "Jesus Christ Pose." Older fans could conceivably recognize that, presumably making his renditions of the new songs more palatable despite an inherent juxtaposition, while perhaps younger fans would appreciate his "edgy" choice of outfit and/or well-toned physique. The final indicator was a rather blunt marketing tactic: the depiction of the Scream album cover before, during, and after Cornell performed each new song. The cover art, as we well know by now, shows him breaking a guitar -- maybe while muttering, "Didn't use this; might as well get rid of it" -- and looking generally fierce and very rock-star. This visual, I'm sure, was meant to have the same effect as his outfit, and each of those images basically reinforces the other's effectiveness. In all, I believe these indicators point to Cornell trying to rein in as many diverse groups of people as he can at each venue, playing to their respective sensibilities and tastes toward a profitable end once Scream (not the hit Michael Jackson single, remember) is ready for purchase.
This is an extremely cynical view, especially as an addendum to a positive concert review, but too many ominous pieces were apparent to me and seemed to fit. I'm interested to see what others think, especially if anyone actually agrees with this outlook.
...
Well, it seems that you are right about him trying to get the max album sales possible and working his usual audience. Except for the part about his dress - Arizona in August, no shirt with shorts - thats what I've been wearing most of this summer.
Essentially, the new songs themselves are determine the amount of sales. Many old fans are already set against buying this. His outfit doesn't change the sound. All bands play their "hits" at concerts, except may be Radiohead. And bands have some sort of big poster or sheet that displays their new album in hopes of the audience recognizing it in the stores. And he possibly is very impressed with how he looks in his new photos. Obviously, he trying to sell his album - what a strange thing for you to be paranoid of. I mean, thats what recording musicians try to do weather they are selling it out of their trunk or through a big label. What is wrong with Cornell trying to "rein in as many diverse groups as he can at each venue" ???
what happened to the Chris Cornell I saw last year belting out "Say Hello to heaven".. and "Slaves and Bulldozers"...??????
.. nailing accoustic versions of "Seasons" "Black Days" and "Billie Jean"..
???
I want to go into the "way back " machine..
I don't like the "new" CC at all...
no kidding... it wasnt that long ago that things were beginning to look MORE hopeful... i was seriously thinking his live shows last tour would be an indication of some rockin shit on his next album... his voice sounds better than ever... he was working in SG rarities like he actually gave a shit about his long time fans... and they sounded damn good and actually worked with everything else in his set! now hes dropping those to replace them with his new SHIT
and for my 7,500 post (and new song title) id just like to say...
"Listen, hear, he is inside
One who lives while others lie
I close my eyes and walk a thousand years
A thousand years that arent mine
It seems hes near me as I walk
One who loved what love denied
He lives these years that I walk blind
All these years cannot be mine
Tomorrow begat tomorrow"
ha... well i guess that explains it... chris NEEDS HIM... those really are some of my favorite SG lyrics though... along with "drawing flies", "no attention", and "tighter & tighter"
ha... well i guess that explains it... chris NEEDS HIM... those really are some of my favorite SG lyrics though... along with "drawing flies", "no attention", and "tighter & tighter"
Comments
Is this that Timberland fiasco that everyone has been talking about?
So the actual show was still good, right? Seems like you read a little too much into the "characters" there. I mean, he is opening for another band that has a definite hip-hop side. Your assumptions are pretty far out there. In every show I've seen, the crowd doesn't respond to the new songs very much, especially when the album is yet to be released. PJ fans are no different in that respect. Of course many of the songs on this album may never warrant much of a response, just like I can't see myself getting too excited about hearing most songs off Avocado live.
Like I said it was the weakest of the 4 solo shows Ive seen. The 1st HOB show last year was amazing. It blew me away. It was 2:15 min of awesome. This show in the same venue was 1:45 and sounded way worse than the previous. His equipment may have been different. His band was awesome , those guys dont get enough credit. They really rock.
Chris Cornell is a great performer and I dont think he could ever suck. The new songs are horrible. Thats my opinion. They ruin the flow of the concert. Hopefully it will all blow over when the album doesnt sell and Timbaland quits wasting his time with Chris. Its not about music its about the bling for Timbaland.
Oh Yeah , and it does really suck to have to hear these new songs in place of a TOTD track or a Euphoria Morning song. I love pretty much everything Chris has done even Carry On was cool with me. Just sad ....
I like your review, I've kind of been waiting to hear some feedback on how the other band members seem to "enjoy" playing the new crap. And I agree about him mixing this new shit in place of something older. "That song was Say Hello 2 Heaven everyone, a song about a lost friend...anyway, this next song is called WATCH OUT!!!"
9/28/05-PNC
5/30/06-DC
6/23/06-Pittsburgh
How would you feel if he did it in the most generic way possible, to hit a Top 40 crowd?
I'm sure if Cobain was still alive, he would have come up with some weird shit too. But, that's the key. Weird, different, creative, whatever. This is really none of that. Chris is capable of writing so much better than this, even if he has to meet Timbaland in the middle, and you know, maybe challenge him to do something better than his usual pro tools fare with the occasional annoying noise as a beat.
Did he meet him in the middle? Hell no. I don't think Timbaland nudged one bit on this. Kinda ironic.
And I don't think anyone expects a Badmotorfinger reprise. That would be just as silly. But, geez, use your talent some, he was a much better musician when he didn't want to be a rock star, instead of now, where he fully embraces it, and he floats.
I mean, where's the guitar? It's gone missing. The guitar smashing cover art for this album is hilarious. He left the guitar behind years ago. LOL, you normally see frontmen who can't play the guitar and pick it up as they go along. I mean, even Axl Rose got off his ass and tried to. Chris has done the opposite.
I don't like the new stuff, but I totally expected cornell to do some far out shit. With SG he spent the better part of 10 years in the underground Seattle Scene, washing dishes before they made it big- the guy has def paid his dues.
Cornell has made his career out of genre jumps. I think his fans are used to it to a *degree*. Ed is comfy within the scared fold of PJ.
And wasn't that like his fourth show in that city? I don't know many artists that would sell out repeatedly including PJ.
Where were these genre jumps? The music just got progressively less noisy and then he hooked up with the RAtM band, and they eventually segued off into a slightly funk/R&B direction. (Which I don't think was a leap for Morello) Then they ceased to be.
Yeah, his last album was kinda singer-songwriter "beach music" type stuff, but you make it sound like he's been everywhere. He jumped about 5 steps
between these two albums, which would be the first time he's ever done anything like that.
hopefully he reads it as a response to his new material and not a defense of even further pop pandering down the road
http://seanbriceart.com/
You're stretching in alot of places. Ben should get credit for pretty much every up-tempo "punk" song they've written. That's his influence. Ben had a ton of influence in SG, I never realized it until I started playing and ripping up their songs in fancy tabs and such. Didn't understand why he was so pissed off back in the day when it was obvious they were having problems. Now I know why, that was almost as much his baby as Chris', especially at the end.
EM isn't pop. It's Chris' Soundgarden influence with input from Eleven. Much less noisy and a logical progression from Chris' DOtU work. You could have dropped alot of his DOtU songs on there and they would have worked.
The biggest difference between their "metal and hard rock" is production. Soundgarden wasn't leaping genres, it was a bunch of people's influences melted down into something.
Temple of the Dog was something different, definately in his singing, but it does sound alot like Mike, too, though. Working with different musicians gets different results.
I think we have a winner of the annual PJMP straw clutching contest.
I don't see any stretch at all. They are still legitimate differences between albums no matter what your calling them. I find it hard to belive that the difference between BMF and SU are only production-SU is a totally differant beast. They sound like two completely differant bands.
BTW I also don't honestly like the idea of calling EM pop (my bad) but I don't really no what to call it to be honest. Perhaps its the closest thing to Jeff Buckely I've heard.
And sure Ben has influence-Im well aware of his punk ties but which ever way you pull it, Cornell is the common denominator. The fact is SG (and Cornell) has surrounded himself continously with people which allow him to try differant things.
Sure I wasn't claiming that the entire albums are genre specific-but large parts of them are.
Take "get a way car" or "last remaining light" off Audioslave's ST-that sounds like blues to me. "Kick Stand/ Ty Cobb/ No Attention/ An Unkind etc" are punk songs. I don't care and it doesn't matter who wrote them or that the band was considered a "hard rock band". Thats what they sound like to me.
Not to get in on this arguement, but remember SG did have alot of up-tempo puck influenced songs before Ben was even there.
Pros:
- Overall performance. Despite headlining last night (8/6) in Las Vegas, Cornell showed little signs of fatigue. He engaged the crowd between virtually every song and, most importantly, demonstrated once more his return to near-peak vocal form since the start of the Carry On/Scream touring.
- Intro/outro. The string version of "Black Hole Sun" was an excellent touch, and got the audience pumped before Cornell and Co. hit the stage.
Cons:
- Predictable setlist. He played all but one of the 12 songs during his concert in Tucson last April. The exception was "Be Yourself," which is hardly a personal favorite. Fans inexplicably voted for "Can't Change Me" over "Set It Off," "Blow Up The Outside World," or "Loud Love."
- New songs (and, by extension, additional touring band member). Cornell stuck to "Watch Out" and "Long Gone" from his new album, and both drew only polite applause and groans from fellow listeners on the venue lawn. The keyboardist, obviously a Timbaland lackey, managed to not be too intrusive, as Cornell's vocals stampeded over his.
Setlist (more or less in chronological order):
Cochise
No Such Thing
Outshined
Spoonman
Watch Out
Hunger Strike
Like A Stone
Can't Change Me
Show Me How To Live
Long Gone
Black Hole Sun
Rusty Cage
***
Epilogue: I consider this performance the best I've seen from Cornell live. Although I would have liked to hear something relatively underplayed from within his catalog (even "What You Are" would have sufficed), he nailed every song he did and then some.
However, a thought nagged me as I drove home. I still can't help but suspect that Cornell, to a slight extent during the Carry On touring and to an exponentially greater one at present, is intent on selling out his past work to return to mainstream relevance. I scanned the audience frequently last night, and what I noticed was a vast range in age, representing not only the younger fans who might have learned of him through Audioslave or later, but also quite a few middle-aged folks who doubtless rocked out to "Outshined" and that ilk when they first hit airwaves. Throughout the performance, I picked up on at least three indicators of Cornell trying to exploit these people, for lack of a better phrase, to sustain their interest in him and get them to purchase Scream.
The first was the setlist, which included songs recorded from 1990 to 2008. It was clearly meant to correspond to the age disparity above described. The second, curiously enough, was his outfit. With his long, curly hair, lack of shirt, long shorts, and black boots, Cornell appeared fresh-picked from filming the music video for "Jesus Christ Pose." Older fans could conceivably recognize that, presumably making his renditions of the new songs more palatable despite an inherent juxtaposition, while perhaps younger fans would appreciate his "edgy" choice of outfit and/or well-toned physique. The final indicator was a rather blunt marketing tactic: the depiction of the Scream album cover before, during, and after Cornell performed each new song. The cover art, as we well know by now, shows him breaking a guitar -- maybe while muttering, "Didn't use this; might as well get rid of it" -- and looking generally fierce and very rock-star. This visual, I'm sure, was meant to have the same effect as his outfit, and each of those images basically reinforces the other's effectiveness. In all, I believe these indicators point to Cornell trying to rein in as many diverse groups of people as he can at each venue, playing to their respective sensibilities and tastes toward a profitable end once Scream (not the hit Michael Jackson single, remember) is ready for purchase.
This is an extremely cynical view, especially as an addendum to a positive concert review, but too many ominous pieces were apparent to me and seemed to fit. I'm interested to see what others think, especially if anyone actually agrees with this outlook.
***
Sorry for the length here, but I know that people have been interested in how he's performed of late, as well as integrated his new material. The two new songs he played were mostly atrocious (though better than the recorded versions) and sounded woefully out of place with the likes of "Outshined," "Rusty Cage," and even "Be Yourself."
Final note: I'm betting that "Never Far Away" comes immediately after "Long Gone" on the album. The music that ends the latter would seem to flow well into that of the former, and thematically the lyrics are complimentary ("Now I'm gone" --> "Now that's I'm gone, you're still never far away").
Forgive the immediate above: I like to do CSI in my spare time ...
http://seanbriceart.com/
"Listen, hear, he is inside
One who lives while others lie
I close my eyes and walk a thousand years
A thousand years that arent mine
It seems hes near me as I walk
One who loved what love denied
He lives these years that I walk blind
All these years cannot be mine
Tomorrow begat tomorrow"
now THOSE are lyrics
http://seanbriceart.com/
what happened to the Chris Cornell I saw last year belting out "Say Hello to heaven".. and "Slaves and Bulldozers"...??????
.. nailing accoustic versions of "Seasons" "Black Days" and "Billie Jean"..
???
I want to go into the "way back " machine..
I don't like the "new" CC at all...
EV intro to Chloe Dancer / Crown of Thorns
10/25/13 Hartford
Well, it seems that you are right about him trying to get the max album sales possible and working his usual audience. Except for the part about his dress - Arizona in August, no shirt with shorts - thats what I've been wearing most of this summer.
Essentially, the new songs themselves are determine the amount of sales. Many old fans are already set against buying this. His outfit doesn't change the sound. All bands play their "hits" at concerts, except may be Radiohead. And bands have some sort of big poster or sheet that displays their new album in hopes of the audience recognizing it in the stores. And he possibly is very impressed with how he looks in his new photos. Obviously, he trying to sell his album - what a strange thing for you to be paranoid of. I mean, thats what recording musicians try to do weather they are selling it out of their trunk or through a big label. What is wrong with Cornell trying to "rein in as many diverse groups as he can at each venue" ???
http://seanbriceart.com/
I think Kim Thayil wrote those lyrics
http://seanbriceart.com/
They need each other, Kim can't sing, lol.