Chris Cornell
Scream

Review By Brian Baker

Chris Cornell has been rewriting musical history since he burst into the public consciousness in the early ’90s with the grunge-defining howl of Soundgarden; he continued that trend with the hard rock resurrection of Audioslave. Cornell’s first solo attempt, 1999’s Euphoria Morning, yielded a Grammy nod and his second, 2007’s Carry On, offered up the groundbreaking theme to Casino Royale and the arrangement of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” that shoved American Idol winner David Cook to the front of the pack.

To date, Cornell’s range has vacillated between loud and louder, so when his third solo album arrives with the title Scream, the content seems a foregone conclusion. Leave it to Cornell to strip his sonic gears by making a hip-hop/R&B album at this juncture in his long rock career.

Produced by hip-hop icon Timbaland, Scream is a beat-driven, club-pulsed dance-a-thon, and a departure sure to drive a wedge right down the middle of Cornell’s head-banging fan base. To be sure, Cornell’s amazing voice works well within the context of the genre, and his rock roots simmer just under the surface of Scream, particularly on the guitar-punctuated “Get Up” and “Climbing,” but he’s clearly not afraid of diving into hip-hop’s deep end, as evidenced by the Timbaland/Timberlake-directed “Ground Zero.”