by Clare O'Brien

Created on: May 27, 2007   Last Updated: May 28, 2007

Chris Cornell
Carry On
Polydor
A road trip into the unknown: the evolution of a legend

Chris Cornell is an American icon. Through his reign as Soundgarden's dark grunge god to his stint at the helm of classic rock band Audioslave, he's never failed to push the boundaries of genre, whether turning base metal into alternative gold or teaching a rap-rock act like RATM the meaning of modulation.

His ornate 1999 solo album Euphoria Morning failed to catch on, with its reclusive creator's deepening substance abuse problems perhaps contributing to its commercial collapse. Cornell's certainly not making the same mistake again - clean, sober and solo, he's touring the world for the next eighteen months.

The songs on Carry On are generally more accessible than those on his former solo effort, but that's not to say he's abandoned his old instinct for experiment. With legendary producer Steve Lillywhite behind the desk he's trying on different styles for size, mixing the all-out attack of opener No Such Thing and the drama of Bond theme You Know My Name, with the wistful pop of lead-off single Arms Around Your Love and the romantic, Rufus Wainwright-ish sweep of Disappearing Act. Although few listeners will take all sixteen tracks to heart, nearly all have something bold to offer.

Then, there's the much-referenced cover of Michael Jackson's dance classic Billie Jean - chosen, Cornell says, for its sheer improbability. In his hands it becomes a brooding murder ballad set to a slow-burning blues: depending on your attitude to the original, you'll either love its dark drama or reject its audacity.

The voice that launched a thousand sonic assaults is as powerful as ever, but Cornell seems eager to use it in new and unexpected ways - the Princely falsetto of Today is a major surprise, Safe And Sound sees him toying with blue-eyed soul and it has a deep, bell-like resonance on anti-war anthem Silence The Voices. Backup comes from a range of musical stylists, including Paul McCartney sideman Brian Ray, jazz bassist Miles Mosley and flamboyant New York guitarist Gary Lucas.

Lyrically the album mingles unusual love songs with meditations on change and loss. One of the most powerful in the latter category is Ghosts, a backward look at our older selves and those who need to invest in them, while the tender country ballad Finally Forever contrasts with a wry look at sexual politics in She'll Never Be Your Man.

Cornell may not yet have found a defining sound for his work outside the confines of a band, but maybe that's not the point. Far from showing us a legend content to rest on his laurels, the sheer variation of Carry On is the sound of an artist evolving and exploring. It's a road trip into the unknown.

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