City Newspaper Archives - 6/2007
Chris Cornell "Carry On"
Interscope
Published by Saby Reyes-Kulkarni on Jun 13, 2007
For a guy who once electrified the imagination of millions of troubled, gloom-obsessed 20something males, Chris Cornell now embraces radio-friendliness as if he's become reluctant to impose on the audience. Frankly, it's hard to stomach. At his hungriest and best, framed perfectly in the heat and suppressed violence of Soundgarden's incandescent roar, Cornell would wail like a banshee, bringing blood-curdling desperation to seemingly detached lyrics about things like tightrope walking in two-ton shoes and ice picks raining on steel shores. By contrast, on "Carry On," he coos obvious lines like "I spent my youth breaking down the walls my father built," resurrects "Billie Jean" as a mushy modern rock power ballad, and delivers the latest James Bond theme. To his credit, "Carry On" does contain tasty moments, but even as Cornell lets his backing musicians shine, the whole affair feels way too understated. Without his legendary agitated brooding to anchor them, these new songs evaporate quickly and leave little feeling in their wake.
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