New Cornell, Prince tracks spark a whiplash of emotion

There are two new albums from lost greats out Tuesday. The estates of Chris Cornell and Prince released very different musical offerings to a public that desperately misses their family members like they were one of our own.

Go see ‘Free Solo’

I couldn’t help but be taken by the choice of the first song released by the estate of Seattle’s own Chris Cornell. The first pre-release song from the new 64 tune box set is called “When Bad Does Good.” It begins not with the heavily distorted guitars we associate with Soundgarden or Audioslave, but a solo organ reminiscent of a church service. The lyric in his voice — so vibrant and alive — is beyond ironic, “Standing beside an open grave, your fate decided, your life erased.” This previously unreleased song is one of 11 that have never been heard before. The full release will be in a few weeks.

It’s not know what exactly inspired this song, but I can’t help but think of all the friends and contemporaries that Chris had to bury.

From Kurt Cobain and Layne Staley to Jeff Buckley and Chester Bennington. But the song holds a bitter irony now. It’s hard not to listen and marvel at how the greatest rock voice of his generation is now prematurely silenced.

The other release is less of a career spanning work and more of a snapshot of a time and place. The estate of Prince Rogers Nelson dug through his massive vault and offered up what will likely be the first of many posthumous offerings with “Piano & a Microphone 1983.”

It’s exactly what the title says, Price playing a piano and singing like only he could. This clearly wasn’t intended to be a studio album as you can hear Prince mid-song ask the engineer to adjust his vocals.
We also get a glimpse at his defining song “Purple Rain” as he worked it out the year before the movie and album of the same name was released.

When Prince rode that motorcycle across the big screen in the summer of 1984, his career and pop music would never be the same. This new release gives us a needle drop right before that sonic boom.

I’ve listened to both of these records this week. They make me excited and sad at the same time. It’s an interesting cocktail of emotion. My first sensation is one of excitement to hear the new stuff. Then I’m giddy as I hear moments of greatness. Immediately after that, I’m sad that they both are gone too soon.

Maybe it’s a reminder of my own mortality, maybe I just miss dancing with my sister in front of the living room mirror to “Let’s Go Crazy.”

Perhaps I long for my own coming of age waiting in line at many a Seattle club hoping to catch the magic of the grunge era. Whatever it is, I’m sure I’m not the only one that will listen with a whiplash of emotion to these musical giants’ new music.

“What Are We Talking About Here” can be heard every weekday at 4:50 p.m. and 6:50 p.m. on the Ron & Don Show on KIRO Radio 97.3 FM.