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Cinque recensioni di questo disco, ma nessuna posteriore allo scioglimento della band. Facciamo un passo indietro, di dieci anni circa.
Premetto che i cosiddetti "supergruppi" mi hanno sempre entusiasmato per i due minuti successivi alla notizia della loro nascita, ma evidentemente questa era la moda ai primordi degli anni Duemila. Esempi che hanno suscitato molto interesse nel pubblico sono stati i Velvet Revolver, gli Audioslave e i Probot. Forse questi ultimi un pò meno, visto che non si trattava di un progetto fisso, ma di un divertissment di Dave Grohol.
Gli Audioslave nascono nel 2001 sotto il moniker Civilian, e sono composti da Tom Morello, Tim Commerford e Brad Wilk, rispettivamente chitarrista, bassista e batterista dei Rage Against The Machine. Ai tempi erano appena stati abbandonati dal "rapper" e loro frontman Zach De La Rocha. Decidono quindi di rivolgersi a Chris Cornell, che dopo i Soundgarden si era dato alla carriera solista con scarsi risultati di vendite.
I colpi di sole sono ancora freschi sui capelli del cantante, quando la nuova formazione entra in studio. Cosa nascerà da questa unione, a prima vista allettante? Razionalmente si potrebbe pensare ad un'equazione del tipo "3/4 R.A.T.M. + 1/4 Soundgarden". Sbagliato. La rabbia contro la macchina è predominante su almeno dieci dei quattordici brani presenti sul disco di debutto, ma dei giardinodelsuono neanche l'ombra. Lo stesso Cornell appare fuori forma (ovviamente se confrontato con performance come "Badmotorfinger") e stilisticamente distante dagli album precedenti.
Tutto sommato, però, non risulta un lavoro sgradevole. In apertura "Cochise" e "Show Me How To Live", che mi facevano discretamente muovere la testa all'età di quattordici anni. E poi si procede con i soliti riff pesanti e definiti di Morello, i suoi assoli-scratch, pedali a iosa, il basso rotondo e pulito di Commerford, la batteria "metronomo" di Wilk. Una formula un pò indigesta, che aveva già stancato (me, personalmente) con il disco del 1996 "Evil Empire". E sembra sempre di ascoltare la rivisitazione plastica di quel tripudio di suoni che fu il debutto omonimo dei Rage Against The Machine. Quello era pura originlità ed innovazione.
Novità? I pezzi pop "Like A Stone" e "I Am The Highway". Intendo "novità" per quanto riguarda il repertorio di entrambe le band di provenienza del quartetto, visto che sono canzoni basate su alcuni dei giri di accordi più sfruttati dell'industria musicale. Il secondo brano pare sia stato scritto da Cornell in memoria del defunto Layne Staley, e anche qui viene da storcere il naso. Personalmente, non lo trovo un tributo sentito, e non penso avrebbe fatto impazzire il cantante degli Alice in Chains se fosse stato ancora vivo. Decisamente più toccante il pezzo "04/20/02", scritto da Eddie Vedder per la stessa ragione.
Dopo l'episodio semi-acustico "Getaway Car", si arriva alla traccia finale, forse la migliore del disco, "The Last Remaining Light". Nella strofa la chitarra rimanda a "Black Hole Sun", e in generale il pezzo non risulta banale.
Nel 2004 uscirà "Out Of Exile" e nel 2007 "Revelations". Mentre il video della title-track di quest'ultimo lavoro è ancora in onda su Mtv, Cornell decide di abbandonare gli altri tre per darsi ad una nuova e peggiore carriera solista.
Ma direi che la storia ha un bel finale. I Rage Against The Machine si sono riuniti. Forse non faranno un nuovo disco e magari nessuno ne sente il bisogno, ma vederli in tour è sempre piacevole per i vecchi fan.
Dopo derive pop e house, Chris è tornato a cantare con i Soundagarden. Ovviamente questo ha comportato un lungo tour, un disco live, un best of e molta nostalgia che si è trasformta in oro, come fosse stata toccata da Re Mida. Nonostante ciò, io sono uno di quelli che farà la coda fuori dal negozio per comprare il nuovo album che dovrebbe uscire nel 2012. Attualmente è in fase di registrazione e dovrebbe richiamare il sound di "Down On The Upside".
Per quanto riguarda questo "Audioslave", non c'è molto altro da aggiungere. Si tratta di un disco che vive (o "sopravvive") su idee non più originali. Contiene molti riempitivi che nessuno con un minimo di gusto ascolterebbe più di una volta. Ma raggiunge la sufficienza.
Rage Against The Machine e Soundgarden. Due gruppi che hanno senza dubbio già dato il loro meglio più di quindici anni fa, ma che forse hanno ancora qualcosa da raschiare sul fondo del barile. Staremo a vedere.
Elenco tracce testi samples e video
01 Cochise (03:44)
Well I've been watching
While you've been coughing
I've been drinking life
While you've been nauseous
And so I drink to health
While you kill yourself
And I've got just one thing
That I can offer
Go on and save yourself
And take it out on me
I'm not a martyr
I'm not a prophet
And I won't preach to you
But here's a caution
You better understand
That I won't hold your hand
But if it helps you mend
Then I won't stop it
Go on and save yourself
And take it out on me
Drown if you want
And I'll see you at the bottom
Where you'll crawl on my skin
And put the blame on me
So you don't feel a thing
Go on and save yourself
And take it out on me
02 Show Me How to Live (04:39)
And with the early dawn
Moving right along
I couldn't buy an eyeful of sleep
And in the aching night under satellites
I was not received
Built with stolen parts
A telephone in my heart
Someone get me a priest
To put my mind to bed
This ringing in my head
Is this a cure or is this a disease
Nail in my hand
From my creator
You gave me life
Now show me how to live
Nail in my hand
From my creator
You gave me life
Now show me how to live
And in the after birth
On the quiet earth
Let the stains remind you
You thought you made a man
You better think again
Before my role defines you
Nail in my hand
From my creator
You gave me life
Now show me how to live
Nail in my hand
From my creator
You gave me life
Now show me how to live
And in your waiting hands
I will land
And roll out of my skin
And in your final hours I will stand
Ready to begin
Ready to begin
Ready to begin
Ready to begin
Nail in my hand
From my creator
You gave me life
Now show me how to live
Nail in my hand
From my creator
You gave me life
Now show me how to live
show me how to live
show me how to live
show me how to live
show me how to live
03 Gasoline (04:41)
House is haunted
I just want to go for a ride
Out and on
Before I set this room alight
Left alone forever and for crimes unclear
With my patience gone
Someone take me far from here
Burning that gasoline
Burning that gasoline
New day yawning another day of solitaire
House is honest
Clearly more than I can bear
Drag me off
Before I set my world on fire
Out and gone
The sun will never set tonight
Burning that gasoline
Yeah
Burning that gasoline
No what for's,
Only a can of red
Says danger on it
I have found another way
Burning that gasoline
Yeah
Burning that gasoline
Burning it all the way
Burning it all the way
05 Like a Stone (04:56)
On a cobweb
Afternoon
In a room full of emptiness
By a freeway
I confess I was lost in the pages
Of a book
Full of death
Reading how we'll die alone
And if we're good we'll lay to rest
Anywhere we want to go
In your house
I long to be
Room by room
Patiently
I'll wait for you there
Like a stone
I'll wait for you there
Alone
And on my death bed
I will pray
To the gods and the angels
Like a pagan
To anyone who will take me to heaven
To a place
I recall
I was there so long ago
The sky was bruised
The wine was bled
And there you led me on
In your house
I long to be
Room by room
Patiently
I'll wait for you there
Like a stone
I'll wait for you there
Alone
Alone
And on i read
Till the day was gone
And i sat in regret
For all the things I've done
For all that I've blessed
And all that I've wronged
In dreams until my death
I will wander on
In your house
I long to be
Room by room
Patiently
I'll wait for you there
Like a stone
I'll wait for you there
Alone
Alone
06 Set It Off (04:25)
We were standing at the rock
gathering the flock
getting there with no directions
and underneath the arch
it turned into a march
and there we found the spot to set this fucker off
set if off
set it off my children
set it right
set it off
set it off my children
alright
set it off
set it off my children
set a fire
set it off
set it off my children
suddenly a shot
ripped into his heart
and then he needed some attention
and there he played his card
going into shock
the last thing that he said was set this fucker off
set if off
set it off my children
set it right
set it off
set it off my children
alright
set it off
set it off my children
set a fire
set it off
set it off my children
alright
alright
alright
alright
alright
alright
jesus at the back door
everything is alright
all we need is some direction
everytime the wind blows
everything you don't know
turns into a revelation
and it all adds up inside your head
time is wasted
set if off
set it off my children
set it right
set it off
set it off my children
alright
set it off
set it off my children
set a fire
set it off
set it off my children
Alright
Alright
Alright
Alright
Alright
Alright
07 Shadow on the Sun (05:45)
Once upon a time I was of the mind
To lay your burden down
And leave you where you stood
And you believed I could
You'd seen it done before
I could read your thoughts
And tell you what you saw
And never say a word
But now all that is gone
Over with and done-never to return
And I can tell you why
People die alone
I can tell you I'm
A shadow on the sun
Staring at the loss
Looking for a cause
And never really sure
Nothing but a hole
To live without a soul
And nothing to be learned
And I can tell you why
People go insane
I can show you how
You could do the same
I can tell you why
The end will never come
I can tell you I'm
A shadow on the sun
Shapes of every size
Move behind my eyes
Doors inside my head
Bolted from within
Every drop of flame
Lights a candle in
Memory of the one
Who lived inside my skin
I can tell you why
People go insane
I can show you how
You could do the same
I can tell you why
The end will never come
I can tell you I'm
The shadow on the sun
Shadow on the sun
Shadow on the sun
Shadow on the sun
Shadow on the sun
Shadow on the sun
Shadow on the sun
Shadow on the sun
Shadow on the sun
Shadow
Shadow
08 I Am the Highway (05:36)
Pearls and swine bereft of me
Long and weary my road has been
I was lost in the cities
Alone in the hills
No sorrow or pity for leaving I feel
I am not your rolling wheels
I am the highway
I am not your carpet ride
I am the sky
Friends and liars don't wait for me
'Cause I'll get on all by myself
I put millions of miles
Under my heels
And still too close to you
I feel
I am not your rolling wheels
I am the highway
I am not your carpet ride
I am the sky
I am not your blowing wind
I am the lightning
I am not your autumn moon
I am the night, night
09 Exploder (03:28)
I met a man locked away
for things he hadn't done
Innocence on a ball and chain
He'll never feel the sun again on his face
Or roses in his hands
But when he smiled at me
I could understand
If you're free you'll never see the walls
If your head is clear you'll never free-fall
If you're right you'll never fear the wrong
If your head is high you'll never fear at all
There was a daughter of a man
Who took his life too young
She swore she'd never do the same
Then did just what he'd done
And a boy who's gone insane
Had voices in his head
No one knows what they say
Now his mother's dead
If you're free you'll never see the walls
If your head is clear you'll never free-fall
If you're right you'll never fear the wrong
If your head is high you'll never fear at all
There was a man who had a face
That looked a lot like me
I saw him in the mirror and
I fought him in the street
And when he turned away
I shot him in the head
Then I came to realize
I had killed myself
If you're free you'll never see the walls
If your head is clear you'll never free-fall
If you're right you'll never fear the wrong
If your head is high you'll never fear
10 Hypnotize (03:28)
Well if you set your mind upon it
I know that you can
You've got everything you wanted
You've done everything you planned
So let me make an offer
I'm only trying to help
You can make your load
Just a little lighter
All you got to do is share the wealth
Oh no don't you keep your
Good luck to yourself
Oh no don't you keep your
Good luck to yourself
Well I know you got problems
I see it in your eyes
But if you want to live
To see the morning
Give it up to your brother
Or you'll get a surprise
Oh no don't you keep your
Good luck to yourself
Oh no don't you keep your
Good luck to yourself
Well it's time to see
You got to give or you're gonna receive
It's time to see
You got to live if you wanna believe
You can be
11 Bring 'Em Back Alive (05:31)
I was on my way to the center of the sun
When I lost my wings and I fell into a crowd
And they carried me to the hole in the ground
And they buried me
Where no one could see
And no one would be around
I am a virus, I live in silence
I was on my way to a city in the clouds
When I lost my mind and I had to settle down
Then I had a dream of an island in the sea
Where the lepers die
Where no one survives
And no one can hear the cries
I am a virus, I live in silence
And just like the heathens thinking
On our feet we believe in God
And with one step, two steps
Three steps toward the graveyard
On the high road to remembering
It seems that we forgot
I am a virus, I live in silence
12 Light My Way (05:05)
In my hour of need
On a sea of gray
On my knees I pray to you
Help me find the dawn
Of the dying day
Won't you light my way
A bullet is a man
From time to time he strays
I compare my life to this
To this I relate
And I'm willing
To listen to your answers
And I'm not afraid
To tell you I need you today
Won't you light my way
So when I'm lost
Or I'm tired and depraved
Or when my high bullet mind
Goes astray won't you light my way
Don't save it for another day
Won't you light my way
13 Getaway Car (05:01)
The first time I saw you, you were
Chasing down
A cyclone
All alone in the field
With rail yards and clovers
I kept rolling on
Never thought you'd wind up chasing me
Well settle down I won't hesitate
To hit the highway
Before you lay me to waste, no
Settle up and I'll help you find
Something to drive
Before you drive me insane
You're tired of walking
And you loathe the ground
The sidewalk will barely
Touch your feet and life moves
Too slowly to hold you down
With ringing hands
You take it out on me
Well settle down
I won't hesitate to hit the highway
Before you leave me to waste, no
Settle up and I'll help you find something to drive
Before you drive me insane
So get yourself a car and drive it all alone
Get yourself a car
Ride it on the wind, ya
Get yourself a car and drive it all alone
Get yourself a car
And ride it on the wind
Settle down
I won't hesitate to hit the highway
Before you lay me to waste, no
Settle up and I'll help you find something to drive
Before you drive me insane
So get yourself a car and drive it all alone
Get yourself a car
Ride it on the wind
Get yourself a car and drive it all alone
Get yourself a car
Ride it on the wind
Carico i commenti... con calma
Altre recensioni
Di Rivo
Il risultato del connubio è al limite dell'ascoltabilità.
Come nell'esperimento di fisica i due fluidi non si amalgamano e si continuerà a preferire olio e aceto gustati separatamente.
Di mantaray
La voce è lo strepitoso marchio di fabbrica degli Audioslave.
Questo è un disco rock energico e diretto, senza contaminazioni, nessuna traccia di hip hop o altre devianze.
Di Vic Sorriso1
Basta fare tanta cagnara e dare l'impressione di ragionarci dietro e ottieni immediatamente un cazzo di contratto con qualche cazzo di major tipo la Sony Music.
Se questo è un buon disco di hard rock i Saxons erano dei pionieri fondamentali.
Di il trucido
Questo disco ha le palle, una collezione di canzoni che ricreano lo stile anni ’70 come non si sentiva da tempo.
Io sono convinto che gli Audioslave siano meglio dei Rage.
Di Baz
Un cd potente ed emozionante.
"Like a Stone"...melodia che fa l’effetto come se il mio cuore fosse strapazzato svariate volte e poi rimesso al suo posto.
