LISTEN: Heart’s Ann Wilson unveils 'I Am The Highway' cover in tribute to Chris Cornell

Ann’s typically powerful interpretation of the 2002 Audioslave anthem is lifted from her upcoming 10-track album ‘Immortal’ – originally tentatively titled ‘Project Dead Guys’ – which features covers of songs by recently deceased artists, many of whom were Ann’s close friends.

Other covers that feature include The Eagles’ ‘Life in the Fast Lane’ in honour of Glenn Frey, David Bowie’s ‘I’m Afraid of Americans’, Tom Petty’s ‘Luna’, Amy Winehouse’s ‘Back To Black’ and Cream’s ‘Politician’ in tribute to Jack Bruce.

Released on Friday 14th September, ‘Immortal’ has been recorded in Los Angeles with Mike Flicker who produced Heart’s first five studio albums in the late seventies and early eighties.

Listen to ‘I Am The Highway’ here:

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Ann has revealed that Chris Cornell’s death deeply affected Linkin Park vocalist Chester Bennington who died two months later.

Ann and Linkin Park were booked into perform Jimmy Kimmel Live! when news of Chris’ death broke.

She tells Rolling Stone: “Someone came into my dressing room and said ‘Chester would like to talk to you’ – he was really upset.

“This was just a couple of weeks before (Chester) decided to take himself. So I went in. He was really a mess. So anxious and sad and had to go onstage in a minute. I think that Chris’s departure hit (Chester) hard because he recognised the impulse. He had been hit by this news.

“There was a lot of fear there. I said to him, let’s just breathe here and look in each other’s eyes and go ‘we’re still here right now, let’s just do this.’ A couple of weeks later, he was gone.”

She added: “They seemed to resemble each other. I think they knew each other and they had probably commiserated. I wouldn’t say one made the other happen, but Chris’s death obviously affected Chester deeply.

“Chris’s death affected me, but I wasn’t that surprised. He always had gallows humour about being lonely in hotel rooms. ‘The only thing missing is a noose,’ he’d say. And it was like ‘oh, Chris.’ And he’s like ‘(I’m) too tired, the road is too hard, too impersonal.’ He was darkly joking.”

The ‘Immortal’ track-listing is as follows:

1. I Am The Highway (Audioslave)
2. Luna (Tom Petty)
3. I'm Afraid Of Americans (David Bowie)
4. Politician (Cream)
5. A Thousand Kisses Deep (Leonard Cohen)
6. Life In The Fast Lane (The Eagles)
7. Back To Black (Amy Winehouse)
8. A Different Corner (George Michael)
9. Baker Street (Gerry Rafferty)
10. You Don't Own Me (Lesley Gore)