Chris Cornell- Carry On

MINE

I don't even like Soundgarden much, and my views on Audioslave have already been noted here.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

YOURZ

Bought on a whim, Carry On is the second solo album from the former Soundgarden and Audioslave vocalist.  While there's no denying he has one of the best voices in the world, instantly recognisable and awesome in both power and passion, I don't think I've listened to this album more than a half dozen times.

I don't want to say this, but without the backing of some of the bands he's previously fronted, it all sounds a bit boring and over-earnest.  Frankly, it's disappointing.  No wonder he's gone back to his old band.  Now, when are Soundgarden going to tour here?

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

For more information: http://www.chriscornell.com/

The Smashing Pumpkins - Adore

MINE

Yes, it's not their biggest seller or anything but I like Adore.  I was thinking that  I have to say that, because I bought it, but actually I don't, because I've freely admitted to buying dross before.  I guess I like it because I really wasn't exposed to a whole lot of Pumpkins before this.  I mean, I'd heard a fair bit of Siamese Dream but never owned it, and every single one of my radio-school mates owned Melon Collie so I never bothered buying it, and then when I heard the band had a new album out, I thought, well, it's bound to be good.  And I really think it is.

It's a quiet, reflective album and I particularly like Ava Adore and Once Upon A Time.  I think it's one of those albums that's nice to put on when it's rainy outside and I'm inside reading a book and occasionally something will make me look up and listen to the music.

But maybe that's because I'm focusing on what Adore has, rather than what it's missing. I will say that Billy Corgan's voice can give me the shits after a while.  He's almost as whiny as Thom, but at least the tunes are better.

VERDICT:TURN IT UP

YOURZ

Ah, the finicky, fickle fall of the pointy stick. If only for a few centimetres, it might have hit on a few better albums from The Smashing Pumpkins. But it didn't, it touched down on Adore instead. At least I get to tell you how fucking awesome it was to stand between the crowd and the stage at the Big Day Out in '94 while the Pumpkins ripped the fuckin' place apart. (Yes, for those more observant readers, yes, it was the same occasion I saw Soundgarden - truly memorable).

What followed this tour was recording and releasing Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and the touring accompanying it. This in turn led to drummer Jimmy Chamberlin being sacked from the band due to his implicition in the OD death of keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin. Chamberlin's massive drumming was replaced by machines and session musos for the Adore sessions. It might have, as one reviewer said, sorted the 'true' fans out from those who liked them for their big sellers but the reality is The Smashing Pumpkins without Jimmy just weren't the same band.

This was the beginning of the end, as far as I'm concerned.  Eschewing the huge stadium rock they were well known for and presenting a set of more subtle electronic-laden material frankly made them sound like Garbage wannabes (no offence to Garbage, of course.  Ironically is was Butch Vig of Garbage who produced the first two Smashing Pumpkins albums).  To top it off, Billy's petulant and increasingly meglomaniacal behaviour only drove a wedge between him and the rest of the band, eventually leading to departure of D'Arcy and the inevitable breakup.

There are a few nice moments on Adore, but these are more associated with the its lavish production and soundscapes, almost sounding like a soundtrack for a movie at points, something furthered by Corgan's admission that this is a "concept album without a concept."  Yeah, thanks for trying to be clever, Billy, but its simply not enough to hold my interest.

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN before I bitch slap the whine outta ya, Billy-boy!

For more information: http://www.smashingpumpkins.com/

In our collection, we also have Gish, Siamese Dreams, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, Pisces Iscariot and Machina

Audioslave - Audioslave

YOURZ

I had high hopes for Audioslave, both the band and the album, I truly did.  I've been a big fan of Chris Cornell, both as a guitarist and vocalist since his days with the mighty Soundgarden.  (I saw them at the 1994 Big Day Out while standing in the pit between the stage and the audience, thanks to an ex-girlfriend's press pass - hi Leah!).  RATM hasn't had the same impact but I certainly can't deny their appeal.

This self-titled debut has all the bits of both Soundgarden and Rage Against The Machine that made both bands something special.  RATM fans would probably disagree with me but Chris' vocals add such a fuckin' huge dimension to the powerhouse trio from Rage, it's hard not to be blown away by the huge sound Audioslave achieve.  At least at the start, anyway.

The reality of what they do, however, is somewhat disappointing.  I wanted it to be more than what it was.  The first few songs teased me into believing it would be.  Cochise is the best song Rage never did and I haven't tired of listening to it.  Show How To Live backs up the promise with brooding intent - Cornell's croon is just superb.  Then Gasoline's groove adds another dimension and had me nearly sold.  But the rest of the album falls over its great, stumbling rock feet and the smash I expected suddenly becomes kind of predictable and, frankly, formulaically boring. (Mine says: what a shock- we agree!)

The best piece of news I've heard in ages is that Soundgarden are getting back together.  Perhaps then Chris can put this behind him and move forward.  As for Audioslave, well, the aforementioned tracks will be making their way on to the iPod but that's about it.   

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

MINE

Does every rock guitarist want to make a Led Zeppelin album?  Really, take a listen to Cochise.  Is that, or is that not, Whole Lotta Love?  A pretty poor version, too.  Quite frankly there's a whole bunch of songs on this album that are either versions of Zep or Black Sabbath or some other shouty-boy music.

I did like Hypnotise, and again this album is well constructed and mixed.  Just boringly derivative for the most part.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

For more information: http://www.audioslave.com/