Chris Cornell - Songbook

I am not in the habit of using this space to cover previously tread ground. Greatest hits, live records, reissues, songs that have been released before. But this week saw a lack of any new album released that I'm going to have any thoughtful response too. So, I chose the new live, acoustic release by Chris Cornell. It helps that I love Cornell. It also helps that I got the record for free for buying a concert ticket. Win-win. (Unless it sucks)

The album opens with what I considered the only saving grace from his Timbaland-produced Scream album. Then, it was a blues-ballad hidden-track called "Two Drink Minimum" - now inexplicably called "As Hope and Promise Fade". We also lose, for some reason, the John Mayer co-writing credit. This is the kind of song that serves much better in an acoustic format, ditching the uptown high-class studio buzz of 90's-Eric Clapton-style "blues" for something a little grittier.

More quality versions exist with the Audioslave covers. Because, even with the excitement of a Tom Morello et. al. performance, the songs chosen from their catalog here are amoung the more placid and mid-tempo. So we're not really losing that much and we get to focus on the dynamic voice/lyrics of Cornell.

That's not always true. I'm going to side with the original releases on some of these tracks. "Can't Change Me" for example, gained a lot from the arrangement of Alain Johannes. The Songbook version is certainly good; but we are missing a key element. Same goes for the Temple Of The Dog tracks. Maybe I'm just romanticizing my childhood; but I'm going to side of those sessions- which I consider still to be magical.

Cornell's set, taken from several shows, run the gamut across his career. Pretty evenly spread between his solo career and his various bands. Rounding out the record are a cover of Lennon's "Imagine" and a new acoustic-studio track called "The Keeper". Mellow, but still inspiring despite a lack of any vocal gymnastics. Cornell provides an interesting setlist of career-spanning tunes and delivers them effectively. The recordings are good and Cornell's voice is still in top form. (3.5 of 5 stars)