In the past few years, Audioslave singer Chris Cornell has kicked booze, butts and barbiturates. In May, his band's second release, Out of Exile, debuted at Number One, and as the supergroup plans to mount a massive U.S. tour in the fall, be prepared to hear plenty of classics by the members' former bands. "The way they play the Soundgarden songs, like 'Loud Love,' is just amazing," says Cornell, checking in from a tour stop in Manchester, England. "And when Tom [Morello] plays the solo on 'Killing in the Name,' it reminds me of seeing Rage Against the Machine at Lollapalooza '96. That moment is the reason I got in a room with them to see if we could be a band."

What is your first musical memory?

I have really early memories of life, so don't freak out. As a child I'd get caught up in how words didn't make any sense. I remember hearing the song "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain When She Comes," trying to figure out what the fuck the guy was talking about.

At Audioslave's recent gig in Cuba, you sang "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away." Who turned you on to the Beatles?

The Beatles were my first love. My friend John Zimmer's oldest brother was kicked out of his house, and his parents put all of his stuff in the basement, where it was getting destroyed by flood waters. He had about fifteen Beatles records. So I stole the whole stack -- lovingly put paper towels between each of them. For over a year I listened to nothing but the Beatles. It was my music school.

When was the first time you sang in front of a crowd?

At a talent show in sixth grade at Christ the King, my Catholic school in Seattle. I remember being incredibly nervous and also bringing the house down. Teachers were crying. I sang a song called "One Tin Soldier." A girl in my class knew it on piano and accompanied me.

Wanna give her a shout-out?

I've had hard miles, bro. I can't reach back that far.

What's your favorite record on Sub Pop?

Bleach. That's one of the best rock records I've ever heard. We played with Nirvana -- when they still lived in Aberdeen -- in front of, like, fifteen people.

You toured with Guns n' Roses in 1991. Got a good Axl story?

He was always hidden somewhere having a personal crisis -- always. One time I was in the room when he was talking to his manager, Doug Goldstein, about wanting the Goodyear blimp for the show. I said this as a joke -- even though it was true -- that the Fuji blimp was the largest blimp in the world. Axl was like, "That's it! It's gonna be the Fuji blimp!"

What's the worst injury you've seen from the stage?

I saw a girl with her arm on the retaining wall -- someone came down on it, and it cracked and flopped back like it was made of balsa wood covered with rubber. . . .

OK, enough.

And at Wembley, with G n' R, I saw a guy die and be resuscitated. It was an enormous fat guy. While he was dead, he pissed in his pants. Paramedics were banging on his chest, and one of them hit him good, and he woke up swinging. I remember thinking, "I don't like this."

What recent song do you wish you'd written?

The last was maybe "Karma Police," from Radiohead. There's something so simple about it.

If you punched "Most Played" on your iPod, what would come up?

I don't know about most played song, but most played record would be Bob Dylan's first one. I'm not a huge Dylan fan -- he only wrote a couple of songs on that album -- but they're all Dust Bowl, Depression-era hobo songs that are really fresh. It's almost like punk rock. Incredible. And be careful with headphones: When he hits the harmonica, it rips your head off.

Do you think it's crazy that Jacko walked?

I wasn't there, so I don't know. I have an idea, though, that could help everyone. Gary Coleman, as we know, is of legal age, he looks like a little kid still and he's broke. A match made in heaven.

Has quitting smoking helped your voice?

It's definitely a different world. Smoking is bad for your voice, for sure, but you learn to function in that world of bad. Now I'm in better shape, and I'm much more physical onstage, but I have to watch getting winded. Once I'm winded, I don't sing right. I would have smoked three cigarettes already during this interview [laughs].

Will you please play your old tune "Slaves and Bulldozers"? That song is fucking awesome.

Everyone has talked about that. It's funny you mention it, because that's the song Rick Rubin played for Brad [Wilk], Tim [Commerford] and Tom when he was telling them that if they wanted to start a new band, they should be calling me. So I'm sure we'll do it at some point.

You recently moved to Paris. Has that affected your musical tastes or your songwriting?

Not at all. I did write some of the lyrics for the new Audioslave record when I was there, but I don't know if being there made a difference. Except for that song I wrote [sings]: "Rockin' Eiffel Tower/It towers over us and it's so cool/Right on!" And the second track, "I Ate a Snail."