In celebration of the recording legacy of musical icon and singer/songwriter Chris Cornell, Ume (Universal) and Vicky Cornell on behalf of The Chris Cornell Estate have announced the release a 17-track self-titled album, Chris Cornell and a 64-track limited-edition deluxe box set featuring 11 previously unreleased songs. Due out on November 16th, this is the first release since Cornell’s passing in 2017.
Chris Cornell commemorates his life and legacy not only as a singer, but as a poet and one of the most prolific writers and greatest voices of the modern rock era. Vicky Cornell worked extensively with her late husband’s bandmates and friends to compile this collection of music from his nearly 30-year career. Both the album and box set present material from Cornell’s extensive career as a solo artist and work with Soundgarden, Temple Of The Dog and Audioslave.
“Since Chris’s sudden passing, I have put all my efforts and energy into sharing his music and legacy with his fans from all over the world,” says Vicky Cornell. “I felt we needed to create a special collection to represent all of him – the friend, husband and father, the risk taker and innovator, the poet and artist. His soaring vocals found their way into the hearts and souls of so many. His voice was his vision and his words were his peace. This album is for his fans.”
The first unreleased track, “When Bad Does Good,” was produced, recorded, and mixed by Cornell and was found in his personal recordings archive. A favorite of the late Soundgarden rocker, it wasn’t until friend Josh Brolin reminded Vicky, of the unreleased song that she decided to share it with his fans.
Check out the lyric video for “When Bad Does Good”
The breadth of all 17 selections on Chris Cornell display the full span of his artistic achievements, from the full-on kick of Soundgarden’s seminal “Black Hole Sun” to the mournful yearning of Temple of the Dog’s “Hunger Strike” to the sensitive depth of Audioslave’s “Like A Stone” to his spot-on solo theme to the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale, “You Know My Name.” This collection also contains a pair of unreleased recordings: a touching cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” that was cut live at Sirius XM, and “When Bad Does Good.”
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The album also features a 32-page booklet with many unreleased photos, and liner notes from bandmates and colleagues Kim Thayil, Matt Cameron, Tom Morello, Mike McCready, and Brendan O’Brien. The 180g 2LP edition comes in a gatefold jacket with similar limited-edition slipcase graphics, a 12-page booklet, and the aforementioned liner notes, while the 4CD limited-edition box boasts a further expanded 54-page booklet.
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Additionally, a limited-edition Super Deluxe 4CD, 1DVD, and 180-gram 7LP box set is set for release on November 16. The Super Deluxe edition holds 88 tracks — 64 songs plus 24 videos, with 13 entries (11 audio + 2 video) previously unreleased overall. Also included in the Super Deluxe box are a 66-page hardcover photo book wrapped in linen with a red foil signature cover, three artist lithos, three photochromatic lithos inspired by Cornell’s lyrical fascination with the sun (images are brought to life by holding under direct sunlight), a turntable mat, a microfiber vinyl cleaning cloth, and a 36×48-inch wall poster.
The box set’s ten unreleased live performances include Cornell’s duet with Yusuf/Cat Stevens on “Wild World” and a duet with his daughter, Toni Cornell, covering Bob Marley’s indelible classic, “Redemption Song.” Temple of the Dog’s 25th anniversary reunion/first-ever-official tour in 2016 is highlighted with hometown performances of “Reach Down” and the Andy Wood/Mother Love Bone favorite “Stargazer,” Cornell’s personal arrangement of “One” featuring the lyrics to Metallica’s song set to the music of U2’s song of same name, and a first ever album release of Audioslave’s 2005 ground-breaking performance on Cuban soil of “Show Me How To Live.”
Also included is one of Cornell’s personal career-topping moments – a 2016 performance at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall in London where he covered The Beatles’ “A Day In The Life.”
The final three live selections “Wide Awake,” “All Night Thing” and Led Zeppelin’s “Thank You” are from Cornell’s first acoustic solo show in 2006 – a performance that became the creative spark for his highly successful Songbook tours.
Rounding out the set are two unreleased music videos – a solo acoustic performance of “Scream” and the newly edited Soundgarden video “Live To Rise,” showcasing the band only without The Avengers movie footage included.
You can pre-order the album now at ChrisCornell.com.
