Tom Morello gushed over his Rage Against the Machine mate Zack de la Rocha in a new interview, making the big claim that he’s “the greatest frontman of all time.”
During a conversation with Revolver (as per Ultimate Guitar), the guitarist was asked about de la Rocha, offering a brilliant comparison. “In my opinion, he’s the greatest frontman of all time,” Morello insisted. “He’s the punk-rock James Brown. There’s no one in the history of Western music that has the sort of the totality of spiritual commitment on stage and in the studio is that guy.”
High praise indeed. Morello continued: “And it’s matched with a brilliant intellect, and he’s a tremendous musician as well, and it’s really an unbelievable combination just, feel fortunate to be in a band with him.”
Morello has been lucky enough to work with two of the finest rock vocalists of all time: with his other band Audioslave, he collaborated with the late Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell.
And Morello was equally passionate about Cornell’s talent in conversation with Revolver. “I love metal and I loved poetry, and Chris Cornell was one of the people that brought those things together, and in a way, it was commercially successful at the top of the chart,” he said.
“So we all owe him a grade of debt for I think saving metal, in a way. So when we were in a band together, his initial impetus was he had been the principal music writer in Soundgarden, as well as the lyricist. And he was like, ‘I don’t want to write music, I want to concentrate on lyrics and melody. And you guys write the music.’
And the thing that is one of his great gifts, on top of his startlingly good looks, and hair, and eyes, and all the stuff, you’re like, ‘Are you magical? You’re like a magical being!’ Blessed in so many ways, and a lovely dude.
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Morello continued by recounting how impressed Rick Rubin was by Cornell’s ability. “Anyway, he had this ability to craft melody, beautiful and ferocious melody out of the ether. And I remember making that first record with Rick Rubin (2002’s Audioslave).
And Rick’s like, ‘You don’t understand how lucky you got. I work with a ton of vocalists and it’s difficult to make a great melody. And this guy is just throwing them right and left!’
‘Like a Stone,’ ‘I Am the Highway,’ no matter what we threw at him – the simplest chord progression, or the most complicated heavy riff, he’d just sit in a chair with a cigarette, and he’s like, ‘OK, that sounds like a great song right there. What’s next?'”
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Check out the full Tom Morello interview below:
