Chris Cornell: Ranking Every Album From Worst To Best

A tribute album that led to the rare, blissful union of both Pearl Jam and Soundgarden's resident songwriters, Temple of the Dog became the impetus for Cornell to stretch himself into cleaner, slightly mellower territory, with a backing band that had a knack for arena-ready hooks.

It seems almost infeasible that these guys haven't gotten together to record another album in the intervening 25 years, considering how successful this merger was in 1991, but it also makes sense. They're all serious musicians who saw this as their eulogy to a friend, Andrew Wood. It wasn't meant to be anything more than that.

But what a touching and brilliant eulogy it is. Kicking off with the beautifully genuine and simple "Say Hello 2 Heaven," it's clear that this isn't going to be an art-rock record. 

An unofficial solo debut of sorts for Cornell, who wrote the majority of the album himself, it sounds every bit as theatrical as the glam metal power ballads grunge would soon kick out the door, but the difference lies in the band's alternative touches. There are a couple of songs that wouldn't sound out of place on Soundgarden's Louder Than Love (particularly "Pushin Forward Back"), and that makes it even more interesting in retrospect.

Temple of the Dog doesn't completely reinvent the wheel here, so much as expand on the Mother Love Bone sound while adding a few of their own flourishes. And that is how you do a tribute album.