In Memoriam: Chris Cornell
20th July 1964 – 18th May 2017
Written by Bridget Herlihy. Photography by Doug Peters.
In 2015 the mighty Soundgarden headlined what was to be the final West Fest at Mt Smart Stadium, playing an electrifying and diverse set of material from a career spanning over three decades. As fate would have it, it was also Soundgarden’s last appearance in New Zealand. From Hunted Down, the band’s first single, which was released on Sub Pop records, to Gun from the Louder Than Love, to the beautiful Taree from King Animal, which was sadly to be Soundgarden’s final album. Perhaps one of the greatest highlights of the night was a rendition of Birth Ritual, a track that featured on the soundtrack to Singles, the Cameron Crowe film inspired by the death of Cornell’s friend Andrew Wood of Mother Love Bone notoriety (which saw Cornell make a cameo appearance). It was without a doubt a set that not only left Soundgarden fans with a loud ringing in their ears, but on a proverbial high for days afterwards from a set that had to be seen – and heard – to be believed.
As anyone who had the good fortune of seeing Chris Cornell perform live can attest, whether it was with Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Audioslave or solo, he was a musician whose talents truly were second to none. Since his untimely passing a year ago today (18 May 2017), many have proclaimed that Cornell was one of the greatest voices of our generation. And he was. Yet he was also much, much more. He was also a great songwriter and musician, having released an impressive four solo albums of his own material. He had the rare gift of being able to leave his audience totally and utterly entranced by his performance, holding them in the palm of his hand with the sheer power of his stage presence and performance, no matter how scaled back it was. Seeing Chris Cornell live was quite simply magical.
Although a year has gone by it still seems somewhat surreal to be referring to him in the past tense. Yet Cornell has left the enduring legacy of a canon of work that will continue to resonate with fans, both old and new, for generations to come. Perhaps the best way we can honor his legacy is to play his albums – loud – and continue to soak up their brilliance.
In memory of the late and great Chris Cornell on the first anniversary of his passing, Ambient Light would like to take you on a stroll down memory lane with some superb images captured by Ambient Light Photographer Doug Peters at what was to be Soundgarden’s final New Zealand show at West Fest, Auckland, on 3 March 2015.
Setlist:
- Spoonman
- Kyle Petty, Son of Richard
- Gun
- Been Away Too Long
- The Day I Tried To Live
- My Wave
- Like Suicide
- Outshined
- Taree
- Drawing Flies
- Hunted Down
- Birth Ritual
- Black Hole Sun
- A Thousand Days Before
- Fell On Black Days
- Blow Up The Outside World
- Mailman
- Rusty Cage
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