"Carry on" CD by Chris Cornell

by Marcel Anders (26.07.07) In fact, the ex-Soundgarden singer has long dreamed of a solo career. But his first effort in 1999, "Euphoria morning" was a flop, so the tall beau joined Audioslave first. Until Cornell pulled the trigger line in Feruary, 2007 – and declared himself a soloist again. This time, that is underpinned by his sophomore release, "Carry on", with clearly better outlooks. The 42-year-old delivers some kind of personal retrospective featuring all his influences, facets and likings. Beginning with heavy Grunge rockers, like "No such thing" and "Poison eye", that seem like coming directly from the early 90s, via melancholic ballads, like "Ghosts" and "Arms around your love", to the opulent Pop bombast in the way of "You know my name". Still, the French by choice proves his braveness, too. For one because his mixture heavily opposes the heavy sounds of Audioslave, for the other because his cover version of Michael Jacksons "Billie Jean" is definitively acclimation-needy. But exactly this makes "Carry on" so thrilling!