Chris Cornell – Roundhouse 2007

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Finally the former Soundgarden/Audioslave has returned to Europe for a proper tour for his new solo album Carry On. After a tour in the summer which largely included festival appearances playing a greatest hits set, the new tour promised to include more solo tracks and more obscure album tracks. The setlist didn’t disappoint. An early start time of 8:30 suggested either no support act or a very short support slot, followed by, presumably, a 90-minute show. No support was the case, and although Chris and band came on 15 minutes late, they packed in 135 minutes before leaving the stage at 11pm. Well worth the £25 price tag.

The setlist too was much more satisfying than his Hyde Park Calling set back in June. That set was largely a Soundgarden/Audioslave greatest hits with the two singles from his new album and a Temple of The Dog track thrown in for good measure. While it was enjoyable to rock out to in the rain before the headliners Aerosmith, it wasn’t the most adventurous set he could have pulled out, and certainly didn’t sit well as part of a solo tour. That said, for a festival crowd who are unlikely to be specifically Chris Cornell fans, it was probably a wise move on his part.

This night, with the time to pack in a lot of songs, the selection was a lot more interesting. Some of the big hitters like Soundgarden’s Outshined, Rusty Cage and main set closing trio Black Hole Sun, Spoonman and Jesus Christ Pose, Audioslave’s Show Me How To Live, Be Yourself and immortal Cochise and ‘Casino Royale’ theme song You Know My Name (again featuring composer David Arnold on keyboards) were all still there, but the rest was more unpredictable, and excellent.

None more so than opener Silence The Voices, an album track from Carry On which probably about six people in the capacity crowd actually knew. A strange choice for a opener for sure, especially when he’s been opening with Spoonman for most of the year. As if to make up for the obscure (but rewarding) start he ran through four big numbers in Original Fire (which has been dropped from the set recently), Soundgarden’s Let Me Drown, Outshined and Show Me How To Live. By this point the entire crowd were entirely on side, paving the way for a reflective moment with Say Hello To Heaven from Temple of The Dog. Incidentally Chris revealed that Outshined, from Soundgarden’s Badmotorfinger album was written to deceased Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood, whom he was friends with and whom the Temple of The Dog project was a tribute to.

You Know My Name and the only other out-and-out rocker from the new album, No Such Thing, followed with a brace of Audioslave tracks and Rusty Cage before Chris’ regular solo acoustic mid-set break. What Chris plays in these breaks is changed regularly, and previously it had always, without fail, included his spine-tingling acoustic version of Audioslave’s Like A Stone. This time it didn’t, opting instead for his version of Michael Jackson‘s Billie Jean (also on Carry On, but much better as a solo acoustic track) and mellow Soundgarden pair Fell On Black Days and Blow Up The Outside World, split in a medley by Preaching The End of The World from his first solo album Euphoria Morning.

As ever he ended the acoustic segment by beginning Audioslave’s Doesn’t Remind Me on his own with the rest of the band joining in after the first verse. They then ripped through Cochise and the set’s biggest surprise, Soundgarden’s raucous Ty Cobb. A slight slow down for Arms Around Your Love, the second single from Carry On, before the big main set closing trio.

The encore seemed to be a very sombre affair. A full-band acoustic version of Seasons from the ‘Singles’ soundtrack, Soundgarden’s Burden In My Hand and Wave Goodbye from Euphoria Morning were all popular choices, mainly because they’re so rarely played, but lacked the big-hitting punch of an encore. So, to make up for that, the band descended into a version of Slaves And Bulldozers which included the first line or two of Audioslave’s Like A Stone. The extent to which this worked is up for debate and opinions do vary, but it was something different, and Slaves And Bulldozers itself was sorely missed from the previous leg of the tour. By way of a drum solo they finished off with a cover of Led Zeppelin‘s Whole Lotta Love, a song which Cornell was born to sing.

The mammoth set sent everyone home happy, aside from a few complaints about the level of reverb on Chris’ vocals making it hard to understand what he was singing. Everyone was thrilled with the varied setlist, and Chris was on amazing form.

“ unpredictable, and excellent ”

Setlist: Silence The Voices / Original Fire / Let Me Drown / Outshined / Show Me How To Live / Say Hello To Heaven / You Know My Name (with David Arnold) / No Such Thing / Be Yourself / What You Are > Rusty Cage / Billie Jean (Solo acoustic) / Fell On Black Days (Solo acoustic) > Preaching The End of The World (Solo acoustic) > Blow Up The Outside World (Solo acoustic) / Doesn’t Remind Me / Cochise / Ty Cobb / Arms Around Your Love / Black Hole Sun / Spoonman / Jesus Christ Pose // Seasons (Acoustic) / Burden In My Hand / Wave Goodbye / Like A Stone/Slaves And Bulldozers > Drums > Slaves And Bulldozers > Whole Lotta Love

Written by Andy Lye
More: Gigs, Hard Rock, Chris Cornell