Chris Cornell Distills His Legacy on Solo ‘Higher Truth’ Tour (Photos)

Chris Cornell is a rock icon with an illustrious career. During the first of his two shows at the Beacon Theater in New York, his new home town, Cornell, like every other stop on the tour I imagine, received a standing ovation after nearly every song. The man has a tremendous presence and his musical legacy, with Soundgarden, Audioslave and four solo albums under his belt, has cemented a place for him beyond his original grunge roots. As Radio.com noted, “it seems Chris Cornell has learned to stop worrying and enjoy the fortunate position that he’s in: he’s healthy, he looks as good as he did in the ’90s and sounds even better (at least when he performs).”

Cornell is touring this year on the back of a solid new solo album, Higher Truth and he’s also re-released his first solo album, Euphoria Mourning (with the title as originally intended) on vinyl for the first time. One of the tracks from the latter album, “When I’m Down” featured the pianist Natasha Shneider. Unfortunately Shneider had passed away in 2008 but Cornell treasured her piano accompaniment so much he incorporated her backing track into the set via a specially pressed vinyl. Cornell’s musical collaborator on stage this night was multi-instrumentalist Brian Gibson on cello. I’m particularly fond of the Audioslave tracks so “Doesn’t Remind Me” was one of the standouts for me but another cover, Dylan’s “The Times They are A-Changin'” proved a great addition to Cornell’s “Songbook”. (I do wish I could have seen the second show at the Beacon as Cornell’s daughter Toni joined him for Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song”.) Beyond his appreciation for his musical influences, Cornell showed a level of appreciation for his audience as high as they showed him as presented them with a set of over 24 songs. The Soundgarden tracks like “Rusty Cage” (in a countrified version) and “Black Hole Sun” got some of the biggest applause but people cheered almost as much for newer tracks like “Higher Truth”. Cornell’s solo tour will leave an indelible mark as the man is at the top of his game. I can’t wait for him to come around again.

TOUR DATES

Nov 30 – QPAC Concert Hall, Brisbane

Dec 1 – QPAC Concert Hall, Brisbane

Dec 3 – Llewellyn Hall, Canberra

Dec 4 – Palais Theatre, Melbourne

Dec 5 – Palais Theatre, Melbourne

Dec 7 – Festival Theatre, Adelaide

Dec 8 – Perth Concert Hall

Dec 9 – Perth Concert Hall

Dec 11 – Sydney Opera House

Dec 12 – Sydney Opera House

Dec 13 – Sydney Opera House

SET LIST

Before We Disappear

Can’t Change Me

Moonchild

The Times They Are A-Changin’ (Bob Dylan)

As Hope & Promise Fade

Nearly Forgot My Broken Heart

Fell on Black Days

Thank You (Led Zeppelin)

Call Me a Dog

You Know My Name

Doesn’t Remind Me

Blow Up the Outside World

Let Your Eyes Wander

Billie Jean (Michael Jackson)

When I’m Down

Worried Moon

Rusty Cage

Sunshower

Black Hole Sun

I Am the Highway

Nothing Compares 2 U (Prince)

Hunger Strike

Wooden Jesus

[encore break]

Josephine

Higher Truth