One day Chris Cornell will be remembered as rock ‘n’ roll’s greatest vocalist ever. That’s my prediction. Until that assessment is actually published by someone more important than me, Cornell will continue to build on his long list of musical accolades that defines him as one of music’s elite.
The vocally gifted Seattle native co-ushered in the whole “grunge” movement in rock music while fronting Soundgarden back in the early ‘90s. And he did so in tandem with his fellow Seattle-based grunge icons Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains.
This is one of the few men who reshaped the direction and helped give birth to an entirely new genre of rock ‘n’ roll. Of course this is clichéd and well-known information for most, but you must acknowledge this when talking about Cornell’s contributions to music.
Nonetheless, Cornell will bring his solo acoustic “Songbook” tour to The Brown Theater on Thursday, Dec. 8, with Craig Wedren opening.
This show will deliver heavy doses of Soundgarden and Audioslave hits, with a mix of Cornell’s solo material and a few random covers, too. Cornell’s been known to cover everything from Michael Jackson to Led Zeppelin to The Beatles to Pearl Jam, putting his own spin on each selection.
The real treat will come with how he acoustically tames songs from albums like Badmotorfinger and Superuknown, where the songs were mainly written around choppy power chords and heavy, dirty guitar rifts.
Cornell, a vocal-gymnast whose abilities are almost limitless, will amaze those who have an appreciation for true vocalists. And he’ll hypnotize all of us maniac Generation Xer’s – whom Cornell wrote about 50 percent of our drunken and drug-addled high school soundtracks for - so we’ll get to reminisce back to the 1990’s once again. He’s one of the most gifted musicians to ever be given a microphone and guitar, and he’s gonna be right here in our own backyard for a night showing you why.
Chris Cornell / Craig Wedren
“Songbook” Tour
Thursday, Dec. 8
The Brown Theater
315 W. Broadway
$34 - $39.50
Kentuckycenter.org
8:00 pm
*Photo courtesy of ChrisCornell.com
**Jason Ashcraft is a freelance music writer who focuses on Kentucky's original music scene. Visit his blog at LouisvilleScuttlebutt.com or you scan this QR code on your smart phone to view the mobile site:
