Overview:
It’s quite possible, that upon hearing this album, you will have one of three desires.
- You will want to stop the album, throw it away, and try to quickly forget whatever auditory abortion you just heard.
- You will want to stop the album, and find some type of sharp object, (preferably, parts of the broken CD), and stab yourself in the face, ears, and scrotum (or appropriate appendage).
- You will want to stop the album and ridicule a talented musician who missed the mark so badly that you will never forgive him.
Review:
Scream is the latest solo outing from talented vocalist Chris Cornell. Most will know Cornell from Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, and Audioslave (3 bands I enjoy tremendously.)
You might only know him from Casino Royale, as he did the title song for that fantastic film.
But however it is you’ve come to know Chris Cornell, upon hearing this album, you will wish you didn’t expect anything from him.
The album starts out terribly enough, as an unsuspecting listener, I was expecting his collaboration with Timbaland to be both interesting AND pleasant. Interesting, yes. Pleasant? If you like hearing a talented, yet obviously misguided vocalist try to freshen his style, and/or like having your testicular sack crushed by a twenty-pound pack of potatoes, then yes, it’s quite pleasant.
I have absolutely no problem with an artist trying to broaden their horizons. It’s been effective for a number of them. Working outside your comfort zone can yield some fantastic results. Just not this time.
And it’s most troubling, because Cornell is talented, and has been in, lets count it again, THREE fantastic bands. However, with that, you have to assume there is a reason those bands broke up in the first place, and since Cornell is the common denominator, let’s blame him.
Scream was released in March of ’09, and it was mentioned to someone that I enjoyed Cornell, and they took it upon themself to get me a copy of the album. I popped it in, and couldn’t believe my ears.
The thing is, the album got worse as I listened to it. As each song ended, it was replaced by one that was even more misguided than the one before it. Truly, 13 songs worth of sheer hell.
Let me rephrase that. 6 1/2 songs of sheer hell. What of the other 5 songs, then? Well, I skipped over the ends of pretty much every song.
Songs that include Cornell almost rapping. Songs that include him almost barking like a dog. I would rather listen to the death rattle of one of my future children then be forced to listen to this again. (Thank you, David Cross, for that line.)
Overall, the album got me thinking. Cornell, a fantastic Grunge/Rock vocalist, produced this. What if Kurt Cobain had went this way with his career? Would the results have been any better?
Trick question. Cobain wasn’t a ego-driven sellout.
Final Words:
If you enjoy Chris Cornell, stay away from this record. If you enjoy music, stay away from this record. If you enjoy not being suicidal, stay away from this record. It actually troubles me to classify this as a “Music” review. Because, I assure you, this is NOT music.
Score: 0/10 (In the running for worst album I’ve ever heard)
Execution: 0/10
Musical Innovation: 0/10
Musical Merit: 0/10
Worthlesness: 10/10
image via
I’ve heard rumblings of how awful this album was. Just listened to a few clips on iTunes….wow…talk about a lack of self awareness.
Chris as a solo artist just sucks. He had the potential to be one of the greatest rock singers ever. I mean the guy can wail with the best of them. He needs to reform Soundgarden and go back to his roots.
Great review, sums up everything I feel about this album! As a Chris Cornell fan, this is like a slap to the face. The whole album sounds like one of those remix records.
It should have a warning on the label:
WARNING: May cause inner ear bleeding.
Want to hear the next Chris Cornell? Then pick up a Shinedown cd. Their singer has some serious pipes.
The lead singer of Shinedown does have some serious pipes, I must agree, it’s very unique. Unfortunately, he’s using it to belt out some INCREDIBLY cheesy lyrics these days. Their first album, Leave a Whisper was good enough, and they’ve just commercialized themselves even more so now. They’re played on about 4 different stations around here, so their exposure is higher, which means more album and ticket sales. Probably not a bad career move.
I’m not a big fan of chris any ways…