Chris Cornell - Songbook

Fri 24th Feb, 2012 in Music Reviews

Those lucky enough to have caught Chris Cornell on his Songbook tour would not only have witnessed an amazing night of musical talent, they would also know that the many years of Cornell’s career have not taken their toll on the man’s voice. For those who missed out on the shows, the songbook album is the next best thing, fifteen recordings of moments from the tour which Cornell performed by himself in an acoustic format.

Whilst the record unfortunately does not include all of the brilliant covers, or the amazing versions of Spoonman, that were performed on the tour, it does capture a range of beautiful renditions from Cornell’s Soundgarden, Audioslave, Temple Of The Dog and solo catalogues. The two cover versions that were chosen for this collection, Led Zeppelin’s Thank You and John Lennon’s Imagine, are given the unique Cornell make over and rival the original numbers for the album’s highlights. Of the original tracks, it is really hard to go past the versions of Fell On Black Days and Black Hole Sun, which remind us all just how great these songs really are.

The recording quality is outstanding, a pair of headphones will make you feel like you are in the room with the performer and there is enough between song banter to bring across the relaxed and playful mood that Cornell maintained during the shows. The record ends with a studio recording of a song titled The Keeper, full of catchy melodies and set to a constant finger-picked acoustic, this track is a must have for Cornell fans. Everybody enjoys hearing alternate versions of songs they know and love, especially acoustic versions when they are performed well, and there isn’t a moment on this record that can be faulted. If it wasn’t for the cheers of the crowd, it would be easy to forget that these are live recordings.