Also a huge fan of this phase.
Cornell solo tours are always wonderful, there is a great bootleg from 99, i think denver? with Chris and the band.
Then 2008, with his rock band and Chris doing songs from all the eras, and then the Songbook tour, which it was as intimate as it can get.

I was super lucky to see him in 2008 in a big venue, in 2011 twice at a small theatre and in 2016 in the great teatro colon, here in Argentina.

It was always magical.

For some weird reason, i never cared much for the Songbook album...maybe because of the setlist? not sure.

The fades really detract from Songbook. The performances are mostly great but I tend to throw on a bootleg simply for cohesion.

I first saw Cornell in '07, TLA in Philly and the band held their own and he sounded stellar but the two solo acoustic performances I caught in New Haven ('13) and Ridgefield ('11) were really somethin' else. Ridgefield is such a small room, he completely took it over.

I agree with this, but I am in favor of a single show, warts and all. It gives you the feel for the momentum of the live show rather than what feels like greatest hits (and I am looking at a deluxe version but why two Can’t Change Me’s?)

I remember first time i saw him live, the band did an instrumental intro with Sunshower ( liebzz you should check this gem out) and then blasted Let Me Drown and fuuuuck, he was there. He was an actual human being, it really shocked me a lot (the same happened to me with PJ).

Also the fact that the motherfucker looked and sang like he was in 1994, im sure helped with me being shocked.

I had a similar experience with Temple of the Dog. Maybe because it was Pearl Jam basically playing with him but when he came out I was in awe of how huge he looked. And his voice I thought sounded exceptional.

Also, and maybe inexplicably, I can tell you my buddy was stunned that I was basically singing/yelling along with every song, even the Mother Love Bone songs that I probably only heard a couple dozen times at most over 20+ years. Something about his passion just brought out some level of adrenaline and need to power along. I swore I’d never miss him again, and regretted passing on Soundgarden. It is my #1 all time concert regret.

yeah, i saw him with the band in Alpine Valley and when he came out....it transcend everything. And he was super cool and chill about everything.

I was lucky enough to see him in '96 with Soundgarden, then in Boston during the EM tour and then with Audioslave. He started a little shaky with SG but after a song or two was great. He was out of this world in Boston and then rough but still pretty good with Audioslave.

Soundgarden only ever played two gigs in Ireland, but luckily I was at them both - 1995 and 2013 (I even taped the latter). Saw Audioslave once, in 2003, but never saw him solo. I wasn't a big fan of his solo stuff (apart from EM), but I've heard people describe his acoustic gigs as amazing, so maybe I missed out...

King Animal

There’s a huge amount of risk dropping album 15 years after the last one for Soundgarden. For one, their reputation at that point was pristine. Second, you risk sounding like a cover band of yourselves, merely churning out what fans think you want to hear. And third, often those sorts of albums lack any real creativity, looking to cash in on nostalgia.

King Animal is none of these. Picking up like there was no gap from Down on the Upside, the band sounds just as good as they ever did, powering through another nearly flawless album. While I wouldn’t quite place it with their greatest albums, it certainly more than holds its own. Non-state Actor beckons their heyday, while By Crooked Steps, Bones of Birds, Taree, Halfway There and Worse Dreams push the band a little further in all different ways. Rowing, which you can’t help but mock, also features a real killer bass riff. Blood on the Valley Floor is the rock song we all needed. Been away too long indeed!

Love KA. I agree that —other than Chris’s voice having changed — it does sound like they never took a break. The other big change is that I think some of Chris’s more pop-oriented sensibilities found their way onto the album, but it works really well (A Thousand Days, Taree, Rowing).

But how dare you neglect to call out Attrition by name. That right there is top 20 Soundgarden.

yeah, i love King Animal too.
It feels like the band didnt broke at all....and also feels like a step forward. I agree with Trag, Cornell pop sensibilities, are way more present, specially with a song like Halfway There.

But its also again, a very present album for the band too. Ben, specially, looms all over the music.

yeah Ben really shines on that album.

In a lot of ways it reminds of of STP's Shangri-La... in that it was a reunion of sorts, the production was updated to fit with modern trends, at first glance it might be embarrassing, but if you're really a fan of the band you've got to hear that the songs are just too good to shrug off as a cash grab.

I never thought King Animal was embarrassing- got it from the first listen…sorry about Attrition haha.

It’s more of a reminder that Chris is truly at his best playing with those guys.

Lead single Been Away Too Long was a thematic dice roll, and they doubled down on the risk by opening the album with it. It wasn't until I heard the opening notes of Non-State Actor during my first album spin that I was like "ok they're not just fucking around here."

yeah, i never had the feeling of embarrassment at all.

¨Been Away Too Long¨ was good enough.

Oh i loved that song right away. But I was holding my breath for the rest of the album, kind of scared about what was gonna happen.

Been Away Too Long isn’t a bad song but I almost always skip that and Black Sunday. The rest are great though but I prefer the demo version of Halfway There.

I was in on the first two tunes, but when By Crooked Steps started, Jesus Christ.

yeah, that demo is wonderful.

I would love to hear Ben´s original bridge for Been Away....i feel we got it live tough. The version i saw live in Chile was super cool.