Chris Cornell Fails to Scream in his New Album

Terry

Misc

3 minute read

Last November, UpVenue attended a very low key Chris Cornell concert in Montreal (View our Chris Cornell concert pictures). Near the end of his set, Chris asked the audience whether or not we wanted to hear some tracks off the, then upcoming, Scream album which resulted in a loud roar. Cornell and the crew proceeded by performing Part Of Me and then followed it up with Scream. To be honest, Scream sounded great live and Part of Me was a tad mediocre. The songs were still very rock centric and Chris was screaming his lungs out.

Last week, Scream, the Timbaland produced follow up to Cornell’s 2007 Carry On, was released and we’ve finally taken a listen to the album. We have to give credit to Cornell for one thing, the album does make us want to scream, but for all the wrong reasons. It sounds like a DJ from a low key club trying to give his spin on a average album. There are so many things wrong with the album that we simply don’t know where to begin: do we discuss the corny 80s sound effects, the lackluster and repetitive repetitive repetitive lyrics or the terrible use of one rock’s best voices? Chris Cornell is known for his incredible range and in a day and age where singers rely heavily on voice enhancing and altering microphones, it’s nice to have someone who can actually sing. Sadly, this isn’t reflected in Scream as his voice is constantly altered or hidden behind some awful effects.

Going back to the lyrics, you can tell that Chris Cornell didn’t spend much time thinking on the can when he wrote these, take a look at this excerpt from the very first song on the album:

Ohhhhh
That bitch ain't a part of me
No, that bitch ain't a part of me
I said no, that bitch ain't a part of me
No, that bitch ain't a part of me
I said no, that bitch ain't a part of me
No, that bitch ain't a part of me
I said no, that bitch ain't a part of me
No, that bitch ain't a part of-part of-part of me

Now add a bunch of Timbaland's electronic pop samples, lather rinse repeat and you’ve got the entire first song. Hell, change a few of the lyrics around slightly and you’ve got a good indication as to what the entire album sounds like. There are a few songs that aren’t completely terrible, but even the better ones are mediocre at best. If you’re a hardcore Timbaland fan, nothing really sticks out in “Scream” and you’ll find yourself skipping through these tracks when they show up on your iPod after you've listened to them a couple of times. If you’re a Cornell fan, don’t expect to find another Spoonman, Blackhole Sun or Cochise here. Sorry Cornell and Timbaland fans, you’ll have to get your music fix elsewhere.