The guitarist Chris Cornell was in awe of: “He’s infected”
Most of the Seattle grunge scene was rooted in earnestness rather than ability. Even though not every band knew how to tear through pentatonic scales whenever they got behind the fretboard, it was always about the energy created on record rather than the technical flashiness of the songs. While Chris Cornell may have brought virtuosity behind the microphone whenever he played in Soundgarden, he felt one guitarist on the scene was untouchable compared to his peers.
Compared to the rest of the Seattle scene, though, Soundgarden had secured their start much earlier than expected. While the prime era for the genre is usually expected to start around the early 1990s, the band’s debut EP Screaming Life went as far back as 1987, rubbing elbows with fellow grunge acolytes like Melvins and Mudhoney.
Despite the genre’s flirtations with punk rock and metal music, another band from the scene started making waves playing radio-friendly rock. After dissolving his first band, Malfunkshun, Andy Wood created his star vehicle with Mother Love Bone, creating his first significant songs with guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament. Even though the band’s star was rising, the heights may have been going too well for Wood.
Having picked up a nasty addiction to heroin during his time with the band, Wood would lose his battle with his demons, passing away from an overdose. While Mother Love Bone effectively broke up as a result, Cornell wasn’t finished mourning the loss of his friend.
Getting the call of his friend’s passing while on tour, Cornell returned home to grieve with his friends, only to find himself writing various songs in tribute to Wood. Reuniting the former members of Mother Love Bone, Temple of the Dog was created with the intent of being a side project to help the musicians heal from their loss.
Although Cornell wanted to do whatever he could to help his friends, he wasn’t expecting Mike McCready to step in to play guitar solos. After trying to be a hair metal guitarist, McCready had turned himself into a blues rock aficionado, providing screaming solos on nearly every track on the album.
While the addition of Eddie Vedder on vocals for the song ‘Hunger Strike’ would give the world its first glimpse of Pearl Jam, Cornell was most impressed when hearing ‘Reach Down’ for the first time. Even though he wrote the song as a tongue-in-cheek long song, Cornell knew he had gold on his hands when McCready got behind the glass.
As he recalled in Pearl Jam’s Twenty, “I wanted [‘Reach Down’] to be an 11-minute Neil Young style song that’s mostly guitar solos. Once I heard [McCready], I was like, ‘This isn’t going to be a joke, he can actually fucking play’. He went out of his mind, and we just thought he was some nice little kid. It’s like, he’s infected, and that’s going to come out again. Good luck, guys”.
While McCready’s knack for soloing would ultimately put the band in hot water for leaning towards rock cliches, it was never about playing with flash. From his performance on ‘Reach Down’, McCready has used each solo as an opportunity to serve the song rather than grandstand.
