Chris Cornell - Carry On Review

Though unfair to compare any artists albums to their classic work, Carry On wouldn't even stand up to Chris Cornell's worst.

Throughout the long and influential work with Soundgarden, the wonderful Temple of the Dog, and Audioslave, Cornell has always taken fans with him on impressive journeys, and while they weren't always great, they were at least interesting. This album is bland and there is no feeling of the same soul and effort of his previous work. In fact, there's not even a whole lot of interest in this album.

For a man whose pushed the boundaries of musical sounds, with inovative ideas, or even send ups to previous genres, this feels much like a rush job. Maybe Chris regretted waiting so long between his first solo album and Soundgarden's final album, thinking that the wait is what made such an excellent album fail. Could it be that the album was released in less than a year after Audioslave's last album, so his name would be fresh in the public's mind? He is soon to be a rock legend and I am a huge fan of his music, but I really can't find much to like on this album. It feels more like a collection of B-sides than an actual album - things left over from other works and ideas that were never fully fleshed out.

I wouldn't recommend this album, unless you are a die hard fan of Cornell, and even then, with a warning label.