ALBUM: Chris Cornell – Songbook

Behold, a selection of words that will make a lot of people very excited indeed. Chris Cornell. Singing tracks from all of his former incarnations in Soundgarden, Audioslave and Temple of The Dog as well as covering Led Zeppelin and John Lennon. All live and acoustic. Pretty good, right? You know you’ve reached legendary status when you can release an album entitled ‘Songbook’, and every note sung by Cornell proves that he’s worthy of such acclaim.

It’s the first live album he’s recorded as a solo artist, but it is a truly arresting experience throughout the mammoth sixteen track listing. The combination of that voice with the sound of acoustic guitar is as simple, substantial and satisfying as a hunk of bread and butter… and let’s face it, hunk is an appropriate word when it comes to Chris Cornell. Judging by the sporadic predominantly female whooping sprinkled throughout the tour recordings, there’s a lot of people who are in the firm belief that at 47 years old, he’s still ‘got it’.

It goes without saying that Cornell classics like Soundgarden’s ‘Black Hole Sun’ and Audioslave’s ‘Like A Stone’ sound sublime on this record. The testosterone-smothered growl that weaves through those stripped back iconic choruses are as colossal, yet beguiling as the purr of a sleeping lion. New solo originals ‘The Keeper’ and ‘Cleaning My Gun’ sound totally befitting of this impressive songbook, but it’s with the cover tracks that the record hits a sumptuous high. A uniquely rugged rendition of Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ is a thing of pure beauty, but it’s a delectably gravelly performance of Zeppelin’s ‘Thank You’ that really hits the spot. With a voice made to tackle classic rock, it’s what your ears have always been waiting for.

Written by: Lucy Sanderson

Standout track: ‘Thank You’

For fans of: Audioslave, Soundgarden, classic rock and masculinity.

9/10

Tags: Audioslave, Chris Cornell, John Lennon, Led Zeppelin, Songbook, Soundgarden, Temple of The Dog