Chris Cornell's 'Dream Career' Comes True With Solo Tour, Soundgarden Reunion

Before fans hear Soundgarden's first studio album in 15 years, they'll get to hear frontman Chris Cornell at his quietest. He is currently in the midst of his first solo acoustic tour, and he loves the contrast.

"It couldn't be further from what I would do in Soundgarden," Cornell tells Spinner. "The bottom line is that's what's interesting to me about it and that's what's exciting about it."

Part of that excitement goes back to his first acoustic show back in Sweden in the late '80s, (a gig so successful Cornell says he will release it at some point) and the idea of having to prove himself in a new format. "I can do this onstage with a band and amps and volume and aggression. I got that, no problem," he says. "But if I can't just walk in a room, pick up and instrument and entertain people, then how much of a musician am I really?"

After fronting one of the most successful and enduring rock bands of the '90s, Cornell has heard all of the naysayers who want him to concentrate on one thing musically. "One of the first comments I hear whenever I go and do something different is, 'Oh, that's what you want to do all the time. That's all you wanna do,'" he says. "That always sounds a little silly to me. The music, to me, is so diverse and there's no way in one lifetime I'll ever be able to scratch the surface of what's possible to do."

In the end, this freedom is exactly the way Cornell wants things to be: "It's seeing my dream career come to fruition."