Friday, October 17, 2008

Fred and Ginger. Laurel and Hardy. Batman and Robin. Chris Cornell and Timbaland.

Come again?

Pop music's newest odd couple is former Soundgarden and Audioslave rocker Cornell, paired with hip-hop superproducer Timbaland. Both will be onstage at the Avalon Saturday.

The duo will be premiering music from Cornell's forthcoming album "Scream," his third solo album and first with the producer who is best known for adding swampy hip-hop beats to the music of everyone from Madonna to Justin Timberlake, from OneRepublic to Duran Duran.

"I'm changing the sound of rock," Timbaland said in an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune. "It's a new grunge."

In the early 1990s, no one would have expected Cornell to one day come out with an album like "Scream." Soundgarden was the first Seattle grunge act to land a major label deal, releasing albums such as "Badmotorfinger" and "Superunknown" and producing angry rock anthems such as "Rusty Cage," "Outshined," "Black Hole Sun" and "Fell on Black Days."

When Soundgarden broke up in the 1990s, Cornell, known for his screaming, powerful volcano of a voice, joined the three remaining members of Rage Against the Machine, a rap-rock group that had just parted ways with lead singer Zack de la Rocha. More angry anthems followed: "Cochise," "Like a Stone" and "I Am the Highway."

When Rage Against the Machine reunited, Cornell was left without a band. Two earlier solo albums had been commercially unsuccessful, so Cornell was interested in working with someone from outside his musical genre.

Cornell first talked with Timbaland when they discussed producing remixes of some songs off Cornell's last solo album. But after a fruitful 15 minutes on the phone, they had already agreed to go to the recording studio together. "I was curious to see how it would work," Timbaland said.

"It was my own idea," Cornell said. "It wasn't someone pushing me to do it. You have to be prepared that it might not work. But [it turned out to be] not an unnatural thing."

The two quickly wrote about 20 songs, and Cornell said working with Timbaland - whom the singer calls "the genius" - was energizing. "It was a super-exciting time of creativity," Cornell said. "It was a zone of super-creative freedom. [Timbaland] isn't afraid of anything."

Only a few snippets of the sessions have been released, in which Cornell's primal scream can be heard above Timbaland's trademark sound: jittery, bass-heavy bounce beats that offset synth stabs, with Timbaland's bass voice murmuring beneath the tracks.

"Scream" won't be released until February, but Cornell and Timbaland will perform the album in its entirety Saturday, Cornell said.

In addition, Cornell and Timbaland will be at American Fork's Verizon Wireless store (987 W. 500 North) between 3:30 and 4:30 p.m. Saturday, signing autographs and meeting fans. The pair also will be publicizing their partnership with the wireless company, which will allow fans on Saturday to get an exclusive EP of songs from "Scream."

Timbaland's Mobile Recording Studio will also be parked at the store starting at 2 p.m. allowing fans to tour it. As long as you leave the screaming to someone else.

Chris Cornell and Timbaland

When: Oct. 18 at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Avalon Theater, 3605 S. State St., South Salt Lake
Tickets: $35 at SmithsTix and KTix