Chris Cornell Carry On

Chris Cornell is a sole man on NZ tour

Chris Cornell is not a prat after all.

Sorry to sound so surprised, but with his brooding, sullen looks and often tortured wail, that's the overwhelming impression you get of the Soundgarden front man and former Audioslave member.

And I was also meant to interview the guy in 2005 but Chris stood me up. There we both were, in a flash Los Angeles hotel suite. Cornell had his back to me as he got a glass of water from the kitchen and then, for some reason, he did a runner, leaving his Audioslave band mate Tim Commerford (formerly of Rage Against the Machine) to it.

But on the phone from Los Angeles, where Cornell is recording a new album with Soundgarden, the bloke who still possesses one of rock 'n' roll's most distinctive voices is chatty and laid-back.

In fact, he's so affable I don't have the heart to hit him up about running out on the interview.

He probably hasn't always been this cheery, what with his past battle with alcohol and drugs (he's now sober), and being one of the creators of music as intense and aggressive as Soundgarden's, he was hardly going to be a calm and contented soul.

But he's happy for a few reasons these days. He's making that Soundgarden record for starters, which will be their first in 15 years after the Seattle grunge metal band reformed last year. Soundgarden (still his best work by the way) did not end well in 1997 when creative differences - Cornell wanted to diversify and head in a more melodic rather than heavy direction - meant they called it quits.

"It's been really ... I guess I want to use the word fulfilling, which is weird," he laughs of recording the new album, although he's not saying too much about it, since it's not out until later in the year.

And at the opposite extreme, he's also loving playing solo - just him and his guitar - on his acoustic Songbook tour, which he brings to New Zealand in October.

During the shows he sings songs from throughout his career, including those of Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog (his early-90s band with members of Pearl Jam), Audioslave, songs from his three solo albums and a handful of covers, including songs by John Lennon, Led Zeppelin, and, um, Michael Jackson's Billie Jean (off 2007's solo album Carry On ).

The first show in Auckland, on October 4 at the 2000-capacity ASB Theatre, sold out in 40 minutes with a second being added, and there is also a date in Wellington.

"To be working between the two worlds, with the tour being so stripped-down, and to have that sandwiched between recording Soundgarden material, which is about aggression, adrenalin, and rhythmic chaos, it's great," he says.

Chris Cornell: Carry on

Chris Cornell Albums, Scream, Euphoria Morning, Carry On, the Roads We Choose - a Retrospective, Part of Me Remix Ep

Billboard

Billboard

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