Chris Cornell
Scream

Why?

That's what I asked myself after listening to Mr. Cornell's latest CD.

Let it be clear that I have never been a big fan of his, neither with Soundgarden nor with Audioslave, but I expected at least a minimum from such a skilled singer.

Chris, it seems, has decided to work with Timbaland for his new album, resulting in sixty-four minutes of simply mind-blowing music. One wonders if they have put the wrong CD, but unfortunately, it is indeed him, our Chris, featured on the cover trying to smash a guitar. Something that indicates where the album will head.

It starts with "Part of me" and brings tears to your eyes. A fifth-rate R&B with vocals barely audible, buried under billions of added effects. And the album continues like this, from the unbearable "Ground zero" to the clichéd chorus of "Scream", perhaps the best track.

Finishing the album you are not angry. Not at all. Sixty minutes of R&B drain even the strength to get mad. You simply stay there, looking at nothingness, depressed. Has a great rock voice thrown itself away permanently like this?

It seems so, I have no other words.

Bewildering.