Audioslave (album)

Audioslave
Studio album by Audioslave
Released	November 19, 2002
Recorded	2002 at Cello Studios, Hollywood, CA; Royaltone Studios, Burbank, CA; Studio Litho, Seattle, WA; Studio K, Seattle, WA; Akadamie Mathematique of Philosophical Sound Research, Los Angeles, CA
Genre	Hard rock, alternative metal, alternative rock, post-grunge
Length	65:26
Label	Epic (non-US), Interscope (US)
Producer	Rick Rubin, Audioslave
Audioslave chronology
Audioslave (2002) Out of Exile (2005)
Singles from Audioslave
"Cochise" Released: 2002 "Like a Stone" Released: 2003 "Show Me How to Live" Released: 2003 "I Am the Highway" Released: 2004 "What You Are" Released: 2004

Audioslave is the eponymous debut studio album by the American rock supergroup Audioslave and was released on November 19, 2002 (see 2002 in music). The album's music features Chris Cornell providing his familiar classic rock-esque wails and croons to the songs. It features the hit singles "Cochise", "Show Me How to Live", "What You Are", "Like a Stone", and "I Am the Highway". The record was certified triple platinum in the US. "Like a Stone" was nominated for the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance.

Background

Audioslave was formed after Zack de la Rocha left Rage Against the Machine and the remaining members were searching for another vocalist. Producer and friend Rick Rubin suggested that they contact Chris Cornell. Rubin played the remaining Rage Against the Machine band members the Soundgarden song "Slaves & Bulldozers" to showcase his ability. Cornell was in the writing process of a second solo album, but decided to shelve that and pursue the opportunity to work with Tom Morello, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk when they approached him. Morello described Cornell: "He stepped to the microphone and sang the song and I couldn't believe it. It didn't just sound good. It didn't sound great. It sounded transcendent. And... when there is an irreplaceable chemistry from the first moment, you can't deny it."^[1] The quartet wrote 21 songs during 19 days of rehearsal and began working in the studio in late May 2001.^[2][3]

Songs from the album were first heard when thirteen rough rehearsal demo tracks were leaked onto various peer-to-peer filesharing networks on May 16, 2002, six months before the official release of the album, under the name "Civilian" (or "The Civilian Project").^[4] According to guitarist Tom Morello "it was very frustrating, especially with a band like this, there is a certain amount of expectation."^[5] He also said that the songs were not in their finished form and that in some cases "they weren't even the same lyrics, guitar solos, performances of any kind."^[5] In an earlier, July 2002 interview with Metal Sludge he spoke more explicitly about the incident, blaming "some jackass intern at Bad Animal Studios in Seattle" for stealing the demos and putting them on the Internet without the band's permission.^[6]

The band was nearly derailed before the album's release; Cornell was going through alcohol problems and a slot on the Ozzfest tour was canceled.^[7] During this time, there was a rumor that Cornell had checked himself into drug rehabilitation. He later confirmed it in an interview with Metal Hammer that was conducted from a clinic payphone.^[8] In a San Diego CityBeat article, Cornell explained that he went through "a horrible personal crisis" during the making of the first record, staying in rehab for two months and separating from his wife.^[9] The problems were ironed out and he has remained sober since this time. The band toured through 2003, before resting in 2004 to record their second album.

This album was released just over ten years after Rage Against the Machine's (Morello, Commerford, and Wilk's former band) debut album was released on November 3, 1992. The album cover was made by Storm Thorgerson (with Peter Curzon and Rupert Truman), who, as leader of the group of artists known as Hipgnosis, may have been best known for his cover work for Pink Floyd.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
PopMatters	(favorable) [10]
Pitchfork Media	(1.7/10) [11]
NME	(4/10) [12]
The A.V. Club	(favorable) [13]
Q	[14]
The Village Voice	(unfavorable) [15]
Allmusic	[16]
Entertainment Weekly	(A-) [17]
Stylus	(F) [18]
Openheartzoo	[19]

The album was released on November 19, 2002 and entered the Billboard 200 chart at position number seven after selling 162,000 copies in its first week.^[21] It was certified gold by the RIAA less than a month after its release,^[22] and by 2006 it had achieved triple platinum selling status.^[23] It is the most successful Audioslave album to date, having sold more than three million copies in the United States alone. The album spawned hits such as "Cochise", "Like a Stone" and "Show Me How to Live".

Despite its commercial success, Audioslave received mixed reviews. Some critics lambasted the group's effort as uninspired,^[24] and predictable.^[25] Pitchfork Media's reviewers Chris Dahlen and Ryan Schreiber praised Cornell's voice, but criticized virtually every other part of the album, calling it "the worst kind of studio rock album, rigorously controlled-- even undercut-- by studio gimmickry." They described Cornell's lyrics as "complete gibberish" and called producer Rick Rubin's work "a synthesized rock-like product that emits no heat."^[11] Jon Monks from Stylus Magazine had the same opinion. He considered Rubin's production over-polished and wrote that "lacking individuality, distinction and imagination this album is over-produced, overlong and over-indulgent."^[26] On the other hand, other critics praised the supergroup's style reminiscent of 1970s heavy metal and compared it to Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath,^[27][28] saying they add much-needed sound and style to contemporary mainstream rock music,^[29] and have the potential to become one of the best rock bands of the 21st century.^[30]

The song "Shadow on the Sun" was featured in the movie Collateral, starring Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx. The song "Cochise" was featured in the movie Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and the game Guitar Hero for the PlayStation 2. It was featured as the background music for the 2008 Iron Man Super Bowl spot as well as the following theatrical trailer. The song "Cochise" can also be found in The Simpsons episode "Midnight Towboy" when Homer is riding in a tow truck with a man named Louie (Matt Dillon) the song can be heard briefly on the radio. "Shadow on the Sun" is also featured in a cutscene from World in Conflict where Marines and Army Ranger helicopters are shot down trying to retake Governors Island.

Track listing

All lyrics written by Chris Cornell, all music composed by Audioslave.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Cochise"	3:42
2.	"Show Me How to Live"	4:37
3.	"Gasoline"	4:40
4.	"What You Are"	4:09
5.	"Like a Stone"	4:54
6.	"Set It Off"	4:23
7.	"Shadow on the Sun"	5:43
8.	"I Am the Highway"	5:35
9.	"Exploder"	3:26
10.	"Hypnotize"	3:27
11.	"Bring Em Back Alive"	5:29
12.	"Light My Way"	5:03
13.	"Getaway Car"	4:59
14.	"The Last Remaining Light"	5:17

DualDisc version

The album was included among a group of 15 DualDisc releases that were test marketed in two cities: Boston and Seattle. The DualDisc has the standard album on one side, and bonus material on the second side. The DVD side of the Audioslave DualDisc featured the entire album in higher resolution 20bit 48 kHz sound, as well as some videos. The higher resolution DVD side of this disc has been termed a demonstration quality audiophile release.^[31][32]

Connected bonus track

For a limited time the CD could be inserted into a CD-ROM and be used to access the ConnecteD website. Here, the user would be able to download bonus videos, interviews, photos, and a bonus track "Give".

Chart positions

Album

Year	Chart	Position
2002	The Billboard 200	7
	Top Canadian Albums	6
2003	Top Internet Albums	15

Singles

Year	Song	Chart positions
		US Hot 100	US Modern Rock	US Main- stream Rock	US Adult Top 40	US Top 40 Mainstream
2002	"Cochise"	69	9	2	-	-
2003	"Like a Stone"	31	1	1	23	27
	"Show Me How to Live"	67	4	2	-	-
	"I Am the Highway"	66	3	2	-	-
2004	"What You Are"	-	17	8	-	-

Personnel

Audioslave

• Chris Cornell – vocals
• Tim Commerford – bass
• Brad Wilk – drums
• Tom Morello – guitars

Production

• Produced by Rick Rubin, co-produced by Audioslave
• Mixed by Rich Costey
• Recorded by David Schiffman and Andrew Scheps
• Additional engineering by John Burton, Floyd Reitsma, Thom Russo, and Andrew Scheps, assisted by Chris Holmes and Darron Mora
• Digital editing by Greg Fidelman, Thom Russo, and Andrew Scheps
• Album production coordinator/wrangler – Lindsay Chase
• Mastered by Vlado Meller, assisted by Steve Kadison

• Album cover by Storm Thorgerson and Peter Curzon
• Art direction by Storm Thorgerson, assisted by Dan Abbott and Finlay Cowan
• "Flame" logo by Peter Curzon
• Photography by Rupert Truman
• Band photos by Danny Clinch
• Sculpture made by Hothouse

References

1. ^ Moss, Corey; Parry, Heather. "Audioslave: Unshackled, Ready To Rage". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/bands/a/audioslave/news_feature_112202/. Retrieved 2007-08-25. 
2. ^ O'Brien, Clare. "Pushing Forward Back." Zero Magazine. September 7, 2005, Iss. 1.
3. ^ Weiss, Neal (2001-05-22). "Rage And Cornell To Enter Studio Next Week". Yahoo! Music. http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/12062942. Retrieved 2007-08-25. 
4. ^ D’Angelo, Joe (2002-05-20). "Rage/Cornell-Credited Tracks Get Leaked Online". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1454086/20020520/audioslave.jhtml. Retrieved 2007-08-25. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Cashmere, Tim. "Audioslave to the Rhythm". Undercover. http://www.undercover.com.au/idol/audioslave.html. Retrieved 2007-08-25. 
6. ^ Anderson, Donna (2002-07-16). "20 Questions with… Rage Against The Machine Guitarist Tom Morello". Metal Sludge. http://www.metal-sludge.com/home/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=440&Itemid=52. Retrieved 2007-08-25. 
7. ^ Gene Stout. "As a Paris restaurateur and family man, life is now good for Audioslave rocker". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. http://www.seattlepi.com/pop/267486_cornell21.html. Retrieved 2008-02-21. 
8. ^ Ewing, Jerry (December 2002). "Straight Outta Rehab". Metal Hammer (108) 
9. ^ Sculley, Alan. "A Career in Slavery". San Diego CityBeat. http://www.sdcitybeat.com/article.php?id=3132. Retrieved 2007-08-25. 
10. ^ Levenfeld, Ari. "PopMatters Review". Popmatters.com. http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/audioslave-st/. Retrieved 2010-11-15. 
11. ^ ^{a b} "Pitchfork Media Review". Pitchforkmedia.com. 2002-11-25. http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/reviews/albums/356-audioslave/. Retrieved 2010-11-15. 
12. ^ "NME Review". Nme.com. 2002-12-06. http://www.nme.com/reviews/name/6874. Retrieved 2010-11-15. 
13. ^ Thompson, Stephen (2002-12-06). "The A.V. Club Review". Avclub.com. http://www.avclub.com/articles/audioslave,12216/. Retrieved 2010-11-15. 
14. ^ "Q Review". Metacritic.com. 2002-11-19. http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/audioslave/audioslave. Retrieved 2010-11-15. 
15. ^ Greg Tate (2003-01-14). "Village Voice Review". Villagevoice.com. http://www.villagevoice.com/2003-01-14/music/probably-not/1. Retrieved 2010-11-15. 
16. ^ Allmusic Review
17. ^ Reviewed by David Browne (2002-11-22). "Entertainment Weekly Review". Ew.com. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,390695~4~0~audioslave,00.html. Retrieved 2010-11-15. 
18. ^ "Stylus Review". Stylusmagazine.com. http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/audioslave/audioslave.htm. Retrieved 2010-11-15. 
19. ^ http://openheartzoo.com/2011/07/18/audioslave-audioslave-review/
20. ^ Lee, Matt (2002-12). "Stoke & Staffordshire Music – Singles review". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/stoke/music/2002/12/singles2.shtml. Retrieved 2007-08-25. 
21. ^ "Audioslave, Mudvayne Debut In Billboard's Top 20". Blabbermouth.net. 2002-11-27. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=7877. Retrieved 2007-08-25. 
22. ^ "Audioslave Land Gold Album". Blabbermouth.net. 2002-12-17. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=8317. Retrieved 2007-08-25. 
23. ^ "Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - Search Results - Audioslave". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=audioslave&artist=&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2007&sort=Artist&perPage=25. Retrieved 2007-08-25. 
24. ^ Lynch, Andrew. "Audioslave - Audioslave - Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. http://web.archive.org/web/20070930154709/http://www.entertainment.ie/reviews/review.asp?ID=2483&subcat=CD. Retrieved 2007-08-25. 
25. ^ Tate, Greg (2003-01-08). "Probably Not – Audioslave review". The Village Voice. http://www.villagevoice.com/music/0303,tate,41030,22.html. Retrieved 2007-08-25. 
26. ^ Monks, Jon (2003-09-01). "Audioslave – Audioslave - Review". Stylus Magazine. http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/audioslave/audioslave.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-25. 
27. ^ McAuliffe, Amy (2007-06-21). "Rock/Indie Review – Audioslave, Audioslave". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/release/2625/. Retrieved 2007-08-25. 
28. ^ Jeres (2002-11-21). "Audioslave: Audioslave (2002) review". PlayLouder. http://old.playlouder.com/review/+658audioslave/. Retrieved 2007-08-25. 
29. ^ Gray, Christopher (2003-01-31). "Music: Review - Audioslave Audioslave". The Austin Chronicle. http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/review?oid=oid%3A143588. Retrieved 2007-08-25. 
30. ^ Heath, Chris (2003-01-09). "Album Reviews: Audioslave - Audioslave". Yahoo! Music. http://uk.launch.yahoo.com/l_reviews_a/27848.html. Retrieved 2007-08-25. 
31. ^ Jerry Del Colliano[1] , Audio Video Revolution, June 07, 2004
32. ^ Jerry Del Colliano[2] , Home Theater Review, March 22, 2010