Day 2: Audioslave - Audioslave
Album cover courtesy of Interscope Records
I have an issue that I need to address for future music quizzing purposes. My brain has decided to save space by putting Audioslave, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden into the same folder. I often know the name of the song, but as artist, I’ll say Audioslave Soundgarden Pearl Jam, since it’s one of the three. At my ripe old age, I’d like to learn how to tell them apart. Enter Audioslave’s Audioslave.
If, like me, you’re struggling, here’s a reminder: Audioslave is a supergroup with Soundgarden’s singer Chris Cornell, as well as Tom Morello, Tim Commerford, and Brad Wilk from Rage Against The Machine. They got together when Rick Rubin set up a meeting with Morello and the remaining Ragers Against the Machine after their singer Zack de la Rocha had exited the band. Temple of the Dog is also a wholly separate band that has members of Pearl Jam and Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell, with Pearl Jam’s vocalist Eddie Vedder also singing on some of the songs. So there’s a fair bit of overlap in various bands between the three.
Cornell said he walked into Audioslave’s rehearsals thinking "I am lucky. I get to be the singer in this band if I get up there and I am good. So I decided to be good." Frankly, I wasn’t even aware that was an option. But the resulting album is also just good. “Like a Stone” is a beautiful song and I can see why it’s so enduring. I also like “What You Are” and “Cochise”. Cornell’s voice is gorgeous on every song. And yet, could I find better songs on the discographies of both Soundgarden and Rage Against The Machine? Absolutely.
It’s an enjoyable album, but nothing about it has blown me away. It’s just a very solid 5.5/10. I unfortunately find that it’s just a little bit boring, in the same way that a person can look so perfect-looking that they’re just not that interesting to look at. To me, Audioslave is like the porridge of rock music: it’s a solid choice and I always enjoy it, but if you told me I can never have porridge again, I’d live.