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Audioslave: LIVE IN CUBA

Eddie Lancekick | Pacific Northwest | 12/31/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This concert DVD is more than just a performance of the band playing their music. However, I'll discuss that in a little bit.

The Concert: Audioslave took the opportunity to play live in Cuba, something that no other American Rock band has ever done before. The Concert footage is superb and is simply straight up rock and roll. You are not going to see a plethora of special effects and such, nor will you see these guys smashing instruments and spitting on the crowd. Such antics seem the norm with many rock bands but with Audioslave they simply stick to the music, and great rock music is what they are all about. The set list includes many tracks from their self-titled debut album as well as their sophomore effort "Out of Exile". Audioslave, for those who don't know, is a collaboration of sorts as the former rock band Rage Against the Machine parted ways with their lead singer, and soon replaced him with former Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell. Two songs are featured from each former bands catalog; as we get a live performance of the Soundgarden hit "Outshined" while also experiencing the Rage Against the Machine single "Bulls on Parade". As mentioned before, the band just cuts loose and gives Havana, Cuba they're all. Fourteen tracks in all, this concert DVD is a MUST for any fans of Audioslave, and considering the price, how can you go wrong? I myself do not feel, as many others do, that Cornell's vocals are poor on this recording, so I don't know where people are coming from with that, but suffice it to say the quality I myself experience with this DVD in terms of visual effect and vocal effort and sound is never an issue.

Bonus: The DVD I got is not the one with the "Bonus" CD and of course that is why my review lies here and not with the other one. I want to compliment that the Bonus feature "Out of Exile" is a great documentary of the bands arrival in Cuba, their experiences there with the people as well as a high regard for the culture. I myself learned a great deal about Cuba in this documentary and have the utmost respect for Audioslave for playing a FREE concert here. This concert was not about money or pushing album sales, it truly was about them sharing music with the people of Cuba.

As Cornell says on the video many times, "Music is the universal language". With that being said, Audioslave is truly a universal band for the fact they took the time to do what they did, and made a no-nonsense music video from it that also has mature and uplifting features within the bonus section of the DVD.


Songs featured:

Set it off
Your time has come
Like a stone
The worm
Gasoline
Doesn't remind me
Be yourself
Bulls on Parade
Sleep now in the fire
Out of Exile
Outshined
I am the highway
Show me how to live
Cochise"