Chris Cornell Passio

It’s a crystal clear memory of mine, when I saw the music video of Hands All Over on MTV. The television set was placed in the middle of the wall to wall, floor to ceiling bookshelf in the main room of my parents’ new house in Gödöllő, and for a short time, I had access to the music television channel. I was rooted to the ground when the song started. Since the audio experience is always much more important to me than video, I thought on this piece as a black and white production for decades. The TV was monochrome.

The music I heard then touched me deeply. Only Over My Head from 

 had the same lasting impression on me in that period, and it became evident that I followed every move of 

. I researched backward as well, collected the Screaming Life EP and the Ultramega OK LP, and made a MiniDisc copy of the Deep Six compilation in the Sony Music office when I was already working there.

The Louder Than Love album had a leading role in the fact that I think of 1989 as the most defining year of my musical taste. It shaped me strongly with Blue Garden by Masters Of Reality and Gretchen Goes To Nebraska by King’s X, which albums were copied to a cassette by András Kiss, the editor of Metal Sides fanzine, who is a true friend since then.

It was another fanzine maker friend of mine, Kim, the editor of The Observation Deck from New Jersey, who introduced me to the music of 

. One of her mixtapes included songs from MLB, and Apple, the only album released after the untimely death of Andy Wood, the singer of the band, became my all-time favorite grunge album. After the passing of Andy, his roommate, Chris Cornell, right after returning from a tour, poured his pain into songs (Say Hello 2 Heaven, Reach Down) to write songs, and started to jam with two MLB members (Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament). They were joined by Matt Cameron, then Soundgarden, now 

 drummer and Mike McCready, one of Pearl Jam’s founding members. Then Eddie Vedder walked in, and Hunger Strike was born, and the whole Temple Of The Dog album was released, which is worthy to Andy Wood in every sound of it. The songs like Call Me A Dog and Wooden Jesus are elemental, just like SH2H and HS or the best moments of Apple.

Then inevitably came Badmotorfinger with all-time classics like Jesus Christ Pose, Rusty Cage, Outshined, Searching With My Good Eyes Closed, Room A Thousand Years Wide, Face Pollution and I became a faithful follower of Chris Cornell, which is a rare thing, since I usually adore guitarists. Besides Dio, Bruce Dickinson, Geoff Tate, he is my most beloved singer and the most influential among all, mostly because of his lyrics. Naturally, I understood this much later, when I was able to comprehend more of Chris’ words and myself. Everything was channeled in his music masterly, but it became more nourishing as time passed, as I learned more about him, and life itself. And he still gives and helps when I listen to his body of work.

In light of all this, it won’t be surprising that the leading cause of attending the Guns’ N’ Roses / Faith No More / Soundgarden concert on May 22, 1992, was the very early opening act from Seattle. The immense size of a now demolished Népstadion, the vast crowd, my distance from the stage did not help to create a defining moment in life, but I had to be there.

I purchased the Singles DVD when it was released over here, but I had not seen it until 2018. I am acquitted of watching films, videos. I prefer reading and listening to music.

The Superunknown album released March 8, 1994, found me in the editorial staff of Metal Hammer Hungarica, and I was honored to write the review about the album.

In the same year, I got incredible things from Chris because his contribution makes The Last Temptation to my favorite Alice Cooper album. He wrote Stolen Prayer, and co-wrote Unholy War, which are the gems of this flawless album, and I am glad to listen to any time from beginning to end. Naturally, track 6 and 7 are my favorites, since we can hear Chris vocals there as well. And this album introduced Neil Gaiman to me, who became one of my most loved writers. The album’s companion three-part comic book is the most treasured part of my collection, since both of them signed it for me. I even missed a Black Sabbath concert to be able to meet Neil. It was priceless to see his face when he saw that Alice signed the book already.

The Down On The Upside Down album found me as a dedicated Soundgarden fan, so I like every moment of this offering. For me, it is one of the cornerstones of the Soundgarden trinity.

If the 1999 solo album titled Morning Euphoria contained only Can’t Change twelve times, it would be a perfect album for me, but Preaching the End of the World, Mission, and the other songs are great, even today. (I’ve discovered the French version of Can’t Change Me just after Chris’ death on Spotify. Savory specialty.)

2003 was a turning point for me in appreciating Chris’ art. His lyrics became more and more vital for me, and I have found keytracks in every new album. The first one that hit me hard was Like A Stone from Audioslave. I know that feeling 100%, and I reach back quite often to that song to find my inner peace.

At that time, I was working for Sony Music in Hungary, and I had the privilege to work on the marketing of that album. I vividly remember how much we hoped for an airplay breakthrough in the US to build a local story based on that success. We prepared summaries and reminders to radio stations about the results. Despite the fact that the single went gold in the US, and it became the most successful Audioslave single ever, it failed to cross over: it peaked at #31 on the Billboard Hot 100. Although Like A Stone is the highest-charting Chris Cornell song, including all Soundgarden, Temple Of The Dog, and solo efforts.

I do not have to re-visit Carry On from 2007, to remember the aptly titled You Know My Name from the Casino Royale soundtrack of the James Bond franchise, and the astonishing Killing Birds and the breathtaking cover of Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean.

I have a different opinion from the majority on Scream from 2009. I do not mind that they went into a pop direction with Timbaland, but it is unforgivable that Timbaland was not able to give justice to Chris composition and incredible voice. (I learned only posthumously that the co-writer of the album’s most Cornellian hidden track was John Mayer, who became a huge favorite of mine with the Continuum album.)

In 2012 arrived King Animal, which did not disappoint me. It was full of great songs, and as Rowing closes the album touched me deeply:
“Don’t know where I’m going I just keep on rowing
I just keep on polling, gotta row”

And the last solo album, Higher Truth, is what you can expect from the title. It hurts me a lot ever since.

Chris Cornell gave me strength, conviction even with his death. We have to take care of each other. We have to help the helpless. We have to stand by the ill, those who struggle with drugs, alcohol. In the week of his death, I was making Sisyphean efforts to help somebody, who was very close to me. I have failed then, but losing Chris, gave me extra strength to carry on, to try again. I have to face the problem. I have to understand the situation. I have to find the solution.

I did not cry when I heard the news. Maybe I was too much occupied with the living. Perhaps I knew that his songs would be with me forever. He will inspire me till the end.

As I listen to his songs, again and again, I always find new details that bring old favorite closer to me. I realized that Can’t Change Me, Like A Stone, Rowing had a much deeper meaning for him than for me. These songs that were a melancholic mood for me, they were cries for help from him. They mesmerized me. They pained him. As I research his recordings, I find formidable things. The French version of CCM avoided me initially, but I love these special versions, and the accordion solo is fantastic. Then I found Songbook, which I have never heard before. It is an exciting confirmation: all my favorite songs are there. And those good-humored spoken-word interludes are lovely.

Nearly Forget My Broken Heart.

(Artwork: Csaba Mester)