Album of the Week: Audioslave

Today is the beginning of a new feature on the blog: Album of the Week. I’m intending it to be more about revisiting albums from my past and writing about my relationships with them instead of just being a series of reviews. If you don’t understand what I mean by having a relationship with an album, then these Album of the Week posts probably aren’t going to be for you.

I had intended to start this series by with something else after a friend challenged me to step out of my comfort zone and get some dance music into the library. I did, and I’ll post about that next week. Instead, because of the events of the past week, I'm beginning with what I think would be a better, more appropriate place to start.

Audioslave, self-titled debut album, 2002

Chris Cornell died a few days ago, at the age of 52. I had one of his side projects, “Temple of the Dog,” on cassette back in the 90s, but had never been a fan of his band Soundgarden; for me, their sound had always been too muddy, even in the middle of the grunge period. All the same, I could still recognize he was a top-tier singer. When it was announced he’d formed a supergroup with the musician members of Rage Against the Machine, I figured that was worth checking out. Rage’s guitarist, Tom Morello, had established himself as a guitar hero early in his career, arguably more for his effects work and his divergent playing style than any particular virtuosity. When they said this new band, Audioslave, wasn’t going to sound like either Soundgarden or Rage, I was curious to see what they’d come up with. 

The album had a heavy sound to it, like a post-millennial interpretation of classic rock. It was more about songs and riffs than it was about showy playing and effects, even though Tom Morello’s guitar was as instantly recognizable as Chris Cornell’s voice. While the songs didn’t all exactly sound the same, they were similar enough to make the band easily recognizable. The band were getting a lot of airplay on rock radio at the time, and for awhile it seemed like they had a shot at breaking out of the typical supergroup pattern of flaming out after only an album or two. 

 There were a few great songs on that first album that stood the test of time for me, but most faded out of even semi-rotation after the album cycled down and new music came along to take it’s place. “Shadow on the Sun,” “Exploder,” “Light My Way,” and “The Last Remaining Light” were among the standouts.

The one song from the album that resonated with me the most, and remains a favorite today, was “I Am The Highway.” As it happens, I was talking and planning with my teaching partner in her room after school one night last week. She was streaming a radio station from her hometown in Montana while we worked, and "I Am The Highway" came on. It was the first time I'd heard it in awhile, and it ended up stuck in my head for the rest of the night. The following morning I woke to the news that Chris Cornell had passed away.

In the tradition of so many great rock songs, the lyrics to "I Am The Highway" are just ambiguous enough to allow the listeners to interpret what the song means for themselves. In that spirit, I won’t get into what it means to me. Instead, I’ll let you listen and decide. 

I Am The Highway

Rest in peace, Chris. Yet another of our musical heroes gone much too soon.