Chris Cornell Self-Titled Album, Career-Spanning Box Set Announced

The Chris Cornell Estate announced Friday that it is releasing a retrospective Cornell self-titled album, along with a limited-edition box set commemorating the rock icon, both coming later this year. The announcement was paired with the first single from Chris Cornell, “When Bad Does Good.”

The release follows Cornell’s unexpected death in 2017, a loss that reverberated through the music industry far beyond the borders of Seattle.

“Since Chris’ sudden passing I have put all my efforts and energy into sharing his music and legacy with his fans from all over the world,” said the late songwriter’s wife, Vicky Cornell, in a statement. “I felt we needed to create a special collection to represent all of him – the friend, husband and father, the risk taker and innovator, the poet and artist.  His soaring vocals found their way into the hearts and souls of so many.  His voice was his vision and his words were his peace. This album is for his fans.”

“When Bad Does Good” was recorded and produced by Cornell, and recovered from his personal archive of recordings for inclusion on Chris Cornell. Instrumentally simple, the track allows his legendary vocals to stay at the forefront for its entirety. It’s one of two previously unreleased songs to be included on the self-titled and fulfills the album’s aim to highlight his songwriting prowess.

The box set will span Cornell’s almost 30-year career, featuring Soundgarden, Audioslave and Temple of the Dog cuts among its 62-tracks—11 of which are being released for the first time.

It will be available at three different levels: a two-LP edition with a 12-page booklet, a four-CD edition with an expanded 54-page booklet, and a “Super Deluxe” edition with four CDs, seven LPs, a DVD, a 66-page hardcover book, six lithographs and a few accessories for vinyl care. The booklets will contain unreleased photos, as well as liner notes from bandmates Kim Thayil, Matt Cameron and Tom Morello, among others.

The 11 unreleased tracks included in the box set range from Cornell’s duet with daughter Toni Cornell on Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song” to his arrangement of “One,” in which he layers the Metallica lyrics over the U2 track’s instrumental. Live tracks from Temple of the Dog’s 25th anniversary reunion (which was also their first official tour as a band) in 2016, as well as a few of Cornell’s first solo live performances, are also included. As far as video content is concerned, the box set will feature two unreleased music videos, one for solo track “Scream” and one for Soundgarden’s “Live To Rise.”

The album and box set will be released by Vicky Cornell on behalf of the Chris Cornell Estate and through Universal Music Enterprises. Both the self-titled and the box set are expected on Nov. 16.

You can preorder the album and box set here. In the meantime, check out the lyric video for “When Bad Does Good” below, and revisit Paste’s listing of the 15 best Chris Cornell songs here.