I bought this album back in 2002, on the same day I thought I had a deadly heart condition. Long and boring story, every week I think I have some deadly illness.
For example, right now I'm pretty sure my liver is on its last legs. This might be the last you ever hear from me. Or maybe it's my appendix that's aching? Wait, they're not on the same side of the stomach, are they? If so, they might be working as a team. Say a prayer for me.
It's probably the liver, as I've been drinking since noon. Not enough drunken posting on this blog these days. Kiss me, Mr Bacardi. You animal.
So then, Audioslave. You sort of expected to hear Rage Against The Machine with Chris Cornell singing on top of it, and you were right. The result sounded alarmingly like Led Zeppelin. Minus the blues of course, Tom Morello couldn't play the blues if his dusty broom depended on it. See what I did there?
Cochise, Set It Off and Gasoline aren't bad, but hardly interesting as they rely a bit too heavily on the old Rage Against The Machine template with chunky Zeppelin-ish riffs and Tom Morello's retarded bleepy & bloppy R2-D2 solos. It just feels like they could've thought of something more original, is all.
Where the album really shines is where they step away from the RATM template and create something of their own, like the funky verses of Exploder, the aptly titled Hypnotize, or any of the softer pieces that wouldn't sound out of place on Soundgarden's Down On The Upside.
But at the time I can't help but fucking love songs like Show Me How To Live and Bring 'Em Back Alive, which also sound like little more than RATM songs with Cornell wailing on top of 'em.
Gah! So conflicted!
I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that The Last Remaining Light is as good as anything Cornell has ever recorded. It's right up there with Euphoria Morning, Badmotorfinger and the Temple Of The Dog record.
They almost make me forget Audioslave's shockingly dull and toothless follow up album Out Of Exile (which contained exactly one good song) and their dire swan song Revelations (which of course contained no good songs).
They cannot however quite make me forget the cringe-worthy experience of seeing and hearing Cornell struggle his way through Rage Against The Machine numbers like Killing In The Name or that Timbaland thing (what the hell was that?).
But they're at least good enough to make me forgive him for it. Almost.
As much flack as Audioslave has gotten, a fair share of it came from yours truly, I can't deny that this is overall a great record. It may have three or four songs too many and it may have been the only worthwhile thing they ever released, but it's a damn fine piece of classic rock.
(mp3) Audioslave - Bring 'em back alive
(mp3) Audioslave - Getaway car
(mp3) Audioslave - The last remaining light (recommended!)
Buy it @ Amazon.com
6 comments:
Audioslave were a brilliant band.
I agree with your sentiments. Show Me How to Live is a particular standout, especially with the video being one long reference to Vanishing Point
Also, I've sent well wishes to your liver. Consider it saved... for now.
Brilliant album.
When I saw them, Chris Cornell came out and before starting said "we're Audioslave, and tonight we will rock your face." Considering the dark times for rock (we'd by now seen through nu-metal's empty promises), this was a time to rejoice. But their downfall has been documented, so I won't beat that dead horse. Heartbreaking, but sometimes you look for hope too quickly after one good album.
Live long enough, and suck gets us all. We should be happy that a supergroup not involving Mikael Akerfeldt gave SOMETHING to the world.
The real album's cover did not say Audioslave on it. If your's does, your opinion is generally not to be trusted.
Yes it sounded like a modern Led Zeppelin. But YES it was F~ING GOOD!!! As Dollface said, this was like a one-album rock rennaisance at the time. AND--none of the participants were classic at that time. They were all faded, perhaps over. NOW they are all all-time classics.
This album sounds thick, is uncompromising in it's way, and is very good.
The second album is also very good--please re-listen and reappraise. It is generally more like Audioslave--meets--Soundgrden... so you can't say that that makes some tracks on the first album better, then say the second album is terrible. Contradiction.
Oh--and me loves the album cover.
I've re-listened to the second album a number of times over the years.
And guess what? Every time is was fucking shit.
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