Chris Cornell – Scream

Releasedate: 23-03-2009; Label: Universal
By: Nina Mende

Chris Cornell is an American rock musician best known as the lead singer and songwriter for rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave, and for his numerous solo works and soundtrack contributions (1998-2009). He is known for his wide 4 octave vocal range and powerful vocal belting technique. He was the founder and frontman for Temple of the Dog, the one-off tribute band dedicated to his former roommate, Andrew Wood. He has released three solo studio albums, Euphoria Morning, Carry On, and the latest one Scream.

This album is different from all we know of Chris Cornell, mainly because it was produced by Timbaland and Chris was up to try something new. So if you expect rock and roll of this album, better put it back to the shelf or give it a quick listen first so that you won’t be disappointed in the end. The album starts with a spoken intro, distorted voice and oriental music in the background before it begins with the hip hop beats and styles. “Part Of Me” is a very catchy song and a great single release. On this album the songs melt into each other smoothly and you hardly realize once one is done and the next one starts, you more likely realize that in the middle of the next song. “Sweet Revenge” is much slower than the ones before but still has the typical Timbaland style. “Never Far Away” has a very dreamy melody and also very nice vocals. “Take Me Alive” sounds like you have heard it before which is because of the intro, it’s got the same oriental melody in the background. “Long Gone” is a slow and sad song, perfect for rainy days with very thoughtful lyrics. “Scream” is a more mellow song than I expected it to be simply because of the name. “Enemy” is a typical club song.

All in all it is quite a challenge in some songs to find rock elements, so even though Chris Cornell is a “Rocker” this album is anything but rock. “Scream” is more an album you would hear in R’n’B clubs and such. I am really curious how he is performing it live. Maybe I’ll have the chance to find that out some time this year. Chris Cornell wanted to try something new and succeeded in my opinion.

Tracklist: 1. Part of Me 2. Time 3. Sweet Revenge 4. Get Up 5. Ground Zero 6. Never Far Away 7. Take Me Alive 8. Long Gone 9. Scream 10. Enemy 11. Other Side of Town 12. Climbing Up the Walls 13. Watch Out

Links:
Chris Cornell MySpace
Chris Cornell Official