For those unaware, Chris Cornell’s second solo studio album Carry On is newly remastered by Levi Seitz at Blackbelt Mastering and reissued across Digital, 180-gram Black Vinyl, and 2LP Picture Disc vinyl formats and includes two bonus tracks “Today” and “Roads We Choose” plus an unreleased extended intro for “Billie Jean,” the cover of the iconic Michael Jackson song.

The album also features the theme song “You Know My Name” from the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale.

Chris first came to my attention, as he did for most all of us, as the lead singer of Seattle grunge-rock mainstays Soundgarden in 1984. While riding the coattails of what turned out to be just another fad in the ever-so-frivolous world of music, Cornell’s first band was enshrined in the mundane world of plaid-rock with such memorable sleepers as “Black Hole Sun” and “Spoonman”.

Then came the all-star gala that was Temple of the Dog. While this project combined the limited talents of Cornell, Eddie Vedder, Matt Cameron, and Stone Gossard (any Seattle kid’s wet dream), it never found its way out of obscurity and into any teenager’s empty heart, or record collection for that matter.

Finally, there was Audioslave. Again, something of a modern-rock supergroup forming in 2001, though it looked awfully good on paper, the combination of Cornell’s crooning and the Machine’s talents never quite lived up to what every alternative rock-music-listening junkie ever hoped for.

His first solo release, 1999’s Euphoria Morning, peeked at hints of greatness and actual intrigue at times. Songs like Temple’s “Hunger Strike” and Soundgarden’s “Pretty Noose” couldn’t hold half of a candle to Morning lead single “Can’t Change Me”’s eerie feel and odd time signature. The performance itself simply felt much more liberating than anything any of his other projects have ever produced.

Which is perhaps why he opted to leave the world of modern rock group again with his second official full-length solo release in almost a decade, Carry On. Here, Cornell shines brighter than ever by ditching the watered-down sound of modern rock and giving the nod to something a little more accessible, and a lot more interesting.

“She’ll Never Be Your Man” is a pleasantly confusing love-torn tale that proves to be indicative of Cornell’s choice to pop things up throughout his latest effort. As the acoustic guitars and tambourines color in the backdrop, the almost-kind of twang-y hook and Cornell’s half-snarl suggest that a tiny bit of southern rock probably influenced this track, if not the entire record.

Then, songs like “Finally Forever” and “Killing Birds” prove to be how good everyone wanted Soundgarden to be. Two of only four tracks on Carry On that feel like they could have fit on a Soundgarden release, these two songs showcase the man’s powerful vocal ability in front of the lackadaisical guitar work that made Cornell’s first band so popular.

But, and in my humble opinion, Carry On is at its absolute best when Cornell visibly sheds any aforementioned desire to continue as a hard-rock artist. “Arms Around Your Love”, the best piece of songwriting Cornell has ever been a part of, is a three-and-a-half minute pop-rock single that needs to be everybody’s favorite guilty pleasure. The blatant pop-rock acoustic guitar backdrop and catchy electric hook make this song a damn good play for pop-radio domination. While he has never seemed any more generic, he has never sounded any better.

Thus, the common denominator in all of Cornell’s solo ventures lies within the limitations he puts on his insistent qualities, and that’s a good thing. Because with Carry On, an effort that shows exactly how simple and light Cornell can go, he proved that, musically, at the very least, sometimes being alone isn’t all that bad. [R.I.P. Chris Cornell].

Side A:
1. No Such Thing
2. Poison Eye
3. Arms Around Your Love
4. Safe and Sound

Side B:
5. She’ll Never Be Your Man
6. Ghosts
7. Killing Birds
8. Billie Jean

Side C:
9. Scar On the Sky
10. Your Soul Today
11. Finally Forever
12. Silence The Voices

Side D:
13. Disappearing Act
14. Today [Bonus Track]
15. Roads We Choose [Bonus Track]
16. You Know My Name (Film Version)

www.chriscornell.com

Official Purchase Link