As I sat there, I immediately knew that the singer was none other than Chris Cornell, currently the lead singer in the wonderful amalgam known as "Audioslave." Formerly, Chris was the long-time lead singer for the Seattle-based "Soundgarden," a great band that disbanded in April 1997. The name of the tune he sings in the new Bond movie is "You Know My Name." Here is a mini-review from Rhapsody, where you can listen to the tune in full if you are a member.
"The Audioslave frontman takes on the coveted task of providing the theme song to the James bond film, Casino Royale. Written and performed by Cornell, the lyrics hew close to your standard 007 themes, analyzing the sinister side of chance, luck, and much moola. The sleek sexiness of past Bond themes is lacking, but menacing bass lines and Cornell's raspy shouts of "You know my name!" give 007 the rock star treatment he surely deserves."In my humble opinion Chris Cornell is today's greatest "pure rock" lead singer. He is in the league with Robert Plant in Robert's heyday with Led Zeppelin. That's why for me, sitting there in anticipation of the movie to come, the sheer surprise and joy of hearing Chris wailing away in the well-termed "sinister side of chance, luck, and much moola" had me in a lather! I hope you all dug it too, even if you didn't really know who or what your were listening to.
You might also note that Cornell's compelling voice was used with awesome effect in the Michael Mann film "Collateral." Recall the scene where the coyote runs through the headlights? The absolutely perfect song that plays behind that scene is Audioslave's "Shadow on the Sun," with Chris doing the vocal.
See, now you know sumpin' new!
~ Tom
5 comments:
Great review on Cornell! Anytime he wails out a song - my ear is tuned!
It's a shame he DOESN'T get the credit he AND Audioslave deserve. Their latest album "Revelations" is fantastic but doesn't fit what young mainstream listeners want - namely lameless EMO dribble. There is not a bad song on "Revelations". I can't give you a favorite song because it always changes.
I'm looking forward to his solo album coming out this spring.
Thanks for hipping me to this Tom, I will check out Revelations immediately, Lal
Tina, you are right. As a test I just listened to "Revelations" in its entirety and it is indeed hard to pick a favorite. I think I like "Somedays" the least but I can live with it. "Shape of Things to Come" is nice, with its surprise key modulation in the tricky bridge, and "Broken City" is rewardingly complicated. Oh, "Original Fire" IS truly hot! Sigh
My favorite Audioslave moment, however, is the jaw-dropping release that comes near the end of "Show Me How to Live" on the first album. After the guitar solo, Chris sings a verse that leads into him repeating the phrase "ready to begin" over and over. At about 3:17 into the track, Brad Wilk starts a very quiet military drum roll behind Chris' repeating phrase and increases it in volume and intensity until the two of them reach the final release, which still blows my mind every time I hear it. Doesn't get any better.
Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with us.
Lal: Not sure the music will be up your alley, but I know you will respect the musicianship. But who knows, maybe you'll dig it.
Nice post Dad! I really liked the Bond movie too and thought that Cornell's song was great. Did you get the Rhapsody to Go yet? I love it! Its cool for the subways out here in NYC. I like the Shiny Toy Guns. Cool band.
Jesse
How could I not know this guy Cornell? I've had XM Satellite radio for almost a year and thought I was keeping up. Sumpin' new is exactly what I learned. I'm headed across the street to Borders now to check out Audioslave.
Thanks, Tom.
Tom
P.S. How cool that your son responds to your post from NYC!
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