Matt Cameron named the hardest Soundgarden song to play live during a new podcast appearance.
The drummer was the latest guest on Dean Delray’s Let There Be Talk show. They discussed all things Soundgarden: songs that were nearly cut from albums, the status of the unreleased material the band was working on before Chris Cornell’s death in 2017, grief and much more.
Toward the end of the episode, Cameron recalled conversations he used to have with the late Taylor Hawkins about how they needed to stay in shape in order to have the endurance to play such high-energy performances. Delray then asked the rocker what the most difficult Soundgarden song to play is.
“Oh, ‘Jesus Christ Post’,” Cameron replied instantly.
“In the ’90s, we would play that all across the set. But when we got back together [in 2010], it’s like, ‘Guys I cannot close with JCP. It’s gotta be in the top five or else we’re not doing it.’ They understood.”
According to Setlist.fm, the Badmotorfinger hit was Soundgarden’s second most-played song of all time after “Rusty Cage.” The last time they performed it was at their final show at Detroit’s Fox Theatre on May 17, 2017. They actually played it toward the end of their set last night, just before they closed the evening with “Rusty Cage” and “Slaves & Bulldozers” as their encore.
Soundgarden, ‘Jesus Christ Pose’
What’s the Status of Soundgarden’s Unreleased Final Album?
During the podcast, Cameron also shared an update on Soundgarden’s unreleased final album, which they’d started working on with Cornell on tour in 2017. They’re using recordings of live rehearsals, which feature Cornell playing the guitar, as well as vocal demos he’d recorded separately.
The drummer said there’s a total of eight songs.
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“I think that’s pretty much all there is with vocals. We had some instrumentals leftover that Kim [Thayil] wants to work on,” he said.
“We don’t really have a [release] date yet. We’re just going to try to get this thing mixed, get it over the finish line and then hopefully we’ll have a better idea of what’s going to come next. We’re just taking it one step at a time because it’s been kind of a long process just to get here.
Listen to the full podcast episode below.
Matt Cameron Names the Hardest Soundgarden Song to Play Live
Check out our picks for the best song off every “Big 4” grunge (Soundgarden, Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam) album below.
The Best Song off Every ‘Big 4’ Grunge Album
We went through every album by Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam and picked the very best song from each.
Gallery Credit: Lauryn Schaffner