Spring Break
Cornell album doesn't suck; it blows
Joshua Lemons
Issue date: 10/7/08 Section: Arts & Entertainment
Chris Cornell's highly anticipated new solo album, titled Scream, will make you do just that.
Produced by acclaimed hip-hop producer Timbaland, the sound and style on this record is a far cry from the grunge rocker's days in his former group Soundgarden. The title track from this album has the feel of a mixing by a less than stellar club DJ. The beats are ambient, almost jungle rhythms topped by Cornell's melancholy, almost whiney vocals at times. The lyrics feel very uninventive, which is the opposite of what Cornell has been associated with in the past.
In an interview with VH1, referring to the feel of this album, Cornell said, "The initial conception and perception of this record was mixing two worlds - rock and hip-hop, or beat-based music with fuzzy guitars. But it really isn't just that at all. It's a mixture of a lot of different influences."
"Long Gone," the first single released back in August, is a pop-like, very radio-friendly tune with heavy use of drum machines and polished beats more fitting for Justin Timberlake or The Backstreet Boys than one of the fathers of the Seattle scene.
"Ground Zero" is a song inspired by the 9/11 attacks. While a nice message about the unity we experienced during that period, it seems to stray away from that and is muddled in its delivery.
Again, the heavy use of drum machines and oversampled beats tend to make Cornell's R&B-influenced vocals lack any conviction. The backbeat is straight out of a Nelly Furtado song, Timbaland producing some of her previous works as well.
"Never Far Away," another potential single, is the only track on the album that bears any resemblance to previous Cornell works. But as soon as the beat comes in, any slight connection fans would make to Audioslave or Soundgarden is out the window, with the beat completely overriding the vocals and slight use of guitar.
Apparently, Cornell already knows that this could be a shock to his large and dedicated fan base.
"Musically, this is a definite departure, not only for me but maybe for anybody. People are asking me what kind of music it is, and there's no real answer for that," said Cornell in the same VH1 interview.
This idea was great in theory, but falls way short in the execution. A lot of "fusion" music is being produced today, some great and some wretched, and Scream seems to fall somewhere in between.
Other tracks on the album include "Watch Out," "Part of Me" and "Take Me Alive."
For those who are interested, the album is slated to hit shelves in November.
Produced by acclaimed hip-hop producer Timbaland, the sound and style on this record is a far cry from the grunge rocker's days in his former group Soundgarden. The title track from this album has the feel of a mixing by a less than stellar club DJ. The beats are ambient, almost jungle rhythms topped by Cornell's melancholy, almost whiney vocals at times. The lyrics feel very uninventive, which is the opposite of what Cornell has been associated with in the past.
In an interview with VH1, referring to the feel of this album, Cornell said, "The initial conception and perception of this record was mixing two worlds - rock and hip-hop, or beat-based music with fuzzy guitars. But it really isn't just that at all. It's a mixture of a lot of different influences."
"Long Gone," the first single released back in August, is a pop-like, very radio-friendly tune with heavy use of drum machines and polished beats more fitting for Justin Timberlake or The Backstreet Boys than one of the fathers of the Seattle scene.
"Ground Zero" is a song inspired by the 9/11 attacks. While a nice message about the unity we experienced during that period, it seems to stray away from that and is muddled in its delivery.
Again, the heavy use of drum machines and oversampled beats tend to make Cornell's R&B-influenced vocals lack any conviction. The backbeat is straight out of a Nelly Furtado song, Timbaland producing some of her previous works as well.
"Never Far Away," another potential single, is the only track on the album that bears any resemblance to previous Cornell works. But as soon as the beat comes in, any slight connection fans would make to Audioslave or Soundgarden is out the window, with the beat completely overriding the vocals and slight use of guitar.
Apparently, Cornell already knows that this could be a shock to his large and dedicated fan base.
"Musically, this is a definite departure, not only for me but maybe for anybody. People are asking me what kind of music it is, and there's no real answer for that," said Cornell in the same VH1 interview.
This idea was great in theory, but falls way short in the execution. A lot of "fusion" music is being produced today, some great and some wretched, and Scream seems to fall somewhere in between.
Other tracks on the album include "Watch Out," "Part of Me" and "Take Me Alive."
For those who are interested, the album is slated to hit shelves in November.
Viewing Comments 1 - 5 of 5
Ally
posted 10/07/08 @ 10:43 AM CST
This is purporting to be a review of an entire album when it fact the writer seems to have only heard three tracks and mentions three others without comment. (Continued…)
warriorwoman
posted 10/07/08 @ 10:49 AM CST
Joshua, Joshua, Joshua!
How can you review an album that hasn't been released yet? Per Cornell and Timbaland, this album needs to be heard in its entirety. (Continued…)
William
posted 10/07/08 @ 10:59 AM CST
Surprised? The only good band to ever come out of Seattle is Queensryche. The entire grunge movement is an embarassment to rock music. Expecting some hack who used to be in Soundgarden to put together good music is like expecting Iron Maiden to change their sound to a significant degree. (Continued…)
Anonymous
posted 10/07/08 @ 1:15 PM CST
Promotional pre-release.
Oh, and Soundgarden > Rage Against the Machine > Euphoria Morning > Scream > root canal > Queensryche
alexkickstand
posted 10/07/08 @ 1:43 PM CST
hi , i agree that its a light review of some titles and not the entire album. i could understand that some fans are not happy with scream. I prefers rock song its sure but "scream" is a concept album and it must be different from chris past music stuffs. (Continued…)
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