Singer Richard Marx recently spoke to Appetite For Destruction for an interview and revealed his reasons as to why Chris Cornell was a better vocalist than Axl Rose.
Chris Cornell was one of the most fundamental figures in the 1990s grunge scene. His four-octave vocal range, songwriting talents, and vocal belting technique helped him to rise to success with Soundgarden, Audioslave, and Temple Of The Dog. Cornell had a vast music catalog, and he sold a tremendous amount of music efforts worldwide.
Following Cornell’s death on May 18, 2017, Axl Rose and Guns N’ Roses paid tribute to him on their Not In This Lifetime… Tour. Rose was a fan of Soundgarden and believed Cornell was a very talented singer. Besides, the GN’R icon had also argued in a previous interview that Cornell was the best vocalist in rock.
Recently, the pop rock singer Richard Marx gave an interview to Appetite For Destruction and compared Chris Cornell with Axl Rose. He stated that he wasn’t a GN’R fan but was into Soundgarden. According to Marx, Cornell’s voice blew his mind when he first heard him singing.
Marx then argued that GN’R fans have a ‘visceral reaction’ to Axl Rose’s voice, and he feels the same about Cornell’s vocals. The singer said he greatly respects Rose as a songwriter and GN’R as a band, but their music didn’t appeal to him. As Marx said, what struck him most was Cornell’s vocals.
During the conversation, Richard Marx said the following:
“To be honest with you, I wasn’t a Guns guy. I wasn’t into that stuff as much at that time. The difference and timing are somewhat similar. The difference between GN’R and Soundgarden, which I was into, was the difference between how Axl’s voice hit my ears versus Chris’s. When I heard Chris, I was like, ‘What the f*ck is that?’ His voice just blew my mind.
Just like the people who love GN’R and Axl, it’s the same thing; they had this visceral reaction to his voice. It just wasn’t that for me. I certainly have great respect for the songwriting and them as a band. They’re a really great band. It just wasn’t my thing. I really like a lot of solo stuff, but I wasn’t in the GN’R world. I was much more into Soundgarden.”
You can watch the interview below.
