Two years after being expelled from the Soundgarden of Eden, Chris Cornell has returned from exile with "Euphoria Morning."
As leaders of the Seattle grunge movement of the early 1990s, Soundgarden boasted the dynamic guitar riffs of Kim Thayil and the Robert Plant-like vocals of Cornell. In the post-Thayil era, however, Cornell has opted to drop the rock-n-roll image and rely more on vocals than the strings -- just as Plant did 20 years ago when Led Zeppelin disbanded.
In the two years since Soundgarden's passing, Cornell has provided fans with many musical tidbits, all designed to whet the appetite and keep him in constant radio rotation. Last year, he released "Sunshower" off the "Great Expectations" soundtrack -- leaving many old Cornell fans shaking their heads and saying, "What the hell was that?"
The first single -- and first track -- off of "Euphoria Morning," however, should change their minds. When the opening guitar licks kick in, it is obvious that this is not Soundgarden and that it is not trying to be. Instead Cornell has put together what essentially is "Soundgarden unplugged" -- a soft, melodic journey through that could, if it had more juice, be a rock juggernaut.
"Flutter Girl" and "Follow My Way," on the other hand, easily could have been included on Soundgarden's final release, "Down on the Upside." If you remove Kim Thayil's song writing influence from the second half of that album, it is very similar to what Cornell gives us here.
"When I'm Down" is a totally different story, however. For this track Cornell draws in aspects of blues, adding a piano and slow, drawn-out wails from the guitar and bass.
Proving once again that he desperately needs a Zoloft prescription, Cornell constructs one of the most lyrically depressing albums one could possibly want to hear. "Wave Goodbye," for example, offers a Lenny Kravitz-esque tune which ends with the words, "So now you start to recognize that every single path you see / Leads to a tear in your eye / So wave goodbye wave goodbye." The lines are a far cry from the optimistic croonings of the Partridge Family, to say the least.
The main weakness of this album is its inconsistency. While some songs are hauntingly beautiful, others are simply awful. "Preaching the End of the World" and "Pillow of Your Bones" are nothing more than simple, regurgitated, melodramatic slop. You might have to take a second look at your CD just to make sure that you didn't buy Matchbox 20 by accident.
Unlike anything Soundgarden ever did, this work is purely Cornell's vision. Not only did he write the lyrics and most of the music for every song, Cornell also produced, arranged and mixed the album. Considering his inexperience in this field, his effort is nothing less than amazing. He emphasizes the vocals over everything else but he rarely overpowers the instruments. The only exception to this rule would have to be "Pillow of Your Bones," which is meant to be a rock song but is recorded at too low a volume.
Even though this album may not live up to all the hype, it is certainly a must for any Soundgarden fan's collection. "Euphoria Morning" is neither as hard as Cornell's old Seattle compatriots nor as stunningly heart tugging as the Temple of the Dog side project, but it is definitely full of high quality music.
While Soundgarden was one of the most influential and innovative rock bands since Black Sabbath, Cornell obviously won't be content until people see him as an artist first and foremost. Now old rockers will just have to learn to deal with it.
Grade: B
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