Cornell experiments with subdued sound

This approach seems to encourage Cornell's melodic inventiveness, as tasteful little bursts of melody are subtly shifted forward. Cornell continues to utilize his knack for crafting the colorful chord progressions that were so crucial to Soundgarden's distinctive sound, but the big surprise on this record is how he is able to apply that gift to putting contemporary spins on highly popularized songwriting styles.

Chris Cornell

Take "Preaching The End Of The World," a song that is inescapably a power ballad. And by power ballad, we're not talking Hootie and the Blowfish, we're talking Bread or Cheap Trick. Or even better is the bluesy, piano-based "When I'm Down," which recalls (seriously) the enduring work of Elton John and Billy Joel from decades past.

Such categorization is admittedly a bit unjust when Cornell is thinking outside the box with such compelling results, but on the as yet unmentioned other half of "Euphoria Morning," a single label is, disappointingly, all too applicable. As some might have guessed, that label is "grunge," and on songs like "Mission" and "Wave Goodbye," besides coming off as anachronistic, these songs simply feel forced. All this results in sludgy, repetitive tunes with hooks that lose their power after only a few bars.

These numbers are certainly unlikely to spark feelings of nostalgia for the early '90s among listeners, and their inclusion on "Euphoria Morning" is indeed perplexing, given that the songs that eschew the conventions that have served Cornell for the past decade are invariably so much stronger. The most positive spin that can be put on "Euphoria Morning" is that hopefully, as Cornell continues to come in to his own as a solo artist, he will continue to reach towards more liberating songwriting formats, ones that are capable of producing music of its own time. Otherwise ... well, nevermind.

09-21-99