A pivotal moment in Tuesday night's concert by rock singer extraordinaire Chris Cornell came, surprisingly, after one of only two songs he performed by his fomer outfit, Soundgarden. The now- solo Cornell stood alone on stage for a pensive, intimate rendering of the Seattle band's grunge anthem "Fell on Black Days", which ends with Cornell howling, "Sure don't mind a change."
One uninhibited fan in the Berkeley Community Theater hollered in assent: "We LOVE the change!" And the normally brooding singer grinned in delight.
The "change" is not just in Cornell's material; the beautiful power- pop of the recently released solo album "Euphoria Morning"- fueled by his extraordinary tenor- gave singer/ songwriter fans a new hero but left some Soundgarden fans unrequited at the metal altar. It also forced him to change his performance MO.
As frontman of Soundgarden, Cornell was a sight to behold; waist- length hair flying, flannel clothes askew, hurling himself with abandon into the moshing audience. Now, having moved past the lamented breakup of the band, he is fashioning himself as a pop singer with a decidedly more spiritual bent. Tuesday night's show proved he has struck a truce between the warring sides of his artistic personality- although it's not uneasy at best.
Cornell seemed at times unsure what to do with himself, perhaps not comfortable yet with his more delicately- shaded material. Rather than playing guitar, he sang front- and- center, and seemed a bit unsure what to do with his hands.
Perhaps comfort will come in time, as the rocker has some fine material now to work with live- good enough that even the most ardent Soundgarden heshers might come around to it. Starting the show 40 minutes late (the rain caused fans to trickle in slowly), Cornell allayed older fans' fears that his live show might devolve into Yanni territory by rocking hard out of the gate, with a rousing version of "Sunshower", recorded for the soundtrack of last year's film "Great Expectations."
He followed with "Can't Change Me," which was a modest modern- rock hit, with its exotic, sitar- like guitar effects. And "Flutter Girl" followed, a delicate and heartfelt ode that epitomizes the new, more sensitive Cornell.
But it wasn't until "Mission" that fans got a dose of what they were panting to hear: Cornell's exquisite voice, cranked up to full blowtorch potential. In any age, Cornell's voice would be stunning, in this day and age where actual SINGING is anomalous, they stand out among rock performers like Pavorotti would if he were singing at a high school choir conference.
Sinewy and sensual, Cornell's back- of- the- throat croon seems to only get better with time (he's now in his mid- 30's). It's always in perfect pitch, even as he slides up and down and all around any given note, bending it before releasing it. Far from a show- off, Cornell can nonetheless skip any octave and make it look easy. That he does so and looks so good doing it makes you wonder why he never became a HUGE rock star, along the lines of Jim Morrison or Robert Plant. I suspect it has something to do with an innate shyness he has.
Cornell has always been big with the ladies, with his perfect rock- star hair and body and clothes (his skinny, hip- hugging jeans hung precariously low Tuesday night). But he never truly courted that side of the biz; instead preferring the solitude of his married life on an island in Puget Sound.
But the ladies certainly do their part to entice him. One handed him a note during the performance, which he took and read. And then grinned and put down. When he took off his coat, there were screams. Ignoring it, he kept on singing.
"Preaching the End of the World" was poignant but electric, and "When I'm Down" proved Cornell could make a fine blues singer, with its classic, torchy rifts, "Pillow of Your Bones" was possibly the closest thing to a Soundgarden song- angry and heavy- bottomed and irresistable.
"Moonchild," written for his wife, is one of the most beautiful love songs in recent memory, and the sighs were nearly audible from the audience. "Like Suicide" was the only other Soundgarden tuen, taken from their mulit- million seller "Superunknown." And the show closed out with a hesitant version of "Follow My Way," the best song from "Euphoria Morning."
Cornell's encore was an exuberant version of "Steel Rain," which evaporated into psychedelic feedback and multi- layers of Cornell's majestic voice. Which was the real Cornell? There are more versions of hm now to choose from. I pick all of the above.
Follow My Way (Links)| Cat on the Road (Tour Dates)| Feathered Trails- A Chris Cornell Tour Chronology| The Truth Can Burn (Articles)|Still Screaming Life
