Customer Reviews

Euphoria Morning

5 star:		(172)
4 star:		(56)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

Don't dismiss this as a typical front-man-gone-solo attempt to cash in on his former band's residual fame. Listening closely to this album confirmed my opinion that Cornell's musicianship was the cornerstone of the band's success. In 'Euphoria Morning', Cornell has clearly grown and evolved as a musician, much like the post-Beatles' Lennon, forsaking 'radio playability' for honesty and grace. The musicians with whom he recorded (especially Alain Johannes) are rock solid and lay an impressively understated foundation upon which his superlative vocal skills are showcased. While several of the songs ('Pillow of Your Bones', 'Mission') clearly have their roots in Soundgarden's burial plot, the majority owe their existence and are a tribute to Jeff Buckley, Cornell's late contemporary and close friend. Cornell's soaring falsetto and anguished wailing aptly evokes Buckley's 'Grace'. The songs on the album are not immediately catchy and will appeal to neither corporate pop radio nor hardened Soundgarden fans, but I see this as a positive trait- it sends a clear message that Cornell has neither 'sold out' nor 'bought in'. Final Evaluation: superb musicianship, excellent songwriting, very good album

Following the demise of Soundgarden in 1997, everyone was curious what Chris Cornell would do next. Would he immerse himself in another band where he could display his blood-curdling screams or would he surprise everyone with something totally different? He chose the latter. With Natasha Shneider on keys and Alain Johannes on guitars, Cornell found the opportunity to break away from his heavily Zeppelin and Sabbath-rooted musical background, and he also asked some other musicians to make an appearance on the record.

The result is a very diverse album, highlighting Cornell's immediately identifiable vocals and relatively simpler songwriting. That said, he had the chance to incorporate a multitude of other instruments, including tambourine, theremin, and timpani. Besides the trademark blues rock-ridden songs that helped Cornell make a name for himself, he also digs deep into psychedelia, best heard on "Preaching the End of the World", a song that finds Cornell opting for thick, Radiohead-like arrangements, lofty acoustics, and a strange mix of keyboard and guitar effects. Not too different is "Disappearing One", guesting Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron with its moving vocal melodies, shimmering keyboards and even a vague clarinet addition.

Surely, Soundgarden fans expecting a very heavy record with meaty guitars and lots of aggressive vocals will be sorely disappointed. But they need to realize Euphoria Morning was meant to be different way before Cornell started working on it. Solo projects serve the purpose of letting the artists express themselves in ways they are unable to in their own bands. And considering this, Euphoria Morning is a huge success. That said, there are still some songs where the band behind Cornell churns out some rocking riffs and rhythms, such as "Flutter Girl" and especially "Pillow of Your Bones" during the chorus. The former starts out in an almost poppy fashion but quickly picks up a playful funk bass line and is finished off with a cool blues lead; whereas the latter is more straightforward, employing lots of acoustic and electric guitars as well as weird percussion work. The final song "Steel Rain" is also a number that alternates between decidedly heavier parts and more haunting, ominous moments. The ethnic drumming (great tabla rhythms) on this track is quite experimental given Cornell's music with Soundgarden and later on with Audioslave.

"Follow My Way" and "When I'm Down" are the most moving songs, with the latter featuring a deft piano and organ melody beneath Cornell's heartfelt delivery. This is another song that embraces his love for bluesy guitar work and it also features some female backing harmonies during its pre-chorus. Similarly, the title track is a passionate piece where Cornell sings entirely a capella over acoustic guitars. There are no other instruments; Cornell plays his guitar and simply sings his heart out. A remix of the effect-laden "Mission" would later be included on the Mission Impossible 2 soundtrack while "Moonchild" became a minor hit with its eerie atmosphere along with the opening song "Can't Change Me", perhaps the most modern-sounding, upbeat song on the album. Despite being only three minutes though, its flow is majestic, borrowing harmonica, tambourine and shimmering keyboards that climax at the final second.

My European copy of the album contains a very different version of the opening song, with French lyrics, accordion, mandolin, and female vocals backing Cornell. The song returns to its English chorus at one point, but the rest is all delivered in French and perhaps more engaging than the original version in some ways.

Chris Cornell is one of the greatest voices in rock and this solo album is testimony to his greatness. When freed from any band restrictions, the man is capable of crafting some of the most moving and brutally honest songs ever.

After a day and a half of not being able to listen to anything but this album, I can tell you that it's definitely a keeper. I've always felt that Chris Cornell had the purest voice in the entire alternative rock genre, and part of what's made both of his bands stand out is his ability to take that pure voice and lay it over top of some rather, uh, loud material and yet still have it consistently shine through all the noise. If you've ever wondered what his voice would sound like with nothing but ambient sounds behind him, Euphoria Morning answers that question in a manner both pleasant and surprising.

"Can't Change Me" kicks off the album as something of a bridge between Soundgarden and the rest of the solo material. It starts with something of a "Soundgarden at half speed" tack until something that you're quite sure is a guitar solo ends in a manner that has you looking back and asking yourself if it wasn't a harmonica solo instead. It's at this point you realize that, for better or worse, synthesizers are going to play a role in this album. And while that thought might have Soundgarden fans heading for the hills and Audioslave fans wanting to light something on fire, the keyboards on this album are actually better more than often they're worse. While some of the sounds on the second track "Flutter Girl" might sound just a bit over-the-top artificial, the song manages to capture something of a late-era Beatles vibe, along with a heavy Asian influence. It shouldn't come as a surprise, as Cornell seemingly couldn't cram enough of either of those two particular styles into Soundgarden's masterpiece Superunknown.

Any connection to his earlier band is gone, though, by the third track as Cornell lays bare a gentle set of vocals accompanied by acoustic guitar that shape up not as a power ballad but instead simply as a pure ballad. This leads into the epic and fairly psychedelic "Follow My Way" which, quite honestly, doesn't fit into a single rock music subcategory I can think of. You'd never hear a song like this on any radio station, which is an indictment of radio and not of this song. It's one of those wonderfully intricate works that you could listen to on repeat for hours on end, and hear something different in it each and every time.

Cornell begins to change up styles from song to song from that point onward. Whereas "When I'm Down" borders on Harry Connick, "Wave Goodbye" brings a gentle funk to the mix. But the dreamy "Moonchild" marks the departure point from which, at the time, I was quite sure Chris Cornell would never go back to making loud rock music again. As borderline cheesy as the song is, it shows where the man's voice truly shines, and that's on breezy material such as this. Most singers couldn't pull off a "Moonchild" without coming off like some kind of latter-day Neil Diamond, but Cornell's faultless voice allows him to go places that others would dare not trek. And as if just to rub it in, he then spends three full minutes showing doing not but showing off his vocal talents on "Sweet Euphoria" which doesn't even so much as feature a rhythm section -- and for that matter doesn't need one.

If this album is so good, how come it never went anywhere? Well, a variety of reasons conspired to keep it from getting off the ground. For one thing, if Cobain's 1994 suicide signaled that alt-rock's days were numbered, Soundgarden's 1996 breakup represented the official end of the genre. And while some of us alt-rock fans hunkered down and decided to wait for rock music to get good again (for the record, it still hasn't quite happened), others left their alt-rock past behind and moved on for flourishing pastures elsewhere. Three years later Chris Cornell releases a solo album and the only way anyone was going to pay attention was if it was billed as a "solo project from the guy from Soundgarden," but that very mention got Euphoria Morning unfairly lumped in a genre that no one was still paying attention to. And worse, any Soundgarden fans who did take the plunge fully expecting to hear Superunknown II were in for the shock of their lives once they got past the opening track.

I can't tell you with certainty whether you'll like this album. If your reason for liking Soundgarden and Audioslave is that they're both noisy, then you might be in for a disappointment. But if your primary draw to those two bands is the uniqueness and purity of the voice that fronts both of them, then Euphoria Morning just might work for you. It's offbeat throughout, some of it almost uncategorizable, but every single song is intriguing in its own way, and although it almost goes without saying, they're all sung quite well. It's gentle in a way that makes it almost the antithesis of the genre for which Cornell is best-known, but it's powerful in its own unique way. If nothing else, it's a rather fascinating look at what was really going on during those six years in which rock history forgot Chris Cornell even existed. Learn more at iPodGarage.com

this CD is nothing short of brilliant! i was the person who had only heard a few Soundgarden songs here and there but I always thought his voice was moving. as soon as I heard "Can't Change Me" I knew I had to have his CD. i'm a 23 year old black rapper form Los Angeles (doesn't seem like this would be my first choice in music right?) BUT I dabble in other types of music besides rap. Chris' CD actually serves as motivation for me. I can throw in "Preaching To The End Of The World" and turn around and write some of the best lyrics I've ever written; weird but true. For those who didn't seem too interested at first, give it a chance....you won't regret it!

This is one of the best solo albums I have ever heard from any artist, maybe even the finest.
I have been a Soundgarden fan since Badmotorfinger, but as a singer I've always been more into the classic (Stones, Doors) feel. There were very few bands in the 90's that I really got into. So the natural progression from one of my favorite bands is to hear Chris Cornell's solo effort. I believe another review said that there was not one bad song on this album, and they were right. While a couple are not as good as the overall album, they're still good.

Standout songs for me are Moonchild (Unbelievable song, especially the break in the middle), Flutter Girl ("I give nothing for free"), Follow My Way (very unique sound, but actually works with Cornell's amazing voice), Sweet Euphoria (brings tears to your eyes, gospel like), and Pillow of Your Bones (a Soundgarden type vibe, but man, one of the best songs on the album. Dig the guitar here.) Honorable mention goes to Steel Rain which has been growing on me.

Jesus, I almost went through every song on the album. Get this album, it really is fantastic.

Just a couple of notes. On the Audioslave album, there are a couple of songs like Getaway Car and The Last Remaining Light which have a similar vibe to some songs on this album.

Also, drummer Matt Cameron from Soundgarden makes an appearance on "Disappearing One."

Chris Cornell really flexes his songwriting on this album in a way that makes me wonder why he hides it in his current project Audioslave. He comes up with a unique style blending grunge and rock with gospel influences that isn't immediately accessible but will suddenly click after a few listens. The chords are fleshed out far beyond anything else Cornell has done, the phrases build on each other, and the arrangements are rich, and the result is a work with incredible emotional depth in the accompaniment to go with the raw energy and expressiveness of Cornell's voice. No, this album doesn't rock out in the same way that Soundgarden and Audioslave do, and you shouldn't buy this album with the expectation of having your socks knocked off with distortion. But this is my favorite album involving Cornell, hands down. Personal favorites are When I'm Down, Follow My Way, Steel Rain, and Preaching the End of the World, but the whole album is incredible.

Even though when Soundgarden broke up I was just getting into alternative rock and was too young to care or know the legend that they possessed, I was turned on the Chris Cornell's classy, all over the place voice when the song 'Can't Change Me' flowered across the radio waves one night. It had a wonderful melody and a hook that remained in your mind for days upon end. Finally, years later i remembered this disc and decided to pick it up as soon as i got the opportunity. Being much older and wiser in my musical knowledge, I understood just how much Cornell meant to alt/rock music, and i almost knew what to expect from this album.

Correction, i THOUGHT i knew what to expect from this album. I was expecting a lot of songs in the key of Superunknown, along with some of the same thought provoking lyrics and painful requiems. I scored points on the latter part, as his lyrics and vocal delivery seem very painful and melancholy. This delivery creates a very depressing and beautiful atmosphere that is uncomparable to me at this moment, considering i just listened to it for the third time this afternoon. I never left an album wanting to cry or feeling depressed more, perhaps granted whats going on in my personal life, however this album is very honest and powerful.

The music is really very different compared to what was expected by me. As i indicated, i was expecting a lot of Superunknown-era Soundgarden music, not so much a Superunknown II, however, something very resemblant to this classic work of art. I got something even more interesting. A few songs sound like this era of SG, while others touch on a Pink Floyd meets the Beatles like sound. The hooks and melodies are truely intoxicating and hard to forget, and the atmosphere is done with a large degree of percision.

Its hard to give this album a five however because there are a few points where it does kind of lag some. Perhaps these tracks will grow on me with time, but i find myself listening to Steel Rain over and over again, not caring what tracks i skip to get there. Speaking of this song, it is also not perfect...the outro to it is horrid. After such a beautifully depressing song, i saw a large portion of time left over, which i expected to include an instrumental outro that was very much the same. Instead it almost becomes positive, which taints this otherwise flawless song.

As Chris Cornell survived the post-Soundgarden world, he also managed to create an amazing solo record, a feat i would like to see him attempt again. His new band, Audioslave's first release was also solid, however went far too long and also got annoying with the constant radio play. I may constitute that album with a review here soon, but for now, if you want a post-Soundgarden album, get Euphoria Morning.

Most people who didnt' like this album where expecting a Soundgarden album. Which this is not, this album in my opinion is a natural progression in maturity for Cornell. He proves that he is and always was much more than the sum of all the past Soundgarden albums. With emotionally powerful songs like: Follow My Way, When I'm Down, and Wave Goodbye Euphoria Morning is nothing like and much more than Cornell's past work and is in my opinon a must have. There is nothing else in popular music today at this level.

Yes, I love Soundgarden from Badmotorfinger on and I just love this CD. I read ALL the reviews posted on this site first to get an idea of what people are thinking, and it appears, the die-hard SG fans are unwilling to allow for Chris to expand and move on.... He'll be 36 this year so of course his music will shift along with age... so what? Why pigeonhole him into music of his past? He soars if we let him... My goal in life is to point out to others his raw and incredible musical ability. I hope he sticks around for a long time.... BUY THIS CD and give it a chance... it really does grow on you....

Cornell's talent for writing heart-wrenchingly beautiful music is more apparent on this album than it ever was on any Soundgarden project, and the brutal honesty in his lyrics can only be viewed as cathartic; the "love's-labour-lost" theme runs through the entire recording. Whether his separation at the time of writing from his wife is the reason for this is anyone's guess; one thing's for sure, however: heartbreak and wistful longing make for a collection of damn good songs. The CD opens with "Can't Change Me," the tune you've probably heard incessantly played on your local rock radio station -- and they're playing it because a) it's good and b) it sounds more like old Soundgarden than anything else on the album. Experimentation abounds on the CD -- some of it good, some of it not-so-good. "Flutter Girl", for example, starts out sounding like country music and then later switches to a wah-wah guitar that for some reason (in my mind, anyway) conjures up pictures of Boogie Nights and really bad '70s porn. There is some kind of noise in "Preaching the End of the World", perhaps a musical saw, that lends an eerie, almost sci-fi feel to the song. "Follow My Way"'s opposing guitar and vocal lines need some time to grow on you -- but the wait is worth it. The stripped-down, warts-and-all straight acoustic sound of "Sweet Euphoria" is perfectly in keeping with its almost Shakespearian serenade-like lyrics ("Lost my love, as it is I'm truly gone/In your morning I will sleep....Sweet Euphoria, mine is the heart you stole") and it's easy to picture Cornell in Elizabethan garb, standing beneath the window of the fair maiden Juliet, singing to her the sweetly-penned tune (after first kicking that pansy Romeo's arse). But perhaps the most poignant song on the record is "Wave Goodbye," Cornell's tribute to his dear friend Jeff Buckley, who drowned inexplicably near Memphis. The lyrics are unvarnished, truthful, and sincere: "When you miss somebody you tell yourself/a hundred thousand times/Nobody ever lives forever so you give it one more try/to wave goodbye...." And although he mixes metaphors ("I'm a wreck when I look mighty") with painfully straighforward statements ("So flutter home/'Cause you're better off alone than with me"), his sincerity and soulfulness permeate every track on the album, from the uncharacteristically mellow saxophone opening of "Disappearing One" to Cornell's raspy upper-register vow to "tear all your temples down" on "Mission." There are some rough spots on the album though; the heartbreakingly beautiful blues piano piece "When I'm Down" starts out marvelously but is unfortunately marred by Cornell's trademark scream-y upper register toward the end of the tune. It's appropriate for the following song, "Mission," but doesn't quite fit the melancholy mood affected by lyrics like "I know you hold precious little hope for me", and ends up turning an otherwise unendurably sexy song into just another semi-radio-friendly creation. Soundgarden fans who tune in expecting to hear a continuation of the band get their wish on songs like "Mission," "Pillow Of Your Bones," and especially the album's driving single "Can't Change Me," but for the most part, Euphoria Morning is Cornell's softer, gentler side. Not that this is a bad thing.