Recently, I began to go through some of my unpublished posts, and found a whole slew of them which should have been published, but somehow never were. This will be the first of those posts. It is about Chris Cornell and his last studio album, which is appropriately tiled "No One Sings Like You Anymore," was released late last year. Here is what I wrote about it (this is not a review) in December, and had since mistakenly assumed had already been published:
Chris Cornell's death took the music world by surprise back in the spring of 2017. I had been a fan of his, and of his band Soundgarden, since back in the nineties. I saw them in Lollapalooza in 1996, and had seen Cornell, specifically, in concert numerous times since then. More than that, I came to appreciate his music even more when I grew older, even though often, perhaps even usually, it is the opposite. Our musical tastes often change, and what may have appealed to us when younger no longer appeals as strongly later on. But with Cornell, it was quite the opposite.
In fact, my son and I bonded over his music, particularly during trips that we took out west. The first of those was in Arizona back in 2015, and the next was the very next year, when we went all across the west, from the redwoods of northern California to San Francisco, then the Mojave Desert, and through northern Utah and Arizona to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, then clipping the "Four Corners" region of southwestern Colorado, visiting Mesa Verde and the San Juan mountains, and finally through a bit of New Mexico before returning back to Arizona. Then again in 2018, when we visited Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, and central Colorado, including Rocky Mountain National Park and the Garden of the Gods, as well as the Manitou Cliff Dwellings, which were fascinating. Listening to Cornell's music sometimes still brings us both back to those times, reminds us - sometimes intensely - of those trips.
One thing that I am glad to have done was to take my son to see Temple of the Dog (ToD), the band that was assembled to produce a famous album that greatly helped to boost the popularity of the then two emerging bands that formed ToD, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam. It wound up being the only time that we would see Cornell in concert, as he died a little more than half a year later. Man, am I glad to have taken him to that show! Who knew? Something told me, though, to take him to see it, and we did.
We still listen to Cornell every now and then. Sometimes it is Soundgarden, sometimes Temple of the Dog, sometimes Audioslave, and sometimes his solo work. He really is a great musician, and we appreciate almost everything that he did. But that also makes it a bit sad, because for a while, it felt like there was not going to be any new music of his released.
Now, the first posthumous compilation of his is finally being released. Not all of it is new, and it is an album of covers, so even if we have not necessarily heard all of these Cornell covers of other artists, there is a lot of stuff that we likely have heard before. Still, it is a good sign.
The album was produced by Brendan O'Brien, a familiar name for anyone who is into the Seattle bands. It was recorded in 2016, and Cornell and O'Brien were the ones who reportedly played all of the instruments for the entire album. The album title is "No One Sings Like You Anymore," which is fitting, because it is true, and these are some iconic lyrics penned by Cornell for a now famous Soundgarden song.
Concerning the album, Vicky Cornell, Chris Cornell's widow, said in a statement:
“This album is so special because it is a complete work of art that Chris created from start to finish. His choice of covers provides a personal look into his favourite artists and the songs that touched him. He couldn’t wait to release it.
"This moment is bittersweet because he should be here doing it himself, but it is with both heartache and joy that we share this special album. All of us could use his voice to help heal and lift us this year, especially during the holiday season. I am so proud of him and this stunning record, which to me illustrates why he will always be beloved, honored, and one the greatest voices of our time.”
Below is the track list of the upcoming album:
No One Sings Like You Anymore track list:
1. “Get It While You Can” — Howard Tate/Janis Joplin
2. “Jump Into The Fire” — Harry Nilsson
3. “Sad Sad City” — Ghostland Observatory
4. “Patience” — Guns N’ Roses
5. “Nothing Compares 2 U” — Prince
6. “Watching The Wheels” — John Lennon
7. “You Don’t Know Nothing About Love” — Carl Hall
8. “Showdown” — Electric Light Orchestra
9. “To Be Treated Rite” — Terry Reid
10. “Stay With Me Baby” — Lorraine Ellison
Below is a link to the article which I used in writing this particular blog entry, as well as from which I obtained all of the quotes used above. Take a look:
Chris Cornell's final completed studio album is released by his family By Rob Laing, December 10, 2020:
At a Chris Cornell solo acoustic show in Reading, Pennsylvania, back in 2013, I was actually able to take a couple of really cool pictures of Cornell in concert. They are some of the best concert pics that I have ever managed to take, and it seemed like a good idea to share them here. So, here they are, in remembering Cornell and the great music that he gave us.
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